hi there thanks we just want somewhere close to any port really maybe an hour or so wouldnt be bad.im just a bit worried because we havent done it before hubby says it will be fine.im sure it will be really exciting.when we go abroad we do hire a car at times i just dont feel as safe on there roads as i do back home.any suggestions will be great

For factual information, why not contact the Calais Tourist Office, Boulogne Tourist Office, St Omer Tourist Office, Dunquerque Tourist Office who will have lists of campsites, perhaps even on their website - or send them an email ...... they'll cope well with English!

Or go slightly wider by googling Association Departementale de Tourisme du Nord, Association Departementale du Pas de Calais, Association Departementale de Tourisme de Picardie, which cover the whole departments close to Calais. If these forms of tourist office don't appear ......... their names may be slightly different to the format we use in Alsace, you might try googling Tourisme Pas de Calais, Tourisme Nord, Tourisme Picardie, or even Campings Departement du Nord, Campings Departement du Pas de Calais and Campings De L'Aisne (which is a little bit further south....... close to LAON) which should bring up SOME info. Don't worry if the subjects I've suggested to google are slightly different from the French spellings, they should be ok.

Hi madmadge, We too have a campervan and I felt exactly the same about driving over there at first - but I can honestly say that the roads feel safer over there, hardly anyone about at times! A much more enjoyable experience than the madness of the UK! We haven't travelled very far in France, as far as the Normandy landing beaches but I can thoroughly recommend the area between Calais and Boulogne, the coast road between the two towns (D940) is spectacular, with pretty villages along the way. We stayed at a campsite called L'Ete Indien which is on the D940, 24 miles south of Calais and 3 miles from Boulogne. It has a heated swimming pool and a small fishing lake. There is a frequent bus service to Boulogne (handy if you don't want to move the campervan off site) or you can walk along the cliffs to Boulogne or Wimereux, an attractive seaside resort. Boulogne itself is well worth a visit, a walled old town with views to the harbour, lots to see and do with good restaurants and bars to sit and watch the world go by. As you can tell, I am really hooked on this area which I think is often overlooked by people in a hurry to get on the autoroute and head south. Hope this encourages you to give it a try - bon voyage et bon appetit!

First there is a Motorhome aire on the beach at Calais (you can see it offthe ferry starboard side)

Second do you use a SatNav ? if you do there is a site that I personally use and can vouch for the guy's accuracy as it's far closer than ~TomToms POI's ever are

http://archiescampings.eu/downloadpage/

and then thee is his friends site

http://users.telenet.be/leo.huybrechts/camp.htm

I use Archies All Europe in one file (over 12000 campsites) as I have the TomTom Navigator 7 Europe seamless map and it shows around Calais that there are 18 campsites within a 6-7 mile drive from the docks

HTH

thanks very much for your replies and help guys