# Going to France....where to start!?!?!



## BenimarEurope6000ST (Mar 15, 2010)

Never been on the continent with our Motorhome and frankly a little unsure. Where to start, so lots of questions :? 

We planning to go in Late Jun \ Early Jul for 3 weeks or so. Work and money depending.

What extra gear do I need to carry to comply with laws over there. Warning triangle, lights etc?

Best crossing(which is code for cheapest  ) I am planned to travel around Normandy and Brittany.

Top places to visit in Normand and Brittany. We like walks, scenery and food and wine. Not overly interest in bright lights and all that.

Should I stray further South or East. Recommend other regions?

What would be the best place to visit as a first stop in France. Based on arriving a Calais or any other port in France. I am thinking I dont want to drive too far on the first day. Get use to driving on the wrong side and all that!

Best campsites. Aires or Muncipal Camping sites.

Anything you guys can think of as good ideas and top tips.

Thanks in Advance

David


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## CaGreg (Mar 28, 2007)

The first thing is to stop worrying ....NOW! 

France is a great place to be in a motorhome. The country is set up for it, with a good positive attitude to all things MHey. 

Normandy is lovely, though we really only saw some of it, but we loved the area in Upper Normandy near Cherbourg. On that peninsula is Utah beach and then up that coast is St Vaast and our favourite Barfleur. 
You could concievably manage without a campsite book, there are sites everywhere. You could hardly drive ten miles without seeing a sign for one. Tourist offices and mairies (mayors gaff) have information on camping and aires and boulangeries often know of places too. 

Don't worry too much about driving on the 'other side', it isn't a problem even in a righthooker van. Roads tend to be fairly quiet and everythng is well signposted.
Buy diesel in large supermarkets such as Super U, Carrefour, E.Leclerc.. It's up to twenty cent a litre cheaper than on motorway filling stations. There are supermarkets on the outskirts of all towns and cities and the signpost 'Zone Commerciel' of ZA is the thing to look for. Stopping for a coffee break is always nicer in town too, coffee in motorway rest areas can be awful. 

Warning triangle, vis vests for each person, drivers license and spare specs for drivers. The book 'All the Aires', or french equivalent are useful. Tolls on motorways can be expensive so if you aren't in a hurry go on the N or D roads, just accept lots of roundabouts. 
You will seldom come across a village or town that isn't charming. Many of them have motorhome parking aires. Look at the Campsite database on here as there is a bucketload of info on sites, aires and wildcamping spots. Launderettes are called Laverie and most towns have them, self service and quick. 
Have a lot of fun, you will come back and wonder why you didn't
do it years ago!!

Ca


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## stephenpug (Sep 18, 2008)

CaGreg said:


> The first thing is to stop worrying ....NOW!
> 
> France is a great place to be in a motorhome. The country is set up for it, with a good positive attitude to all things MHey.
> 
> ...


Could not have put it better we bought all the aires France it has long/lat coordinates and is so easy you must visit the aire at concalle and try the oysters on the beach fantastic


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## cobaltkoala (Sep 11, 2006)

*Dont Worry - Just Do It*

Going for our second trip to France in later July for 4 or maybe 5 weeks ... Ho Hum.

Our crossing for late July is RETURN on the Eurotunnel for the princely sum of £30 in Tesco Tokens. LOL

In truth you can stay for virtually nothing in most places outside of the major conorbations, simply venturing to a aire or municipal camp to top up on water.

If you have kids take plenty of 'known' foodstuffs or take the opportunity to experiment.

Fuel is on a little cheaper especially Diesel (Gazole) as it is in most countries of the world except the UK?

Everything posted in 2 posts above is true and we simply know you will enjoy every minute. I think the AIRES guide is good and we find TOMTOM invaluable.

One point of note though ... A lot of the drivers do tend to drive on the wrong side of the road, shake their fists and all the arrows on the tarmac point the wrong way ... I may not quite have got the hang of this yet. 

OH Latest on Hi Vis Vests and Triangle is if police stop you you must be able to access both without getting out of car. Makes sense I suppose as in the process of hunting through the lockers you could get hit by a meandering trucker! Under the seat is a good option. If using a cheap Sat Nav you might also need life vest and water raft there as well. 

Darn it now I am going to start counting the sleeps till we go!


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## Levvo001 (Jun 11, 2009)

Wherever you roam, you'll love it. France seems ready made for motorhomes! 

Browsing the site you should find all the technical advice you could ever need, probably more succinctly than I could put it, but here's a few starters for the journey and areas you mention: 

Cheapest crossing is usually (but not always!) Norfolkline, but there's often not much in it between any of the short crossings from Dover. To where you want to go, Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth are perfectly placed and their services are much classier than the rest, but they are also much more expensive. You may feel the cost is worth it though, to avoid the M1-M25 and the drag down from Calais. 

Regarding campsites, again it depends what you want. Aires will be cheapest, but both Normandy and Brittany have loads of very classy private or municipal sites with great facilities. Do a bit of web surfing before you decide, maybe mix it up a bit of both? 

I wouldn't worry too much about booking ahead though - there are so many places you could stop at it's not really worth it, even in summertime. 

"Must see" places abound...D Day beaches and museums are an obvious choice, as is Mont St Michel. There's great scenery in the "Suisse Normande" region south of Caen, and great walking around the Cotentin peninsula from Cherbourg. Similarly great coastal walking in almost all of Brittany - I'd just drive and see what you like the look of. 

One absolute must if you're there - Bastille Day on 14th July. The French party very late into the night pretty much everywhere, and you shouldn't miss out. 

Wine isn't a big thing in the parts you mention - the local tipple is cider. However, seafood/fish is superb.


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

*Just go*

Like our friends before just diesel up and go, dont forget spare bulbs and hi viz

You will have a blast

Good luck


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## Bubblehead (Mar 5, 2007)

Hi David

Fully agree with the posts above. We always cross using Norfolklines as they are usually the best :wink: depending on how far in advance you book - try booking via the Caravan Club - our crossing in Aug in a 9m van booked in Jan cost us £81.02 and included a free upgrade to the VIP lounge both ways. This is for midday crossings each way.

If you want a bit of practice driving Id recommend a night crossing and arrive at say 6am this will give nice quite roads around the port.

We use our tomtom set to avoid tolls when in france and we get a more interesting trip as you get to visit lots of villages etc that you'd miss if on the main roads.

Follow the coast down to Mont-st-Michel using Aires or the occasional campsite.

Suggest you try:

Dunkerque to West of Calais (aire at the Dover patrol monument or Campsite near the village) nice short drive on day 1.

Le Touquet / Berck / Fort Mahon 
Le Harve / Honfleur
Caen / Bayeux (and Normandy beaches)
Mont-st-Michel / St Malo

You could return via Rouen (watch the low bridge on the main road through)

Don't try to do the whole of France in one trip - you cant

All the aires is excellent and buy a copy of Collins Road Atlas France or similar as it has the the road signs and top tips in the front

Make sure that your insured (you and van) for France and have breakdown cover if required.

Make up an ICE pack (In Case of Emergencies) with all you important details and photocopies of things such as passports, bank cards, RAC, medical stuff etc. write down the names of any drugs that you need so you can show the name to a French doctor if needed.

You need to get a camping card international and an EHIC.

Andy


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

this may help see here
ferry crossings it may cost less in fuel to take a long crossing 
have a look at this site see here click the map top left 
chapter


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## mygalnme (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi David, I,m sure you sre going to enjoy your first experience in France, we did and that was over 20 yrs ago, one thing for sure you will go back :lol: The French do break up the first week in July though so you will probably be better on Aires although as someone said there are lots of sites and yes the municiple sites are very good value and usually well looked after. All round the area you plan to do is lovely and even if we suggest places you will surely come across somewhere and like it enough to stop..the beauty of having a MH. Bon voyage and have funP.S whatever you do don't forget the bottle opener :!:   
Margaret


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Most things covered already. We are currently in France (left early April) and will be back in Brittany tomorrow. It is a fab place. I think the North coast from St Malo to Roscoff is stunning.

Definately get the "All the Aires" book but before you go check out http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm which is a brilliant French site. Set google to automatically translate the comments on each Aire. The book has many Aires but there are loads on the infos site that are not in the book.

Have a great time!

Barry


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

lots of good stuff there, but also have a look at Wakk44's report of his recent first time to France

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-86047.html


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## jonse (Nov 2, 2008)

Just Be aware the French are on their annual hols from the 1st August so could be a bit busier then when all the old folk on here go to France Just don't come down to far, also the last week end in August can be extremely busy as they all Head home then,But I am sure you will have a good time like all the rest on this site have had. Have a safe Trip


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## enrohtwac (Oct 7, 2009)

Cant Knock France for MH. They are well set up to cater for the mass migration from WEST to EAST every summer of Dutch, Germans, italians and of course the French themselves. 

Tons of sites, Aires are generally safe to stay on overnight. Quiet roads and great views. 

Not done much in the north however down the atlantic coast it is fantastic. Have been as far north as Quiberon (which is fab) and followed the coast down to Biarritz. This was a very good trip with no trouble at all finding places to stop, refuel, eat etc.... plus met loads of other MH ers along the way. 

All i can say is DO IT! its miles better than driving in the UK.

Mind you i have decided to stay out here for good, so may be slightly bias. Just waiting for my own planning permission to come back so i can get on and build my campsite for my MH guests. Cant wait. 

have fun, i know you will. 

James.


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