trying to find my way!(or lost in france!)

[orinoco]

hi this is the first time i have posted so if i make a few mistakes please forgive me!
a couple of friends and I are thinking of taking a ferry (or rail) to france and having a few days rideing about on august 16-20th ish trouble is, being complete novices we are not sure about where(or how far!) to go,and how or even if we should book accommodation in advance or do it on the fly,as it were, Iwould be extremely grateful for any advice,comments warnings,etc or even if this is a feasable idea or should we make longer range plans?
thanks in advance,
orinoco 8l1nd

 

[chuck]

Touring in France

You don't need to book hotels, miriad of small BBs etc. might recomend booking first nite as if you get off ferry late in pm you want to do a few miles before bedding down and it's nice to know you have somewhere that first night. WE tend to go from Poole to Cherbourg, it less of a hassle to get to than Dover. Zap straight down into Normandy and Brittainy staying off motorway as roads are fantastic. (LE Mans not far either) If short stay N & B is the place to be. If longer try to get down to Loire Valley. Have a look at thread on petrol in france.

Last time we booked gite and ferry through Btittainy ferries(choice of THoUSANDS) dirt cheap and then did ride outs each day in different direction but just as good to point and go stopping wherever. Stop in small towns villages if poss. Unless you want big towns of course. :beer: Have a good one

 

[SILVERONE]

w;;v only a few days and you 1st time, just to test the water if I was you stop near the ferry port, get rid of your kit, plan a few days run out before hand. Look at AA Tour Guide France or Weekends A Cross The Channel (books) or similar for good circular runs off the beaten track " you'll be surprised whats on offer just across the Channel". Stopping near the port there will be loads of accommodation + night life if you want it ? if I was you I would pre book for that time of year R#? .

 

[nigs]

August is usually a busy month for holidays in France (a bit like here really). As some of the coastal places you might find it difficult to find somewhere for one or two nights. If you're only going for a couple of days then I'd recommend booking somwhere that you like the look of - no point in wasting hours looking for somewhere to stay. Made that mistake going to Le Mans a couple of years ago for the Moto GP. Luckily we found an Ibis with a room available in Alencon - that was just before I was about to give up and carry on riding for another 50 miles or so.

Agree about the roads in Normandy and Brittany - great roads for making progress on. As a rough guide St Malo to Le Mans was about 2 hours. Probably about the same as from Cherborg (but not done that route yet).

Have a great time - we're going off that way at the end of September for a couple of weeks.

 

[Aidey]

In August best book somewhere to stay in advance. If you don't want to, then if you get to any reasonable sized town, find the tourist info place and they will most likely be able to help. Most towns will have a Campanile, Etap, Formule 1 or Premierclasse hotel, prices vary from about ?23 to ?45 per room. Similar to Travel Inns, also on the edge of towns so not ideal for drinking sessions? All can be prebooked via the internet. Normandy and Brittany are a great choice for a short stay in France.
www.envergure.fr/campanile.fr
www.etaphotel.com