Ile de Ré in France is an island located off La Rochelle, on the west coast of France. This is France's fourth largest island and in the summer it is a real holiday paradise. The old town of Saint-Martin is also a Unesco World Heritage Site.
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Ile de Ré holiday island in France
A bridge from La Rochelle on the west coast of France provides an easy crossing to the holiday island of Ile de Ré. Known for its chalk-white beaches and whitewashed stone houses, the island's main industry has long been salt extraction. We are, of course, here completely wrong time of year, but strolling around, it's easy to imagine that this is usually a busy holiday resort.
Ile de Ré - a holiday paradise
All around the island are beautiful sandy beaches and the boats are just waiting for another season. French supermarkets and kiosks remain open even now, but we can imagine the place flourishing with lots of restaurants and tourists in the summer.
The Ile de Ré in France is packed with restaurants and you can go to the harbour of Saint-Martin in the summer to buy fresh fish and oysters straight from the sea. This town is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its distinctive 17th century star-shaped defensive walls.
Unexpected charges
We have found a caravan park just after the bridge, at the entrance to the island's campsite. We are now nicely positioned so that we can see the sea, but despite the fantastic view through the motorhome window, we have been grumbling a bit today. We try to live a budget life, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid all the fees that lurk around the corner ...
A little hassle
When we drove here, we accidentally drove onto a motorway (road toll: 130 kr), then we had to cross a bridge (bridge toll: 80 kr) and then we paid for the parking space on the Ile de Ré (daily cost: 70 kr). However, once we had passed through the barrier, it turned out that the electricity poles were without electricity at this time of year, and it was the electricity we wanted to pay for! 'We don't have much LPG in the bottle, so we hope the night won't be too cold .
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Bosse and Gerd says:
After 2 days of rubbish weather (rain and wind), as of today we have sunshine and mostly blue skies. The weather forecasts for the next 7 days indicate bright sunshine = shorts and T-shirt !
The Algarve coast in Portugal should also have good weather.
16 December 2014 - 20:58
BP says:
Such expenses are very annoying. In addition, it is much more common on the continent to charge "tolls" for both.
According to the BBC's weather forecast, the weather is not great in either Spain or Portugal. Madrid 9 degrees, Costa Blanca a measly 14. Portugal 9-12 degrees. But if you turn round and go to London, it's 14 degrees. What strange weather...
16 December 2014 - 21:18
Mr Steve says:
The contrasts you'll encounter on your journey are vivid.
16 December 2014 - 21:30
admin says:
Bosse and Gerd, that sounds promising! We keep our fingers crossed for that.
🙂
BP, the fees become extra annoying when you feel that you could have avoided them... if you had better control. Those weather forecasts don't sound entirely brilliant, but then of course it depends on whether it's rain or sun...?
Steve, absolutely, and we are still in the same country...
😉
16 December 2014 - 21:54
Ditte says:
Oh, I have been here both in my youth and in my old age. But only in summer. Very nice!
These extra expenses are a shame. You can't rely on a GPS if you are driving a car, it wants you to take toll motorways.
We left Spain, Costa Blanca, this morning and have now had a couple of days of rain. But next week looks good. Before that we have had sun for 14 days and about +18 during the day in Torrevieja. The nights are cooler. But we have sat outside and had lunch most days.
Hopefully you'll be warmer and can avoid extra expenses.
16 December 2014 - 22:08
Katarina Wohlfart says:
Brr. But nice pictures. 🙂 Lovely to follow all these beautiful photos.
16 December 2014 - 22:12
Snows says:
Such costs are annoying but unfortunately not uncommon in some countries. You just have to accept the situation or take a lot of detours on small roads...
16 December 2014 - 22:50
Deciree says:
Not easy to live frugally when you are travelling. But of course you want the money to last a long time...:-)
16 December 2014 - 22:24
Lena & Jan says:
Right now, at bedtime the outside temperature shows 17°, there are Moroccan winds to look forward to tomorrow 😀.
16 December 2014 - 23:52
Mr Lars Permelin says:
There is probably a lot of wind and rainwater coming in overland at this time of year, right there in the Bay of Biscay.
16 December 2014 - 23:58
Marie says:
In Almunecar the weather seems to be 19 degrees and sunny, so slightly warmer than France I guess. Triiist with unnecessary expenses....
17 December 2014 - 0:11
Lena & Jan says:
On Costa Almeria in the bay of Roquetas de Mar we also have winter! This morning we had sun and 18 ° beautiful, also windless! We sat outside in the small kitchen tent and ate dinner as well as coffee 😉.
16 December 2014 - 23:44
marina says:
It almost sounds like you'll have to take the same route on the way back and see your summer paradise in the right weather.
17 December 2014 - 8:13
admin says:
Ditte, 18 degrees sounds like nice heat! We're starting to look forward to a milder climate now, so we'll head south.
Katarina, thank you! Glad you like the pictures!
🙂
Deciree, there are always costs involved. And sometimes you feel like you have to pay extra for making the wrong decision...
Znogge, that's right! Yesterday, however, we think we could have chosen a different route, which was not so much longer...
Lena & Jan, 18 degrees sounds much more comfortable than here. Time to roll southwards!
Lars, it's not surprising that it's getting a bit chilly...
Marie, time to roll south...!
Marina, don't know if we feel like it... But I think this place is super nice in the summer!
17 December 2014 - 9:32
Åsa says:
Here in the Lisbon area we have around 15 degrees and a few weeks ahead we will apparently have sunshine. Around New Year it seems that it will be cloudier unfortunately!
/ Åsa
17 December 2014 - 10:11
Ama de casa says:
Ile de Ré is really beautiful! But I've only been there in the summer...
According to a reliable source, it's pretty chilly here in Spain too. Only twelve degrees right now. But the sun is shining as much as it can and it will surely be lovely in the afternoon.
🙂
17 December 2014 - 11:55
solveig rhann says:
Camping in Tavira Portugal. The sun is shining, this time of year the weather and wind can change a lot. Tavira poliscamping costs 9.90 €, then we get 16 ampere. Google Tavira, a nice old town that does not live on tourism...
17 December 2014 - 12:05
admin says:
Åsa, 15 degrees sounds milder than here! We are gradually heading towards Portugal!
Ama de casa, seems to be a bit chilly all over Europe... but we're still looking forward to a few degrees warmer!
Solveig, thank you so much for the tips! It sounds interesting! We will check it out! Is there wifi?
17 December 2014 - 13:47
Veiken says:
Gah, these fees are such a drain on holiday funds. Too bad you got caught! You can play monkey outside the motorhome and then walk around with the hat or take admission! 😉
It looks nice where you are/were!
17 December 2014 - 21:58
solveig rhann says:
Solan Rhann from Tavira here. Yes, good wifi, but you have to rush down to the laundry room. There are tables and some French people too. Feel at home!
18 December 2014 - 13:31
admin says:
Veiken, haha, thanks for the creative tips for raising money... we'll come back to it if there's a crisis....
😉
Solveig, hello again! Sounds great! It is very possible that we will find there! It takes a little time, however, because we have a bit left and some other things to do along the way... But please keep an eye on the blog, if you are still there, it would be fun to see you when we come!
🙂
18 December 2014 - 17:31
Matts Torebring says:
The bridge costs a fortune to cross, at least in summer. I want to remember that we paid over 40€ to cross. The campsite was then very expensive and without hot water.
20 December 2014 - 21:18
admin says:
Matts, oh is that true? Very expensive in that case!
21 December 2014 - 10:53
Rebecca says:
What a great description of the Ile de Ré! It is unfortunately as you write very expensive so it is difficult to live a budget life there. The price of the bridge toll is more expensive in the summer, 16 Euro in the summer, against 8 Euro in the winter with vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, saw that someone had written a comment about this. 40 Euro is the fee if you drive over with a heavy truck with a trailer. We have many relatives on the island and unfortunately it is expensive even if you live there, unless you can prove that you live permanently all year round, but it is definitely worth a visit! I would also like to recommend the slightly smaller town of Ars en Ré.
30 April 2018 - 6:19