KOMBI Kaper 2015

Ok so here we go ... the news I know you've all been waiting for .... I certainly have been pacing up and down .... we're on our way to the Ile de Re ... to a place called Interlude.    By the looks of it it's a fabulous site and they've bent the rules to allow us in and pitch together.  We have 10 pitches.

The dates are travel out Friday 24th July Portsmouth to Caen on the 10.45pm ferry.
Saturday 25th July Kombi konvoy down to Interlude on the Ile de Re.
14 nights at the campsite.
Depart Interlude early 8th August to get the 4.30pm ferry back from Caen to Portsmouth.
Anyone wanting to go back early to split the return journey will be welcome to, you can arrange that when the bookings go in.

Looks lovely ..... it's going to be epic!

Interlude Campsite








Pics courtesy of eurocamp.

The pricing, includes 2 berth cabin on ferry out, 14 nights at Interlude with hook-up then ferry back:

2 people in 1 BraziBay £1463.00
1x extra adult £149.00
1x extra child (under 13) £124.00
4 berth cabin supplement £20.00

There will be an extra charge for trailers/over-height vehicles and any variations to the travel arrangements.

KOMBI Kaper Krew for 2015:

1. TimV
2. Absinthekombi
3. dazdub
4. Happyhouse
5. alderley
6. Baylee/URmysunshine
7. Tallulah
8. Harryhornet
9. Batman
10. Dickymint1972

Here's the route I plan on us taking to the Ile de Re:



As you can see there's not much in it time and distance wise if we take an alternative route.  There would be an increase in cost however as the alternatives involve more tolls.  We're used to the route via Rennes and Nantes, know where the stops are so I believe it's best to stick with what we know in this instance.

Arrival in Portsmouth Friday 24th July


View Larger Map

Lower marker = Flathouse Rd next to Morrisons
Middle marker = Shell petrol station - please fill up before boarding the ferry
Top marker = Entrance to Brittany Ferries Check-In




Regardless of when you arrive, could I please urge everyone to fill up their tanks (first click remember!) at the Shell station if you haven't already done so heading into Portsmouth.  This is to enable us to get to our first stop point in France without having to break off for fuel.

Effectively we are travelling as a group and Brittany Ferries require us to be there 90 mins before departure (it would be nice to board the ship together - if anything as it looks amazing!)  Therefore I propose the following timetable:

2045 Arrive Portsmouth - park in Flathouse Road
2100 - 2115 Fill up at Shell
2115 Check-In at Brittany Ferries Terminal
2245 Ship departs

NB: please remember to pack an overnight bag for use on the ferry.  The cabins are good but not huge so lugging large bags up from the car decks is not a great idea. There are a number of restaurants and a great bar!  I suggest we congregate there during the evening for a celebratory drink!  

Like the look of those.

Too far for us, when you add the drive down to Dover into the equation, but they look great - especially for those with children.

AbsintheKombi wrote:

Too far for us, when you add the drive down to Dover into the equation, but they look great - especially for those with children.

I am sure someone living near Dover would be more than happy to sort a local camp site or hotels for anybody travelling from afar who would like to break their journey up before of after the Kaper.

I could even get a BBQ going   

last one looks good as Abs said long way with kids from Northwest!

out of interest what would the action plan be, a halfway stop somewhere overnight or longer? it takes me 15 to 16 hours from barcelona to cheshire in something very fast like a Golf GTI or Bentley on a concerted effort run, a T2 would be at least double that surely and italian roads are not french autoroutes!

Most likely an overnight stop somewhere in the Champagne region of France each way.

According to Google, from my place in Surrey it's a 13.5hr drive to Verona. Split that over 2 days at each end. This would be a 2 week trip.

I would love to go to italy in van - would hull ferry to rotterdam make it easier for the northerners? Or newcastle amsterdam?

We like the look of bella

Love the look of. Ca savio. Quiet site, near beach, Venice accessible. Sounds perfect!!!

Happyhouse wrote:

Love the look of. Ca savio.   Quiet site, near beach, Venice accessible.  Sounds perfect!!!

Must admit I like the idea of a visit to Venice.   

Exactly!!!!!

To visit Venice would be great...
We'd love to go but will all hinge again on being able to get 2 weeks off in the summer holidays so will start conversing with my colleagues pronto....

Just a note about Venice - very very expensive in our experience!

Anymore thoughts on this one please before I starting getting quotes?

AbsintheKombi wrote:

Too far for us, when you add the drive down to Dover into the equation, but they look great - especially for those with children.

Come on you two - stop at mine for a couple of days either side - you can hit London - take in a show and the sights!   

Need you on this one please!

You know you want to .....

Scooby wrote:

Just a note about Venice - very very expensive in our experience!

Sure, but a place that I have yet to visit and can't think of a better group of people to do it with!

Too far for us I'm afraid, especially since it's quite a hike for us to Dover in the first place. I still have the scars from taking the family on a camping holiday in Austria, stopping over in Luxembourg, and I was driving something considerably faster than our van!    Having said that, if there are enough people up for it, don't let us stand in your way. We've been to Lake Garda and Venice, and both are beautiful. If we were going to venture that far in our van we would take several stops on the way, but we now have the luxury of having plenty of time on our hands.

alderley wrote:

We've been to Lake Garda and Venice, and both are beautiful. .

We agree  

Scooby wrote:

alderley wrote:

We've been to Lake Garda and Venice, and both are beautiful. .

We agree  

The open air opera in Verona, staged in the 2000 year old Roman amphitheatre, is a particularly memorable experience.

We'd love to come but I still think it's too far for us. It would add an extra two days at least on to the holiday to stop with you - two days we could have in France if we went straight over from Portsmouth to St Malo or even Poole to Gijon in N Spain. 

Having said that, on the one occasion we've been to Italy I loved it, albeit we went to Tuscany.

I'm not a big lover of beach holidays and you need the right type of site for all the children going (been there, done that when ours were younger) which isn't necessarily what we'd want.

If you were going back to France for a week, we'd probably join you, as part of our holiday - we had a great time with you lot last year but I think this one won't suit us as well.

I went to Venice as a teenager in the 60's, all the roads were flooded, and everyone was going around in boats.

Ok, here's where we are at......

Italy sounds great, love the idea of going to the lakes and letting Lula (the kayak) have a good workout, but the two day drive is putting us off.

We could cope with a looooong drive in one direction and the convoy is great fun, but knowing that we will be doing another two day drive at the end doesn't excite us as that's a whole 4 days of travelling out of a two week holiday.

Similar to Abs, we would rather take a longer ferry ride (at least in one direction) to reduce the amount of driving/maximise the 'real' holiday time, which ultimately pushes us more toward Spain. (or even Portugal...)

One idea to throw out there is a multi-site holiday/tour that would break up the driving into manageable chunks while still allowing us to travel further. Eg, 1 day drive then 2/3/4/5 days at a site, another 1 day drive deeper into Europe then 3/4/5 days at a site etc. This could be finished off with a longer ferry back to Blighty if location allows, otherwise just the one long drive to finish off or even a third (shorter?) stop somewhere different on the way back.

Our experience last year was that having a two day stop en route didn't work. By the time you'd unpacked everything to enjoy the two days it was time to pack up again.

Next time we'll drive and then have a one night sleepover so that we can ultimately have 3 or 4 days in one place. That way we just unpack what we need for the night and can get off again in the morning.

After we left the Kombi Krew, we had 2 days in Cognac, 5 days in the Dordogne, 3 days in Espellette and 2 in Llanes before coming back from Santander. We should have had one in Cognac, 5 days in Beynac, 1 day in Espellete and 4 in La Paz.

I'm still watching with interest Plymouth to Santander would cut a drive to Spain what are other children ages who may be going?

Oli will be 9.