So...Where shall we go?

Departure date is fast approaching!! Next Tuesday we plan to leave and the first leg of the journey is just a couple of hours down the road from Newcastle to Hull to catch the ferry across to Zeebrugge in Belgium.

We could have opted to catch the ferry from North Shields to Amsterdam but decided on Hull for two main reasons. Firstly if we went from North Shields we would only have had to travel about 5 minutes from home to get there and it just wouldn't have felt like a proper start to our big trip! Secondly, as the ferry we have chosen docks in Zeebrugge, our onward drive time on our first day on the continent is reduced by a couple of hours. That means we can get to our first destination just outside Paris nice and early ready to set up camp as we plan to stay there for four days.

First on the agenda is three days in Euro Disney.

The camp site we are staying in runs a shuttle bus to the resort, so we can relax and take things easy and enjoy what Disneyland has to offer. Needless to say the kids are really looking forward to this, well all of us are.

Day four in Paris is exactly that. We plan to spend the day touring the sites, Eiffel Tower (apparently a really good rip off of Blackpool!), Seine Boat trip, Champs Elysees, L'Arc De Triomphe and all of the other usual suspects. Then after a nice evening meal we plan to eat into some of the 550 kilometers we have to our next destination, Geneva.

When planning this trip, we realised that as the distances between destinations are so great, the kids would probably bored to tears if we just gave up whole days to driving, and that wouldnt make it much of a holiday. So we tried to think of some way of keeping this to a minimum. Having the van and being mobile and self contained made things easier for us. Our plan is to split longer journeys up, and complete the first half in the evenings after having loads of fun during the day. We can drive for as long as we please, while the kids watch a movie or play some games. Then when we start getting bored/tired/crotchy we can simply pull off the road somewhere nice and camp there.

In France they have what are called 'Aires' which are scenic little rest stops along the motorway where you can stop and camp for free. Some have toilets and showers, picnic tables and that kind of thing. The layout of the van means we have no awkward messing with folding beds and seats, we simply stop, apply the hand brake and jump into bed to sleep if we want. But we can have a meal, stretch the legs and generally take a break from the drive. When we wake up fresh and rested, we can continue on to our destination, hopefully with ease.

That's the plan. I'll keep you updated as to if it works for us or not!!

So we head to Geneva where we plan to camp next to Lac Leman (or as some prefer to call it Lake Geneva) for three days.

Switzerland is extremely beautiful, Kerry, Harry and I have camped next to another lake there a few years ago, before Jack was born. We plan to explore the hills, by cable-car and play on the lake in the Kayaks.

Next we head off to the South of France and St Tropez. Well, Port Grimaude to be exact, just around the bay from St Trop.

We are camping on the beach here for a full week. There's loads to do, exploring the playground of the rich and famous, kayaking round their superyachts and visiting Cannes and Monaco. Of course, we will be shopping in Lidl and sipping 5Euro wine at night, but they dont know that! Theres also a great summer long fairground/mini theme park around the bay that the kids will love.

After that, we head off to Northern Spain and a resort at Estatit. We stay there for four days and will be meeting up with some family friends who are overlapping our stay at the same resort. From there we head even further south and are planning a day trip to the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona.

After we have all had a good poke around the stadium (loosely based on Elland Road I believe lol) we hope to spend a day or two in Port Adventura, a theme park south of Barcelona. After that its back on the road to continue south to Valencia and on to Alicante.

An old Army buddy of mine now lives in the Alicante area, hopefully our schedule allows us at least a few hours (and cold beers) to visit him and catch up.

But we wont have too much time to sit around enjoying the beach (Approx three full days in Alicante) because after that we begin to travel north for the first time. From here we have nearly 900 kilometers to get to Santander, although we plan to perhaps swing by Madrid en-route, just to say we have been.

Out ultimate destination on this part of the route is to get to Santander, a port on the northern coast of Spain and where we have to catch our ferry back to the UK. As the price of tickets for these ferries is eye-watering to say the least, for a big van and family of four in high season, this is the most important deadline on our whole trip.

If anything goes wrong, or our schedule has to alter, it will be done so to still allow us to connect with this ferry.

The ferry trip lasts a full 24 hours and gets us back to this green and pleasant land, well Portsmouth at least. From here we have a leisurely couple of hours drive to South London, where we will be the guests of Leanne and Nigel (Kerry's sister/boyfriend). Here we plan to do the full tourist thing again, London Eye, trip on the river and West End Show to name but some.

Two or three days in London should be enough before we get itchy feet again and can begin to meander north, probably calling in on my family in Yorkshire before heading up the last stretch of A1 back to Newcastle and home sweet home. 

We plan to get home with a few days left off before the kids have to get back to school. Hopefully this trip will provide them with lots of stories to tell their mates, and memories that will last a lifetime. The trip will last for between 30-33 days and covers 2390 Miles (3851 Kilometers) just point to point. That doesnt account for any day trips or detours.

In the next blog, meet the team who will take on this trip of a lifetime (and have a pretty good holiday too).

Speak soon...... and remember: The world is a book and those that do not travel read only one page!

Chris