Our Route - South-Western France

One of the most daunting things about travelling off-grid in a converted campervan, is wondering where you'll stay at night. We mostly use an app on our phone called Park4Night, which shows various places to park on a map. This saved us a lot of time and worry, so we highly recommend it.

It's worth noting that (according to the law) when you park outside of a campsite, that's exactly what it is - parking. As soon as you pitch some tables or chairs outside, extend an awning, or hang out washing, then you are considered to be camping, which should only be done at actual paid campsites (or discretely). 

As we made our way down south-west France, free camping/parking spots became harder to find, so that began to dictate our route. Also, we had previously found it easy to find free parking for a few hours close to city centres, but we found ourselves limited further south by the majority of parking being underground.

We continue our journey from La Rochelle...

Yves 

08/05/18 - 09/05/18

Having spent most of the day exploring La Rochelle, this is just a wild camping spot off of the motorway that we used for the night, as we had a long journey towards Bordaeux.

Where We Stayed

A dead end gravel road, on the edge of some small cliffs, behind some fisherman huts. We went for a short walk along the top of the cliffs but it was extremely windy. There were quite a few cars passing during the day, but it was quiet at night and offered a good view.

Cost: FREE

Toilets: NO

Water: NO

Toilet Waste: NO

Bins: YES

Would We Recommend?

Yes, as a quiet place for the night, but not as somewhere to head to. Be aware, the ground is uneven with quite a few pot holes, so it's difficult to find a flat spot. 

Chateau Marquis de Vauban, Blaye

09/05/18 - 10/05/18

You find yourself driving through acres of vineyards as you get closer to Bordeaux. We decided to stop at a Chateux that offers free parking for campervans.

Chateau Marquis de Vauban is a beautiful Manor House, surrounded by vineyards, and produces award winning wine. They offer various tours, some to the nearby town on a road train, as well as lunch as wine tasting. You can read more about our experience there.

Where We Stayed

They have 20-30 spaces designated for campervans, practically in their front garden and round the side between the vines. They offer free electricity and water (although the water wasn't working when we were there) and a very warm welcome. It felt like we were staying on a campsite, but it was free.

Cost: FREE

Toilets: YES

Water: YES

Toilet Waste: YES

Bins: YES

Would We Recommend?

Absolutely. It was a peaceful, safe place to stay with a good community atmosphere. It was also the first time that we could have a conversation with other British travellers. Plus the wine is delicious! 

Bordeaux

10/05/18 - 11/05/18

Bordeaux is a very pretty city, full of statues, fountains, tree-lined roads and museums. It's centre is full of shops (expensive looking ones) and seeing as it is the wine capital of the world, it is home of a modern wine museum, La Cite du Vin, which offers tours and sight seeing. While people watching for a while in a park, we got the impression that it is quite a high market and fashionable area.

Where we stayed

It was quite hard to find a free place to sleep near the city. We originally pulled into a swimming pool car park in Le Bouscat, on the outskirts of the city, where you can stay for free but we didn't fancy sleeping there. We tried to find other places that were listed on Park4Night but they were full of cars or inaccessible. Eventually, after driving along a lake, we found a car park between the lake and a tram station. We weren't sure if we could stay there but there were no signs saying otherwise and we were eventually joined by some other converted campers in the evening.

Cost: FREE

Toilets: NO

Water: NO

Toilet Waste: NO

Bins: YES

Would We Recommend?

Yes, both the parking place and the city is worth a visit. You can take a tram into the city for €1.60 each way, or we found a parking place in the centre which cost €4.20 for 2 hours (cheaper than 2 of us getting return tram tickets).

Nearby

There are public bikes for hire near the lake, which are free for 30 minutes and fairly cheap thereafter, so we enjoyed a bike ride next to Le Lac. In Bordeaux centre, Le Miroir d'eau, next to the river, is a cool water feature to see, and of course there is La Cite du Vin, or other wine tours/tasting to experience.

Mios 

11/05/18 - 12/05/18

With a long journey ahead to Biscarrose, we stopped for the night on route in this small village.

Where We Stayed

We parked in a park/picnic area between a church and a cemetery. We had a little play in the basketball court and bought a pizza from a truck outside the church (the truck had a stone oven in it!).

Would We Recommend?

It was ok for a stopover, but we were bothered at night by a teenager that kept passing on his moped, and even drove onto the basketball court and shouted something. We definitely recommend the pizza truck on the corner. 

Biscarrosse

12/05/18 - 14/05/18

We went here after a recommendation from an old school friend who now lives there. The area is full of tall trees, sandy beaches, pretty lakes and surfers. It's very popular with tourists during the summer and as a location for a holiday home to the wealthy. This is where we had the most difficulty finding a free place for the night. There are dozens of paid campervan sites but the council are keen to make travellers use them by prohibiting campervans staying in car parks between 10pm and 8am, or by gating areas or adding height bars.

Where we stayed

After visiting a few non-existent Park4Night locations, we were fortunate to find a car park near a yacht club where we parked immediately next to the beach and lake. We awoke to find a leaflet on our windscreen advising us that we couldn't "camp" there, but we stayed for two nights with no trouble.

Would We Recommend?

Yes, Biscarrose is beautiful. There is a great mixture of scenery and much to be enjoyed. Just be prepared to pay for camping ground.

Nearby

Biscarrosse Plage is very popular for a domestic summer holiday - it's like the Cornwall of France. There's a lovely trail that joins the two lakes, which is good for a long walk or a bike ride. I highly recommend stopping at La Dune du Pilat, a gigantic tower of sand that separates forest from the Atlantic Ocean. Read about our day there.

Mimizan

14/05/18 - 16/05/18

We stopped in this town for an overnight. It's not much of a place for tourists but if offered a nice quiet place to sleep and somewhere to walk the dog.

Where We Stayed

After taking a rollercoaster of a ride down bumpy unmarked roads that eventually led to peoples' homes, we eventually found a nice space in a wooded area, next to a stream. It was very peaceful at night (other than a heavy waterfall) and offered a long walk up stream.

Would We Recommend?

Yes, its a tranquil place to rest for a day or too, but only if on route. The town also has your main shops.

Nearby

There's a McDonald's, a E.Leclerc, plus all your basic shops.

Anglet / Biarritz

16/05/18 - 17/05/18

There's a fair amount to explore in Biarritz, whether it's the rock formations on the coast, the centre of shops, the pensioners playing boules, or the odd miniature buses. It was nice to explore for a few hours but it doesn't offer much in the way of parking.

Where We Stayed 

We stayed in nearby Anglet that has a lovely long beach, which is very popular with surfers. Dogs aren't allowed, but there's a promenade that runs along the back of the beach, which is good for a walk or bike ride. Enjoy the sunset from one of the bars or restaurants, or partake in a surfing lesson. There's only a car park intended for beach users and the nearby restaurant. It's quite small and on a roundabout, but it's 100m from the beach. It's pretty busy from people coming and going, especially surfers.

Would We Recommend?

Definitely visit Anglet if you're a surfer, but otherwise the beach has quite strict rules (it seemed like it favoured sports over sunbathers) and it's a busy place to stay. I'd recommend stopping by for a few hours.
Also explore Biarritz for a few hours.

Nearby

It's close to the city of Bayonne. We planned on visiting, but after driving through it to get to Biarritz, we decided we didn't fancy returning, as the roads were very busy and we got enough of a feel of the place.

Urrugne - St Jean De Luz

17/05/18 - 18/05/18

From what we can gather, St Jean De Luz is fairly similar to Biarritz, but it has a large beach in a bay. We were keen to get to Spain so we drove through and stayed just outside. 

Where We Stayed

We were limited to a lay-by a little outside of town. It offered a beautiful view out to sea, but the lay-by was full of deep potholes, and it was so close to the main road that cars passing at 70kmph would rock the van.

Would We Recommend?

Yes, you should probably visit Saint Jean de Luz, and if you're heading to Spain, take in the sight at the lay-by (as many people stopped to do) but allow time to drive somewhere nice for the night.

Nearby

Spain!

That concludes our tour of the west coast. We'll continue our trip in Spain and eventually work our way round to Southern France.

Matt :)

Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with Park4Night or any other businesses mentioned in this blog. All of the above is our own personal account from our experience. All recommendations are made without prejudice. At time of publication, the information above is true to the best of our knowledge, and we do not recommend using us as your only source of information. Services mentioned in this blog are subject to change, please refer to the service providers directly for up to date information.