20^th & 21st August Portsmouth – Colmar, France

Left home a little early and pumped up with excitement cruised at a steady pace all the way to the ferry terminal in about 20mins, boarded, found my sleeper seat and had the best sleep yet on a ferry. http://www.ldlines.co.uk/index.php

Arrived at 08:00hrs, enjoyed a pleasant calm crossing, had a great breakfast and drove off the ferry and on my way. I wanted to make Slovenia and Croatia, so I hit the toll roads up, over and around Paris; Le Havre – Amiens – St Quentin –  Reims – N44 through Chalons en Champagne – St Dizier – N4 to Nancy N59 and the very scenic D415 to Colmar.

Camped at a great campsite called Camping de L’ll; http://www.campingdelill.com/

Only €7.70 for a night, and within walking distance to beautiful Colmar. Had a shower, bbq, a glass or two and just relaxed in the evening sunshine.

13 Miles and 461 Miles

22^nd August Colmar – Nauders, Austria

Another longish day in the Landy, stocked up and fuelled before I left France, straight through Germany and into Switzerland, alongside lake Konstanz and into Austria, hopped on the toll road towards St Anton, through some stunning scenery and long tunnels icluding the Arlberg road tunnel with a lenght of 13,976m, making it Ausria's longest road tunnel. After the tunnel, came off and went through lovely scenic Landeck and followed the 180 road South to Nauders, near the Swiss and Italian borders.

Camped at a small but pleasant site, excellent toilets and showers, just behind a petrol station, Alpen Camping at €10 a night;  http://www.camping-nauders.at/

Another good bbq, a glass of Alsace wine which I brought earlier in the day, studied some maps and just enjoyed the evening.

23^rd August Nauders – Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

This for me was where the holiday really started; followed the 180 South which became the SS40 in Italy, then along the SS41 and then the 28 into stunning Switzerland, just before Valchava up and over the even more stunning 2503m Umbrail Pass into Italy and the famed Stelvio Pass. Finally, 3^rd time lucky as I drove down the pass, plenty of switchbacks, great fun, stunning scenery all in glorious sunshine.

An absolutely stunning drive! Joined the SS38 towards Bolzano, and then picked small roads, with plenty of trees, awesome views of the Dolomites, great lakes and pretty little alpine villages. Then it just got better, the SS241, SP638 and SS641 through stunningly beautiful places like San Giovanni and all the way to Cortina, this was through some of the most beautiful villages and scenery I’ve seen. It's the trees in the Dolomites that makes it so different to the Alps and Pyrenees.

The €14 a night campsite; http://www.campingolympiacortina.it/eng/index.html

24^th August Cortina – Lake Bled, Slovenia

Up early as normal, had breakfast and tea and set off, went north of Cortina on the SR48 before heading east on the SS52, through some stunning little villages; Forni di Sopra – Forni di Sotto – Ampezzo – Villa Santina – Tolmezzo all along their were just stunningly beautiful sights of the Dolomites.

Joined the E55 toll road for a while, then the smaller SS54 into Slovenia and the 201, through Kranjska Gora and Jesenice, where I refuelled and stocked up in a local supermarket. Drove out on the 634 towards Bled, but first the Soteski Vintgar Gorge, a €4 enrty fee gives you an impressive long walkway along a rushing river through a nice gorge, it was good to walk and enjoy the area.

An hour or so later I headed off to Lake Bled, what can I say about it; it’s one of the iconic sites around the world, a must see! Set in an outstandingly beautiful area, the campsite; http://www.camping-bled.com/

Is on the edge of the lake, and at just €13 a night, a bargain. A great place to spend to awhile away the time, you visit Bled itself and the shops; cafes etc and take a boat ride to the island.

Just thoroughly enjoyed myself here, a great bbq and a glass or two in the evening, yet again in glorious sunshine.

25^th August Lake Bled – Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

Up early as normal and in no hurry, had tea, wandered around for a while, had breakfast and set off. An easy drive along the 209 to the lake, through some great scenery and a national park, only one campsite and at €23.50 (€29.50 on the lakes edge)  the most expensive yet, but still enjoyed nearly a full day here.

The campsite; http://www.hoteli-bohinj.si/en/accomodation/camp-zlatorog

in set right on the edge of the lake, a great campsite with good facilities and a great café/restaurant, although slighty pricey, but a reasonable menu and in a glorious setting.  

Met a Slovenian couple and enjoyed a few drinks with them while they attempted to teach me the ancient card game of Tarock; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot,_tarock_and_tarocchi_games

a bewildering game, a sort of a cross between bridge and trumps, but good fun. It’s great meeting people in other Countries, and hearing their views on the world.

26^th August Lake Bohinj – Starigrad, Croatia

From the start I love Slovenia even though I’ve only seen a small part of it, today was a trip along small roads, seemingly a lot of the smaller roads are to narrow or not suitable for bigger motor homes or even caravans. So off I set, through Bohinj, down the 909/403 and along a dirt track and some very narrow roads, switchbacks all with stunning scenery and glorious sunshine to Cerkno – Idrija – Postojna, which I found out later has stunning caves and an unbelievable castle, next time – joined the 6 through Pivka – Llirska Bistrica and onto Croatia. Another stunning drive!

Crossed into Croatia, no passport stamping, just a smile and waved through. Hit a toll road, the idea being to go straight down Croatia in 2 days, then spend 5/6 days coming back up, and so it was. The toll roads are very good, and relatively cheap, you can even pay in Euros, though at a poor exchange rate.

The A7/A6/A1 toll road is a great road drive, though possibly seen through rose-tinted glasses as I was just happy to be in Croatia and see the scenery along with the Adriatic, and again in gloriously hot and sunny weather, the amount of vehicles I passed with the bonnet up, overheating, lost count, but grunt just trundled along until I heard her exhaust blow, then got worst. Pulled over, checked the exhaust sure enough it had almost spilt near the rear box, fixed it the best I could, refreshed myself, a spot of lunch and carried on.

Came off the toll road at about 15:00hrs and got to the nearly full campsite, some 20mins later, it being Friday, I asked if there was a mechanic nearby, yes about 5mins up the road almost opposite another campsite, so I thanked the Lady and set off. Found the small garage easily, the guy didn’t speak any English, me no Croatian, so I pointed to the exhaust and within about 30mins he had welded it and added a support to hold it. Cost? About £20, expensive, maybe, but on a Friday afternoon at 15:30hrs what else were you going to do, so I paid, thanked him and went to the campsite across the road. My first campsite (only a small place at €14 a night) in Croatia and on the Adriatic coast, as I wanted it, a shower, a swim, a meaty bbq and a drink, and then a stunning sunset. Happy as a pig in ………..

 

27^th August Starigrad- Dubrovnik – nr Blace, Croatia

Up early, showered, cup of tea and off I go, buoyed by watching a stunning sunrise I travelled down to the A1 toll road and headed South, another nice hot day, 25C at 08:15 and a glorious sunny drive, passing even more vehicles with their bonnets up, wolud have stopped for some of them but the breakdown vehicles seem to be frequent. So I carried on down before coming off and heading towards the town of Ploce and the coast road and the Neum corridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, no problems at the border crossing, don’t even get your passport stamped.

Drove through the coastal town of Neum, seems pleasant enough, then another border crossing back into Croatia and along the 8 coastal road onto Dubrovnik, I’ve always wanted to and this the old city. As I came around a corner I saw the modern Dubrovnik (OK 20yrs ago war was raging here, so I expected some new buildings), I didn’t like it, it looked like a Spanish costa, so I crossed the bridge and saw a huge cruise ship in the docks and another 2 at anchor, the omen wasn’t good. So I visited the only campsite, €30 a night and not a very good one at that but at least you could get a 15min bus (bus stop 15min walk away) into town.

Mulled it over for a bit and thought drive down and actually see if I’m not going to be viewing the old city with 100’s of others, I wasn’t, there must of 1000’s, every car space, pavement was taken plus a few 100 scooters. I had a quick drive around the outside of the walls and looked down into the entrances of the old city and it was heaving with hordes of people. Not for me.

So I headed out of Dubrovnik again dishearten, saw a couple of places to camp, but none stood out, by the time I realised it I was back at the Neum corridor, a huge tailback caused by a rock slide blocking part of the road, no problem a little bumpy dirt track bypassed a lot of the queue so I took it and arrived at the border crossing. Waved straight through, drove along the Neum corridor and back into Croatia, by this time it was late afternoon, so I needed a campsite, after a while a spotted a sign to Rio Camp (€20 a night), which was about 7kms from the coast road.

A nice campsite, not the best, but pleasant enough, a few mosquitoes as it’s near a river, so sprayed myself with mossy spray, set-up camp, lit a bbq and although a disappointed day, enjoyed the evening.

28^th August nr Brace – Omis, Croatia

Up early as always, showered and enjoyed a cup of tea with another glorious sunrise.

Hit the coast road, stopped at a supermarket, fuelled up, and just drove up the stunning coastline, taking my time, stopping, looking, taking pics and just enjoying the whole and novel experience on a driving holiday of not having far to travel.

Passed through some really nice little villages/towns, this coastline is truly unspoilt and not that busy even in the high season. Arrived in Omis late morning, found a great campsite; http://www.kamp.galeb.hr/default.aspx?id=40

€22 a night, with excellent facilities and on a beachfront, 20mins walk north of the town, set-up camp and wandered into town.

I really like Omis; it’s stunning backdrop of mountains, the trees, and the buzz of a small town with lots of tourists from different nationalities but doesn’t seem crowded. Had an excellent lunch at great little café right in heart of Omis, watching the world go by, then wandered to the other side of town and the seafront and port.

Did some shopping, more sightseeing and wandered back, had a swim, an afternoon nap, a swim, a meaty bbq and a glass or two and just enjoyed the warm and sunny evening. Camping, swimming, good food and drink, sunshine all in beautiful scenery, can’t beat it!

29^th August Omis – Trogir, Croatia

Up early as always, had a swim, breakfast, fuelled up and set off up the coast towards Split, another place on my list to see and another place jam packed with tourists and zero parking, no camping nearby, so left and carried on again up the coast. I would like to not only see these places, but also enjoy them, personally I can’t if I’m sharing with hordes of other people all pushing, shoving, squeezing pass you.

So I rejoined the coast road and headed for Trogir (yet another UNESCO site) which like many other places along this coast is just stunning, the 2 mainland campsites aren’t brilliant, the best one is on the island of Ciovo, you actually drive through Trogir, over a swing bridge and arrive about 10mins later at a shady, great little campsite (well worth the €18 a night); http://www.camp-rozac.hr/en/ on a small spit head so swimming everywhere and only a 20min walk into town or take a bus from outside the campsite entrance.

I walked into town, there’s a shortcut at the top of a little hill and you walk down an alleyway to the bridge, and cross into Trogir. What can I say, I missed both Dubrovnik and Split because of crowds, this was as good as for me, and not unlike in terms of history and beauty, but with far less people, I took my time and just ambled around, taking pics, shopping, window shopping (something I wouldn’t dream of doing in the UK), and a cup of tea at a café on the front and just wallowed in this stunning little town in a glorious setting in hot sunshine. Does life get any better? Yes it does, I brought a locally made passion fruit ice cream and ate it on the seafront and thought of, not a lot really, for once just enjoying life totally relaxed.

Wandered back to camp, swim, afternoon nap, swim, meaty bbq and a glass or two, chatted to other holiday makers, and enjoyed the scenery and sunshine/sunset.

30^th August Trogir – Starigrad, Croatia

Got up, swam, had some tea and just slowly ambled off the island, through Trogir and along the coast roast, stopped and looked at stunning Primosten, a lovely little place, then straight through Sibenik town and onto Zadar hugging the coastal road (8), just taking my time and enjoying the scenery. Then……..

An elderly German couple tried to overtake me on a blind bend when the road markings were already solid white lines before started to overtake, fully expecting me to brake hard to let them in!? Er no, in their little Mercedes sports car their eye line was about level with my rock and tree sliders, they thought better of it, but they blasted their horn anyway and dropped in behind, passed me on straight bit later, still honking their horn, and then peace and quiet returned and I was able to enjoy the stunning scenery.

Most of this road is in good condition, saw a few police not to many, a couple with radar guns catching speeders, other than that both Croatia and Slovenia seem very peaceful.

So I continued on, didn’t stop at Zadar, no particular reason, carried on the coast road, and visited the Paklenica National Park which was pleasant enough and pretty, though better for walkers and climbers than just visiting by vehicle.

After a while, returned to the coastal road and my 1^st campsite, this was quiet a nice place so I checked in again and for €14 a night reasonable as well. So started a familiar routine, setup camp, swim, afternoon nap swim, bbq, drink etc etc.

31^st August Starigrad – Rovinj, Croatia

The idea was to visit the island of Krk, but 2 lots of people I’d spoken to both said there wasn’t much there, so I set off on the coastal road again in glorious hot weather and just enjoyed the drive up the coast, through some lovely little places, of which Senj stands out, but there’s so many.

Passed the tolled road bridge onto Krk and carried on through the large city of Rijeka, through the upmarket styled place that is Opatija, expensive shops and hotels everywhere, no campsite so I carried on to Medveja and a campsite, which was ok, but not on the seafront, so a quick look at map and as it was late morning, decided to give a large town called Pula a miss, yes there was a Colosseum there and a number of campsites, but I wanted to Rovinj and so I did.

Got there a couple of hours later taking small roads inland and enjoying the countryside, passing vineyards, stopped and brought a few bottles, pretty good actually. Shopped locally and fuelled up and carried onto the campsite; http://www.rovinj-croatia.net/camping-valdaliso-rovinj/

A huge campsite and €17 a night, but what sold it was it had a taxi boat to Rovinj every 30mins, excellent. So setup camp had a swim etc and lit a bbq, was quiet happy slurping a glass of Croatian wine in the afternoon sunshine among the pine trees, until a huge herring gull (this site loads of them) pinched one of my pork cutlets off the bbq and the bigger of the two cutlets and took flight before dropping it, so after cursing it I kept my umbrella handy to shoo away any others.

After a shortened dinner I wandered down to the pier and campsite seafront and caught a taxi boat (20 Kuna €3 approx, runs from about 10.00 AM – 04.00 AM yes 4AM according to the timetable) each way, a lovely boat ride as the sun was setting and magnificent views over Rovinj. We docked some 15mins later, got my bearings, and set off, just wandering around this stunning place, taking pics and enjoying the sights. Stopped at a one of the many cafés on the seafront and watched the world go by. Like Omis and Trogir, I just love these small coastal places.

After a couple hours I caught the boat back, had a glass and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

1^st September Rovinj – nr Isola, Slovenia

This trip has been beyond all my hopes, and I have just thorough fully enjoyed it and taking time travelling and seeing it, I decided to carry on that way and not do too much travel but I was running out of coastline.

Took my time in morning to get ready, had a shower and breakfast and set off up the coast towards Porec, stunning Porec, and Novigrad and onto Umag which was a bit modern. Spent a lovely morning driving up the coast, took my last pictures of Croatia, spent my last Kuna on fuel, a few stores and an ice cream and bid Croatia farewell.

Hopped across the border and headed for Portoroz and Piran, the former being like a little Miami and the latter being more like the unspoilt Adriatic coast (according to a travel supplement I read) and I have to agree. One large campsite I came across was heaving with people and little darlings running around, screaming and shouting. So I moved on and found a basic, but ok campsite (€9.50 a night) on top of a hill near Izola, set up camp in the early afternoon sunshine and just tried to take it all in, the trip, the views, people I’d met, etc etc.

And stayed there the rest of the afternoon amongst my first shower of rain albeit a short one, and another glorious evening. Lent an Italian couple my air compressor as they hadn’t got one for their airbed, and enjoyed the evening chatting away, a great meaty bbq and glass or three.

2^nd September nr Isola – Lake Garda, Italy

Got up early as always, had a cup of tea, looked at some maps and made a decision, I was enjoying only doing a few miles, relatively, a day, I was enjoying leaving campsites at 09.00hrs and getting to new campsites still before lunch, I was enjoying the relaxing pace on the minor roads.

So I change my initial route of cutting straight across Italy and doing part of the Italian Riviera and a couple of French mountain passes and stop instead at one of the Italian lakes and then take my time thorough Italy and France. And so it was.

Left the campsite and hopped onto a toll road, gave my farewells to Slovenia and drove across Italy, fairly straight forward after a few leaving/joining different toll roads around Trieste and finally got on the E70 to Venezia and onto Verona, where I came off and followed the E45 North then the small road to Lazise on Lake Garda. This is Soave country and the valleys of vineyards, stunning, all over the place.

A lovely drive, though watch out for the Romanians at service stations on the toll roads, makes some of our travellers? look civilized. Just my thoughts.

Lake Garda, Italy’s biggest lake (Munchen’s bath, a German guy called it as it’s about 3/4hrs drive from Munchen), is absolutely stunning. I stopped and camped at; http://www.campingspiaggiadoro.com/

A massive campsite, at €25 a night, with excellent facilities, and on the lake front, with only a short walk to the lovely scenic place that is Lazise. A stunning scenic place on the edge of the lake, know doubt one of the many around this glorious lake.

Setup camp and almost immediately asked questions by other campers about grunt (even if you travel by yourself, there’s always people coming up to you to talk about the Landy and kids stare and point, want to look inside the roof tent), it’s a great icebreaker amongst the other campers/tourists even if they don’t like 4x4’s.

So after a chat or two, wandered into Lazise, and what a really lovely place it is, walled, narrow alleyways and typically Italian. Had an enjoyable walk around, stopped for a drink at a café, had a proper Italian ice cream and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. A short walk back to the campsite and met a fellow camper, a German chap, his wife and kids were off doing karaoke or something so he invited me for a drink for he’s also a wine lover, and what a great evening, some excellent wine, great company and me still wearing shorts in the sunshine, most excellent!

3^rd September Lake Garda – Annecy, France

Hindsight is a great thing!

Up early as normal, already decided to head straight for the Col du Sommelier on the Italian/French border and camp near Susa, Italy. So followed a small road alongside the lake south, plenty campsites, fuel stations, nice little towns and theme parks alongside the lake. Then joined the A4 E64 toll road towards Milano and Torino before coming off at Susa and heading for the campsite near Salbertrand and Bardonecchia the start of the highest vehicular road (supposedly) in Western Europe, but it was closed not surprisingly as it was lashing with rain and very foggy, disheartened I headed for the campsite, got there about 13.00hrs, no one’s there until 15.00hrs to check you in, so thought stuff it, it’s raining, let’s jump a day and go over the col du Mont Cenis, yes the weather’s crap but what to do.

So I did, back though very scenic and lovely Susa (I want to return here) and started climbing up the col, well it was wet, then windy, then foggy, not an enjoyable time at all, such a shame, could of stayed at Lake Garda and missed this bit, hindsight a great thing. But I continued on, finally topped out over the col and into France, passing some awesome forts and headed towards the beautiful place of Saint Montez and Modane, where I stocked up on food, drink and fuel. Hopped on a toll road towards Chambery and then up to Albertville and up alongside Lake Annecy, took the road alongside the lake towards Annecy and the campsite, the rain hadn’t improved but the fog had gone. Pulled into the camping site; http://www.camping-europa.com/en/camping/decouverte.htm

a very nice site (€15 a night), but it didn’t look its best in the rain. So I checked in for 2 nights, I was 2 days ahead anyway and it was late afternoon and I wanted to see Annecy.

So I setup camp and the rain stopped, had a bbq and glass or two and turned in, and it rained throughout the night, oh well, been camping in worst. Feed a lot of little birds with some old bread I had, typical lovely fresh French bread I had brought earlier.

4^th September Annecy

No driving today, just sightseeing. Got up in the very overcast day, had shower, and some tea, the campsite is about 9kms to Annecy, a bus runs regularly to the town, so I walked into the local village and brought some croissants and an English newspaper (the first of the trip) and waited for the bus, still in shorts as it was still warm.

An overcast morning, the odd shower but nothing to put me off visiting Annecy, had a great walk around this historic, stunning place. The information bureau is right in the centre of town, very helpful and can give you free town plans etc.

So I wandered around this beautiful city on the lake, admiring the old centre and soaking up the atmosphere and rain, such is life. But I had an enjoyable lunch overlooking the centre of the old city, a local lunch, a crepe of local ham and cheese and a few glasses of local wine, why not.

5^th Annecy – St Amand Montrond, France

A sleepless night really, but got up early in a brief respite and showered, put away the tent and made a huge mug of tea, and set off towards Annecy.

Followed narrow roads until the A41/E712 to Aix les Bains, then the toll roads A43/E70 to Lyon/Saint-Etienne and then up and across to Clermont-Ferrand, then the E11 up to Vallon-en-Sully.

Came off the toll road at J9 and joined the scenic D2144that runs into St Amand Montrond, a beautiful road in typical French countryside, by this time the sun was out and shining in all its glory. Made the campsite; http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/france/centre/cher/campsite-municipal-la-roche-103864/

a great campsite, near the town and a reasonable €13 a night. It now had a little cafe/shop/bar now, sold some stunning and reasonably expensive wine, did some laundry, went for a wander and just enjoyed the sunny afternoon and evening. Normality returns thankfully.

6^th August St Amand Montrond – Sees, France

Because I’ve come north sooner than expected, I’m going to take my time. So I awoke as normal, took my time, had some tea and croissants and headed to the toll road, a simple, straight forward drive along the A71/A85/A28 to Le Mans/Alencon, came off at J18, picked up the D438 to Sees. Arrived at this great campsite, in beautiful Sees in early afternoon, setup camp and did some shopping at the local Carrefour, just across the road.

And then wandered into town, a really typically scenic French village, with a 700yr old cathedral at its centre, lovely cobbled streets, fabulous bakeries and cafes. Got back to the campsite; http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=10366

and only €7.60 a night, had a great bbq and a glass or two and turned in, just before the rain started, it wasn’t hard, just showers.

7^th August Sees – Honfleur, France

A lazy driving day, with some sightseeing in order. Headed out of Sees after refuelling at the garage opposite the campsite and took the D958 towards Mortree and the stunning Chateau d’O, tacked along country lanes to Le Pin au Haras and the famous horse stables, and then onto the battle of Normandy memorial at Montormel in honour mostly of the Polish 1st Division, spent a hour and more there, just trying to take it all in. Just sobering!

Left and took rather pleasant and pretty lanes all the way to Honfleur, a day ahead of schedule, passing the village of Camembert where the cheese comes from, and onto Honfleur. I like Honfleur, and the campsite;

http://www.campings-plage.fr/campings-plage/honfleur-entre-mer-et-campagne.html

being about 15mins walk away from the centre, and only €11 a night so I’m going to spend 2 nights there and just enjoy the last couple of days or so of my holiday.

Drove into Honfleur, it was good to see it buzzing and the campsite open, set up camp and wandered into town, did some sightseeing and a late lunch.

Then wandered back and just enjoyed the evening amongst the showers.

8^th August Honfleur

A straight forward day, no driving, just walking in and out of Honfleur a few times and along the seafront, just taking it easy.

9^th August Honfleur – Le Havre - Portsmouth

Up early as normal, the ferry wasn’t until 17:00hrs, so took it easy around Honfleur, fuelled up, brought a few cases of wine and pottered out of Honfleur over the Normandy Bridge, still €5.40 toll and into Le Havre. The weather had changed the last couple of days, being overcast then sunshine and showers and I had put away the shorts and started wearing trousers, back to normal then.

An easy drive, parked at the terminal and stopped for a spot of lunch in Le Havre, then joined the queue for the ferry. A calm crossing, had a lovely evening meal, and wandered about the ferry as you do, then slept a bit.

Awoke had some tea, and went on deck to see the arrival in nicely lit Portsmouth, through customs and 20 mins later back at home.