France mediterranean Narbonne area

[conitioner]

Hi guys

 

Looking to go from calais down to the med Narbonne area in July ,want to be on the coast looking for suggested aires, municipal campsites etc any where really on the mediterranean coast.

i dont know how busy it will be down there in july so any advise welcome

 

also what is the best route down there from Calais dont want to go on toll roads if i can help it

 

Thanks

[BGD]

French south west Med coast, in July?

 

A couple of thoughts: it'll be VERY hot. I mean HOT. You'll really need shade, or air-con, or both.

 

Also it'll be VERY crowded. Schools are on hols; thus all campsites will be full, or nearly so, and there will be millions of screaming (mainly French) kids running around everywhere, day and night.

 

Also it'll be VERY expensive to stay on campsites.

 

 

If that's your bag, then go for it.

But we avoid the region in July and August....in fact we don't use our MH in Spain or anywhere esle at all during July and August, we just stay in Spain, in the pool or in an air-con room for those two mad months.

[Brian Kirby]

You can easily avoid toll roads. There are as many possible routes as there are roads. What is "best" is just the opinion of a person who has been that way, but who may not have tried any other ways! Have you tried looking on a map for the most drect route from Calais to where you want to go? I'm not being funny, but it really is that simple. Just look for the "D" roads, usually coloured yellow on the MIchelin maps, and string them together. You will get the scenic routes, it will take a day or so longer, but you will generally find light traffic and easy driving. If you have a sat nav, just select the fastest route, but de-select toll roads.

 

In July most of the south of France, from Spain to Italy, will be heaving, and expensive. Places at, or near, the coast, even more so. Campsites will be heavily pre-booked, the rates will be at maximum, and quite a lot will not accept bookings for less than a week, often two. A lot of France, and a huge chunk of northern Europe, has school holidays in July/August, and the French have marketed tourism to great effect for years. So, everyone wants to go, and go there, and go then.

 

If you have a specific interest, or reason, to visit that area at that time, I would advise staying well back from the coast, or being prepared to book in advance (you will probably be asked for a booking fee - non-refundable - and a substantial deposit, and you may well find you have to stay longer than you otherwise might wish). You will find many campsites noisy, often into the night, as they lay on entertainments for their guests. This is just the way the French do holidays, and especially seaside holidays.

 

If you can bear to go elsewhere do so, or if you have the choice, just avoid July/August altogether. Much the same, in terms of pressure of numbers and cost, will be true on campsites all across France (and pretty well everywhere else along the Med, Spain, Italy etc). However, you should be able to get onto most inland sites providing you arrive soon after 14:00 hours, and definitely before 18:00 hours. Site rates will be at their highest everywhere.

 

You'll need first to decide what interests you, and then research where to find it. Then you'll know where to head for, and so what route to take. If you just want sun, sand, and sea, be prepared to share your pleasures with a thundering hoarde, and pay through the nose for that dubious pleasure. Oh yes, and the service tends to drop off in July/August as well! :-)

[sambukashot]

For the route you can use my map, Click here to open map

Under the map just select

From: Calais

To: Port la Nouvelle

Under Options then select: Avoid Tolls and press go

You will see the route drawn out for you with directions, you can then move the route around and it will update the directions automaticly

Have fun!

[Guest JudgeMental]

Honestly you lot......Some of us have no choice, and you don't know what you are talking about! It will be busy, and the best coastal sites booked, and yes it will be more expensive because it is the holiday season! But with so many sites around you can still tour and find something. And yes it will be lovely and hot! Bring a table top fan or two, and be sensible...And while a/c nice you get acclimatised to the heat within a few days...

 

Have been doing the Med every summer more or less for 30 years, sometimes touring, sometimes booking ahead if we want a particular site. My wife works in education, so we have no choice like many others with kids......Who wants to go out of season with empty towns and campsites and bugger all atmosphere, give me the heat anytime. It was 43deg c in Tuscany last summer due to a heat wave..we managed.,We toured Lakes/Tuscany/Umbria/Croatia for 6 weeks with no bookings and always got on our first choice of campsites*-)

 

Edit: regards route, if you can handle it, best to travel overnight...we get an evening crossing drive till about 4 am, find an aire to sleep for a few hours or so and can be on the coast by lunchtime. you will see the traffic building up heavily for dawn....

[Barryd999]

France in peak season can be great fun! There are so many Aires and places to stop and its such a vast country you can get away from it all reasonably easy at any time of year. I have to say though the French Med just doesnt do it for me. I have done from St Tropez to Perpignon and everytime we visit we wonder why we have bothered but virtually anywhere in the South of France between 50-100 miles from the coast is wonderful. Some superb lakes, picturesque regions and towns and fantastic scenery. I just dont get the appeal of the coast at all to be honest but dont let me put you off and dont be put off going in July. Just be prepared to cram in and slum it a bit.

 

The Aires on the coast are also generally crap compared to those just a bit inland that are only nicer and quieter but sometimes free.

 

I dont ever remember it being that Hot either. Not all the time. Average temps are less than 30 degrees but you can also get heatwaves. I think I was in the same one Judge was in in Italy at 43 degrees. Plenty of rivers, lakes and stuff to jump in. Right now being worried about being hot seems daft!! :-D

[flicka]

If unfamiliar with a route, I usually start with Via Michelin & then refine from there.

You can select "avoid tolls" "miles or km", enter intermediary destinations, etc.. It will give you a journey time & cost (if you enter a rate per mile/km)

 

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Routes

 

Initial search will give their recommended route, but you then have option to select an alternative, i.e. Quickest, Scenic, etc..

[Retread24800]

Lots of info on how to get there, personally I have vivid memories of being sand blasted on Valras Plage in the afternoon so would not want my CC anywhere near the beach :-)

As to where to stay, aires and Muni's try the following to start with:-

http://www.aire-service-camping-car-panoramique.mobi/panoramique/aude/11-leucate-plage-entree-sud/

 

http://camping-municipal.org/

 

[sambukashot]

Whilst the Michelin maps are great, if you use my maps which do a simlier thing (apart from give you the cost options) you can also see the stopover locations close to any choosen route on the same map which can make things a lot easier when planning a long trip.

I am still uploading new locations every day to the map so it is not fully loaded yet but when i have all the locactions mapped out this will become a very usefull tool for advance planning of trips! 

[ips]

Hot in july ?

Oh yes and wont that be flippin lovely. We used to visit (hotels) Nice / Monte carlo about 4 times a year one allways in july and one allways in november. July is very hot but who's complaining, not me. :-D

[Guest JudgeMental]

ips - 2013-05-17 10:51 AM

 

Hot in july ?

Oh yes and wont that be flippin lovely. We used to visit (hotels) Nice / Monte carlo about 4 times a year one allways in july and one allways in november. July is very hot but who's complaining, not me. :-D

 

You're not kidding! The aches and pains disappear within days of some real deep heat treatment....

[ips]

JudgeMental - 2013-05-17 11:00 AM

 

ips - 2013-05-17 10:51 AM

 

Hot in july ?

Oh yes and wont that be flippin lovely. We used to visit (hotels) Nice / Monte carlo about 4 times a year one allways in july and one allways in november. July is very hot but who's complaining, not me. :-D

 

You're not kidding! The aches and pains disappear within days of some real deep heat treatment....

 

Absolutely, bit of hot and sun works a treat on my sciatica and hip, bloody luverly. :-D

[Barryd999]

ips - 2013-05-17 11:02 AM

 

JudgeMental - 2013-05-17 11:00 AM

 

ips - 2013-05-17 10:51 AM

 

Hot in july ?

Oh yes and wont that be flippin lovely. We used to visit (hotels) Nice / Monte carlo about 4 times a year one allways in july and one allways in november. July is very hot but who's complaining, not me. :-D

 

You're not kidding! The aches and pains disappear within days of some real deep heat treatment....

 

Absolutely, bit of hot and sun works a treat on my sciatica and hip, bloody luverly. :-D

 

I have Arthritis in both knees and the general consensus from the medical profession is it makes no difference if your in warm weather. Well I am sorry but it flipping well does. We have been long term abroad every summer for the past three years and after a month in 20-30 degree weather Im hopping around the Alps and up mountains like a mountain goat (well maybe a slight exageration)

 

Come November as soon as I get to northern France Im a cripple

[Brian Kirby]

Barryd999 - 2013-05-17 2:41 PM...............Come November as soon as I get to northern France Im a cripple

It's all in the mind! :-)

[conitioner]

Hi

 

Thanks to everyone a real wealth of information, whats the weather like compared to south west france biarittz area ? , im thinking it will be maybe not as busy as the med and less miles

 

Thanks

[Guest JudgeMental]

West coast never as good or reliable weather as the Med, but in July "should" be fine.....Everywhere will be just as busy in school holidays!

 

http://woozor.fr/meteo-gratuite-10-jours/meteo-de-paris-en-france_62_6463_fr.html

[Barryd999]

conitioner - 2013-05-17 4:40 PM

 

Hi

 

Thanks to everyone a real wealth of information, whats the weather like compared to south west france biarittz area ? , im thinking it will be maybe not as busy as the med and less miles

 

Thanks

 

Now Biarittz is quite nice. The main Aire is a bit of a nightmare. Bit noisy and busy but the one just out of town at Anglet is quieter and cheaper (or it was).

 

Your not far from the lakes in Landes to the North or even better its a very short hop into the Pyrenees National Park from there.(French side) or quick hop into Northern Spain for some cheap booty and a change of scene.

[Barryd999]

Brian Kirby - 2013-05-17 4:21 PM

 

Barryd999 - 2013-05-17 2:41 PM...............Come November as soon as I get to northern France Im a cripple

It's all in the mind! :-)

 

Ah. I think I lost mine some time ago! (lol)

[Mike88]

Went to Biarritz regularly when I was a caravanner as we met up with friends. The weather is very mixed ranging from the scorching to the dull. But it's a nice place. I have been back since. The Aire is OK as it's well positioned for the beach and a walk into the town but if you don't like Aires then Camping Pavillion Royale up the road where I used to holiday is nice but now it's a stunning 60 euros a night in peak season. It's around 32 euros out of season but it's a lot of money compared with the 10 euros a night I paid 20 years ago.

 

There is also an ACSI site near the Aire but it's no shaded I wouldn't go there as you won't see the sun.

[robertandjean]

As others have stated weather in Biarritz can be mixed, have had cool and rain in July, but can also be hot and sunny. In high season there is no difference in cost between the three Aires in the locality but the one at Biarritz malady includes hook-up if you are lucky or determined (take a splitter) as more spaces than hook-up. Malady will be very busy so arrive by lunch time and you will be parked very close, but opposite beach (no view) and next to bus stop for Biarritz centre.

Re med then Narbonne aire, not Narbonne Plage maybe a good bet as not on coast but free bus into historic Narbonne and hook-up for 10 euros/night. On coast then 3 aires at Guissan of which we like the 4 vents one the best, about 8 euros a night and about 100 spaces. On other hand aire at Payriac de Mer May be easier to find a space on, old camp site, but much smaller place.

Hope this helps.

[Brian Kirby]

One other thing is that the Basque country generally tends to be quite humid, thanks to the Atlantic. This can make otherwise pleasantly warm days uncomfortably sticky, especially when overcast. Hop over to the Spanish side of the Pyrenees if you want to test the contrast!

 

If you want generally comfortable heat you'll have to stick to the Med, but it will be crowded. But then, as said above, so will almost all coastal, and major lake shore, areas. You'll get the Mediterranean climate for some way up the Rhone valley, say up to Valence, but elsewhere along the coast its reach inland is far less.