Newbie Itinerary Help. 10 Days. Calais-Loire Valley-Champagne

Suffy

Guest
Hi There!

Firstly, I'm new and have been reading through a number of topics here, looks like a very informative site!

My partner and I are looking at taking a rented MoHo for the first time into France.

After much deliberation between Loire Valley and Alsace, we've decided the following (for a 10 day trip);
Day 1, we arrived in Calais at 7pm.
Day 2-6; Loire Valley.
Day 7-10, Champagne.
Day 10: Eurotunnel departs Calais at 9pm.
(days can be flexible, but ultimately that is the rough circular route we are looking to take).

For Day 1: we won't make it to Loire Valley at a reasonable hour. Any recommendations on a location/Aire a couple of hours south of Calais en-route to Loire Valley?

With roughly 5 days in Loire - any suggestions on which places to visit?
Then we'll head east to visit Champagne for 3 days (any recommendations on particular areas?).

On our final day, we'll head back toward Calais.

I have been doing route planning, and tolls seem to range from Eur 20 per day, to Eur 150 per day. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong!

Any advice or suggestions to the itinerary is welcome!
 
In France, travelling along the roads is a delight. The towns and villages nearly all have aires de campingcar where you can usually stop for free.

The motorways, on the other hand, are horrid. You pay a great deal of money to be able to bypass all the interesting towns and villages, flash past the scenery with no chance to stop.

The Aires de service on the auotoroutes are (well, pre-Covid were) nests of crooks. Leave your motorhome and there's a fair chance it'll be broken into. Don't leave it and you're still not all that safe.

Unless you have a pressing need to cover a lot of distance fast, avoid the autoroutes. Get used to a stately 50mph speed limit (slowing right down for every town).

Instead of bypassing the places, enjoy seeing them.

There are so many Aires you can stop at that it's a bit invidious to try to suggest one or two.

I don't know what impact Covid-19 has had, but in general, it's a smart move to look for somewhere to stop around mid-afternoon, so if your first choice is full, you can bumble along to the second or third choice.
 
I'm actually jealous that your going to discover/explore for the first time don't know what you have for finding aires but after many years doing this I find the app ( park4night ) invaluable also the new one Phil is developing on here looks as though it will be good, be prepared to loose a few days there was a thread running once asking the best place in France the best answer was somewhere you stop for lunch & stay for 3 days lol,
The advice about not stopping on autoroutes is sound but there is a difference between aires de repose on tolled autoroutes they have cameras and far less traffic personally I use one on the toll m/way nr abbeville baie de Somme it's just over an hour from the ferry ports so a good stop coming or going,
Things to see my wife & I traded I would go round the bayeuax tapestry she would come to the museum at Pegasus bridge we both enjoyed both sites , also about 50mls south of Paris there is a place at treigny where they are building a medieval castle from scratch with no modern tools it was on British TVs (secrets of the castle) so good I've been twice ,
Just chill & enjoy find your own preferences there are people who will only ever stay on a site & others that use a site as a last resort ,
 
Hello and welcome to the forum 😁

The Autoroutes will save you time for sure. To calculate the tolls go here Autoroutes FR and choose the departure/destination and vehicle type. You can avoid toll roads if you are on a budget but you probably need to allow half, to a day to get down there. I travel down that way every year on my way to Spain.

As others have said avoid Autoroute Aires for overnight stops. Plenty of resources for finding overnight stops. Our sister site Wildcamping for Motorhomes has an app with plenty of places to stop, most with pictures. A membership here will get you access to both sites and the app.

However if this is just a one off then I will link a few free sites for stopovers for you to consider.

Park4Night

SearchforSites

Campercontact

CampingCarPark This one is for paid Aires but I use them often, secure with motorhome facilites, electric hookup and wifi.

In terms of itenery that all depends on what you want to do/see and also what will be open. Here is a link to the visit France website for the Loire Valley, you might get some ideas Loire Valley

I hope you find the perfect trip and it would be lovely if you posted on here about your trip with some pictures.
 
I'm using the Vicarious Aires book. Only because I got them cheap. The only advantage I can see over something like, Park4night, is you hold a physical map. Also a hard copy in case your internet fails.
Any of the ones listed in the post above will suit you, I would think.
Autoroutes. The fees can mount up, and bite your derriere. Coming home from Portugal, I paid over £120. I was in a hurry, doing the trip in under 3days. Would I do it again? Unlikely. Besides, the main trunk routes shadow the autoroute any way. See a bit of rural France, instead of tarmac.
Above all, enjoy your trip.
End of August, equals the start of my Normandy/Brittany trip. AKA, Adventureb4dementia4
Yes I know I said Eastern Europe, or Scandinavia. I'm trying (very), to be more realistic on the finances.
 
rugbyken said:
also about 50mls south of Paris there is a place at treigny where they are building a medieval castle from scratch with no modern tools it was on British TVs (secrets of the castle) so good I've been twice ,
Click to expand...
Yes, Guedelon is great, and cheap to visit (save €2 per person by booking online the day before). There's an aire in a village about ten minutes away that we stated at two nights. Can't remember the name.
Lots of other places to visit, but I don't know how many will be open this year.
 
Have a look at hiring in France some friends of ours did saved paying to take a large vehicle across the channel and 2 days hire used their car to get to hire depot.

Campervan Hire France | France Motorhome Hire

All inclusive Campervan Hire in France. Motorhome, Camper or RV rental in France from France Motorhome Hire. Depot Near Paris for English speakers.
www.francemotorhomehire.com www.francemotorhomehire.com
 
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Thank you everyone for the replies.

We are a little nervous about Aires being closed in September due to COVID. The reason we have booked from the UK, is because if France does shut - we can still visit some beautiful parts of the UK.

We will continue to try and plan the best we can. For now, we think we'll stop near/around Rouen (or as close to Loire as we can get without feeling tired). Then we'll play it by ear each day...

Our aims are simply; try some nice wine, nice cheese, nice bread. Enjoy the scenery and relax.

Happy to from Aire to Aire each night as well, travelling 30mins to an hour each day along the valley for 6 days.

We'd really like to stay on a vineyard for one of the nights too.
 
Aries closed? yup, it's a worry. From the video's people are putting up on YouTube, there doesn't seem to be a problem.They were closed when I came home from Portugal in May. Although I still managed to find somewhere well out of the way to park overnight. If there's a problem, I'll do that again.
We will see, as 'n when.
 
I doubt you’ll find any Aires closed, unless a new lockdown is imminent, which I doubt. We just travelled from mid Brittany to Calais, all the Aires were open, but many were full or filling up fast. Try to arrive mid afternoon to get the best chance of a place. Because of the impact on tourism in France, the holiday season, instead of ending at the beginning of September, is due to be extended, which will mean ( lockdowns permitting) that popular Aires will be very busy with locals that month.
There is plenty to see in he Loire valley. Lots of chateaux ( if they are open) and great views along the river, with plenty of stops.
We’ve been to the Champagne region a few times, our favourite Aire was at Mutigny. Fantastic views across the valley over the vines and close to Epernay.
Troyes is well worth a visit, last time we went we were able to park in the city centre in a wooded car park, but there are a couple of Aires near the centre.
I can recommend Campercontact and Camperstop, both available as apps for only a few £. They have details, locations prices and reviews of thousands of Aires around Europe, and many are free.

Re staying at vineyards, you might find most Aires located in vineyards are closed during the grape picking season, which generally starts in September.
 
Do you think it is worth spreading the journey down to Loire Valley over 2 days?

I get off the Tunnel at 7pm, I was hoping to arrive at an Aires for 10pm(ish), then set off again early the next morning. Maybe it is worth staying close to Calais for the first evening?

At the moment, I'm contemplating heading to La Foret Jumièges just west or Rouen (to arrive for 10pm). Then set off the next morning to Saumur to start the Loire Valley. Working east, until it's time to move up to Champagne for a couple of days.
 
If you are only picking up the rental that day & driving over I would think about parking up a bit earlier than 10pm as I said before if you disembark at 7 you could be at the aire at baie de Somme in an hour or so then you have a good start the next day , the red dot is the designated parking they are doing some work so the top parking is blocked off IMG_0054.PNG
 
Buy the French passions book stay on the vineyards free of charge and sample their champagne and wine no obligation to buy. Fantastic book and great places to stay
 
I'm in this area now, all the Aires we have seen are open.
Vicarious " All the Aires France " Vicariousbooks.co.uk is in my opinion well worth the money at this time as it has very useful comments that give a good indication of how full an Aire is likely to be, such as remote, usually has space, peaceful and also likely to be busy in holiday time, close to water.
These clues have helped us to stay in places with lots of space and not in ones with vans very close together.

Campercontact is also useful, both the reviews and the photos of the Aires.

We are now on a private Aire €7 a night with 18 other vans in an area with space for more than 100. The nearest van is 20M away.
We have found that if you are prepared to pay a few Euros you are more likely to have plenty of space.
The Aires in towns seem to be quite full, small villages and rural Aires much quieter.
Enjoy your travels.
 
I agree with others; avoid toll motorways. You pay a premium to travel at speed, seeing very little of the country; travelling at speed, you are also likely to find that the engine is drinking fuel at an alarming rate, so it's a double whammy.
As for finding aires, I disagree with those who recommend books, which are out of date by the time they go to print, never mind by the time that you purchase and use them. I use the carefully curated POIs from our sister site, wildcamping.co.uk, which include many aires and also a large number of excellent wilding locations, many of them alongside lakes and inland waterways. In conjunction with this, I use the aires database on www.campingcar-infos.com, which, unlike books, is updated in real time; with an understanding of French, you can take into account user feedback relating to the individual aires. Camping-car Infos also has an app; a subscription for offline use (download database for all regions of interest while online!) can be purchased for a few euros.
You give no indication as to when you intend to travel. If you have the time, it could be worthwhile obtaining the France Passion guide before leaving home, but I believe that despatch may be a bit slower this year due to Covid-19. A very few stopovers have decided to close for this year due to the pandemic. As has already been said, vineyards tend to discourage visits during the grape harvest.
One of the joys of motorhoming is that you do not need to have a fixed itinerary. When I travel to France, I may have some idea as to locations that I would like to visit, but wait until 7-10 days before travelling to check the weather forecast (click on "Tendances jours suivants" to look that far ahead) and then take a view as to where to head, and keep monitoring it prior to departure and while in France. The forecast might suggest to you that you should reverse your pre-planned itinerary or even opt for a different region entirely.
With no knowledge of your personal tastes and interests, I will not presume to recommend any specific locations.
 
All, thank you for your replies. We have relaxed the idea of having a detailed itinerary and have been using the recommended apps to find places stay. We have also decided that getting to Loire Valley as quickly as we had hoped, is going to rush the time we have.

TJBi; we are travelling mid September for 10 days. We enjoy walking, wine, cheese. We are an early-30s couple and would like to have a mixture of relaxing walks mixed with some sight seeing. We arrive in France around 7pm on Day 1, and have a 7pm ferry booked back to the UK on Day 10.

We have decided that to get to Loire Valley for 11am on Day 2 would be pushing it. Instead, we are planning to travel from Calais south for a couple of hours on Day 1 and get a night sleep. Wake up early on Day 2 to start driving a few more hours south. Stopping at locations that may attract us.
By the end of Day 2, we would like to be an hour or so away from Loire Valley. so that by 1000 we can be in/around Saumur.

We'll stay trundling along Loire Valley until around day 6 or 7, heading to Champagne region before driving back to Calais on the afternoon of Day 10.
 
you may find it more relaxing/enjoyable to not go to the Champagne area as well
Just a thought
See how it goes and check distances
 
Suffy said:
All, thank you for your replies. We have relaxed the idea of having a detailed itinerary and have been using the recommended apps to find places stay. We have also decided that getting to Loire Valley as quickly as we had hoped, is going to rush the time we have.

TJBi; we are travelling mid September for 10 days. We enjoy walking, wine, cheese. We are an early-30s couple and would like to have a mixture of relaxing walks mixed with some sight seeing. We arrive in France around 7pm on Day 1, and have a 7pm ferry booked back to the UK on Day 10.

We have decided that to get to Loire Valley for 11am on Day 2 would be pushing it. Instead, we are planning to travel from Calais south for a couple of hours on Day 1 and get a night sleep. Wake up early on Day 2 to start driving a few more hours south. Stopping at locations that may attract us.
By the end of Day 2, we would like to be an hour or so away from Loire Valley. so that by 1000 we can be in/around Saumur.

We'll stay trundling along Loire Valley until around day 6 or 7, heading to Champagne region before driving back to Calais on the afternoon of Day 10.
Click to expand...
You may find that Le Mans is an hour or so away from Saumur. The Cité Plantagenêt might be worth visiting. There is a chargeable aire quite conveniently located for the historic quarter, though it is suggested that there may be some traffic noise.
You might also consider visiting some of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. If you are still thinking of using motorways, you will find that Le Bec Hellouin is not far from one of the junctions on the A28 and has a free aire (no services). You also have Montsoreau and Candes-Saint-Martin just south-east of Saumur (aires with services at Turquant and Fontevraud-l'Abbaye inter alia but you may prefer a vineyard). Provided that France Passion offices are manned during August, you should be able to obtain the guide before departure; best to email them to ask the question.

Since my earlier post, Météo France have substantially changed their website; it's now a case of clicking on "15 jours" above the map to see up to a fortnight ahead.
 
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