REINO UNIDO
21 to 27/08/2016
3 adults + 1 child 10 years old
Itinerary
16/08 - Lisbon - Burgos
17/08 - Burgos - Perigueux
18/08 - Perigueux - Paris
19/08 - Paris (Disneyland)
20/08 - Paris - London
21 e 22/08 - London
23/08 - London - Stonehenge - Boulogne sur Mer
24/08 - Mont Saint Michel
25/08 - Mont Saint Michel - Castets del Landes
26/08 - Castets del Landes - Puebla de Sanabria
27/08 - Puebla de Sanabria - Vale de Cambra
28/08 - Vale de Cambra - Lisbon
16-20/08
Complete Itinerary
21-25/08
26-28/08
Accommodation
Camping Fuentes Blancas - Burgos
Camping Le Bois du Coderc - Perigeux
Camping International Jablines - Paris
Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park - London
Hotel Formule 1 - Boulogne sur Mer
Camping Saint Michel - Mont Saint Michel
Camping Le Galan - Castets des Landes
Camping Isla de Puebla - Puebla de Sanabria
Our Stories
We decided to go from Lisbon to London by car, passing through Disneyland in Paris for Francisco to enjoy, Stonehenge and Mont Saint Michel among others along the way. We did a total of approximately 5200Km that were well worth it!
August 16
We had defined that the first days would be to cross Spain and part of France without major stops and that is why these days ended up being almost completely road days.
On this day we left Camila's mother who was returning that day to Brazil and we had lunch at Burger King on the way out of Lisbonbefore starting the trip between Lisbon and Burgos almost immediately. We stopped only at the end of the afternoon to set up the tents and rest for the following day.
We had some sandwiches at the campsite bar in Burgos and went to rest
August 17th
We dismantled the tents early in the morning and continued on to Perigeaux where we arranged with André's parents to meet them and spend the night there. We had lunch at a gas station along the way and had dinner in the Park with André's parents. The park is very good, has plenty of shade, the spaces are pleasant, has a swimming pool, supermarket, restaurant and several games and books that can be used for free. It also has bungallows and mobile homes for place.
That night we stayed in a motorhome housed in order not to have to set up the tents and we had a homemade meal made by mom.
August 18th
As we had plenty of time on this day as we only needed to get to Paris, we took the morning to take a dip in the park's pool and have lunch at the park restaurant before going on our journey.
We arrived at Camping Internacional Jablines in Paris where the weather was not pleasant and we ended up setting up the tents quickly to rest.
This park is located very close to Disneyland Paris and that is why we opted for this camping. It is a very large and comfortable park for those who are going to visit Disneyland as it is only a few minutes by car.
It has plenty of shaded spaces and the WC areas are in good condition with several individual washbasin and shower cabins. Also the area for washing dishes and clothes are well equipped and in good condition.
The next day was destined to visit Disneyland Paris.
August 19th
We got up early to get to Disney as soon as possible to buy tickets
The day was very cloudy but luckily the rain from the previous day had stopped and that even played in our favor because there were not many people or giant lines even though it was August. Still, there were some attractions that we had to wait 45 minutes to get into.
Disnelyand Paris consists of two parks: Disneyland Park (the traditional one with Cinderella's castle in the center) and Walt Disney Studios Park with the attractions most related to Disney's cinematic aspect.
We bought tickets for both parks and during the day we tested as many attractions as possible. As Camila was pregnant with Maria, she cannot do most attractions as they are almost all forbidden to pregnant women. But still, the magic of Disney remains valid for children, adults and pregnant women! It was a day well spent
August 20
We left in the morning for London! We had still a few kilometers waiting for us until we reached Calais, a ferry crossing and a few more kilometers driving on the left side of the road...
Upon arriving in Calais, we were a little concerned as we had seen news of endless lines in the previous week to catch the ferries, mainly on the English side but we were not sure what to expect or if we were going to get tickets for ourselves and the car. After all, everything was very simple and we managed to buy tickets for the next ferry and we didn't even have to wait long for the departure.
We got on the boat and went to lunch because we were very hungry. But this would prove to be an error. Let's say the trip was "a little bit" .... stirred!
We camped at Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park.
It is a camping that is located on the outskirts of London and although it has transport to the center the most convenient way is to use the car to reach the city center
The park is designed for motorhomes and caravans and neglects the area for the tents a bit, where there are no shadows (although we have caught rainy days and that was not a problem!), The space is all in grass and there are some bungallows around. It has a small shop at the reception with just the minimum things and a relatively close supermarket. The toilets are in reasonable condition.
There is also a covered area with tables that we can use for dinner.
August 21st and 22nd
We had two days dedicated to getting to know a little about London. On both days we left the campsite in the morning until the city center, we leave the car in some parking in the center and from there we dedicate ourselves to walking through the main tourist sites.
Tower of London, London Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London Eye, #10 Downing Street, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Madame Tussaud's museum, Camden Town, Notting Hill, King's Cross station and its platform 9 3/4 to Hogwarts and a morning dedicated to the Natural History museum that Francisco was promised to be able to enjoy there as long as he wanted to see the Museum (which is well worth the visit!).
Considering that we only had 2 days in the city, we can say that we made a very nice panoramic of the most emblematic places in the city.
August 23
We left London to start the return journey, but not before making a detour to one of the Prehistoric "Sanctuaries" in the World: Stonehenge. A monument that is over 4500 years old and maintains an imposing and "aura" that is difficult to explain.
We were impressed and it was well worth the detour we made to get to know him!
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The return was waiting for us!
That day and after eating some tuna sandwiches at Stonehenge parking lot, we went to Dover where we hoped to catch a ferry that night to Calais and go to France to sleep. The images of the traffic lines still "haunted" us but again we had no problem (there were even fewer people than at the French border) and we took the ferry in the late afternoon.
This time the trip was on an almost empty ferry and the sea was so smooth that it didn't even seem the same that three days before made us suffer in the opposite crossing! And it also allowed us to watch a fantastic sunset when we started the crossing and left England behind.
Once in Calais, we drove about 30 kilometers until we found a Hotel Formule 1 in Boulogne sur Mer where we decided to stay that night. The hotel was located close to the motorway exit which was very comfortable as the goal was just to stay overnight and leave early the next morning.
Like all F1, there are common bathrooms outside the rooms and the rooms have minimal amenities.
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August 24
We were about 450 kilometers away from our next destination, Mont Saint Michel, so we left early to arrive for lunch. We managed to find Camping Saint Michel. Located 10 km from Mont Saint Michel is a good quality campsite. The spaces for tents are all lawns and with plenty of shade and also have bungallows for rent. The toilets are clean and good.
It has a small supermarket at the reception, a bar by the pool and a children's playground. It is very convenient for those who want to visit Mont de Saint Michel.
We set up the tents quickly and went on to visit Mont Saint Michel, considered by many to be one of the most spectacular places in France and it deserves this "title" ... The abbey, the bay and the natural beauty make this tourist place one of the most popular in France.
We had lunch in a restaurant right at the entrance to the island and after lunch we went to enjoy the most that we could. There is only one problem: the access for those with mobility difficulties. Climbing the thousands of steps that take us to the top of the hundred and a few meters high that the island has until reaching the abbey is a challenge for everyone... and Camila was pregnant!
But it was worth the effort.
August 25th and 26th
The holidays were ending and it was time to think about returning and making longer trips.
From Mont Saint Michel we drive to Castets des Landes in the south of France where we arrived late in the afternoon on one of the hottest days we catch during the trip. The camping was not fantastic but it was located very close to the motorway exit between Bordeaux and Biarritz.
It is a family park and very simple. The reception is only open at certain times of the day and does not have any extra supermarket services. The Bar was closed almost all day. It has a small pool that was great to refresh a bit from the heat that made that day.
The toilets are clean and good and the park has plenty of shades. Not being a 5 * campsite, the physical space of the park was not bad
The next day we went to Puebla de Sanabria where we stayed at the Isla de Puebla campsite, located by the river and very close to the city center (we could easily walk).
It is a park with plenty of shade and in good condition. The toilets are large and good and the park in general is well equipped. It has a large swimming pool and 5-a-side football and basketball field.
There are several tents / caravans that seem permanent and many campers that you notice are usual clients of the park.
On this day we were lucky as the end of a stage of the Vuelta a Espanha was in Puebla de Sanabria and very close to the park so we took the opportunity to go and see the arrival of the cyclists before dinner. It turned out to be a different and unexpected end of day!
August 27
The last day of the trip for Zé and the penultimate for us.
We only had one more night stop and it would already be at André's parents' house and Zé was going to stay at home. The holidays were over!
Along the way, we stopped in Bragança to visit this Portuguese district capital that we didn't know yet and also stopped in Vila Real for lunch. Then we only stopped in Vale de Cambra.
The next day we still have lunch at home before heading to Lisbon to get everything out of the car and end the vacation.
It was a trip with many kilometers but a lot of beautiful things to see and it was an economical way in August to be able to visit so many different places without spending a lot of money!
