Hols with Range Rover, possibly abroad. Any suggestions

Brittany, go for something like Eurocamp, cross Portsmouth-Caen, job done. I just hope you have better weather than we did.

What are the Eurocamp places like though mate? Places usually look alot better than they actually are on websites but the static caravans look rough as hell. I know i cant be fussy because of the price but i'm not taking the girls to a dump either. What region of France other than Brittany would you recommend? You know pretty much what I would like i reckon. This would be more of a "test the water" to see if we could cope abroad with baby and associated issues

Dave

Just looked at Ferry prices. Nearly =A3400quid Portsmouth / caen return! bit pricey!

Dave

Hmm, keep looking around, some time ago I went to Classic Le Mans from Portsmouth to Caen, and it wasn't £400 in my Audi. I think I booked through Ferrysavers. I ended up on the fast catamaran that did it in about an hour or so too.

1.) Borrow the folks caravan and tow that to France and incur the extra fuel consumption, cost of ferry and cost of parking it somewhere 2.) Take just the Range Rover and stay at a "Eurocamp" site for a few nights. I've had a look at their site and to be honest some of the places look a but ropey. Has anyone been to any of these places and know what they're like? They seem pretty cheap to me at £150 odd for a few nights.

Apart from that, does anyone else have any (sensible) ideas? France sounds ideal as it's cheapish and nearish. i'd prefer somewhere quiet but where there's plenty to see and do, but someplace where me, Mrs Dave and the little un can chill out for a few days. Ooh, and not too pricey either, cheaper the better

Unfortunatelt wherever we go we have to travel from Pembrokeshire which means we'll have to travel across most of the UK before even getting to the rest of Europe!

Any suggestions of nice holiday destinations will be most appreciated.

Dave

As you're in Pembrokeshire, pop over to Southern Ireland. Pembroke to Rosslare - job done. Very hospitable people, fantastic countryside, but it does tend to rain for 15 mins every quarter of an hour !

Personally I've had many good holidays in Pembrokeshire, both as a kid with my parents, and later with my own children, so you're spoilt anyway living there, as it's a trek for us from Kent

Have you thought of a house swap holiday as you live in a holiday destination?

AWEM

On or around Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:20:49 -0700, Dave R enlightened us thusly:

Ireland...?

there's some quite nice bits in the south. Depends what you're after, but the Wicklow hills are fairly close, or along the south coast - Waterford's a nice place to visit.

I've done dover-dunkirk and the associated extra driving either side as it is much cheaper. Cost me about £70 return last time.

Tunnel is even cheaper i think though not available to LPG users :(

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The 101 Forward Control Club and Register

Dave R uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Check for overnight crossings and also nighttime boarding crossings Tuesdays I'm told are the cheapest.

We just did Portsmouth to Bilbao return with the Caravan ........ £1100 return.

On the way out it's a 2 night crossing. On the way back a 1 night (crossing times make the difference).

It's alot and maybe next time we will tour down again - especially with the new Rangie as opposed to the 110. Eitherway douring down through france is time consuming.

I'd say don't shy away from touring like this - my first trip abroad and drive on the dark side of the road was around 1600 miles return. You are guaranteed the weather which if you stay up North can be as ropey as England.

I can recommend a site in Biarritz (South of France / Border with Spain) which take Tents and Caravans. Also Once half way down which has statics too as well as Tents and caravans.

Lee D

Dave,

These seem quite reasonable ferry prices:

regards

nemo2

Spain is cheaper than France. If you can tolerate the Brittany Ferries price from Plymouth to Santander, you'll find it's a shorter crossing than Portsmouth/Bilbao, and a cruise ship rather than a ferry. Think of your holiday as starting in Plymouth.

I hardly ever pay more than 50 euros/35 quid a night for a double room in a civilised Spanish hotel. The Cantabrian coastline is fabulous, and there are plenty of campsites; once you're out of August, you won't need to book, just turn up for either camping or hotel. Great mountains just behind (Picos de Europa) in case you want to find out if your RR will go up steep hills.

Cheers for the info,

I did a bit more digging last night and got the Portsmouth/Caen trip down to =A3250 on the vomit comet. Seems reasonable i guess. I've got a good mate in Switzerland which I fancy going to visit but although the idea of blasting across Europe might have been fun a few years ago. The addition of small child and a partner with the size and liquid holding capability of a thimble is putting a dampener on it somewhat. I'm thinking that I should use a trip to France as a tester and then try to "expand" the adventure stake from there. Rich Bs suggestion of a trip to Brittany sounds good but is it any warmer than sunny Pembs? Perhaps I should be heading due South! I can see a "tester" trip with the caravan coming on. I'll have to borrow my folks Avondale Bluetit or whatever it is. Time to either tint the RRs windows out, or travel under the cover of darkness.......

Dave

yes should be noticeably warmer. My parents spend a lot fo time at the top of normandy and they find it to be a bit warmer than here. I know when i visited late last summer/early autumn it was still just about shorts weather there and it was definately not back here!

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The 101 Forward Control Club and Register

2005 - 35/36 degrees every day. 2007 - gales, rain, cold. Same site, same dates.

Er ...

Biarritz 2004 Hot Biarritz 2005 Hot Looe 2006 Cold and damp Biarrtiz 2007 Hot

Which in summary means pretty much you get what you pay for.

Dave we done it with a 2 year old and 4 year old so don't let the nippers put you off, nowt a Dvd or three and a box of fuses (trust me!) won't sort out.

Lee D