Hi all, I’m planning a holiday for next year for me and the other half, the plan will be to hire a campervan, strap the bikes on and tour round France for a couple of weeks hopefully spending a couple of days in north Italy. I’d like to see as much as possible whilst getting a bit of riding in on the big stuff!

Has anyone done this and/or got any must see/ride tips or advice on itinerary planning as it’s the first time I’ll have been!

Cheers in advance,

Phil

You’re going to have a blast!

Did something similar for our honeymoon, 3 weeks via Germany, Austria, North Italy and France on way back.

Wish we had had a better plan in advance, spent a little too much time driving from place to place.

Really recommend Italian Dolomites (bring a via ferrata book/welcome to borrow ours) and some of the Italien lakes (Lago di Ledro, near lake Garda). We ended up getting addicted to Lambrusco (please don’t judge me).

In France we stopped at gorges de tarn on way back which was lovely and meant I could see the Millau Bridge, nice!

Its a long way to drive, in a campervan, so if you’ve 3 weeks you’ll have a lot better time.

Stoner is your man for this IIRC.

Hey I live in Torino for 3 years and can recommend:

The riding around Bardonechia, Sauze d’Oulx. If your feeling lazy you can always get some head starts with the ski lifts.
http://singletrackworld.com/2012/08/midweek-mini-movies-111-2/

Also check out Val di Susa.

Did 2500 miles in 2 weeks earlier this year in a T5 VW Camper.

That was too many miles !

The VW was a 3 months old Californian, 4 wheel drive.
Just ate up the miles, brilliant over the Pyranees, through the Tarn Gorges, carried four bikes and all kit easily.

If you are hiring something make sure it’s up to the job.

Another time I would plan better each destination and use the motorway network to blat from one zone to the next, the tolls are worth the time saving and France is a big place.

Loads of campsites, no need to book.
We did however book the first night through the tunnel and the last night for the same reason.
Municpal campsites are a bargain, you may not get a swimming pool and restaurants but some were 20 Euros a night compared to 70 Euros on the meditteranean coast. (4 people)

Unless you have mates rates access to a motorhome/camper then I wouldn’t rent – they’re hideously expensive. I’ve now had 4 motorhomes and with the exception of my current van (which we’ve kept hold of) I’ve bought one, used it for the summer then sold it on. I’ve not lost money on any of them, & actually made money on one.

They hold their value extremely well so if you can buy (private – to keep initial cost down but also because you often get the full kit and caboodle of equipment thrown in), you could end up with a cheap, if not virtually free holiday. This is not cloud cuckoo thinking, but based on our experience.

Stoner is your man for this IIRC.

indeedy, but Stoner is just back from a 400 mile round trip to his in-laws and wants whisky and bed to recover.
Will post something a bit more useful tomorrow.
In the meantime:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/route-guideride-report-france-tarn-cevennes-big-post-pic-heavy

I’ve been looking at America but will keep an eye on this thread for europe.