Road trip down to La Rochelle

Road trip down to La Rochelle

Author
Discussion

omniflow

2,825 posts

157 months

Thursday 1st February
quotequote all
ferret50 said:
ferret50 said:
Bear in mind that the French farmers are currently revolting, we traveled south to the Algarve last weekend and found several RN/motorway junctions blocked, some took some time to circumnavigate!

The only upside is that they have vadalised a lot of camera's!








South Poitiers Saturday 26 Jan. N10 outside the Auchen hypermarket.

I have a French nieghbour in my condo here on the Algarve, tells me that these protests are nationwide.

I would suggest that those travelling in France allow extra time to allow for this kind of disruption.
I would also suggest that those travelling in France are extremely wary of any Farmers appearing to be nice and letting them through a road block. You'll more than likely find another road block a few KM down the road that they won't let you through and they won't let you back through the original road block to find another route either.

paulwirral

3,350 posts

141 months

Thursday 1st February
quotequote all
We did it reverse to you from La Rochelle up to honfleur on a road trip back from San Sebastián , it’s not half way but worth the slight detour.
The main problem is that you may well prefer honfleur , we did .

fourstardan

4,930 posts

150 months

Thursday 1st February
quotequote all
paulwirral said:
We did it reverse to you from La Rochelle up to honfleur on a road trip back from San Sebastián , it’s not half way but worth the slight detour.
The main problem is that you may well prefer honfleur , we did .
I didn't think to mention this spot, I concur.



Nyloc20

647 posts

69 months

Thursday 1st February
quotequote all
If you decide to cross to Caen or St Malo there’s a brilliant car museum at Lohéac in Brittany on the way down to La Rochelle. Good food at the nearby village pub.

-Cappo-

19,888 posts

209 months

Thursday 1st February
quotequote all
We did a 3-night bike tour last summer: Sangatte > Honfleur > La Rochelle > Le Mans > Sangatte. 99% of that was done off the autoroutes and saw lovely countryside and towns along the way. On that basis either Honfleur or Le Mans would make a good overnight stop.

blue_haddock

3,789 posts

73 months

Friday 2nd February
quotequote all
omniflow said:
No criticism of anyone intended in this next post, so please don't read that into it.

There are many ways to holiday / travel, and different things please different people. Some people are focused on cost, some on time, some on convenience and some on nostalgia / re-living the past.

For me, I've been alive long enough to work out what I like and what winds me up. I much prefer the overnight ferry to any other method of getting to the continent. There's only the one boat, so, (as long as you get to the check-in kiosk at the right time) you're getting on that boat. A nice dinner on the boat is really where the holiday starts, and being out on deck at 11pm is one of my favourite parts of the trip. I know that there are cheaper ways to get to the same destination - hell, I could almost certainly fly and hire a car for less than driving my own car - even if I took the Eurotunnel or a Dover -> Calais ferry.

The other thing I've worked out about my own preferences is that I'm not very good at "stopping on the way". I want to get where I'm going. The way I get round this is to make the stops part of the holiday and that normally means a 2 night stay
For us the dover calais ferry makes more sense, we're in the midlands so its bang on 4 hours to dover. We find the time on the ferry is a decentbreak and then once in france we can hit the road.

We once tried the newhaven - dieppe ferry but really werent keen on it and the fact there is only two per day means their timings often dont suit us.

The only time we have ever missed a ferry was the newhaven one when the m25 was the worst i've ever seen, in that case we lost half a days travel time whereas if we we're on a dover ferry they would just chuck us on the next one so only lose a couple of hours tops.

As we always factor in a bit of extra time we have found some amazing and also random places on our stops.

For me a holiday to france doest start until i've seen the Mig gate guardian at Abbeville airfield!



ChocolateFrog

28,199 posts

179 months

Friday 2nd February
quotequote all
Truckosaurus said:
Depending on your timings (and assuming you are planning to travel via Calais) it might be worth stopping in Rouen which is just over 2hrs into France, you can either go right into the old town or just stay in a generic chain hotel in the suburbs.

Then still have a fairly easy second day on the Autoroutes down to La Rochelle.

(Versus staying in Le Mans giving you a longer first day and shorter second day).
I was going to suggest Rouen too.

CivicDuties

5,935 posts

36 months

Friday 2nd February
quotequote all
-Cappo- said:
We did a 3-night bike tour last summer: Sangatte > Honfleur > La Rochelle > Le Mans > Sangatte. 99% of that was done off the autoroutes and saw lovely countryside and towns along the way. On that basis either Honfleur or Le Mans would make a good overnight stop.
Honfleur is my suggestion too.

We often drive to St-Jean-de-Monts, which is a bit further north than La Rochelle, from the tunnel. Doing it in a day from the Thames Valley is possible, but a stretch, so we like to stay overnight en route. Honfleur, Deauville/Trouville, and Cabourg/Houlgate have all provided lovely overnight stops for us in the past, with a special recommendation for one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten in, Le Bougnat in Dives-sur-Mer (brilliant but affordable).

gareth h

3,731 posts

236 months

Friday 2nd February
quotequote all
As others have said the St Malo ferry is a great way to go, decent restaurant on board (don’t go to the self service cafe), good nights kip, and then brekky in St Malo and a mooch around the walled town (luverly place), then an easy drive down, or pop over to Dinan /Dinard for a few hours exploring before heading south.

Rob 131 Sport

3,078 posts

58 months

Sunday 4th February
quotequote all
gareth h said:
As others have said the St Malo ferry is a great way to go, decent restaurant on board (don’t go to the self service cafe), good nights kip, and then brekky in St Malo and a mooch around the walled town (luverly place), then an easy drive down, or pop over to Dinan /Dinard for a few hours exploring before heading south.
We’ve done the St. Malo crossing many times over the years when going to Western France (apart from Covid in 2020) when we took the Tunnel and broke the journey up by staying in the Loire Valley on the way down to the Southern Vendee.

I would try and factor in a stay at St. Malo or Dinard as their lovely places and make a great evening out. I would also book the ferry early to try and get an Outside Cabin that I’d do for the overnight and return journey.

Last year we went to Chatelaillon Plage via St. Malo and ended up eating in the self service (which was acceptable) as the main restaurant was a set fee for I think 3 courses plus cheese. I generally only eat a main course so this would be a bit of a waste of money for me.

I’ve heard the Bretagne that sails this route is getting retired soon, so you may even get to travel on a new ship.

Old Merc

3,546 posts

173 months

Friday 9th February
quotequote all
Nyloc20 said:
If you decide to cross to Caen or St Malo there’s a brilliant car museum at Lohéac in Brittany on the way down to La Rochelle. Good food at the nearby village pub.
https://www.manoir-automobile.fr/home/ If your a piston head it’s well worth a visit. Huge place, there is even a little race track next door, had a lovely meal in the local pub.

We have toured the area a number of times pre Covid. Always used Brittany Ferries to and from Saint Malo, Cherbourg, Caen and Roscoff. It’s a lovely area, you will be spoilt for choice where to stay and eat.
Sorry I can’t remember any hotel or restaurant names.



Edited by Old Merc on Friday 9th February 10:29

MatteAva

95 posts

82 months

Friday 9th February
quotequote all
You can also consider the Newhaven - Dieppe ferry which can also be overnight. and is normally cheaper than the St Malo one

Rob 131 Sport

3,078 posts

58 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
MatteAva said:
You can also consider the Newhaven - Dieppe ferry which can also be overnight. and is normally cheaper than the St Malo one
The benefit of the St.Malo route is that it’s a shorter and in my opinion a more attractive route to La Rochelle.

Moreover with boarding at 7.30pm it allows plenty of time for dinner and a few drinks as opposed to just getting on the ferry and going to bed.

heebeegeetee

28,959 posts

254 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
If considering the late night boat from Newhaven - Dieppe, we can recommend the Ram at Firle in Sussex for a nice meal beforehand. The Ram Inn
01273 858222
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2J3YCaBZamzCTVD26

Another consideration is that boat disgorges at @ 5am, too early for some but it does allow for some empty miles before breakfast.

La Rochelle is easy doable in the day, Le Mans approx half way. The old town is nice, plus south of Le Mans is the petrolhead stop at Hotel de France, La Chartre Sur Le Loir, a beautiful spot in lovely countryside. 🙂
Hôtel de France - Logis
+33 2 43 44 40 16
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aPoYN6QDjexNHQ2x9

andyA700

3,240 posts

43 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
blue_haddock said:
omniflow said:
No criticism of anyone intended in this next post, so please don't read that into it.

There are many ways to holiday / travel, and different things please different people. Some people are focused on cost, some on time, some on convenience and some on nostalgia / re-living the past.

For me, I've been alive long enough to work out what I like and what winds me up. I much prefer the overnight ferry to any other method of getting to the continent. There's only the one boat, so, (as long as you get to the check-in kiosk at the right time) you're getting on that boat. A nice dinner on the boat is really where the holiday starts, and being out on deck at 11pm is one of my favourite parts of the trip. I know that there are cheaper ways to get to the same destination - hell, I could almost certainly fly and hire a car for less than driving my own car - even if I took the Eurotunnel or a Dover -> Calais ferry.

The other thing I've worked out about my own preferences is that I'm not very good at "stopping on the way". I want to get where I'm going. The way I get round this is to make the stops part of the holiday and that normally means a 2 night stay
For us the dover calais ferry makes more sense, we're in the midlands so its bang on 4 hours to dover. We find the time on the ferry is a decentbreak and then once in france we can hit the road.

We once tried the newhaven - dieppe ferry but really werent keen on it and the fact there is only two per day means their timings often dont suit us.

The only time we have ever missed a ferry was the newhaven one when the m25 was the worst i've ever seen, in that case we lost half a days travel time whereas if we we're on a dover ferry they would just chuck us on the next one so only lose a couple of hours tops.

As we always factor in a bit of extra time we have found some amazing and also random places on our stops.

For me a holiday to france doest start until i've seen the Mig gate guardian at Abbeville airfield!
I think the gate guardian at Abbeville is a Dassault Mystere IV. There are also a number of them in the collection at Chateau Savigny in Burgundy.

http://www.eurodemobbed.org.uk/locations.php?locat...