Stewart Hendry Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I would appreciate any information on the quickest / best / cheapest route through from the ferry port to the Barcelona area. Travelling in April and will do our stop offs for siteseeing etc. on the way back. Also as we dock at Caen at 21.30 any suggestions for local sites where we can land at that time of night. I have seen on another forum talk of staying on the car park at the ferry terminal. Has anyone done that?. Looking forward to your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 As far as choosing your route from Ouistreham to Barcelona is concerned, by far your best bet would be to use a route-planner like ViaMichelin http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ to decide which route you'd prefer. The 'best' route will be a matter of opinion, while the "quickest" and "cheapest" routes are mutually incompatible. The quickest route will inevitably include a considerable distance on toll-paying autoroutes, while the cheapest route will avoid all such roads. ViaMichelin allows choice of route type (quickest, shortest, cheapest), choice of whether or not toll-roads should be avoided, plus a car+caravan combination can be specified. I'd probably go Ouistreham-Le Mans-Tours-Chateauroux-Limoges-Cahors-Toulouse-Perpignon-Barcelona (and pick-and-mix regarding autoroute usage), but Ouistreham-Le Mans-Tours-Vierzon-Clermont-Ferrand-Montpellier-Perpignon-Barcelona seems a reasonable alternative. The campsite closest to Ouistreham and generally chosen for an overnight stop by caravanners coming off the 21:30 ferry is Camping-les-Pommiers on the south edge of the town. The campsite stays open until the ferry has discharged its vehicles and should be quiet in April. Details and comments below: http://www.camping-pommiers-ouistreham.fr/ http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=3858 Overnighting in the car-park next to the ferry-terminal building is permitted. Brittany Ferries's advice on Ouistreham ferry-port parking is on their website: http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/ports/caen "Parking at Ouistreham ferry port There is an open car park at the passenger terminal for a maximum stay of 72 hours. There is no charge for parking here but it is at the owner's risk. Cars, caravans and motor homes can park in the car lanes overnight after the last departure of the day if they are booked on the first departure of the morning and there is 24 hour access to toilet facilities." As one might expect, parking there is unlikely to be quiet. It may well be possible to park a car+caravan further south in the car-park next to the entry to the canal. If you GOOGLE on "ouistreham map" (omitting the quotes) and then zoom the result in satellite-view, you'll be able to see the car-park next to the Brittany Ferries passenger terminal and, a bit further south, the car-park by the canal lock-gate. (GOOGLE Street View will allow you to look at the car-parks in greater detail.) Looking further south following the canal, the grid-pattern of the "Les Pommiers" campsite can easily be seen close to the canal's west bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 A follow-up... Just in case you are unaware of this, it would be wise to keep your wits about you if you use the AP-7 approaching Barcelona: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=791658582 http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Second-gang-of-AP7-motorway-robbers-arrested-/29849/ Security-wise, it would also make sense to heed the Caravan Club's advice regarding not using motorway service areas for overnight stops. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/804466/t2530%20-%20first%20time%20abroad.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewart Hendry Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Derek, many thanks for your comprehensive reply together with links. Whilst I had done some pre prep work on this, it is good to get other opinions. Regards, Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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