France in a VW Type2

Excellent US site Type2.com has a great online resource - AIRS (Aircooled Interstate Rescue Service) - which basically lists van enthusiasts in the US and around the world who are willing to help out if you happen to break down when travelling in their area. Unfortunately there are no listings for anyone in France.

Although I'm bringing a fair few spare parts with me for our French odyssey, it would be nice to have the contact details for VW-friendly mechanics and enthusiasts in the areas we will be travelling (Brittany, Bordeaux, Dordogne, Loire Valley). Anyone any ideas?

Spent a few hours this morning plotting a route around france that makes for realistic distances to be travelled (about 250km a day is the max the kids can handle). Upshot is that between the morning of June 4 and evening of July 14 we'll be covering 2,148 km (1,335 for the imperialists among you).

We're getting the ferry from Cork to Roscoff and will travel down the Atlantic Coast as far as Arcachon, which is just south of Bordeaux. Then its inland to the Dordogne to stock up on fine foods and more wine (we're planning three nights neat St Emilion - one of myself and Sandra's favourite varieties of the red stuff), and head up inland to Mont St-Michel. From there it's a stroll along the North Coast back to Roscoff. We're planning to stay in most places at least 3 nights and there's only one overnight to break up a long journey. In fact the average drive is under 150km with the longest clocking in at 277km.

I used the RAC Route Planner (pic above) which I found really good - provides an overview map and detailed directions for each leg. It's actually just a skin on Map24.com, which I've always found excellent for Irish driving. Someone also recommended Via Michelin to me, and Mappy.com also looks good, but to be honest I don't see a lot of difference between any of them.

UPDATE: Have spent a bit more time with both the RAC Route Planner and Mappy.com. RAC service gives me better routes - direct via D roads, which is my kind of driving. But the extras on mappy.com are great - highlights speed cameras, shows what the motorway signs you are looking for are like, and you can add in cash machines, Wi-Fi spots and other useful services along you're route. As a result I'm having to force mappy.com along the routes the RAC has suggested.

Last saturday night was Eurovision night. For non Irish readers you should be aware that in Ireland, as in many other European countries, the Eurovision is a bit of an institution. Even people who admit to hating pop music watch the voting as the regional voting patterns are usually hilarious.

We were camped out in Achill Island (see pic), a remote spot on the western seaboard. But I managed to see much of the event thanks to Caddy's nifty little plasma TV and a portable aerial. As I commented to some of the other T2i members there - "Aren't we supposed to be getting away from this kind of stuff when we are camping?" (Didn't stop me watching though).

At the moment I'm considering what tech gadgets to bring with us on our six week trip. Bear in mind we have a three year old and an 18-month-old travelling with us, so a large part of the consideration is ensuring they don't get bored on long drives or if we are camped up in bad weather.

Power supply isn't an issue in my decision. Thanks to Caddy at the Ireland Air-Cooled Centre I have a sweet power set-up. There's a mains hook-up for camp sites and lots of 12V sockets running off a set of heavy duty lorry batteries in the back. A simple switch means I isolate the leisure battery when parked up and then switch it over when on the road again so that the batteries level out and re-charge.

Currently I'm looking at bringing a very old laptop (which I won't mind if it's stolen) for basic email and posting to this blog. A portable DVD player for the kids. A 30GB iPod so we have plenty of tunes. Then there's the small matter of the World Cup - with a lot of evening matches we'll have to stay close to the van with the kids so a TV could be a necessity. I'm thinking of maybe opting for a portable with built in DVD player so there's less kit to have to carry.

What does anyone else think? Is this a stupid amount of gadgets to be bringing on a camping holiday?

I'm drowning in a sea of lists at the moment. Lots of little things that we need to get sorted before hitting the road.

Yesterday it was sorting out our insurance renewal and getting the necessary paperwork to ensure we can prove we're insured when travelling in France and possibly Spain (just in case we get a mad fit to keep travelling south). Like pretty much everyone else in Type 2 Ireland, I have my policy through Dolmen Insurance Brokers who have a special Camper Insurance policy in association with Axa.

Dolmen have come in for some grief lately from the VW community after they declined to insure a Bay that was painted with an eye-catching 70s mural featuring such characters as Che Guevara (see pic above). The story got a lot of coverage in the media (after yours truely tipped off a colleague in the Motors Supplement of the Irish Times).

My experience of Dolmen, as with most organisations like this, is that the level of customer service varies widely depending on who you get on the other end of the phone. I'm not mentioning any names with regard to bad service but I will say that Rebecca returned my call yesterday and was most knowledgeable and helpful.

I'm on a bit of a technology buzz other than that - sorting out a laptop and portable DVD player for the van. Tonight will be spend filling the holes in my custom cabinets with plastic wood filler in advance of painting.

So much to do, so little time.

UPDATE: The Green Card and Bail Bond I need for France and Spain repsectively were at home last night. Nice one Dolmen and even more shocking that the Irish postal service actually delivered something overnight.

In a fit of enthusiasm I've created this blog to write about our experiences spending 6 weeks in France this summer in our 1970 VW Type 2 camper van. I think I may have got too excited after my first event with the members of the Type 2 Ireland website in Achill, Co. Mayo this weekend. Only time will tell.

First off I'm not a petrol head, so don't expect lots of technical advice. I'm just an average Joe who is learning as I go and relying on enthusiastic VW mechanics and other members of the community to find my way. So don't expect lots of technical info here.

I also don't intend this to be a travelogue or diary of our holiday. Sure I'll mention some of the placese we've been and sights we've seen, but what I really intend to concentrate on is what I'm learning about the practicalities of the trip so that other VW camper owners can get some benefit from it. Well that's the plan anyway - I'm sure you can tell me if I am getting it right!

I hope to post daily until our departure - which is less than two weeks away now and every couple of days when on the road.

So welcome aboard and hope you enjoy reading.