Summer Road Trip

Ace Modder · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:12

Hi guys.

Myself and the family have decided to do a slightly different holiday this year.

The plan is to travel to Port Grimaud for summer jollies this year. This is just outside of Saint Tropez in the south of France. However we are not flying, I am driving all the way there.

I'm really looking forward to this trip, it will be something I've not done before (other than hire a car for a day or two at most on a "sun-beach" resort.

This involves a 1100 mile trip each way, we are stopping of at Reims for the night (both ways) in order to break the trip up a bit.

We are staying at a Euro Camp resort which is kinda camping, but isn't.
We get a fixed tent teepee which actually has proper beds, fridge, freezer, cooker, tables and chairs etc.

Anybody ever done this?

Hades · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:14

I did several long road trips with my parents and a caravan across France when I was younger. I loved them. I've not done one as an adult but it sounds great. Can I come

Ace Modder · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:17

Hades said:
I did several long road trips with my parents and a caravan across France when I was younger. I loved them. I've not done one as an adult but it sounds great. Can I come

Yes, meet you there?

Amp34 · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:19

Used to do this every year when we were younger. Rather than just a quick overnight stop on a long motorway journey at Reims why not take the back roads down? It will take a little longer but you can drive through the sunflower and melon fields and see much more of the countryside than driving down the motorway. Stop at small towns and wander round, grab some bread and cheese from the local shops and stop off at the side of the road (perhaps a small shaded river spot) while you make your own sandwiches.

Hades · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:20

Amp34 said:
Used to do this every year when we were younger. Rather than just a quick overnight stop on a long motorway journey at Reims why not take the back roads down? It will take a little longer but you can drive through the sunflower and melon fields and see much more of the countryside than driving down the motorway. Stop at small towns and wander round, grab some bread and cheese from the local shops and stop off at the side of the road (perhaps a small shaded river spot) while you make your own sandwiches.

This is what my family did. I have some lovely memories of small French towns.

Diddums · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:39

This sounds positively awesome and extremely tempting. Can I come too?

I love the South of France. Only been once, when I was 16 or so, it's probably changed a bit since then but I just remember how beautiful it was. We stayed in some restored ruins which had no leccy or running water, which today may be seen as draconian but it added to the charm of it. In the mornings we would have brekkie cooked on gas out on the veranda and we were surrounded by beautiful vineyards as far as the eye could see. The only sound we heard were birds and insects, the nearest asphalt road was about 10km away.

After brekkie it was a 30 min drive to the town to pick up some supplies for the day and then either to the beach, the local villages which were very picuresque and looked like they had been forgotten for a hundred years, or one one day we drove in to Spain and visited the Salvador Dali museum which still to this day is one of my favourite places.

Dammit, I'm talking myself into this now!

Hades · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:51

On the back of this I've just asked my wife if she fancies a family road trip across France. She said the kids would go mad in the car for so long

Back in my day we drove across France in an old Volvo with the heater stuck on hot because it was the only way to stop the car overheating with a coolant problem

Diddums · 27 Jul 2015 at 12:17

Cmon Adrian, do it

OhEsEcks · 27 Jul 2015 at 12:24

Hades said:
Back in my day we drove across France in an old Volvo with the heater stuck on hot because it was the only way to stop the car overheating with a coolant problem

Are you me? Memories of family holidays down through France in a Volvo 240 that was like an oven. Parents arguing because my mum had no sense of direction and couldn't read a map. My dad getting furious because the crayons and colouring books they'd given my brother and I to shut us up had been left on the parcel shelf. And they'd melted into the furry fabric of the Volvo's parcel shelf and could never be fully removed.

Also. Meat Loaf. Bat Out Of Hell on cassette. Rinsed out till it warped.

geekman · 27 Jul 2015 at 12:41

I've done that trip several times as I used to leave near St Tropez. I've always enjoyed it, although unless you're willing to make the journey last several days, you'll be on the autoroutes most of the way.

If you can, try to stop off at Lyon and Aix-en-Provence on the way - they're both close to the autoroutes and great places to explore. Parking in most French cities (other than Paris and Nice) is very easy - they have huge underground carparks which are close to the centre and reasonably priced so you won't have to worry about that.

The whole of the coast from Toulon-Monaco is beautiful and just driving around there you'll see some great places. I'd highly recommend visiting the beach at Hyeres and then getting the ferry to Porquerolles.

It's worth visiting the Gorges du Verdon as well - the kids would love it and there's some fantastic scenery around there.

If you can bear the parking situation you should definitely spend a morning in Nice, then take the coast road to Monaco (one of the best roads I've ever driven on). If you don't mind a bit of a walk, you'll be able to park somewhere on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, but depending on how busy it is you might have to walk a couple of miles to the town centre.

All that information might be totally useless to you if you've planned your trip already, but let me know if you need any advice - I could talk for days about that area of France.

Hades · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:01

OhEsEcks said:
Are you me? Memories of family holidays down through France in a Volvo 240 that was like an oven. Parents arguing because my mum had no sense of direction and couldn't read a map. My dad getting furious because the crayons and colouring books they'd given my brother and I to shut us up had been left on the parcel shelf. And they'd melted into the furry fabric of the Volvo's parcel shelf and could never be fully removed.

Also. Meat Loaf. Bat Out Of Hell on cassette. Rinsed out till it warped.

Wow identical... Volvo 240, awful map reading and melted crayons on the parcel shelf here too. No Meat Loaf though.

Another funny memolry was the toll booths being on the "wrong" side so the passenger having to pay them.

OhEsEcks · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:06

Hades said:
Wow identical... Volvo 240, awful map reading and melted crayons on the parcel shelf here too. No Meat Loaf though.

Another funny memolry was the toll booths being on the "wrong" side so the passenger having to pay them.

The thing my mum hated most was overtaking. Because her half of the car had to creep out first and she has next to no spacial awareness. "How far is it" "I don't know 100" "100 what" "I don't know" "God damit woman!" "Stop shouting at me! OH JESUS LOOK OUT".

And then when my brother and I started acting up each parent would take it in turns to reach back and across so they could slap a child in the back seat across the legs. I always sat behind my dad for this reason because he hit harder than my mum. Feeling all nostalgic now.

ChocolateStarfishRammer · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:24

Yes I've driven to south of france on a road trip around europe. All in a single 14 hour drive day.

Depending on the route you are taking, have up to 100 euros for the toll roads ready.

Maccy · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:27

Isn't driving to France a pretty bad idea at the mo?

ChocolateStarfishRammer · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:27

Maccy said:
Isn't driving to France a pretty bad idea at the mo?

Only if you want to come back

Hades · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:28

OhEsEcks said:
The thing my mum hated most was overtaking. Because her half of the car had to creep out first and she has next to no spacial awareness. "How far is it" "I don't know 100" "100 what" "I don't know" "God damit woman!" "Stop shouting at me! OH JESUS LOOK OUT".

And then when my brother and I started acting up each parent would take it in turns to reach back and across so they could slap a child in the back seat across the legs. I always sat behind my dad for this reason because he hit harder than my mum. Feeling all nostalgic now.

Ha! No we always had a caravan in tow so rarely got to overtake anything.

I really want to go back now, after this thread.

Ace Modder · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:41

geekman said:
I've done that trip several times as I used to leave near St Tropez. I've always enjoyed it, although unless you're willing to make the journey last several days, you'll be on the autoroutes most of the way.

If you can, try to stop off at Lyon and Aix-en-Provence on the way - they're both close to the autoroutes and great places to explore. Parking in most French cities (other than Paris and Nice) is very easy - they have huge underground carparks which are close to the centre and reasonably priced so you won't have to worry about that.

The whole of the coast from Toulon-Monaco is beautiful and just driving around there you'll see some great places. I'd highly recommend visiting the beach at Hyeres and then getting the ferry to Porquerolles.

It's worth visiting the Gorges du Verdon as well - the kids would love it and there's some fantastic scenery around there.

If you can bear the parking situation you should definitely spend a morning in Nice, then take the coast road to Monaco (one of the best roads I've ever driven on). If you don't mind a bit of a walk, you'll be able to park somewhere on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, but depending on how busy it is you might have to walk a couple of miles to the town centre.

All that information might be totally useless to you if you've planned your trip already, but let me know if you need any advice - I could talk for days about that area of France.

Hi, I have not planned anything other than the route there and the accomodation at the moment, anything you can suggest would be very welcome.

In terms of the car I'm using, its a 2014 Lexus IS300h with AIR-CON

The only planned trip so far I have in mind is Monaco for the day.

Cosimo · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:50

Maccy said:
Isn't driving to France a pretty bad idea at the mo?

Only if you offer a lift on the way home.

Terminal_Boy · 27 Jul 2015 at 14:11

Ace Modder said:
Hi guys.

Myself and the family have decided to do a slightly different holiday this year.

The plan is to travel to Port Grimaud for summer jollies this year. This is just outside of Saint Tropez in the south of France. However we are not flying, I am driving all the way there.

I'm really looking forward to this trip, it will be something I've not done before (other than hire a car for a day or two at most on a "sun-beach" resort.

This involves a 1100 mile trip each way, we are stopping of at Reims for the night (both ways) in order to break the trip up a bit.

We are staying at a Euro Camp resort which is kinda camping, but isn't.
We get a fixed tent teepee which actually has proper beds, fridge, freezer, cooker, tables and chairs etc.

Anybody ever done this?

Drive to the Dordogne most years.

You'll need the usual : headlight beam deflectors, hi-viz vest inside passenger compartment that you can don before exiting vehicle and disposable breathalysers.

Any satnav you use must have speed camera warnings disabled. Not switched off, disabled so that the UI doesn't allow you to display them.

Top tip: get a Sanef tolling tag! No more messing about at the peage with the passenger feeding money into the machine. Just drive up to the empty "T" lane and drive through.

You'll want a couple of fans to keep your teepee cool... I was in the Lot 2 weeks and it was 38ºC during the day and 25ºC at night.

Diddums · 27 Jul 2015 at 14:15

Screw it. I'm doing this.