There’s absolutely nothing better than clocking off work on a hot Friday afternoon and waking up somewhere cool on Saturday morning. Only problem is everyone else knows it too. But that’s the beauty of owning a campervan: you can always head to where the crowds aren’t, and always have a place to sleep when you get there.
So as part one of this occasional series, we’re looking at places that look almost identical to the famous spots, minus the crowds, the parking fights, and the inflated July prices. Starting with our home turf – France.
1. Côte Bleue, Bouches-du-Rhône — instead of Cassis
The Calanques get the postcards, but the Côte Bleue, just west of Marseille, has the same turquoise water lapping against pale limestone cliffs, with none of the summer scrum. Base yourself around Carry-le-Rouet or Sausset-les-Pins and you can swim in small, half-empty coves by mid-morning, something that's basically impossible in Cassis past 8am in August.
Weekend plan: Friday evening drive in, swim Saturday morning before the day-trippers arrive, afternoon walk along the coastal path (Sentier des Douaniers), second swim spot Sunday before heading home.
Van note: Parking is straightforward outside peak midday hours, and the coastal villages are small enough that a Tiny-range van has no trouble finding a spot a larger van would have to hunt for.
Van note: Parking is straightforward outside peak midday hours, and the coastal villages are small enough that a Tiny-range van has no trouble finding a spot a larger van would have to hunt for.
2. Lac de Vouglans, Jura — instead of Annecy
Annecy's lake is genuinely beautiful, which is exactly the problem: by July it's wall-to-wall paddleboards and a 20-minute wait for parking near any beach. Vouglans, a couple of hours north in the Jura, has the same impossibly blue water and forested shoreline, with a fraction of the visitors.
Weekend plan: Swim at one of the lake's quiet beaches (Surchauffant, Bellecin or Mercantine), rent a kayak for an afternoon, and find a lakeside aire for the night instead of fighting for a spot near Annecy's centre-ville.
Van note: Aire density around Vouglans is good and far less competitive than the Annecy lakefront, where summer spots disappear early.
Van note: Aire density around Vouglans is good and far less competitive than the Annecy lakefront, where summer spots disappear early.
3. Presqu'île de Crozon, Finistère — instead of Étretat or Pointe du Raz
Étretat's cliffs are stunning... and absolutely overrun. Crozon, out in western Brittany, has comparable drama, sea arches, sheer cliffs, hidden coves, without the tour buses. Pointe de Pen-Hir alone rivals anything on the more famous Normandy coast.
Weekend plan: Coastal walk along the GR34 from Camaret-sur-Mer, a swim at Plage de l'Aber if the tide's right, sunset at Pointe de Dinan.
Van note: Brittany's aire network is one of the best in France for van travel, so this is an easy one logistically even on a busy summer weekend.
4. Lac de Salagou, Hérault — instead of the Gorges du Verdon
The Verdon is spectacular and, in summer, genuinely gridlocked. Salagou, a couple of hours west, gives you a landscape that looks like nowhere else in France, a deep red, almost Martian terrain wrapped around a lake, and almost none of the traffic.
Weekend plan: Swim in the lake, walk or cycle the red ruffes trail around the basin, and watch the sunset turn the landscape even redder.
Van note: Salagou is sensitive and regulated. Day parking is possible in marked areas, but overnight parking on the lake shore is forbidden, so use an official aire or campsite nearby.
Van note: Salagou is sensitive and regulated. Day parking is possible in marked areas, but overnight parking on the lake shore is forbidden, so use an official aire or campsite nearby.
5. Landes Coast (Vieux-Boucau, Moliets), Landes — instead of Biarritz or Hossegor
Biarritz and Hossegor get the surf culture and the crowds that come with it. Head a bit further up the Landes coast and you get the same long sandy beaches and reliable swell, with far less competition for a parking spot or a wave.
Weekend plan: Morning surf or swim at Vieux-Boucau, afternoon in the pine forest trails behind the dunes, second beach session at Moliets before heading home.
Van note: This stretch of coast is Simple Vans' home turf, just down the road from the workshop in Saint Michel Escalus, so it's a route we know well and one we're always happy to talk through if you're planning it.
6. Causse Méjean, Lozère — instead of the Pont du Gard area
The Pont du Gard is worth seeing once, but the surrounding area in peak season is mostly tour groups and heat. Up on the Causse Méjean, a vast limestone plateau in the Cévennes, you get total quiet, some of the darkest night skies in France, and a van-friendly culture that's been welcoming road travellers for decades.
Weekend plan: Drive the plateau roads at golden hour, find a quiet spot to camp under genuinely dark skies, short walk to one of the plateau's dramatic gorge viewpoints the next morning.
Van note: This is remote, open country, ideal terrain for any van size, and a good test of how comfortable your setup feels when you're properly off the beaten path. Best tackled with water, fuel and food sorted before you climb onto the plateau.
Van note: This is remote, open country, ideal terrain for any van size, and a good test of how comfortable your setup feels when you're properly off the beaten path. Best tackled with water, fuel and food sorted before you climb onto the plateau.
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