Together with Pia and her book “Vanily” we give you great tips for a relaxed everyday camping life and road trip with your kids in 5 blog posts

Part 2: Favorite destination Brittany

Looking for inspiration for your next van adventure? How about a road trip through Brittany? In any case, author Pia has fallen in love with the wild and beautiful region of France and takes her to her favorite places on her trip to the Atlantic coast.

So wild and wonderful: traveling through Brittany in a van

Favorite destination: Normandy and Brittany

We have completely fallen in love with this wonderfully wild, wonderfully calm and beautiful region in the west of France. There are the old houses made of large stones with their blue shutters and colorful geraniums in front. The small harbors with countless fishing boats and restaurants where lots of wine, oysters and mussels are served. But there are also the endless paths through grasses and ferns along steep cliffs and the lonely, wide beaches where the crystal-clear sea water invites you to swim and the sun bathes the sky in beautiful colors in the evening. You will find rough rocks here as well as long, fine sandy beaches. If you get involved in it, you'll quickly lose track of time, get lost in the sight of small fishing huts against the horizon or while strolling through colorful markets.

The best time to go camping in Brittany

We found late summer to be the perfect time to travel to Normandy and Brittany. At the beginning of September, tourists are hardly out and about anymore, and the locals have long since ended their summer holidays. The great heat of summer has passed and a lightness returns to the alleys of the cities, where the cider tastes of the last warm days of summer.

Favorite places on the Atlantic coast

On the east coast of the Quiberon peninsula, the sea was as smooth as a mirror in the late season. While Mini dug with Dad in the surf on the deserted beach, I was able to take the SUP out into the ocean. In Perros-Guirec, right on the picturesque Côte de Granit Rose, we hiked on the Zöllnerweg past lighthouses, pink rocks, house-high waves and flora and fauna that I have never seen so green in autumn. At Cap Fréhel we immersed ourselves in complete solitude, collecting shells in the mudflats and feeling autumn in the cool morning wind. On the Alabaster Coast we parked our rolling home just a few meters next to a sheep meadow. The majestic chalk cliffs of the Alabaster Coast formed an impressive backdrop behind the grazing animals. Even up here on the cliff we could hear the crashing waves crashing into stones. It is the interplay of beauty and naturalness that fascinates us so much about Brittany and Normandy.

Find parking spaces in France

Although free standing is strictly forbidden in France, you don't necessarily have to rent one of the XXL campsites that France is so famous for. There are excellent parking spaces for mobile homes etc. throughout the region, or parking spaces where you can stay for one night. However, it is not allowed to place chairs or other utensils in front of the van that look like camping. We have had good experiences with so-called camping municipals. In France there are over 2,000 municipal campsites run by municipalities. These usually cost very little, have a minimum of infrastructure and often offer spacious places in the middle of nature. You can't reserve the seats, but that's not necessary. You can always find a place here, especially in the low season. You can easily check whether there are municipal campsites along your route using the search function on Google Maps.

Text and idea:
Pia Maack aka dieflashpackerin / Excerpt from her book “Vanily - Vanlife + Family”

You can find Pia’s book “Vanliy” with great tips for vanlife and family, parental leave and road trips here in our shop!