DRUNKNORGY

Decided to spend a good wedge doing the house up this year, so an expensive holiday is out of the question. Want to go abroad (with the car) for a few days but have no idea where to go/Ferry costs etc. Got kids (10&13). Sensible suggestions please.

Ash

[Edited by DRUNKNORGY - 1/14/2003 10:57:38 AM]

Popeye P1

How about the Sangat Holiday camp. I've heard its cheap and has very decent food. Can be found near Calais.

Pops- hes back with a vengeance

DRUNKNORGY

I hear that its closed for refurbishments.
Can we have another ?

Claudius

WHat about Deauville or something? The north of France is a rather sad place...

Strasbourg is a nice place, too. The city center is a pedestrian zone, nice if you have kids. Good beers and food, probably worth a try

Forget about Deauville, you could be tempted by the casino

DRUNKNORGY

I suppose 250 miles on the other side of Calais isn't out of the question which should open the options up a bit. My sister lived in Deuville for a year as an Au-pair (spellin?) 20 years ago. She did like it there.

Ash

Claudius

Au-pair is correct

Would Strasbourg be much further?

What about the Casino "visiting" risk with your house and all that, though?!

Claudius

What about Brussels? Friendly Belgian people, good chips and nice beer? Could make you feel like home!

Clarebabes

What about Brittany? My parents have a house about 7 miles from the coast and it's lovely. Great beaches, great countryside for testing out yer scoob and hardly any police to stop you speeding.

Ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo can be got very cheaply, but remember that it's 13 hours overnight on the outbound journey and 9 hours in the day during the day. We went on the fast ferry via the Channel Islands last time and took about 4-5 hours each way, (plus you get very good duty free going via the CIs!!)

Get onto http://www.ferrysavers.com

Paul78

Hi Clare - this subject again...

As above my parents have a house in Brittany as well about 30 min from St Malo, which is services by Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth.

The beaches all along the coast are great, the food amazing and the journey relatively stress free ( Do the overnight crossing and don't loose a day ).

Alternatively go to Caen and then drive through Normandy, past Mt St Michel and there are some great campsites / fixed caravan places which are great for the kids and parents alike !

P


[Edited by Paul78 - 1/14/2003 12:27:36 PM]

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

If your Mrs will allow it, have you looked at camping?
There are loads of campsites in France, and many have real luxury (???) tents for hire, or chalets, or mobile homes.
The tents have fridge, cooker, barbecue "proper" beds, electricity, lighting, table and chairs, and either sun-loungers or hammocks or both.
Pick an area with plenty to do, but most will have a pool, and either the sea or a river/lake, plus loads of activities for kids of ALL ages--and that can mean YOU!!:
Don't forget that further down usually means better weather, and many of the companies do a package which includes an overnight stay at one of their sites on the way down. Their prices also include all ferry crossings on the route of (usually) your choice.
The name "Eurotent", rings a bell, but a good travel agent, or internet will tell all. There are at least three companies.
Do get a booking early if you want a good site at a good time.
Lastly, the sites have loads of English kids on them for your two to pal up with and there's so much for them to do that we've never had any trouble, and rarely saw ours from breakfast to evenings, once they got to 10 or so! Activities are varied, most are free, but some are small extra, eg:horse riding, long distance (15km) canoeing, and ALL are supervised by trained people who usually have English as a second or even first language.
Personally, I prefer river type sites, as you can do loads in a river, and I don't much like salt water:
We've used these type of sites with our own caravan, and they are really very good.
Alcazar
Edited to say: If you go to the Strasbourg region,a day in the "Black forest " is easy, well worth the effort, and the food is amazing!

[Edited by alcazar - 1/14/2003 1:27:26 PM]

Clarebabes

Paul, which way is your parent's house? Mine is near Lamballe (to the south(ish) West of St Malo), but nearer the coast. Probably asked this before, but hey, it was probably a long time ago!!!

Clarebabes

Talking of weather, we went at the end of September and we managed to get at least 4 swims in the sea We didn't have a bad day, but I wouldn't ideally recommend this time of year as things are slowing down. We had a few problems finding restaurants open.

speedking

I would recommend staying in a gite, e.g. here or 'Gites de France' or similar. Solid walls and roof, often a garage for the car/bikes. Reasonably priced and full kitchen facilities (but obviously self-catering so maybe not a holiday for the Mrs.) All inclusive of ferry are available.

Ferry Poole - Cherbourg is shorter than St. Malo/Caen, and you can make the time difference to your advantage by driving further than the ferry in that time.

We have been to Benodet/Concarneau area which is driveable in a day if your ferry arrives about noon. Highly recommend the whole area. Plenty of things to do and see and fantastic beaches, deserted off season (i.e. outside August).

Only problem is you can be a bit isolated. It also helps to parlez a bit of franglais as interaction with the locals is unavoidable

Good luck.