Welcome to the February edition of the newsletter. Forget the news about Trump being re-elected, the big news item this month is the announcement of the Crossings' 2026 Tour Schedule! Full details below. Also in this month's edition we have a brief preview of the NEC Motorhome Show later this month and an update on 2025 bookings.
As usual, we have another great cut-out-and-keep recipe and this month's motorhoming tip is about prepaid travel cards.
The 2026 Tour Schedule
We are very pleased to announce the 2026 schedule. We have some of our firm favourites on offer again along with a brand new tour to Northern Spain & Portugal. Whether you are a "newbie" looking to take your van abroad for the first time, or a seasoned motorhomer looking for an adventure, we hope that there is something for everyone in the schedule.
As regular readers will know, we preview the schedule at this time of year with bookings officially opening on 1st March. Regulars will also know that we like to give our newsletter readers first dibs on everything. Therefore, if you see a tour you want to come on, please contact us now and we will put you on our "Expression Of Interest" list. There is no commitment to go on and book - it just means that we will contact you directly when the bookings open next month.
We have sent a link to the 2026 Previews leaflet with your newsletter reminder email. If you cannot access this, please email us and we can send it again. At this stage, the previews are only available to you (as loyal and long-suffering newsletter readers) so are not available to the public yet. We haven't even put them on the website.
Please take a look at the leaflet for fuller details but here is the schedule at a glance:
Brittany & Normandy Taster Tour May 2026
Northern Spain & Portugal May/June 2026
The Swiss & French Alps June 2026
Sweden & The Arctic Circle August 2026
Croatia & Slovenia September 2026
Lake Garda & Venice September 2026
Tuscany & Rome September 2026
If I were to pick out a few highlights, for those who prefer a shorter tour then the Brittany & Normandy Taster Tour will give you the full French experience, while still keeping you mileage relatively low. You get the chance to visit Mont St Michel, The Normandy Landing Beaches, The Bayeaux Tapestry, Honfleur and miles of unspoilt coastline.
For those wanting a real adventure (more of an expedition), then our Arctic Circle Tour might scratch the itch. Not many folks drive all the way to the Arctic Cirlce, but you can do that on this tour and visit Santa when you get there - in August!
For our regulars who are looking for something new, then we have a brand new tour to Northern Spain & Portugal. We will be following the varied and dramatic northern coast all the way to the world-famous Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage city. We also dip into northern Portugal with a trip to Porto, a UNESCO world heritage site.
More details will be coming out as the year progresses, but if you have any questions in the short term about any of the tours, please feel free to get in touch. If you want to express an interest, just contact us and let us know which one(s) you fancy. We will then contact you in a few weeks to offer you the space.
We say it every year, but if there is something that you fancy, please act quickly as our most popular tours usually fill up within the first few days of bookings being open.
NEC Motorhome Show 18th to 23rd February 2025
Just a reminder that the NEC Motorhome Show is here again and as usual we will be in attendance.
We are in Hall 4 on Stand 4110. We will also be doing our talks at the Perspiration Theatre. This year's topic is the Alps - all 750 miles of them! We would love to see you on the stand and would be even happier if you could bulk up the audience at one of our talks.
Tuesday is cupcake day (customers only I'm afraid) so if you are a customer, please come to the stand and grab one before I eat them all. If you come and watch our speech there is also a chance to win a Toblerone (albeit a very small one).
The NEC Shows are the biggest and best in the UK attended by everyone who is anyone in the world of motorhoming (and us). If you don't have a ticket yet then you can use the link below and get a (slight) discount:
Here is the timetable for our talks:
Tues | Weds | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
11:15 – 11:45 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 15:15 – 15:45 | 10:30 – 11:00 |
2025 Availability
With all this talk of 2026, you may be thinking: "but we haven't even done 2025 yet!" However, in the world of motorhome tours, folks to tend to book up early and as a result we are now full on everything for 2025.
That said, we do get cancellation spaces coming up from time to time. Therefore, if you do fancy something this year, please get in touch and we can add you to our waiting lists for any (or all) of our 2025 tours. There is nothing to pay now and no obligation to take up the space - it just means we will call you and offer you a space if it comes up.
Coq au Van (the amusingly titled recipe feature)
One-pot creamy pesto chicken
Ingredients
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lb. penne pasta
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup basil pesto
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
freshly cracked pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper
Method
Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Add the butter to a deep skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside.
While the chicken is cooking, mince the garlic. Add the garlic to the skillet with the chicken and continue to sauté for one minute more.
Add the uncooked pasta and chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and garlic. Stir to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil.
Once the broth comes to a full boil, give the pasta a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pasta simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the broth has been absorbed. Stir the pasta briefly every two minutes as it simmers, replacing the lid quickly each time.
Once the pasta is tender and most of the broth absorbed, add the milk, cream cheese (cut into chunks), and pesto. Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the sauce. Finally, add the grated Parmesan and stir until combined.
If using, add the fresh spinach and sliced sun dried tomatoes. Stir until the spinach has wilted, then remove the pasta from the heat. Top the pasta with freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper, then serve.
Motorhoming Tips
One of the things we have noticed over the last 15 years of continental motorhoming is how cashless payments are becoming the norm. In many countries, cash is no longer king and on many occasions you have to pay be card. Apart from that, many folk to do not like carrying lots of cash around with them when they are away.
One solution is to get a prepaid travel card. These work just like your debit/credit card supported by either Visa or Mastercard, meaning that the cards are accepted widely. Unlike debit/credit cards, you pre-load the currency onto the card at the prevailing exchange rate. We use this facility to buy currency when the pound is strong. Any unused currency can be sold back on your return. There are loads available and you need to shop around for the best deal. Here's a good place to start:
Keep in touch
Facebook: crossingsmotorhometours
Instagram: CrossingsMotorhome
Please feel free to contact us at any time. When we are away, calls will bounce to our mobiles at no expense to yourself.
Comments