Where to in May ?

When we go in May we head to the Languedoc area. We particularly like Sommieres, north of Montpellier and Nîmes. Or Provence. We've also stayed near Villeneuve in the Lot valley. Albi is excellent. And a trip to Cordes sur Ciel is good. Avignon has a campsite within walking distance in the middle of the Rhône. We cycled to Orange from there through Chateauneuf du Pape.

It can be windy in the Rhône valley as the mistral etc are still possible. We tended to walk into town rather than cycle.

We also have a motorhome. We park up and cycle all the time, so dry weather is essential.

May is a lovely month to visit France and Spain.  We have done this many times and used to live near Beziers in Languedoc.   Obviously, the further south you are the warmer it is but south of the Loire should give you lovely settled weather.  Inland Provence will be perfect in May.  Spain will be warming up nicely then so if you want heat that is where to aim for.  However, worth noting that it can be quite chilly at night in inland Spain in early May - we experience 3 deg one night in May in Zaragossa!  If Spain is on your plan perhaps you should start there. or get there reasonably quickly,  and head north as the month progresses. Yes the Mistral could blow but its route is predictable, down the Rhone valley as far west as Sete.  Further west in the Languedoc the Mistral's cousin, the Tramatone, can blow and it is particularly strong on the coast from Beziers to near the Spanish border hence the strong wind warning signs on the autoroute near Narbonne!  But don't let this put you off this area.

What would we do? Well get a ferry to St Malo, or N Spain.  Them mooch up through N Spain and France. as the month progresses. You live in Kent, so presumably not too far from Dover, so  crossings from there may suite you better.  All sites open by May with out of season prices.  There is no need to book unless you are going to very popular areas then a phone call ahead may be advisable.  We never book ahead and it is not unusual for us to change our 'plan'  during our trip dependent on weather, how much we are enjoying a place etc.  Look at Joining ACSI. Decisions decisions! 

One year in May we made a note of half a dozen Spring gardens we wanted to visit - marked them on a paper map and joined up the dots. So follow your own interests. 

This year the first few weeks of May was rain, rain, rain. We managed to sit it out on the Med coast near Agde which thankfully was the only dry place. Our friends were further north and wouldn't travel down to join us as they had a 'Plan' they stuck to it and spent 3 weeks in the horrible weather. 

We were supposed to be going to Italy but as we approached the French Italian border the rain started and the forecast wasn't good for the coming weeks. We decided to change plans and good job we did as Italy suffered terrible floods and land slips.

We often leave home with an 'idea' but it often changes due to the weather or on one occasion busy sites. 

Commeyras's  post says it all really, plan but be prepared for a change. We to have experienced bitter cold in Spain at Salamanca one May, daytime was sunny arounf 20c but the nights were bitter cold.  

In 2019 we headed out on 18th May to Ars-en-Re [made me laugh] on  the Isle-de-Re for two weeks at   https://www.campdusoleil.com/en/services-and-activities/

On the way we had stopped outside Rouen for two nights at https://en.campinglaforet.com/ and visited the historic city.

From Isle-de-Re it was down to The Dordogne, east of Bergerac at http://www.leportdelimeuil.com/en/ for a couple of weeks on what is probably the best kept site we have come across in 20+ years

Finally up to the The Loire for two weeks at our favourite site  https://lemoulinfort.com/ south of Amboise.

The weather was excellent, very warm and dry. We had been lucky.

Colin

Until 2018 we regularly went to France for six weeks in May. Lovely time for empty roads and sites and sometimes didn't see another English person for weeks. Have a look at my blogs about our holidays to give you some idea of sites and sights.

https://jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.com/category/caravanning-in-europe/

We are used to “following the sun” from our caravan days, but just want a plan to start from. Once we get going, I don’t doubt it will all flow. As we always say, it has wheels for a reason ! 👍