# newbie looking for advice in motorhoming in france



## 113192 (Jun 10, 2008)

hi all, just got a motor-home on a whim, and am planning our first family holiday in france, end of july time!! can anyone give me advice on planning the trip, finding some nice spots to stay,my first thoughts were to just get in and go! bit my wife thinks we need to do a bit of planning.
so, we have a ferry booked dover to calais then plan heading south looking for quiet small sites. will we need to book sites in advance or can we just turn up! any recommendations to make our holiday enjoyable

ian


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## putties (May 18, 2005)

My advce would be get a france map. Pick where you want to go. Buy a campsite map and the aires book from a book shop or of this web site.

if you travel down the coast it will be busy tthe time of year you are travelling ( we are travelling at that time). If you are travelling into the middle (south) it will be less busy.

Dont try to travel to much on your first visit, Chill out and pace yourself, enjoy and leave me some places in the aires.

Have a good one

Putties


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

first of all, end of July is verrry busy, however in fact theres a good argument for doing both your proposals, the ...I'm an intrepid explorer gig works well, and adds a little to the excitement, or stress, depending on your definition, and the planned to the last inch and second brigade somtime get it right too,

the best way to do it , in my opinion, is a bit of both., have an ultimate destination planned, with attending dates, then bimble or not to and from.

someone on here will tell you which of the 30 million campsite/aires/french passiion they've stayed at, :wink: , so, get thee gone my son.....oh, forgot the most important thing. enjoy it, remember, ther worse it is at the time, the better the story it makes, later.


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi Ian

Welcome to MotorhomeFacts  

I suppose the question is: what do you like doing? Do you like seaside, or scenery? End of July is the start of the main holiday period in France, so sites in popular tourist areas might get a bit busy. What we tend to do is to travel during the morning, aiming to do no more than around 100km - 150km, and we'll try to get to a campsite before 3pm. After 4pm, the sites will start filling up.

We use our satnav (TomTom) and a big map and the Caravan Club European guides to select our destinations. We will tend to use Camping Municipales, which haven't got all the bells and whistles of large, commercial sites, but still have toilet and shower facilities, and often shops or restaurants on site or nearby.

We shop at local markets when appropriate, and large, out of town supermarkets when we're on the move.

You don't say what ages children are, as this might dictate destinations and driving distances.

Gerald


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## 113192 (Jun 10, 2008)

hi fellow MH owners, first off thanks for your input

just to show how green we are to this kind of adventure i had no idea what aires meant! can you recommend which aires book to go for?

my wife and i are mid forties with two boys 14/16 and are looking for the sun! and small friendly sites to just chill out at, not busy active/loud sites 
we have two weeks to kill but dont what to spend all that time driving!
not fussed about the sea really (live near bamburgh northumberland) so keen to explore the middle /south of france
im abit worried about the size of the MH (7.5m) and how ill manage getting around form place to place

ian


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

Ok, this is still not a problem.

Dont worry about the van, you'll be sorted no more than half hour after you set off.
When in France ( presuming you got RHD) then simply get your passenger to tell you when its safe from oncoming and rearward traffic.
it can be adventurous, whichh is a good thing. Id be inclined to go somewhere like the middle of the the left hand side of France as you look at it on a map, ( Vendee) but it may be busy.
Go for a google search theres a group called Yell-oh which has various campsites which are well advertised and prices are shown, and you can book online.
I'd do this if you dont want to spend 2 weeks driving, municiples are reat, as said, but not going to have all the facilities like pools and bars, but I like the one in Nevers ( nowhere near where I suggested incidentally) or theres one on the right central of Lyon if your going that way.

Dont plan to go too far, since you only ( only ..ha.ha.) have 2 weeks, really Id look for a couple of days travel each way and then chill, enjy, and by the ay, your sposed to spend months, if not years buying a motorhome, visiting dealers, and then having done that have gazillions of problems which recalcitrant dealers and manufacturers done cure for weeks. On a whim. honestly, I men, I ask you. :wink:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Welcome to you both ( and children) ...

There's a lot of information on France on here, both aires photos, what aires are and how to use them and campsite guides.

I'd certainly agree that you should not aim to go too far every day. There's so much to see and do in France and you don't need to go to the honey pot areas to enjoy yourselves. If you are aiming inland then it is not so important to pre-book though don't leave it too late to look for somewhere to overnight.
We don't ever book and have never ben turned away.

Have you got all your compulsary or strongly recommended items - spare bulbs, spare glasses if you wear them, reflective jackets ( not compulsary in France but IMHO they should be all over Europe), copies of your important documents, etc etc ? There are lists on here somewhere.

Have you heard of the France Passion scheme ? Stay for free and enjoy the hospitality of French farmers and growers.

http://www.france-passion.co.uk/

Enjoy your trip - I'm sure you will. France is very motorhome friendly and a good country to start with.

G


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

The best aires book for you to get for now is. All The AIRES France book by Vicarious books. This lists well over 1100 aires with there location. A lot are with GPS co-ordinates which we find work very well.

At the time of year when you are going they may be busy. Always turn up by about 3 pm for a spot. W/Ends are always busy and it may be best to get somewhere on a friday afternoon and stay the WWW/End.

steve & ann. -------------- teensvan.


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## ned (Dec 12, 2006)

*New to France!!!!*

Hi

Just thought I'd stick in my two penny worth here. All thats been said is good solid, valuable advice. I would just say that you need to select a destination. Something to aim at. Look in the caravan club european booklet or the carefree one from the Camping and Caravan club. Sit down and select a site and book it. Now! From there on in just trace a route there and back with options of things you want to see. You can plan your cheap aires by then going to Campingcar Infos on the webb. This will give you free information and although in French is quite easy to navigate your way through. It gives you lots of information ie waste, water etc, probable price, sat pictures of the Aire as well as maps. Print off the ones you might think of using and then bingo off you go. When you get to Calais go down to Le Crotoy on the Somme esturary ( look it up in the webb site mentioned above. It is about I.5 hours south of Calais on the motorway ( just Off) which should be free till Bolougne and then about 10 euros till the turn off. Great Aire right on the Dunes and only 5 euros a night. A good place to experiance your first Aire. There are in fact two at Le Crotoy one in the town and the quiet one just outside.

Hope this helps. Have agood trip but Keep em waxed!!! Ned


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

All of the advice is excellent above, motorhome (campingcar) is easy to use in France. There are lots of sites, plenty of facilities but also lots of others wanting to use them.

Advanced booking gives security but removes spontanaiety of "just going". You will always get into sites but they may not be small enough for you.

Travel is easy in France - the roads are good and the traffic light EXCEPT around Paris - its a slow moving car park makes the M25 in rush hour look positively fast!

We are happy to give you as much advice as you like - we have been visitng France with a van for 26+ years so we know a few bits of this massive country.

Well worth joining the forum here so that you can use pm system also. It does allow easy direct contact. 

France has to be one of the most popular countries visited by MH owners not just because it's close but because it's friendly and there are many positive things to discover and enjoy.

Keep in touch, it is always easier to discuss any problems at the planning stage than to solve them afterwards.


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## 113101 (Jun 8, 2008)

Hi, New to this forum as well and thought I would advise for all people travelling to France this year. From July 1st it will be compulsory for all vehicles to have a reflective waistcoat for each passenger, a warning triangle, spare bulbs and a first aid kit. If the driver wears glasses for driving they must have a spare pair.

Not sure how they will be with all of the holiday makers but around here the gendarmes do set up random checks on vehicles.

Oh, don't forget originals of insurance certificate and log book for vehicle, and your driving licences.

Enjoy your holidays, if you are in the Limoges area beware of the mad english lady driving a dark blue kangoo :lol:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

lablover said:


> Hi, New to this forum as well and thought I would advise for all people travelling to France this year. From July 1st it will be compulsory for all vehicles to have a reflective waistcoat for each passenger, :


Welcome lablover and thanks for this advice. I wish the UK would make it compulsory too. If only people realised how much more visible it makes them on the roadside then they'd surely carry them anyway.

Might I suggest you start a new thread on the subject ? There will be a lot of people going to France after July 1st and they will probably - like me -not realise the law has changed. They might not read this thread and so find out.

G


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## Tucano (Jun 9, 2006)

Sqweaka, still fairly new to motorhoming myself but in the three trips we made to France and beyond last year we never booked into anywhere because we never knew where we were going to be.
So, we tried Aires, Municipales and Wild camping, just anywhere that took our fancy really. Even a hospital car park and a side road next to an airport because I enjoy watching aircraft. Do your own thing and enjoy it.
Regards and welcome,
Norman


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