If you watch as many van life videos as I do you are going to come across a, ‘real van life’, one telling you all about the less glamorous side of van life, the dodgy park ups, the joys of finding somewhere to empty your toilet, and the problem of having your van, and therefore your home in the garage for repair.

However there are always the perfect places to go, the Instagram worthy shots, and the sheer joy of being in a wonderful place, for free or very little money. I was lucky enough to have some very gorgeous park ups after the time I spent on the campsite at Surgeres. It helped that the weather was really lovely for the next few days as well.

A short drive from Surgeres, through beautiful countryside full of small châteaux and vineyards took me into the Gironde area of France. I had already planned to visit this aire as it looked great from the pictures on Park4Nite, and it did not disappoint.

It was located right next to the port, in a little village called Mortagne-sur-Gironde, at the mouth of the river. There was lots of space, no barrier and some friendly sheep for Katy to talk to! This cost 8 euros for the night, and there was a toilet and shower block on the other side of the harbour.

I loved my little wander around the village. The port was full of boats, and busy with people walking and visiting their craft. As it was off season none of the cafes on the harbour side were open but I was quite happy just walking and admiring the cute houses, with their shutters and lace curtains.

At the end of the harbour I found this little treasure of a postcard museum. It was just a tiny room, but what a wealth of gorgeous pictures.

There was great interpretation as well, and it was a fantastic way to record the history of the fishing industry here.

After a peaceful afternoon and evening, with quite a few chats with French families walking past about the size of my camping car 😉 and my travels, I spent a lovely night here. Part of what I did every night, apart from checking the route, and the weather forecast after my previous experience, was to check my next park up. The reviews on Park4Nite are very useful for this, as off season aires can be closed for refurbishment, so checking last minute really helps.

Because the forecast was really good for the next few days I decided to change the next stop, and head for the beach again. I have been following various Instagram van lifers, and one couple, Billy and Leanne, had done this route a couple of weeks ahead of me, so I chose the next stop based on their recommendation. This also meant I had another fantastic driving day, this time through the pine forests near Biscarosse, and past Europe’s biggest sand dune, the Dune de Pilat, picture from Google. I visited the area many years ago, so didn’t stop, but really enjoyed the views of the dune from the drive.

The aire was located in a pine forest, right next to the beach at Biscarrose, and was absolutely gorgeous, definitely one of those, ‘I am really living my best life right now moments’. It is a large aire, and can accommodate 150 vans but as it was off season there was plenty of space.

It was 12 euros a night and you pay before you go in. Getting out via the barrier was luckily very straightforward this time, and there were toilets at the site and near the beach.

After a walk on the beach, taking far too many pictures of clouds and waves, I had another wonderful afternoon and evening sitting reading, and then doing my cross stitch.

The next day was a short journey a little further down the coast, to a small seaside resort called Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains. I had already planned to visit this aire as well, partly as it looked like a really nice location, and it was really beautiful.

The drive there was again fantastic, I went through so many cute little villages, with chalet style houses. The aire cost 12 euros, and was partly car park style and partly wooded. You pay when you leave but by this point I was getting good at barriers so had no problems! There was water and waste facilities, and toilets a short walk away.

After a yummy lunch of goats cheese, olive bread and salami I went for a wander. The resort is built around an artificial lake, and has lots of shops and restaurants. It was still quite busy when I was there in mid October, there appear to be many people living there year round, or who have holiday homes there. The houses were all these cute chalet style that I saw so much of in the area.

I also bought another little van to add to my collection. These are all stuck to the windowsill with velcro. Out of shot I have one from Cyprus, then from the right there is one from Tokyo Disneyland, two from the Slumber on the Humber vanlife festival, and now a French one. I think I have space for a couple more!

By this point I was about halfway through my journey, and feeling very comfortable about both the driving and finding places to stay. Everyone told me that it would be easy, and I was able to get to the stops with very few issues.

Flexibility is definitely a good idea though, although I had park ups planned for each night of the trip before I left the UK, I probably ended up only using half of the ones that I thought I would. Park4Nite is an excellent resource, as is following You Tubers doing the same route as you. You also have to bear in mind that even out of season popular places can be really busy.

I chose to use paid aires, rather than free ones quite a lot in France, as I liked having the access to water, rubbish and toilets, and had allocated some of the budget for that rather than try and find free ones which might be busier. When travelling in Katy I rarely eat out, as I am happy to do my sightseeing during the day, then go back to the van, cook, and spend the evening in.

Even though France can be expensive, I shopped in Lidl, and didn’t use toll roads other than a couple around Bordeaux. Although I paid for most of my French stays, this part of the trip only came to about £100 for accommodation and tolls for the 10 nights, which I think is very good value.

I will be back again soon with the next part of the travels, leaving the beautiful forests and vineyards that I had been driving through for the past few days, and on to some more very exciting adventures. Until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.