Ile d'Yeu    LFEY

Date of Visit = Four times a year on average ! Latest was July 99.

Pilot: = Anne-Celine Martel

e-mail = aceline@club-internet.fr

Field Report = The island of Yeu (Ile d'Yeu in French) is located on the Atlantic Coast, south of Nantes and north of La Rochelle.

It is a delightful place to visit over a weekend, being small enough to cycle around, and you can stop at will on many tiny beaches on the rocky side of the island or enjoy the luxury of long stretches of sand facing the continent.

The island is only 15NM away from the coast, but as no bridge has ever been built (luckily) it has not suffered from touristic over development as Oleron, Re or Noirmoutiers, the islands nearby, may have. It is a place to rest and enjoy the changing but generally sunny weather, the small houses painted in bright white, the diversity of the flora, the excellent fish and sea food.

Flying there is not difficult. If the ceiling is high enough you don't need any specific equipment nor flight plan (usually 3.500 to 4.500ft will allow most of the single engines to cross and still be within reach of either the continent or the island). You may want to call the AFIS agent in Yeu to get the latest weather as it may be sunny in Nantes and hopelessly foggy on the island. There is NO FUEL on the airfield as it would be too costly to bring it over from the continent.

Landing fee is around 40FRF, parking fee is roughly 40 to 50FRF per 24 hours. As the island is windy, you may have to land with crosswind on the 15/33 hard runway. The 04/22 grass runway is only used when crosswind is over 15KT. Take what you need to tie up the plane.

Once safely on ground, you can call a taxi to Port Joinville (50FRF) or walk there (40mn) or call a bicycle/car rental to bring the bikes/car over to the airfield.

All useful phone numbers are on the url below, in French but you can probably make it by clicking on "hotels" for hotels and "loueurs" for rentals. Guest houses are mentioned as "chambres d'hotes" or "chez l'habitant". During July and August it is very difficult to find a room on the island, particularly during the weekends.

Camping is an option, but can be done only at the municipal camping site and you should book ahead between July 15th and August 15th.

For good food try Le Pere Raballand, on the harbour in Port Joinville, to the left when facing the sea.

Do not hesitate to contact me should you need any further information, and enjoy your stay on my favorite island !

Anne-Celine

Internet Site (In French)