Brittany by Campervan with Dog and Cat: Itinerary, Tips and Useful Information

Visiting Brittany by campervan, van or car means admiring breathtaking views, and for us it’s become a destination we consider unmissable. Want some tips on how to visit this French region on the road? In this article we’ll tell you about our experience in September 2022. If you’re thinking of visiting it together with Normandy, you can find our stops here.

Itinerary

In this section we’ll list all the stops of our adventure. If you want to read our itinerary in short, you’ll find it here, while if you want to know our thoughts and which stops we consider unmissable, you can click here.

Day 1: first stop Mont Saint-Michel. We arrived early in the morning at a small kiosk’s car park, where you can park for a couple of hours if you buy breakfast there. Having bought coffee and chocolate madeleines, we enjoyed both the treats and the view. Then, having secured the animals in the van to spare them the crowds we’d be facing, we set off on about an hour’s walk. If you don’t feel like walking, you can queue for the paid little train. Having already visited the Abbey years before, we just walked through the little streets, in our opinion a bit spoiled by too many touristy signs, before heading to a car park in Cherrueix, right on the seafront.

Day 2: in the afternoon we moved to Dinan, a small medieval village with a fairy-tale atmosphere, walking through the little streets all the way to the small harbour. For the night we moved to the free stopover area in Léhon.

Day 3: in Léhon we visited the abbey, surrounded by a roofless portico, with a photography exhibition in the cloister. Then, caught by a storm, we headed to Saint-Malo. Strolling aimlessly, we stepped into a church rich in Gothic details, with a wonderful rose window above the apse, before continuing along the ramparts. After heading back to the van, we moved to a small car park overlooking the bay for lunch, then headed towards Cap Fréhel. The wind was extremely strong. We managed to glimpse the lighthouse through fog and rain before shutting ourselves inside. We stayed overnight for free.

Day 4: we wanted to visit nearby Fort la Latte, but it was closed due to bad weather, so we settled for a walk on the cliffs during a brief break from the rain. Then we got back on the road, stopping for a walk on the beach given the low tide, before reaching a car park overlooking the bay of Langueux. We stayed overnight for free.

Day 5: we reached Beauport Abbey, which has a truly striking presence. The roof is almost entirely missing, and all around, nature reigns supreme, with trees, rocks, a river running through and colourful hydrangeas. We then moved to the nearby small village of Paimpol, wandering the streets aimlessly, reaching the small harbour and stepping into an antiques shop, full of sets of cotton bedsheets, cups, plates and glasses. A few kilometres later it was the turn of Tréguier, a medieval-style village. We stayed overnight for free.

Day 6: we woke up early to visit the house nestled among the rocks, Castel Meur, in Plougrescant. Then, due to rain, we moved to the Ploumanac'h lighthouse, beautiful despite the bad weather. In the late afternoon we moved to Morlaix, famous for its majestic viaduct, and then to Roscoff. We stayed overnight for free.

Day 7: a trip to Île de Batz, a small gem reachable by ferry from the town of Roscoff. Here time really seems to have stopped, between white beaches, cobbled paths, unkempt fields, wild horses. It genuinely stayed close to our hearts. If you decide to visit, we recommend buying a filled baguette at one of Roscoff’s bakeries for lunch and enjoying a picnic in nature. Back at the van, we reached the Kermorvan lighthouse and then headed towards Pointe Saint-Mathieu.

Day 8: we visited the Saint-Mathieu lighthouse and the nearby roofless abbey, then headed to Quimper and for the night to Fouesnant, at a car park overlooking the bay.

Day 9: we stayed in the small village chatting with friendly passers-by, then headed to Concarneau (don’t miss one of the famous butter tarts) and finally moved on to Pont-Aven, sleeping right in nature near the Trémalo chapel.

Day 10: we visited the village of Pont-Aven, with its well-kept centre, taking advantage of a small local farmers’ market. Then we moved to Quimperlé, and finally in the evening to the outskirts of Vannes.

Day 11: we visited Vannes in the rain, and without letting it discourage us, we strolled through the little streets all the way to the Jardin de la Préfecture, then found a great car park in the woods at Chavagne, heading towards Rennes.

Day 11: after visiting Rennes we headed to Vitré, a lovely little village.

From here on our adventures continued south, still following the Atlantic coast. We crossed the region called Pays de la Loire, making only a couple of stops: one at Moisdon-la-Rivière (a beautiful, tiny village surrounded by lush nature, south of Châteaubriant) and the other at Nantes (unfortunately it was pouring with rain, but we still managed to see the elephant statue, inspired by Jules Verne and Leonardo, which trumpets and sprays water as it moves), leaving the visit to the Loire castles for a future trip. Finally we headed into Nouvelle-Aquitaine, all the way to the regional capital Bordeaux and from there to Northern Spain (article on that coming soon).

In Short

Below are just the stops. We always stayed overnight for free.

Day 1: Mont Saint-Michel - Cherrueix

Day 2: Dinan - Léhon

Day 3: Léhon - Saint-Malo - Cap Fréhel

Day 4: Fort la Latte - Langueux

Day 5: Beauport - Paimpol - Tréguier

Day 6: Castel Meur, in Plougrescant - Ploumanac’h lighthouse - Morlaix - Roscoff

Day 7: Île de Batz - Kermorvan lighthouse - Pointe Saint-Mathieu

Day 8: Saint-Mathieu lighthouse - Quimper - Fouesnant

Day 9: Concarneau - Pont-Aven

Day 10: Pont-Aven - Quimperlé

Day 11: Vannes - Chavagne

Day 12: Rennes - Vitré

Roads

As in the rest of the country, we didn’t find any roads in dangerous condition. All the areas near the lighthouses offer truly breathtaking views.

Services and stops

In France it’s very easy to find equipped, free service areas for water fill-up and waste disposal. We had no trouble with free overnight stays since we travelled in the low season. The only thing we’d recommend paying attention to is places where the wind could be a nuisance or even dangerous. If you go in summer you might find it harder to find parking.

Reflections and unmissable stops

This was our first experience in Brittany, and we truly loved this region. Even though the weather isn’t the most favourable, you can feel a magical atmosphere from another era.

By campervan or car, in our opinion the unmissable destinations are:

• Mont Saint-Michel: even though by now it’s, in our opinion, too touristy a destination, it’s definitely worth a visit.
• Dinan - Léhon: both Dinan and the small hamlet of Léhon are beautiful.
• the lighthouses: Cap Fréhel, Fort la Latte, the Ploumanac’h lighthouse, the Kermorvan lighthouse, the Saint-Mathieu lighthouse… genuinely all wonderful, even wrapped in fog.
• Castel Meur, in Plougrescant: the small house is no longer reachable up close due to an accident years ago, but the surrounding setting is worth the detour!
• Île de Batz: this small island won us over from the very first step. Not to be missed.
• Vannes and Rennes: two very beautiful, tidy cities, without losing sight of the surrounding countryside and small nearby villages, like Vitré.

Travelling with your pet

To travel within Europe with your pet you need to have:

• passport
• microchip
• valid rabies vaccination

Check whether your pet's breed is allowed in the country you're visiting. We recommend always being careful in crowded places, as people might be scared of your pet which is why we always keep our pets on a leash. In many cases a muzzle is required, so we recommend keeping one handy.

We recommend bringing a bowl (we use one that clips conveniently onto a backpack) and a water bottle if the day is particularly hot.

Our vlog

In the video below you can relive our wonder in front of the lighthouses, or find the full series about the country at this link  .

Our maps

Below you can browse all the maps for our trip. If you want to know how to download them and use them offline, you'll find everything at the following link⚠️ we can't guarantee that the marked spots still exist! Please keep the area clean and follow the rules.

Vandipety takes no responsibility for how the information provided here is used.