holiday ideas - France then where?

Question

hi,

Towards the end of the month I plan to have a 7 - 10 day break in western europe.

I have looked at many options and everything seems very expensive at the time of year and I am working within a tighter than usual budget.

I will cross the channel to calais and my intention was to drive to the south of france, maybe nice and have a day or two in Italy. That was until I read about the french toll roads and how expensive they are.

Now that I have been put off France, I still need to get to Disneyland for a full day (hotel close by). I considered driving through southern Belgium and heading to Reims. Is this worthwhile? Whats is the best route to take?

After that where should I go with a 7 year old and a 2 year old? I have driven through Belgium and holland in the past but if I hard too far north then I might be left with only the option of the Amsterdam to Newcastle overnight ferry to get back to the north of england. (priced at approx £250 for the one way)

I originally wanted to be in the med somewhere with warm weather and nice beaches but unless i'm prepared to drive the extremely lengthy detour through luxembourg, germany and switzerland, then i'm not sure as I don't fancy the look of Frances secondry roads. from what i can see on google, then don't look as if they head anywhere in a hurry.

I considered Jersey or Gurnsey but with two children loooking for adventure? Not sure it would be suitable.! I don't want to fly either.

ferry to Santander from the south of england almost £1000 return alone!

been searching for ideas but nothing except the day in dasney is concrete yet.

What would you do or have you done.

I know someone will probably suggest 5 nights in Scunthorpe but....

any ideas appreciated

Answer 1

Why not spend your time near Paris, as you 'have to go there'.

Or travel through France on the slower roads, when you do not travel on the Saturday and Sunday you will go fast enough.

Driving through France for 2 days in Italy is not very wise in time.

On a 7 to 10 day travel you should not spend more than a day in the car, for two days no more than a few hours.

Your petrol costs will be much higher than the road tolls, if you just go high speed to Italy.



Traveling north from Calais you can avoid all tolls easily, travel through Belgium and into the Netherlands or Germany, but remember to look around as Belgium is worth visiting on its own.



Buy or borrow a satnav and set it to 'avoid toll roads' and you can safely drive through France without worrying on having to pay road toll.

Answer 2

Doncha just hate it when ppl copy n paste something?



France is OUT..e3 for a coffee, e60 for a poky room, you'll fritter all your money b4 your hols even begin!



Personally, I'd euro tunnel to calais and head for the czech rep. Where?? Central Europe, do-able in a day, mountains, hot weather, free no speed limit autobahns through Germany, and it's dead cheap! Most hotels don't pay internet agency fees so it's best to turn up on spec.

Example ; Kalovary is a spa town with charming medieval architecture, a great base to drive round and take in the "Alps" with communists prices.



Option 2.

Kids. They don't take kindly to sitting in car all day, being told they're having great time cos the ice cream they've just had only cost 60p, so just book a hotel int first Spanish resort over the French border.. they'll get telly, pool, wifi and meet other british kids.



3rd option.You never know, we might get that heatwave we've been due since God knows when. Then it's static mobile home in Champagne region. The campsites are well equipped and not tacky like Uk ones.

Answer 3

Have you considered Normandy, in the north of France? It has some very pleasant beaches, plenty of castles to keep the whole family entertained, and even some ancient lava beds. It would require a minimum of travelling, and I know that places like Mont Saint Michel absolutely fascinated me as a child.



There is also the option of the Loire valley. It's a bit warmer and less like the UK than Normandy, very pretty, and has chateaux for the children and vinyards for the adults.



In both cases, the tolled autoroutes can be avoided, and my experience of the B-roads in the Loire area is that they tend to run within site of the autoroute.