My Daughter, son in law and children have a time share in Portugal. Every year we have driven down in October to spend part of their holiday in the area.
This year for the first time they have changed to August due to school commitments.
Saw a programme on TV a couple of years ago about the horrendous traffic through France on a certain weekend in August when apparently the whole of France are on the road going on holiday.
Does anyone know which weekend this is, and also what is the general travelling conditions like in August both for traffic and en-route accomodation in France and Spain.
We never book in advance but simply look for somewhere to stop around teatime and have never had problems. Would this be different in August.
alvin
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Yes, avoid going on the weekend of 2nd/3rd August.
That's basically when Paris shuts down for business apart from tourism and everybody heads somewhere south. However, travelling either Mon-Fri, or at night you should have no problems.
Likewise, they all go home late August so if you can, avoid returning on the weekends of 16th/17th or 23rd/24th.
Bon Voyage !!
Bt B
Remember - it's not how you vote that matters ...it's who does the counting.
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The infamous 'problem day' centres around the 15th August (a Bank Holiday) but to be honest all August can be a bit of a nightmare. I would definitely recommend booking in advance - we left it too late last year and had a nightmare trying to find a place to stay. The 'Accor' chain of hotels/motels owns most of the main brands and has a good website. Can't remember if its' accor.com or accor.fr but a search engine should find it for you.
I've heard that France is expecting more tourists from all over Europe this year due to concerns about flying post-Sept 11th. So that won't help the congestion much.
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We have been going to France for August for the last 5 years and travel weekends always in the latter 1/2 of the month. We have used F1, Etap, BB and Quick Palace hotels (all the posh ones eh!) - If you don't book stand by for 'Hotel Complet'. Some had no family rooms left when I tried to book in January. A friend from previous years tiped me to book early this year after 11 Sept etc and he was dead right. I usually have no difficulty in booking in January but this year the first 3 choices were full by the end of December.
Good luck
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www.accorhotels.com
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August in Spain is very busy but there are also fiestas everywhere which are great fun. Accomodation in Spain is never a problem as there are so many family owned hostals and pensions you just need to keep looking, took me 32 tries once but there is always something. If you are adventurous you can stay in peoples homes. Drive along a street and you will see a sign hung out saying 'Camas' meaning literally 'there are beds'. The places are always spotless and they give you a key to the front door!
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Might be worth picking up a copy of the Bison Fute booklet highlighting traffic blackspots or checking the website at www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr before leaving. Telephone info in France was available for 2001 on 0826 022022 so could be the same this year.
I'll be around the Autoroute Entre Deux Mers (also has its own website) on the black weekend of Aug 16/17 so I'll watch out for steaming cars with GB stickers.
Last week I booked F1s and my preferred B&B chain without problem except for Cahors F1 which was fully booked for the mid-August date I wanted. I would definitely not leave finding a hotel until late afternoon but try to book at least a.m. as you check out from one or preferably via the internet in advance. Even in April it was difficult to get into the cheapies around some major autoroutes after 3pm and I was armed with the handbooks for virtually all of them.
David
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Apart from the "motel" type chains - Ibis, Kyriad, F1 can I also recommend the "Logis de France". Small independent hotels found in virtually every village and town. They are all graded according to accommodation (and separately for food) they are v.good value. Stayed in some over Easter when my father and I made an emergency trip to France. Rooms were £20-£30 for the two of us and each had a good menu - from about £8 per head to £20 per head. House wine also good value.
PhilW
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Website is
www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/index.htm
and you can get their book with complete listings at WH Smiths I think
PhilW
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Thanks to all for your advice and experiences.
Dosn't look good for the casual approach we use in August.
My wife read your replies and said we ought to get a flight if we intend to go in August and she's probably right.
She also reminded me of the in-car temperatures when we go in October and said "why don't we have air conditioning in our car like other people"
My answer was "cause I'm trying to save the world" she looked at me strangely (which she often does) and I had to explain the dangers of CFCs and also that it caused arthritas and anyway only wimps need it.
Suitably unimpressed and reminding me of how I whinge every time we go down in the heat, off she went... women.....
alvin
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Alvin,
think you are being pessimistic! Lots of advice above on how to avoid the jams (only ever experienced one and that was near Bordeaux on the busiest weekend of the year - and it was nothing like as bad as the M25, M1 M6 etc are NORMALLY) Also think you will find accommodation whether it is camas (?) in Spain or Logis in France.Probably just requires you to drive a couple of miles off the motorway to a village /small town. Last year in August my wife and I stayed on two campsites that were virtually deserted - one near Bordeaux (one other caravan) and one near La Rochelle (about 5 other campers on a three acre area) Both had excellent facilities but were a few miles from the sea/motorway. Anyway, flying is boring and gives you no taste of the country, only the destination. Think of the local foods/wines/beers you can try on the way! Think of the locals you will meet and the places you can stop at on the way. Make the journey part of the holiday - go for it!!
PhilW
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Thanks Phil, Yes I agree the journey is part of the holiday and I find flying more boring than sitting in a trffic jam.
We have always enjoyed the trip and have even taken a week to get there in the past having stopped for a couple of days in France and Spain. One advantage of being retired is time dosn't matter and thats why we never book anywhere as we prefer to just take things as they come and return when ready.
One of the best accomodation en-route we have had was in the pyrenees at a transport cafe. The rooms were as big as my house and the scenery was spectacular to say the least and the cost was minimal.
alvin
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Don't let anything I said stop you driving - there is nothing as bad as flying. Just phone a couple of Hotels in advance - it does mean you need to be at a certain place at a certain time but that might be better than driving round looking for a room. My difficulties are more than you because I have to find a family room - and they are not too plentiful.
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