Le canal de Nantes à Brest en Camping-Car : location, conseils, areas, routes

Are you going to visit Brittany? What if you travel along the Nantes-Brest Canal by camping-car?

Located between the departments of the Loire-Atlantique and Finistère, the Nantes to Brest canal offers an unusual idea of travelling. If we know Brittany for the beauty of its beaches and for its enlivened history, its waterways are less famous. Would you like to visit Brittany by camping-car other than by sneaking around the seaside resorts of its coast?

What if you're offering an off-the-ordinary journey around the Nantes-Brest Canal by camping-car? This 364-kilometre stretch of waterway allows you to visit the south of Brittany by exploring a remarkable natural and cultural heritage!

Here is our mini-guide advice to travel around the Nantes-Brest canal in camping-car.

Ideas of itineraries along the Nantes-Brest canal by camping-car

Built in the first half of the 19th century, the Nantes-Brest canal borrows the bed of eight rivers (Erdre, Isac, Oust, Blavet, Doré, Kergoat, Hyères and Aulne).

From east to west, it is paired with 238 locks and attests to the technical prowess of the builders of the time. From the Pays de Redon, from the Erdre to the Aulne, here are some ideas of itineraries to be made by camping-car depending on the duration of your trip.

If you have a lot of time (15 days or more), don’t hesitate to leave the cities where the canal passes. Enjoy it to visit the must-see cities, sites and monuments of Brittany, from Brest to Carnac, Perros-Guirec and Quiberon Bay .

Visit the Nantes to Brest canal on a weekend

• Day 1 : Nantes, Nort-sur-Erdre, Redon, La Gacilly (festival Photo) (90 km, 1h30);
• Day 2 : Malestroit, Ploërmel, Josselin, Rohan, Pontivy, Lake Guerlédan (95 km, 1h45);
• Day 3 : Rostrenen, Glomel, Carhaix-Plouger, Châteauneuf-du-Faou, Chateaulin, Brest (125 km, 2h).

The Nantes to Brest Canal in a motorhome on a week

• Day 1: Nantes, Nort-sur-Erdre, Redon (70 km, 1h15) ;
• Day 2: Malestroit, Ploërmel, Josselin, Vannes, Carnac (110 km, 1h45);
• Day 3: Quiberon, Lorient, Pontivy, Rohan, Lake Guerlédan (185 km, 2h45);
• Day 4: Loudéac, Rostrenen, Glomel, Carhaix-Plouger (70 km, 1h) ;
• Day 5: Châteauneuf-du-Faou, Chateaulin (25 km, 30 minutes);
• Day 6: Chateaulin, Landévennec, Camaret-sur-Mer (55 km, 1h) ;
• Day 7: Camaret-sur-Mer, Crozon, Brest (70 km, 1h).

Nantes to Brest canal in two weeks

• Day 1: Nantes, Nort-sur-Erdre, Redon (70 km, 1h15) ;
• Day 2: Redon, RennesPaimpont (115 km, 1h45);
• Day 3: Paimpont, Malestroit, Vannes (80 km, 1h15);
• Day 4: Vannes, Sarzeau, Arzon (37 km, 40 minutes);
• Day 5: Carnac, peninsula of Quiberon (85 km, 1h20);
• Day 6: Lorient, Pontivy, Lake Guerlédan, Rostrenen (50 km, 1h) ;
• Day 7: Rostrenen, Carhaix-Plouguer (22 km, 20 minutes);
• Day 8: Lannion, Perros-Guirec (85 km, 1h25);
• Day 9: Trégastel, Morlaix, Roscoff (70 km, 1h20);
• Day 10: Île-de-Batz (Roscoff), Châteauneuf-du-Faou (75 km, 1h10);
• Day 11: Quimperlé, Quimper, Concarneau, Fouesnant (80 km, 1h20);
• Day 12: Douarnenez, Chateaulin, Crozon, Camaret-sur-Mer (70 km, 1h15) ;
• Day 13: Roscanvel, Plounéour-Ménez (Monts d’Arhée) (90 km, 1h30);
• Day 14: Massif des Monts d’Arhée, Landerneau, Brest (55 km, 1h).

These routes are only indicative ideas. You are obviously free to restrict the steps if you want to avoid spending too much time on the Breton roads.

Book more time, for example, to visit the coast of Granit Rose , the most beautiful beaches of Morbihan or essentials of the Finistère .

What budget to travel by motorhome along the Nantes-Brest canal?

Travelling by camping-car may be relatively expensive, especially if you do a lot of different stages and areas of service. Here is an estimate of the budget of your trip, including car rental and travel costs (fuel and parking).

Average budget for 1 weekend

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 95 € per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 30 € ;
• Parking : until 10 € per day;
• Total: approximately 350 €.

Average budget for 1 week

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 95 € per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 55 € ;
• Parking : until 10 € per day;
• Total: approximately 800.

Average budget for 2 weeks

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 95 € per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 150 € ;
• Parking : until 10 € per day;
• Total: approximately 1700 €.

Areas and driving along the Nantes to Brest canal

Would you like to know most of the traffic conditions in Brittany to travel along the Nantes-Brest Canal in camping-car? Since an itinerant journey always prepares in advance, here is some information that it is better to know before leaving!

What documents do you have on board?

• Driver's license (B) if the PTAC of the motorhome does not exceed 3.5 tonnes;
• Grey card campsite-car;
• Certificate of Insurance campsite-car;
• The lease contract signed between the two parties;
• copy of the state of the premises from the start.

Motorway pastures along the Nantes to Brest canal: what price for your camper category?

The good news of this destination, if you didn’t already know, is that there is no no motorway tolls in Brittany Here's what to save on the travel budget!

The Breton highways are in fact separate roadways (four-lane roads with central plaza), entirely free limited to 110 km/h .

However, you will need to take a fee-paying highway (in class 2) if you rent the motorhome outside the Nantes or Breton region. Here are some toll rates in class 2 to come to Nantes from the south or east:

• Paris-Nantes (A10, A11): 59,60 € ;
• Orleans-Nantes (A10): 48,30 € ;
• Bordeaux-Nantes (A10, A83): 44,70 €.

Other information about driving along the Nantes to Brest canal

If the canal winds through the contrasting landscapes of the Breton countryside, there is unfortunately no tarmac road that allows to follow it. To visit the Nantes Canal in Brest by camping-car, you will have to leave the route of the canal permanently. It is indeed only possible to walk or ride the canal entirely by foot or by bike, by taking its tow path.

But you will find it at every lock, every unmissable step that has made its reputation: Malestroit, Josselin, Rohan, Pontivy, Lake Guerlédan or Châteaulin. Unless you board a rental boat or bike it, you will have to take the small departmental routes linking the cities-steps. Be careful on these little roads!

If the road network in Brittany is of very good quality, some portions can be narrow. And crosses, given the template of the camper, can be made difficult.

Finally, know that Brittany is marked by a low altitude relief. The highest point in the region is the Roc’h Ruz (387 metres above sea level) and is located in the mountains of the Arhée Mountains (Finistère). Circulating along the Nantes-Brest canal in camping-car will therefore be without major difficulty!

The camper areas along the Nantes-Brest canal: where to park?

In order to visit the sites, towns and villages to be seen around the Nantes to Brest Canal by camping-car, you will necessarily need to find places to park at night. And since the law prohibits wild camping, you are recommended to target them dedicated service areas campers.

This falls well, because Brittany is a popular and very tourist region: accordingly, you will find many service areas for camping cars for your steps. With a higher concentration of these on the shorelines. Inland, the offer is less abundant.

But in general, the areas are of good quality and offer all the services necessary for a camping-car trip: water, parking, waste water drain, toilet and sometimes more (shops, hiking trails nearby, etc.). Another strong point, not the least: most areas of services of the municipalities along the Nantes-Brest canal are free .

And even when they are paid, the rate is usually rather low ( less than 5 € ). On the other hand, the rate is higher as you approach the most touristic places in Brittany (Trégastel, Crozon or Quiberon for example).

How and where to rent a motorhome France ?

Would you like to visit the Nantes to Brest canal in motorhome, but you don't have a vehicle? Now it is very simple to rent these vehicles between individuals, especially in France. Many platforms allow this type of rental, online, as Yescapa For example.

How does it work?

• At first, you have to choose the motorhome in your city (For example Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Paris, Montpellier or Marseille).
• Be careful choose unlimited mileage, to check the number of beds available and if travel abroad is possible.
• Do your work online rental request and share your travel information (dates, rental options, mileage, etc.) to the owner.
• If your request is accepted and after payment, you will have access to the owner's contact information to organize a First meeting.
• Day J, present your driver's license and pour bail.
• One. status of premises is executed and a lease is signed between the two parties. You will have to sign it as soon as you return from Brittany, and once done, the tour is played!

What is the best time to travel by camping-car along the Nantes-Brest canal?

Brittany is characterized by an oceanic climate, marked by mild summers and rainy and windy winters. The best time to travel along the Nantes-Brest canal in camping-car is logically spreading months of June to September .

The average maximum temperatures in Brittany are never canicular. Summer values are relatively hot, although often fresh at the end of the day. A microclimate is observed on the south coast, at the level of the Gulf of Morbihan, including Mediterranean colours and a small taste of Provence.

Except that in Brittany, the maximum temperature in summer is less than 30°C. The interior of the land is more frequently watered and is marked by a cooler climate. To travel along the Nantes-Brest canal in camping-car, we recommend you go between May and beginning September !