Discover the beauty of Île de Ré on France’s west coast in our latest motorhome adventure, perfect for campervans, caravans, and tents! We stay at a premium Flower Camping site in Loix with private facilities, cycle scenic coastal routes through picturesque villages like Saint-Martin-de-Ré and Ars-en-Ré, and share real tips for stress-free touring. From stunning sea views and salt marshes to delicious local seafood and peaceful bike-friendly paths, this is an ideal spot for relaxed, scenic travel. If you’re planning a road trip through France, don’t miss this detailed look at one of the island’s top camping experiences.
Hi, we are Jules and Gary.
We live on the east coast and have been motorhoming for 7 years and are on our second motorhome, ‘Annie’.
We are looking forward to sharing our adventures, primarily in the UK, but trips to Europe occasionally too.
Once we have parked up on site, we don’t move Annie, so we look for sites where we can walk, cycle, or use public transport to explore the area.
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#motorhomes #campervans #motorcaravan
[Music] hello good morning morning friday we just left the main salad oh dear me what we like beautiful campsite have a lovely three nights there would really recommend that it was about £19 a night and you get beautiful facilities lovely heated indoor swimming pool and an outdoor swimming pool we had a lovely meal at uh one of the bars yesterday and a few drinks lovely bike rides so thoroughly enjoyed our stay there and really recommend it your restaurants and your places isn’t around and about as well yeah there is there’s quite a few and if you come in July and August they’ll be even more open as well i would imagine it pretty busy i’m not sure I’d come then really but if you’ve got kids and everything then or grandkids you bringing or I’m sure there’ll be plenty for them so this morning the next stop is near Larishelle it’s on Ilder Ray and it’s on a little place called Lua which is spelled L O IIX Loix it’s pronounced Ra so you get to Lishelle and there’s a few little islands to the left hand side of that l is one of the smallest parts of those it’s islands but it’s linked with the road so you haven’t got to go on a ferry or a boat or anything like that so it’s linked by road it’s another flower camping site was we’ve been to a few of the flower ones now and they’ve been really nice but this is the only site that we did actually book when we were planning our trip because it gets very busy and we knew that we wanted to go to this place cuz we had seen some of the YouTubers had been there and it did look really lovely plus if we booked it when we did book it we got 20% off so it’s worked out about £22 a night which might sound a lot but we did actually treat ourselves with this one to a privilege premium pitch which has got your own sanitary block and barbecue area and seating area and so it’s got your own toilet shower um washing up place and everything so we’ll see what that’s like i think all the flower places have them that one that we were on at where we are vanally so we’ll see what they’re like but we thought for sort of £22 a night seemed really cheap but then when you you’re looking at that’ll be the most expensive site that we’ve stayed at in France but we thought we’d just do it just to try it out really see what we think but also it’s going to be nice because we’ve got some friends meeting us there um they’re on the way back up their motor homes as well they’ve been in Spain for the last six weeks or so they’re heading back home so on their way to the ferry they’re going to join us for two nights which is lovely they’re good old friends of ours aren’t they so we’re going to have a good old catch up in the chinwagger a few bottles of wine with them which will be lovely so we probably won’t do a lot of filming in the next couple of days but once we wave them off we’ll be back to it so follow us on our travels on Eel and we’ll catch you soon supermarket stop now supermarket stop everything stop on the way to LA so we’ll uh we’ll see you shortly coming up to the bridge that goes over from Larishelle to Elder Ray you do have to pay to go over it i think from what I’ve read you pay to go over it but you don’t pay to come back how much it is but anyway we need to pay um so that cost €8 it was a person it wasn’t a machine so that was good wasn’t it uh €8 that’s not too bad is it 67 quid so off we go across the bridge so you can walk and cycle actually it’s um it’s quite a distance isn’t it from where we’re staying then max Lar Roelle oh it is yeah i didn’t think when you said that that it was quite Well I just I just to be quite honest I thought you came over here and it was just at the side but no you’ve got another island to go across we’re out in sticks oh sorry wait pleasant very nice egaz doesn’t know where we go i’ll just book it and give him a postcode but yeah looks nice so is about three different islands it’s Landl so it’s all a big a bit of a group resorts over there that you can see it won’t be like cycling over the D oh no lift involved never seen anything like it in my life a lift to get somewhere over in eel delay so the way it brings you down it’s quite small roads lots and lots of roundabouts has done today there’s no sort of really direct route on a a motorway there is a toll route that would probably be quicker but it does take you a little bit out of the way anyway we’re on holiday we’re not in a rush no I’m not i’d rather see a bit than sit on to roads and just get somewhere quicker to be quiet nice villages here we are in Eel Dur looks sort of quite Spanish it does just look a bit different as you come over doesn’t it it does just look different yeah I think it’s going to be Everybody says how nice it is for cycling so that’s We’re here for six nights actually so we thought we’d have a twothirds of the way through we thought we’d have a bit of a six nighter where we’ve got five full days where we can just set everything up get chilled and do what we want every day so that’ be nice so we’re friends tomorrow but it’s back to us we’ll have to speak to each other again won’t we saying it’ll be strange speaking to other people they probably think the same after 6 weeks at the roundabout take the second exit to We’ll bring you back when we get over to LA very green and pretty we’re not far away now no where are we camping camping Leslie so we’re just about to come to the campsite so I’ll go and get organized and I’ll leave Gary to it we’ll probably catch up with you in a few couple of days when we’ve uh waved off our friends so the journey that we took getting from um our base at Sant Hill um involved coming down here the D38 we picked up and we went up the D205 and we went over Shaolong um and onto the D948 we came down here past A and A onto the uh D still on the D948 over Laros yarn and we went over it here so we didn’t have to go on the toll that’s the tall part there and we came round and we joined the D746 there pass Mariel Sadly S and we carried it on all down here over Lucon and then we joined the D137 all the way down here onto the N11 and then onto here onto Larashell and the N237 at Larashell then takes you over the bridge and onto Eel Dere and then we went down this one has got weight limits on it the D735 so we it puts us onto the D201 right up here and then little road there that takes you on to Laha which is the island where we are at the moment so very straightforward journey um it was very easy no toll roads at all so we’ve only used that one toll road about the first day that we got here um so yeah I mean the satnav if we follow the satnav with the weight limits in it then and we we’ve put no tolls as well so um the only thing that there is is that there’s a charge for coming over the bridge at Larishelle over to Eel Duray that was €8 um so that’s worked out i think it was about640 or something like that um I understand it’s only a um a toll when you’re coming across it onto the eel array um but obviously when we leave we’ll be able to find that out whether it’s free or whether you have to pay again um but yeah that was wasn’t too bad six pound something so so yeah very straightforward journey nice nice going over the bridge good morning everybody good morning today we’re beding down to the actual bridge where you come in from Larashelle it’s about 22 km so 44 km or so round trip but that that’s our plan for today so we will crack on and we’ll catch up a bit later probably put a few photos in and maybe some little short clips of videos as we track down there try and capture a bit of flavor of the place and the beauty of it so cycle friendly isn’t it yeah much so there’s plenty of cycle routes and things nice cycle map available from receptions so the buildings you see sort of to the front of us that’s uh Lua [Music] There’s the view of the pond [Music] interesting little structure [Music] we’ll continue up to the bridge [Music] so what we’re going to do is we’re going to cycle up to the bridge if you can get up on one side we might go up go up to the top uh and then come back [Music] [Music] hopefully the camera’s getting this So we’ve uh we came up to the top and we’re heading back down it’s worth doing wasn’t it lovely isn’t it and there we are back down so we’ll go and find somewhere for a bit of lunch now some more of these wooden structures that they build turtle or a tortoise i don’t know whether we’re in time to get the turtle on the right hand side and then you’ve got these here so we’re just coming into La [Music] So this is uh St martin D not sure whether it maybe an old fort but I don’t know whether it’s maybe been a prison i don’t know it was called Port was it Port Thomas or something oh Port’s daughter is it oh that’s the daughter Thomas but it is like an old fortified well it is but then with the new stuff inside and suggest to me it’s maybe maybe a prison cuz all that across would be to stop people landing looks like it was no barracks [Music] as we leave St martin Day we rejoin the cycle path winding our way back to our campsite in Lua we hope you’ve enjoyed today’s ride along the way we’ve been treated to spectacular scenery from the peaceful salt marshes of Lua to the rolling vinefields before finally arriving at the bridge to Lorishelle our return route allowed us to soak in the rich history and charm of Laflot and St martin Day each village revealing its own character and stories join us again tomorrow as we continue exploring more of the island by bike hello good morning so we’re back still on the elder back on the bikes and just come through the village we’ll maybe film a bit of the village when we go back i just weren’t quite sure of the way we were going so it was easier not to film so today we are as I say back on the bikes and we’re heading across to what was it called fair lane well we’re heading across to lighthouse and that but our first probable stop will be unless we see anything we’ll pick you up when we get down there beautiful day it really is stunning seeing some lovely birds we’ll uh try get some photos a bit today and put some photos of uh of the birds that we see [Music] yes we’ve just stopped at one of the many salts [Music] areas not quite sure what the name is for them actually i’m in the salt marshes but I don’t know if there’s a name an actual name for yes yeah they’re not exactly a mine are they so as you can see they’re just creating well creating managing the beds where they bring the water in and then uh process of evaporation leaves the salt which you can buy many of these places many of these um businesses have little So the area we’re just passing through now is called M and directly in front of us you can see our sen ray so this is us just coming up into the main square so our re is renowned for its black and white bell tower used once as a landmark for sailors it’s Belelfrey’s top by a black and white bell tower which is 42 m high which still serves as a landmark and guides boats to the entrance to the bay of Fear Dars an inland sea from the access channel to the port it’s a beautiful stretch of water and is a favorite with sea and beach lovers it’s a relatively old village evidenced by its church whose foundations date back to the 7th century it was once it was as important as San Mant [Music] not sure how Easy you’ll hear us with the wind it’s really windy now isn’t it warm wind though we’ve come up from Asan Ray and we’ve come more now into a an area with grapes lots of vine fields looks like there’s a lot of new ones being planted doesn’t it there so I’m thinking we should be turning right up here so the port on Ray is the exact opposite of the islands to where we went on the bridge yesterday you probably do need bikes to get around easily don’t you absolutely but everywhere hires bikes every street you go on there’s a bike hire place isn’t there and you can hire ordinary bikes or ebikes right nesting places isn’t it yeah oh there’s some chicks aren’t they cute do you want a photo of them [Music] look at this we’re going over oh wow it’s like a spider that’s a bit spooky [Music] so this area we’re coming into now is Le Port Dur [Music] that’s good [Music] so we’re now just heading out of uh Leo de and we’re heading up to La which is where the lighthouse is just stopped in a little bar and a coke and a lemonade so we just pulled off the cycle track and found this little walkway up to the beach and uh this is the view we were met with was it beautiful stunning isn’t it that how lovely uh so that’s where we’re heading to next the uh lighthouse so the cycle route we’re on now brings us round towards the lighthouse and as we get to this point here and as we come around the corner there in front of us is a lighthouse i think you were saying earlier the lighthouse is named after Wales isn’t it it’s called White House of Wales yeah wales in the sea not Wales the place and it was due to the the fact that some Wales beach just near here and that’s how it got its name so it guides boats in yeah um can go in it yeah yeah can go right side of the of the I mean we win in it but I think we the other day it was about €450 to go yeah we’ll we’ll be able to see that uh €450 which isn’t too bad really but I don’t feel the need to go there you’ve got you can see quite a few restaurants yeah as said we came here didn’t we on what day was it saturday saturday and it was heaving i mean so were the fruits were they they were you know and on plan your trip so that you here Monday to Friday then uh better i mean it was all right it was but it was it was not no idea what it’d be like in sort of July August when everything seems to be more open but I don’t think I’d come then you know I mean that’s fine the problem is you do also get a lot of people that are out you know wanting to quickly and go from A to B yeah very people obviously just want to plot along and enjoy yeah but they don’t they don’t slow down yeah there’s there’s a lot that don’t you don’t get no they just which I suppose if they’re local you know they m up the bikes really anyway but I mean it’s lovely gardens that you can go around as well which you get included in your ticket for the lighthouse you can see people up there um certainly go Yeah we go around stopped the other day didn’t we yeah we did well there’s people up there i’ve just seen people up there now as we’re walking up more towards it there’s a bit of an overview of what you see that one as well but it’s in French that’s quite a structure in it yeah oh yeah listers look very well kept don’t they over here yeah yeah certainly i’m not going in there’s a nice restaurant here that you like then we’ll go in so I can eat any time of day what you got there is it quite like some moons some what sorry m yeah well didn’t we you want the sun on that one around there we have up there was it up back up there yeah so you’re back with us we’ve just had a nice meal aren’t we we have oh you’re beautiful we’ll show you the pictures we’ll put the pictures in of the meal that we had at the lighthouse oysters followed by mule fruit so muscles and chips and then a crepe so I had a banana and chocolate and Gary had a salted caramel €62 which I don’t think is too bad cuz I had some wine gary had a beer and three glasses that is very very Oh yeah so we just picked up the bikes again we’re back on the cycle route and we’re heading towards Slank Clemens Ban or Bane or something like that anyhow I can hear Jules’s laughing at me cuz obviously not the right pronunciation it’s fine isn’t it so that’s about 2 and a half kilometers down here so it’s sort of it’s hack as well it’s just such a beautiful place over here we were saying we would come back next year or anything but we will come back at some point i think it’s a very easy place to holiday if you cycle and walk it’s no good if you want to go around by car or anything like that cuz you don’t even see anything really cuz the roads just aren’t made for it but cycles and walks are absolutely fantastic you can just explore so much there’s always a little little or a village or something that you can stop for a coffee or a meal or you know these places just crop up and it’s just lovely yeah so head on down and pick you up in a bit some of them look as though they’ve been parked a while don’t they they do free parking you see for a motor home there so this intersection here is when we came out we went straight we went left well we went straight on which is left and uh that took us all the way around by the park and to the port and re so we just make our way back now we don’t need to go into arson Right [Music] hello good morning welcome to our nice sunny pitch here in Lua um I don’t think it’s going to stay sunny today but we thought we’d just do a bit on the on the pitch before it uh the forecasted rain perhaps comes later on today um so this is the premium pitch that we’ve gone for at the flower camping lazily latt on LA um it’s quite a cute pitch really it’s the the yeah the premium free camp it’s called um so we’ve got our picnic area here which we’ve used quite a lot because uh obviously our friends came the other day and that was lovely for us to put in all the food out and everything like that you’ve got the lights up here which made it a really nice ambiance um and then over here it’s obviously left very natural but that seems to be what they like over here doesn’t it um so this is our kitchen so we have a a sink we have a fridge and we have a hot plate that’s obviously our cardac um so you can do a bit of cooking in here fridge was on when we came so that was okay you have a cupboard if you want it um and this is all padlocked and stuff so you can keep it safe and then in here I’ll put the light on we have shower and we have a sink and we have a L so yeah not much emptying toilets for Mr e this time so yeah I’ll give the floor a sweep out cuz it’s getting a bit muddy so say yeah it’s been really nice actually having that wasn’t it we’ve really we’ve always done all the washing up in there and uh and things so we’ve not had to do a lot in the van at all you know so if you’re having messy messy food you don’t have to go up to the washing up facilities or anything like that and it keeps the van quite clean as well so um so yeah we’ve enjoyed this pitch haven’t we yes we do it was still only £22 a night if it was any more I don’t think we’d have bothered cuz it’s not what we normally do but we just thought we’d treat ourselves since we’re here for six nights so tonight’s our last night [Music]
1 Comment
Love Ile de Re, never use toll roads as we like to see something,have fun