Europe by Motorhome (with kids...)
In and around Europe
This is the journal for our upcoming trip around Europe, by motorhome, with kids... We (Dave, Claire, Jay (3 years) and Ella (7 Months)) being of perhaps not sound mind, will be starting our journey very soon from Brittany in France. No firm plans as yet except to head South for the sun!
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Traveling Whitneys
-
1
Mountains, lake, home...
This is a 'pre travel' entry I guess. Aix Les Bains, in fact Drumettaz Clarafond, was where we lived for nearly 2 years.
The countryside is m... Continue reading »
-
2
Waiting in Brittany
It was nearly time to pick up our new toy (a camping car or motorhome) so we headed to Brittany to Ploumanac’h.
Hypothermia was beginning to... Continue reading »
-
3
Its here!!!
Finally after a few extra days of waiting with baited breath we hitched the caravan up for the last time and drove to Britways Car just outside of... Continue reading »
-
4
Our Other Home!
We have been travelling back from Brittany to the Rhone Alpes over the last few weeks. We spent a few days travelling around Brittany mainly to tes... Continue reading »
-
5
Freiburg and Europa Park
We were on our way to Strasbourg when we saw the signs to Freiburg and decided to stop in. We stopped in a 'parkplatz' (a place to park with pow... Continue reading » -
6
Christmas Markets
Strasbourg is in the Alsace region near the Rhine river which marks the boundary between France and Germany. We went to Strasbourg for the Christmas m... Continue reading » -
7
Route du Vin
The Route du Vin stretches through the Alsace region from somewhere near Strasbourg to somewhere near Mulhouse. It is, in case you didnt figure it out... Continue reading » -
8
Naked in the Black Forrest
We drove from Kayersburg to Seelbach along some very scenic back roads through the Black Forrest to our campsite. Schwarzwalder Hof is probably the be... Continue reading » -
9
New Year Skiing
After spending Christmas with our friends Ben and Isabelle we traveled to Livigno to meet up with my brother and his family who were there for a one w... Continue reading » -
10
No Stresa
After Livigno we made our way down through Italy and to Lake Como. We intended to spend a night or so there but couldnt find a campsite so we went ont... Continue reading » -
11
Birthplace of Dali
After leaving Lake Maggiore we made our way down to the mediterranean and slowly around the Italian and French riviera and into Spain where we are... Continue reading »
-
12
Costa del New York
We left L'Estartit for a long drive down to Benidorm down the Autopista, or the Route du Paege as I like to think of it. Toll roads. You get a ticket... Continue reading » -
13
Isla Plana
We stayed at Isla Plana for a few days and really it wasnt too memorable. Our Campsite (Los Madrilles) was OK, fairly unremarkable really except fo... Continue reading »
-
14
Blizzard!
We set from Isla Plana on a nice Sunny day of perhaps 18o for Granada, about 300km to the West. When we stopped for lunch we noticed that although... Continue reading »
-
15
The Rock
From Granada we headed back to the coast at Marbella where we spent a night (during a fierce storm) and then drove on to San Roque near Gibraltar... Continue reading »
-
16
Windy Tarifa
Tarifa is the most southerly part of Spain, and mainland Europe I believe – only 15kms from Africa (Tangier in Morocco) across the straights of G... Continue reading »
-
17
The Spanish Gibraltar
We met our Moroccan tour group yesterday near Algeciras in Spain. The company taking us across is Desert Detours and the tour leader is Ray.
... Continue reading » -
18
Meknes & Volubilis
Today we drove towards Meknes along some roads that Ray (our tour leader) had described as being equal to or better than European roads. Hmmm. I... Continue reading »
-
19
Cedar Forest
We left Meknes today for the Cedar forest. Our first stop was on a hilltop with lots of people selling semi-precious stones and a beautiful view... Continue reading »
-
20
Source Bleu Meski
We drove today from the Cedar forest to a small town called Meski. The drive was over a mountain pass past some spectacular countryside – it seem... Continue reading »
-
21
Erg Chebbie Dunes
From Meski we drove to the Erg Chebbie dunes near Merzouga. On the way we stopped at a fossil shop which had all manner of fossils and minerals t... Continue reading »
-
22
Todra Gorge
We left the Erg Chebbie dunes with only one of our group needing a tow through the off road ‘piste’ and headed for Todra Gorge. On the way the wi... Continue reading »
-
23
Ouarzazate
We drove to Ouarzazate along the Route of 1000 Kasbahs, although to be honest it wasn’t all that impressive!
Our campsite was... Continue reading »
-
24
Marrakesh
We left Ouarzazate in the rain and headed over the (in?)famous Tizi-n-Tichka pass towards Marrakesh. The pass winds up to 2260m and it wasn’t lon... Continue reading »
-
25
Windy City
The trip from Marrakesh to Essaouira was fairly uneventful down a straight and pretty boring road. However, as we got near Essaouira we saw local... Continue reading »
-
26
Sidi Kouaki
Sidi Kaouki is about 10kms south of Essaouira and is a tiny place, home to a few fish stalls/restaurant and a couple of hotels.
... Continue reading » -
27
Taghazout
The drive from Sidi Kauoki to Taghazoute is only around 150kms but takes a lot longer than you think it will! You travel inland until you reach t... Continue reading »
-
28
El Jadida
El Jadida
We drove from Taghazoute to Safi taking the coast road from Essaouira, which we had heard was very scenic. It was sc... Continue reading »
-
29
Moulay Bouselham
From El Jadida we got the tolled autoroute north. The autoroutes were very good – although not as cheap as I thought they would be – still it was... Continue reading »
-
30
Blue Chefchaouen
The drive from Moulay Bouselham to Chefchaouen was uneventful except for a small town between Ouezzane and Chefchaouen (Pont something?) where a... Continue reading »
-
31
Ronda
After nearly a week recovering in Tarifa we drove to Ronda. The road is very pretty passing through the pueblos blancos, white painted villages i... Continue reading »
-
32
Beautiful Seville
Our campsite in Seville was Camping Villson a nice leafy place, and more importantly close to a bus into the city. Seville is quite a big city, a... Continue reading »
-
33
Cordoba
We cycled into Cordoba from our well-located campsite on a Sunday. Our main destination was the Mezquita. A mosque built, um, a long time ago – a... Continue reading »
-
34
Locals fed up with Tourists?
The drive from Cordoba to Toledo was quite a long one and it seemed a lot colder and wetter when we arrived compared to when we had left. Hopefull... Continue reading »
-
35
Madrid
From Toledo we headed up the autovia to Madrid and driving through the traffic we really noticed that this is a major city.
Ou... Continue reading »
-
36
Euro Disney
Since it’s a big jump between Madrid and Paris a quick update on where we have been. From Madrid we drove back to L’Estartit and stayed a few nig... Continue reading »
-
37
St Michel en Greve
After Paris we drove back to Brittany for some repairs to our trusty camping car. We stayed at St Michel en Grave, a very small town on a very bi... Continue reading »
-
38
Ile De Brehat
The Ile De Brehat is near the town of Paimpol at the start of the Cote de Granite Rose. It is a short ferry ride across to the island and fairly... Continue reading »
-
39
Bashley in the New Forrest
Since the Ile De Brehat we spent another couple of nights in Brittany seeing the coast and getting the final problems with the camping car fixed.... Continue reading »
-
40
Lulworth Cove & Durdle Door
We drove from Bashley down to Sandbanks, near Bournemouth, and caught the chain drawn ferry across the entrance to Poole harbour. We landed on th... Continue reading »
-
41
Lyme Regis
Today we drove to Lyme Regis, a small but quaint seaside town with a funny name. There are lots of shops, minimal kitsch, and even a sand beach!... Continue reading »
-
42
Dartmouth
We arrived in Dartmouth on the Friday afternoon of a long weekend and were surprised how busy the campsites were. The weather had been good so lo... Continue reading »
-
43
Polperro
Polperro is a small and very pretty fishing village at the bottom of a deep ravine. It has a very small harbour complete with fishing boats prote... Continue reading »
-
44
Eden Project
We stayed in Carylon Bay but didn’t see much of the area. We were here to visit the Eden Project. The Eden Project is the world’s biggest greenho... Continue reading »
-
45
Goonhilly & Lizard
As it was STILL raining we decided for a day inside and visited the Goonhilly Earth Station. This is the biggest satellite station in the world a... Continue reading »
-
46
Saint Michaels Mount
St Michaels Mount is a small island near the town of Marazion. The island is close enough to land to be able to walk too in low tides, but you ne... Continue reading »
-
47
Lands End
We drove through Penzance (where we did some shopping but not much else) to Lands End. Lands End is pretty commercial but nevertheless a very rug... Continue reading »
-
48
St Ives
St Ives is described as the best of all the Cornish seaside resorts and from what weve seen it is. The town is on a peninsula with a surfing beac... Continue reading »
-
49
Padstow
Padstow is a small town on an inlet, which on first glance is not very impressive. However, once you walk through the town you can see more of th... Continue reading »
-
50
'Home' of King Arthur
Tingatel castle is the legendary home of King Arthur – but apparently its several hundred years too young… Nevertheless everything in Tingatel se... Continue reading »
-
51
Clovelly
Clovelly is without a doubt the worst ‘attraction’ we have paid to see in the UK. It is a ‘privately owned’ town on the edge of a very steep clif... Continue reading »
-
52
Weston-Super-Mare
Weston Super Mare – funny name that. WSM is a ‘typical’ British seaside town. Well perhaps typical of when I was a lad… It has a dodgy beach on t... Continue reading »
-
53
Cheddar Gorge
Cheddar is the birthplace of England’s famous Cheddar cheese and also renowned for its gorge and caves. Unsurprisingly there is a Cheddar cheese... Continue reading »
-
54
Lacock
Lacock is a small town owned (?) by the National Trust. Its claim to fame is having been used during the filming of several ‘period films’ includ... Continue reading »
-
55
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a village to the north west of Cardiff. It is a fairly quite place and is set in idyllic countryside very much like the area around... Continue reading »
-
56
Tenby
Tenby is a pretty seaside town with a nice mix of shopping, buildings and scenery. There are two large bays with a peninsula in between. The peni... Continue reading »
-
57
Fishguard for the fish
Fishguard is a small port town that is supposed to be very pretty, but when we went was very wet! We stayed at a campsite with fantastic views do... Continue reading »
-
58
Broadhaven
We spent a night of rain in St Davids, the smallest city in the UK (possibly the world?) by virtue of its cathedral.
The next day we drove... Continue reading »
-
59
Rosslare Harbour
We spent a few hours in Pembroke looking around the shops and walking around the impressive castle before catching the ferry to Ireland. The ferr... Continue reading »
-
60
Hook Peninsula
We drove around the Hook peninsula stopping at a small beach for lunch, which was lovely in the sunshine. Not lovely enough to swim in the freezi... Continue reading »
-
61
Tramore
Tramore is a seaside village near the city of Waterford. It has a lovely long flat beach lined with the usual seaside fare (in the UK and Ireland... Continue reading »
-
62
Waterford Crystal
We visited Waterford purely for the Waterford Crystal Factory and did not go into the city at all. The guided tour around the factory is pretty i... Continue reading »
-
63
Kilkenny - mmm
As a drinker of Kilkenny from way back I couldn’t resist a visit here! There is a beautiful castle on one side of town with lovely (and free) gar... Continue reading »
-
64
Cork
The closest campsite to Cork is around 8km out of the city at Blarney and this is where we stayed. To visit the city we drove from the campsite t... Continue reading »
-
65
Kinsale
Kinsale is south of Cork and is renowned for its great seafood (or so my Lonely Planet tells me). We parked up near the town and wandered in for... Continue reading »
-
66
Killarney
At Killarney we stayed at the White Bridge caravan park – which was nice but horrendously expensive (37 Euros) for the services provided. We chec... Continue reading »
-
67
Ring of Kerry
We left in the pouring rain for our trip around the Ring of Kerry today. The Ring of Kerry is a ‘circuit’ around the Iveragh Peninsula and is one... Continue reading »
-
68
Ring of Kerry (Part 2)
We travelled a short distance to the seaside town of Waterville, which was tiny but nice. Its claim to ‘fame’ is as the preferred holiday destina... Continue reading »
-
69
Cliffs of Moher
We arrived to the Cliffs of Moher in the late afternoon and the sun began to shine! The cliffs are spectacular and a well-known tourist attractio... Continue reading »
-
70
The Burren
The Burren is an area stretching across counties Clare and Galway. The Burren used to be under the sea, giving it an unusual landscape covered w... Continue reading »
-
71
Connemara
Rain, rain, rain, rain… no wonder it’s so green.
We stayed at the local Galway campsite which was absolutely horrible – we’ve... Continue reading »
-
72
My Goodness My Dublin
We visited Dublin in bad weather conditions – bad even by Irish conditions as some of the roads were flooded.
We stayed in the... Continue reading »
-
73
Snowdonia
We caught the ferry from Dublin to Hollyhead and we had our first day of sun in ages and, thankfully, a very calm crossing.
W... Continue reading »
-
74
Porthmadog
We drove from Llanberis to Porthmadog through some fantastic scenery in the Snowdonia National Park. The roads are quite narrow and someone stopp... Continue reading »
-
75
Wimblington
Wimblington is the home of some more of my family and we spent 10 great days with them. We really enjoyed seeing them and Jay and Ella loved play... Continue reading »
-
76
Canterbury
On our way out of the UK now and we met up with my Uncle Bud who was generous enough to let us stay with him when we first arrived in the UK.Continue reading »
-
77
Disney Part 2
After arriving in Calais we drove down to Paris taking a couple of days to meet people who are interested in buying the camping car.
Would you like to comment or ask a question?