In response to a request from eribaMotters (Colin) here is a short review of the French island of Ile de Re which falls under the department of Charente-Maritime. I don't intend to give an entire history of the island which is available widely on the Internet and neither to make a comparison with the other nearby island of Il de Oleron which we have never been to. It is fair to say though that unlike Il de Oleron, Ile de Re is accessible via a road bridge which attracts a Toll charge of 8€ during the low season rising to double that in the high season whereas the bridge to Il de Oleron is free. That said, the money generated from the Toll charge is invested in the islands infrastructure and this is plain to see in the overall cleanliness and appearance of the island.

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The island is approx 30km long by 5km in width and other than the odd bump or two in the road, can generally be considered flat and is, therefore, a magnet for cyclists of all ages. Every village has a bicycle rental centre where bicycles can be rented at a reasonable charge. Most of the centres form a chain meaning that in the event of an accident or puncture etc the bike can be wheeled to any one of the shops in the chain. With the island being relatively small, in a lot of cases a representative will venture out to your location and personally collect the bike so one never has the worry of possibly having to push the bike for any considerable distance. As we were located at a campsite some 10-15 minutes walk from the village of Le Bois Plage we rented our bikes from 1+ Cycles http://www.iledere.com/decouvrez-lile-de...107441-1-cycles (red coloured bikes in some of the pictures). These bikes were in excellent condition and the rental charge for the Confort+ range was 76.50€ for 25 days (two bikes) which we considered to be very reasonable.


Il de Re is geared towards the cyclist and having unpacked the car we placed a cover over it (protection against tree wax) and there it stayed for our entire visit. There is a bus service that travels from Il de Re over to the mainland (La Rochelle) on a regular basis with the journey taking 1 hour and for a charge of 5€ return. For this price and for the piece of mind of not having to hunt around for somewhere to park the car in this busy city, plus charges, plus bridge Toll, plus fuel, the option of taking the bus was no real brainer. Whilst on the subject of buses it might be worth mentioning that for the less fit i.e. those not wanting to or are unable to cycle the roughly 15km from the centre of the island (Le Bois Plage) to the furthest NW point, there runs a regular minibus service with attached bicycle trailer for approx 20 bikes that travels from one end of the island to the other. These buses run approximately every 30 minutes during the high season and the charge, should you say want to catch the minibus from the most southerly point and travel to the most northerly point is only 1€ so once again a no brainer. To give an example, we wanted to travel to the very attractive lighthouse located on the most northwesterly point of the island but it would have entailed cycling against a rather brisk headwind. We opted, therefore, to catch the minibus from Le Bois Plage where we were located for 1€ and then cycle back with the wind now behind us of course.

Note: There is NO Toll charge for either pedestrians or cyclists when crossing over the bridge to or from the island.

It goes without saying that with such an attractive island and being in France, the choice of where to set up shop with the caravan was considerable with prices varying accordingly. After much Internet research we opted for Camping Les Varennes http://www.les-varennes.com/en/ which was probably not the cheapest place on the island I dare to say, but whose facilities made the price worth while. Allocated spaces are good in size with all facilities within a hop and a skip distance from any pitch. All the facilities are modern and are regularly cleaned (at least twice a day). Additionally there is a small shop on site along with an indoor heated swimming pool, outdoor pool and small childrens play area although this isn't the kind of site which attracts many young children - certainly not over the time that we were there. The site is family run and managed with there always being someone available to answer any questions that the visitor might have. A nice touch is that most of the staff speak multiple languages so finger gesturing is kept to a minimum lol.

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Our daily routine upon waking up was to go for a quick swim in the indoor pool plus a few minutes in the Jacuzzi followed by showering off. On the way back to the caravan we'd pick up our Baguettes from the shop and enjoy a relaxing breakfast. Then it was either off somewhere on the bikes (many villages have there own markets) or down to the beach which was accessible by leaving the campsite, crossing over the lane and through a lightly wooded area. All-in-all, a relaxed 10 minute walk. There you can walk for kilometre after kilometre along a beautiful sandy beach or just sit there like this happily retired couple (not us I emphasis) and stare as long as sheep or cows to quote a line from poetry.

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For anyone intending to stay on the island and having ownership of a Smartphone we would certainly recommend download the free Ile de Re Tour app from the Google app store which contains maps and tons of very useful information for the visitor.

I'll sign off this review for now and continue it with a few more pictures at a later time. Other commitments are calling for my attention at this time. Looking out of the window at this time and seeing nothing but grey miserable skies, our thoughts go back to the cool long drink and perhaps some Oysters for which the area is famous that we enjoyed whilst sitting and overlooking the ocean at a place a few minutes West of the village of St. Martin de Re.

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Continued....

As mentioned earlier, the island is very much geared up for the cyclist and for this reason is a favourite location for Dutch travellers. There are only a very few ocassions where it is necessary to ride on the road and more often than not this is when one chooses to go direct from A to B as opposed to the slightly longer, but far more pleasant and easy-going route via country lanes. Along with the cycle routes being very well marked and plentiful, all tourist information offices as well as cycle hire shops provide cycling route maps free of charge.

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The island of Ile de Re was in fact 3 separate islands in the distant past - Ars-en-Re, Loix and St. Martin de Re. Although now joined by human activity, siltage or salt fields it is possible from the narrowest point of the island to literally spread ones legs and straddle the island. Along with tourism and Oyster farming, salt remains quite a large industry although where once upon a time it was common to see a Donkey or Mule working in the fields with their famous pyjama type leggings offering protection against mosquito bites etc, nowadays it's more common to see a tractor at work.

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And when you've been cycling around for a couple of hours there's nothing more pleasant than stopping off at one of the local cafes for a bit of refreshment like here in La Couarde-sur-Mer although when ordering something as simple as a coffee you might be surprised at what actually turns up.

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To be continued.......

Charente, home of the Pineau, which kept in the Fridge is a fab aperitif. Goes well with Oysters, and all the wonderful sea food available on this coast, we stayed on the next Isle south, Isle d'Oleron,in June this year, no toll on the bridge and just as much to see, loads of sites to choose from, but a bit more traffic.
This is a wonderful part of France.

Good review will be looking to include on itinerary next year

Our September in France included 4 nights on the Ile de Re, coincidently at Les Varennes at Bois-Plage. Echo all that Deeps says, a lovely site and so close to the lovely beach. We did a bit of cycling on the island, the cycle routes are brilliant. The sun shone all the time we were there and we explored most of the island, truly lovely. The only thing to note, although it was September, the first site we went to at La Flotte, also ACSI, was full. When we arrived at Les Varennes they only had 2 pitches left, a very popular destination.
We had a long, slightly fractured conversation with a lovely French lady with a '64 Pan. She was very taken with our sunblinds and wanted to know if I had made them. I had to disappoint her and tell her they came with the Triton. She had a good look round and then a couple of days later we went and had a good look around hers. She had no gas, did all her cooking in the awning. The woodwork in her van was really lovely, she was very proud of it and explained how she polishes it regularly with bees wax. There was another Eriba on site but we never saw the owners, also French.

You were served "un café gourmand". My favourite dessert!

Quote: Julie Grafo wrote in post #5

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Our September in France included 4 nights on the Ile de Re, coincidently at Les Varennes at Bois-Plage.........The only thing to note, although it was September, the first site we went to at La Flotte, also ACSI, was full. When we arrived at Les Varennes they only had 2 pitches left, a very popular destination.

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Quote: Islay Corbel wrote in post #6

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You were served "un café gourmand". My favourite dessert!

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Continuing on.........

Whether or not you are on the side of Brexit or Remain the simple fact is that should the exchange rate remain at or around what it currently is then holidays to continental Europe are going to be relatively expensive when compared to previous years. On the reverse side of the coin of course is that those on the continent who would perhaps have chosen their holidays in mainland Europe may now decide it's money worth spent holidaying in England. I mention this only in passing because I personally would begin my 'where to holiday in 2017' thinking now or pretty darn soon and start searching out ways of making savings wherever possible.

That be as it may, for now it's back to Ile de Re.

Even though the island is small (30km x 5km) when compared to it's next door neighbour it is surprising how quickly the day passes when one is active. This is the prime reason why we set up shop at one place and explore around as opposed to the 'touring' aspect of caravan ownership where one spends a few days here and a few days there etc. We appreciate that this is very much down to personal preferences and of course respect that viewpoint but as said, it's not for us as so much time is spent travelling when one could actually be doing something useful.

Looking back at some of the photographs that I have posted in this mini review it appears as though in many ways it's a competition of 'can you spot our red bikes lol' as I hadn't realised earlier just how many times they appeared in shot. Anyway, for the trip out to the Lighthouse (last post) we caught the minibus with attached bike trailer as indicated a little earlier. This bus only goes as far as Ars-en-Re so we had a look around the village before riding the rest of the way along the coast to the said Lighthouse.

This is a lovely little village and is easily recognizable by the Black & White steeple on the Church. Ars en Re_2.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Although not immediately obvious the steeple served as a recognisable navigation point for fishermen of days gone by.

The village also happens to have a rather pretty small harbour, and a restaurant that caught our attention. Something worth noting here - those who regularly visit France will already know that whereas in England everything stops for tea, in France everything stops for lunch. One moment the village centre is full of life and activity, the next it's a ghost town with everyone having migrated en mass to the restaurants. My advice, therefore, would be for anyone contemplating lunch to plonk their backsides down at a table just before midday - one minute past and you can forget it.

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Whilst it is Le Bois that appears to be the main hub of the island with it's daily market and Supermarket, it is without doubt St. Martin-de-Re that everything seems to happen. Here are restaurants by the dozen, trinket shop by the dozen and without doubt it's where the nightlife is. In fact, on Bastille Day (July 14th) the largest of the island fireworks displays takes place here along the harbour entrance wall. Spectators, however, are restricted to the town park which is just fine. We enjoyed a lovely meal at one of the harbour restaurants although as we discovered it is not possible to book a table in advance and so we had to make our drinks last until 7pm when orders for food were taken. Without any doubt though, the wait was well worth it and I eat the most succulent steak ever.

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From time to time we took our own packed lunches along placing them in the bicycle basket. This allowed us to stop off at any place of our choosing and rest up for a while whether it be in the ruins of an old Abbey, the harbour village of La Flotte, Le Bois or St Marie.

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Of course, being this close to the mainland city of La Rochelle we couldn't let the holiday go by without travelling back across the bridge at least once to visit the city and this will be the subject of the next and final chapter in this mini review.

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Quote: Randa france wrote in post #9

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It would appear that although Re has some very wealthy second home owners from Paris, there is an inverted snob culture on the island regarding old bikes.

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Not somewhere I would go but a really great travel guide Alan, thank you.

Great report. We stayed on the island for two weeks in June. One of our best trips away. We hired bikes and rode everyday. Think we only used the car three times. We will be returning. Thanks for reminding us, with your great photos, just what a great time we had.. 😎😎😎🍹🍹🍹

Such a great report!
It's made us put a stay there into our 2017 plan.
The ferry is already booked Portsmouth-St Malo 01.06.17 then return Bilbao-Portsmouth 31.07.17

TonyP

Continued........

And so with our visit to Ile de Re slowly drawing to a close it was time to think about spending a day over on the mainland in the city of La Rochelle. There is a bus timetable change sometime between the middle of June lasting until whenever and the timetable brochure that we received from the Tourist Office in La Bois was only good for approximately the following two days. Needless to say when we turned up for the 9am bus we found it left at 9:30am or something like that. The point that I am making is to always check that whatever leaflets etc one picks up from Tourist Offices etc are in date.

The bus stop in La Bois is pretty much central to the town and opposite to the market place. There are allocated places for parking ones bicycle so it's quite easy to take the 5 minute ride from the campsite, park up the bike and hop on the bus. As stated a little earlier in this review, the bus ticket costs 5€ return (2016) and the journey time is between 50 - 60 minutes. Departing on the 9am (or 9:30am) bus is ideal as you arrive in La Rochelle at a reasonable time in the morning and the shops/attractions will all be open. I would recommend getting off the bus at the terminus in La Rochelle. One can't miss it as it looks like a bus terminus i.e. a large square with dozens of bus lanes and then walk the ten minutes or so along the main drag into the city centre. For the return journey, walk through the park and catch the bus at the main Railway Station the clock tower of which is easily identifiable from anywhere on the harbour front.

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Taking the shopping mile from the bus terminus, the visitor enters into the Market Place (indoor & outdoor) and if the intention is to visit the Le Bunker Museum http://www.bunkerlarochelle.com/?lang=en, which could be a little better signposted in my opinion, then when facing the clock in the Market Place take the street immediately to the right (see picture). The museum is approx 100m down this side street. The translation for some of the exhibits could be somewhat better although you are offered upon entry a visitors guide which is as thick as War and Peace so be prepared.

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Like all big cities, there are always cap-in-hand street entertainers to be found - some are loud, other not so.