The Loire Valley is a fantastic place to visit and has been popular with British visitors for many years. The Loire Valley is one of the most beautiful and historically interesting regions of France and it’s not too much of an arduous drive from the UK. This tour has been designed to make driving distances easy to handle, giving our clients lots of free time to explore the area at their leisure. The architecture of the typical Loire Chateau is stunning, you will be amazed at their lavishness and architectural design.

The architects used the River Loire as a design element and their results are often remarkable. When you combine this architectural elegance with the area’s natural beauty and its superb class wines, it is easy to see why visitors return time and again to the Loire Valley. The tour will be accompanied by a highly experienced Motorhomes Direct Ltd wagonmaster tour guide throughout the whole tour.

A typical motorhome tour of The Loire Valley

The 2 or 4 week tour described below is a typical tour. Tours can be customized to a great extent, depending on the number of motorhomes in the group. We insist on a pre-tour meeting beforehand which must be attended by at least one person from each motorhome, this gives us all a chance to discuss things we would like to include or maybe exclude. Every group is different, so every tour is different which is what makes them so much more fun. Sometimes we will stop mostly on campsites, sometimes we will stop at the free ‘aire de camping car’ which the French love so much and of course many selected vineyards will let you sample and buy their wines and let you camp at the vineyard free of charge if you buy there wine, otherwise a small tip of a about 5 euros (although not expected) would be nice for the grape pickers tip box.

Saturday 1	Normally we will meet up at 15.00hrs Saturday afternoon to collect your Motorhome at Trentham, in Stoke-0n-Trent, Staffordshire. J15 M6.The rest of Saturday is spent travelling to Dover and getting a good feel of your motorhome. If you want to make your own way, you can arrange to meet up with the tour guide on Saturday evening at a campsite near Dover, if you prefer. You will be given details and a map of this campsite, within 14 days of booking,confirmation, along with a welcome pack. Including a full Itinary of the motorhome tour throughout France and a map pinpointing the sites we will visiting.
Sunday 2	We catch a ferry from Dover in the late morning and arrive at Calais at about 13.30 local time. A drive of 40 miles (nearly all on motorway-Peage), will bring us to our first campsite near Boulogne. This evening we will be taken by bus for a really good dinner with wine in a local restaurant.
Monday 3	Today we have the longest drive of the whole tour, a distance of about 170 miles, but nearly all on motorway, so it should be very easy. We will arrive at our top class campsite near the town of Moyaux in Normandy in mid afternoon. The campsite has its own restaurant, so the cook can take a holiday if you wish.
Tuesday 4	A completely free day to relax and even explore the local area.
Wednesday 5	A drive of about 155 miles today will bring us to our first campsite on the Loire, in the town of Angers. There is no food on site, but shops are about ¾ mile away.
Thursday 6	A free day to relax, visit a local vineyard taste the wine and stock up, or explore as you wish.
Friday 7	Another free day which will give you enough time to further explore the very interesting town of Angers,– or to catch up on the chores.
Saturday 8	A short drive (about 50 miles), along the river to our next campsite near the town of Saumur. There will be enough time to fully enjoy driving along the banks of the River Loire and making the occasional detour to visit an interesting-looking village. The campsite restaurant will stay open for us this evening if enough people want to use it.
Sunday 9	A free day today.
Monday 10	After a well deserved lie-in, we will move on to our next campsite near the town of Onzain. The distance is only about 65 miles so there will plenty of time to visit some local attractions en route. These could include Chinon, Azay-le-Rideau, Tours, Chenonceaux and Amboise. The campsite has its own restaurant and take-away and there is a supermarket within 2 miles.
Tuesday 11	Relax or explore, as you wish. Stock up on with local wine again if you must.
Wednesday 12	We start to head for home today, albeit at a leisurely pace After a drive of about 120miles we will arrive at our penultimate campsite near the river Seine at Poses. You can stroll along the tow path and visit a local restaurant in the nearby village if you wish or just chill out. Whatever takes your fancy at the time.
Thursday 13	After todays drive of about 100 miles, we will arrive at our final campsite near the village of Villers-sur-Authie. This evening we will be taken by coach to a good quality local restaurant for our farewell dinner. this will comprise of four courses, with wine, and will be a fitting end to a fantastic and interesting tour.
Friday 14	The tour ends this morning, so it is time for an early start for home. (06.00) Calais is 65 miles away. we shall catch the early morning ferry approximately 10.00am. you will have ample time to do your last minute shopping and fill up with cheap Diesel in Calais. On arrival in Dover we shall make our way back to Trentham, (late afternoon early evening) to collect you own vehicles, say your farewells, echange telephone numbers,and allow us to prepare the vehicles for the next tour.
Saturday 15	For stragglers we have until 10.00am to get back to the site. This is the insurance cut of time.

For our Overseas visitors this tour can be extended to 21 or 28 days to suit individual requirements:

Included in the tour price

          A fully equiped Motorhome of your choice.

• Unlimited mileage.
• Full comprehensive insurance.
• Breakdown/Accident recovery service.
• Road maps pinpointing campsites.
• Two way radio or CB to avoid getting lost (more details at welcome meetings)
• A return cross channel ferry ticket, usually Dover – Calais for the motorhome and all it’s occupants.
•  All campsites we visit will have mains electric hook up, toilets, showers and all the usual facilities. Vineyards we visit will not have hook ups or showers and in some cases no toilets. You will need to utilise the motorhome facilities here.
• The full services of an experienced Motorhomes Direct Ltd(wagonmaster) tour guide who will be consigned to escort your tour throughout (if you are pleased with his/her services maybe a small tip would be appreciated).
• A four course welcome meal with all the wine you can drink after arriving at French site
• Guided sightseeing for those who wish to partake in excursions. (optional)
• Daily itinerary.
• Alternative activities to suit all. Young and old alike.
• A four course departure meal similar to the above (Day 13 Thursday)