French Atlantic coast and the Basque Country in RV

We are still on our Monster Mobile, an oversized for our taste Caravan, on the French Atlantic coast road. We were less than a week on the Ile de Ré and have now worked our way around 400 kilometers in stages the coast to Biarritz, the center of the French Basque country.

The coast is me sympathetic with each passing day. Again the scenery changes completely. What board just before and was marked with long sandy beaches, is now hilly. The beach fun takes place in smaller bays.

Biarritz sounds in my ears. A longing that appeals to me for a long time and then nevertheless disappointed has. Beautifully is the known cosmopolitan sea and health resort on the French Atlantic coast. At that time imperial summer residence. Unfortunately, the town is touristy so so crowded that it has given us grace despite his no pleasure. Your own fault, we are in high season on the road. But what else can we do with school age child?

Nevertheless, Biarritz offers an extremely chilly city beach called Cotes-des Basques.

There we park looking overlooking the sea, put on tea and watch surfers willing to learn and crack. Honestly, I do not have the water, here in the sun with a gentle breeze it can be superbly endure.

Rooms are available at Biarritz but not recommended, campsites only the price of a middle-class hotels.

After the search, the lot of road trip camper, but we will find them and rewarded for the effort. We land on a community campsite in Guéthary: with sea view, dinky, small beach and excellent sundowner beach bar between Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz – so kill two birds with one stone (Remember tip!). Saint-Jean-de-Luz we had already chosen as the last milestone.

We are now nearly three weeks traveling and want more rest. We emphasize the Spanish side of the Basque Country conceptually and practically in our travel plans and enjoy the last days to the fullest.


With the RV through Canada

How’s the parking pass for the National Parks in Canada?

The National Park Pass you get in each Visitor Center, or simply at the entrance of your first national parks (at a small ranger station). There you can pay cash or by credit card.

The daily rate is currently at about 10CAD. The annual pass is a little less than 70CAD per person. A family or group paid a little less than 140CAD. If you have previously unsure of how long you are in the national parks, you can go, this is not a problem. You can also collect the day passes, leaving after 7 days change to an annual pass.

With us there is a net worth pass. This is, incidentally, valid for one year. It must be signed on the back and be hung on the windshield. The passports are checked from time to time and are not transferable.

Reserve campsites in advance?

A very common question for which there is no general answer. We have prebooked in Canada a single Campground (CG). Since it was off-season, it was usually never a problem. Besides a Saturday, but we had an alternative. For our second trip we have the CG prebooked before Vancouver in Porteau Cove Provincial Park and we would do it again and again, because that is quite popular.

Otherwise, we will reserve in the future only the total popular places in advance. For us it is more important to be flexible. In high season, the looks the same bit different. Here I would reserve in any case the popular places and nights on Fridays and Saturdays in advance. Especially the nights on public holidays. Note the reservation fee of about 6 CAD daily.