# Calais to Vendee for a dummies (me)



## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Ladies and Gents, Ive been to the Vendee region of France a few times but had longer ferry crossings and shorter distances to travel but this year i have booked Dover to Calais (1) to save some money and (2) because i love driving. I have an old Hymer 660 which shoots along at a respectable 60-70mph depending on wind speed so i know its going to be a fair old hit in a day. I land in France at 9am. My question is this: would you (1) go for it and drive down to Les Sables in a oner or (2) stop off en route and if you answer stop off en route where would you consider to be a good location in your experience. As much as i enjoy driving having never driven from Calais before your advice would be greatly appreciated. Ive read some bad press about Aires with regard to theft so any advice there would be great and also good locations you have stopped at on your journey. Many Thanks.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

As long as you stay off the Aires on the motorways there really isn't a problem. I have been using them for years as have many many others. Just trust your instinct. If an Aire "doesn't feel right" then simply move on to the next one.

If it was me I would not make any firm plan. The whole idea of a motorhome is to enjoy the journey. Therefore I would 

1. Set my sat nav to avoid toll roads
2. Buy a copy of Lonely Planet France
3. Buy a copy of All The Aires
4. Land at Calais and trundle off towards the Vendee.
5. Stop wherever looked nice/appealed to me/has a mention in the lonely Planet.
6. Enjoy the journey regardless of how long it took.


(its a long haul from Calais to the Vendee, I wouldn't think about doing in one hit)


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Adding to Plody's post.
If you do have difficulty finding a suitable aire, just go into any small village and park in the village square, or by the church. Obviously with consideration to locals!


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Why the race? If you enjoy France, your Hymer, touring and exploring places, why not take as long as it takes to get there.
You mention how fast your van will go as if it were a challenge.
Go slower, see more and remember your holiday begins when you lock the house door, otherwise you may as well fly there, it would be cheaper.

Alan


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

It depends how long you have in France and what you want to see of France.
Just go with the flow - we might do a hundred miles on the first day to get us into France and then slowly meander the rest of the way in the general direction of, say, the West coast.
Some holidays we get where we initially aimed and sometimes we don't.
But we do see a lot of France we didn't know existed and almost all of the places are well worth a visit.
Avoid overnight stops on Motorway Aires and use 'All the Aires' book to find places to stop overnight.
For a glimpse of what to expect of Aires throughout France have a look at my amateur efforts at - www.youtube.com/user/keithchesterfield

:wav: :wav: :wav:


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Ive booked a site in Les Sables and there is no rush to get down there. I would ideally like to stop at various places and explore France but that will be for another time as the kids are still relatively young so on this occasion i will look for an overnight stop. thanks for the book recommendation Mr Plodd i will get "all the Aires" and investigate. Many thanks for your replies.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And check those MPH

Keeping within the optimum speed will save you gallons of deisal 

More to spend on other things

You have read about motorway aires, some safer than others but not to be recommended for overnight stops unless you have the hound from hell on board 8O 

there are loads of aires in lovely places that are Completly safe and if there is no rush take it easy, you are on holiday  

Have a good journey

aldra


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks Aldra, Ok so i haven't got the book yet but am i right in saying the word "aires" is a general area to camp or stay in france and not restricted to motorway service stations?... i think I've just answered my own question!... ill get the book!!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Yes there is a world of difference between aires and motorway aires

Not the same thing 

Useful for a toilet stop etc 

But in general not to be recommended overnight

I'll lend you Shadow completely free of charge
Except he only eats fresh chicken and brown rice and any one who approaches the motorhome

So maybe not  

Aldra


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks for the offer Aldra but I'm taking my mother in law......


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well what's your problem

She will keep every one at bay  

Hang on I'm a mother inlaw 5 times over

Shadow would be of no use

He would just be besotted with her

Although he would be on extra guard to keep her safe   

Aldra


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

If you have not yet discovered Aires, you may be in for a nice surprise.
Almost every other town and village in France will have at least one 'Aire'. These are plots of land set aside exclusively for Motorhomes. and are frequently free and usually convenient for local amenities. If you are very lucky, in addition to having somewhere to empty your various waters, you may even get free electricity.
The cost difference can be quite marked between taking a family to a campsite and using an Aire. They are often set up to encourage you to use the local amenities and to this end they generally bribe you with a free water stop.
All the Aires in France from Vicarious Books in Folkstone is one of the 'must have' travelling companions.
We almost never use campsites while travelling anymore, the Aires are, for our needs, so much better.

Alan


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## Glen432 (May 9, 2005)

Horlix

We own a small property in Mache about 30 minutes in land from Les Sables, in fact we are there at the moment. In the time we have had this property we have tried everyway both toll and non toll. Our favourite way is A29,A13 and A84 which is Caen, Rennes then Nantes which is mostly non toll and we always stop once and at the moment we stop at the new aire near Mont St Michel in the village of Beauvoir which costs about 9 euros with hook up and wifi. We find this takes us a four hour drive then another four hours next day too Les Sable so about half way. We often visit Les Sables (last weekend) and it is a beautiful place with an excellent aire right in the town not far from the beach and a great place to park to visit for the day.

Enjoy
Phil


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks Alan, Im about to order it as we speak. Looks like a great addition to the MH dash drawer!. I can see the benefits of local communities having them. I really don't understand why in the Uk we couldn't offer something similar....


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Hi Phil and thanks for the reply, That sounds excellent!. we have booked the ferry on the day we are due to be at the site but Ive now decided to forfeit a day on the road for exactly what your suggesting. Its an adventure after all and thats the beauty of the MH. We stayed at brem sur mer a few years ago and visited les sables and said at the time when we return we would stay in there. I think I've been to the Aire you mentioned. we used it to stay for a few hours whilst we had a look around. we only had a vw Westy then so this is going to be interesting . Many thanks


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## Camdoon (Sep 21, 2012)

Campsites may be more suitable as they are more likely to be child friendly and kids tend to need to let off steam if stuck in a van for a prolonged period of time. Swings etc are not a feature of most aires and you may prefer to be supping on some red rather than ensuring the kids are safe which they would be on a camp site.

Other things to consider in the future:

If you have children or oldies on board then the Chunnel may be easier because you do not have to get out the van and can miss out all the palaver of remembering passports, queuing for dodgy food, bumping down the stairs etc. Tesco vouchers make this viable and less of a hit on the pocket.

There are numerous free aires in the Calais region so going late at night and filling up with fuel means you will be a good deal further down the road than crossing the channel in the morning.


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## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

*Aires*

I actually prefer the format of "Camperstop"... and we use "All the Aires" as additional information.

Sundial


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I would have thought a stop off at Mont St Michel would be a great start as well. You might need more than one night though. Its on the route if you choose none toll roads anyway. Although bear in mind its stil quite a hike off the toll roads from Calais. Honfleur is another popular destination mid way. I dont like the aire there though but its handy. There is another one a mile up the road thats nicer.

There are also plenty of nice quiet countryside aires between Caen and Mont St Michel if it gets too much. Just have a good look through the book or start getting familier with www.campingcar-infos.com

If you access it in Google Chrome using this link then it will translate. http://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/accueil.php I can spend hours looking at that site. good comments and photos as well.

Takes a bit of getting used to though. You can download all the POI for your sat nav off there for free and the offline verison for a laptop costs just €10.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

If you have a smart phone, I can highly recommend an app called Camper Contact - iOS and Android versions available

they also have a website (with links to the apps) - http://www.campercontact.com/

the apps are free to try or €5.49 for the full database of 16000 sites across Europe.

dead easy to use, well laid out and excellent information on aires and campsites - my favourite of all the various ones out there


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If you go to the top of this page, under the "Guides" drop down tab is one called "Guide to using Aires" which you might find useful !


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## JohnandChristine (Mar 19, 2012)

We visited the Vendee (Bretignolles ) by car last June.

Fastcraft to le Havre then fastest route ( tolls )

Never again, far too boring and expensive ... we prefer the Rennes, Nantes route even if it takes longer.

In the MH I'd definitely not try it in one go.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

RX12 said:


> We visited the Vendee (Bretignolles ) by car last June.
> 
> Fastcraft to le Havre then fastest route ( tolls )
> 
> ...


It would take me a week or two to get that far. By the time you have got up and wandered into the village for a bagette and had a lazy breakfast its almost time for Lunch which takes three hours in France. I think thats the law!

Then its 3pm so drive for half an hour or so, find another aire and its almost time for a glass of wine and the whole thing starts all over again. Took two weeks to get to Jura last summer.


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## JohnandChristine (Mar 19, 2012)

barryd said:


> It would take me a week or two to get that far. By the time you have got up and wandered into the village for a bagette and had a lazy breakfast its almost time for Lunch which takes three hours in France. I think thats the law!
> 
> Then its 3pm so drive for half an hour or so, find another aire and its almost time for a glass of wine and the whole thing starts all over again. Took two weeks to get to Jura last summer.


I think I'd prefer that !


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

'Aire' just means 'area'. The aires we normally refer to on here, and the ones most of us prefer, are small areas set aside for motorhome parking, overnight stays and basic services. These aires are typically in towns and villages and often run by the local commune as a service and to boost tourism for the benefit of local businesses. They are very varied though, some privately run, some are attached to a campsite, some only take a couple of vans and some will take hundreds. Sometimes there is no charge but often a small charge.

More specifically an 'Aire de stationnement' is one you can stay at, often there will be a notice telling you the maximum stay. An 'Aire de services' is one where you can get fresh water, empty waste water and empty the toilet cassette / tank, but stay at. Many aires though have both places to stay and services, sometimes including electricity.

Aires on autoroutes are very different and in many peoples experience are less secure for overnight stays, though OK as somewhere to stop for a break or services during the day.

If you're getting the book all will become clear eventually.  

Have a great trip.

Chris


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## Horlix (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks guys, really appreciate your comments and input. The beauty of this forum is the wealth of knowledge within. Thankyou.


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