# First trip to France



## Flans-Van (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi everyone, this is my very 1st posting as a recent recruit to MHF.

All of our touring has been all over most of Ireland and Northern Ireland & England & Wales over the last decade, but this year we are heading for France for all of July and a bit of August. Only thing booked is ferry landing at Roscoff and ferry home at Cherbourg. We, (just me and the good lady wife) are thinking of heading down the coast via Brest and eventually to Bordeaux then inland with my personal target of the Normandy landings area to experience some of the WW2 sites on the last few days of our tour. 
Apart from that and bringing the "aires France guide", a good map and satnav we have no plans.
(I wonder if other readers use their TESCO vouchers for the ferries. I collected £150 vouchers over a year ( converts to £450 for travel vouchers) and our return trip is costing me £170 travelling from Rosslaire to Roscoff and home from Cherbourg to rosslaire (includes cabins)
We have rented an RV in USA for a month but used sites all the way from Boston to Buffalo and back but this time we want to use the aires. I have heard about the France Passion book and would like to hear if anyone has used them recently and what do you think, 
Cheers John & Emily 8) 8)


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Hi John and Emily and welcome to MHF. A good decision to join...!

We've certainly used France Passion sites and enjoy them very much. Many of them do tend to be a bit off the beaten track so keep your eyes skinned for the small flower sign they use to show where you can park. Don't automatically assume that the sat nav takes to to the parking place- as we did first time. We pulled into the farmyard, Sunday lunchtime, and felt so embarrassed when the whole family got up from the table to help with the 34 point turn needed to get us out of the farmyard and to the nearby parking !

Enjoy your trips.

G


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## fitzgill (Dec 23, 2008)

We also travel to France via Rosslare to Cherborg, last year with Irish Ferries, this year with Celticline.

We are going for most of July.

Last year we found some great aires in Normandy, it is worth getting the France Passion subscription, well worth the fee.

This year all we have booked is the crossing, then follow the Sun.

Enjoy

Mark


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We use the France Passion scheme and have found the reception at all of the vineyards to be VERY welcoming with never any problems.

True we have often ended up buying yet more wine but the experience has been great and we now have a good wine store!

The journey you are planning is one that we have done, there are some great places to visit - it is worth taking the time to enjoy each area rather than covering too much ground, Brittany alone could take several weeks - make sure to visit Concarneau and also Quimper - great places with different atmospheres.

Moving down the coast there are so many great places, it is difficult to list them all in a small space, but one of our favourites is the Isle de Noirmoutier which can be quiet or busy depending on where you choose to go. The area around Niort is called the green Venice - there are a series of waterways which are stunning (we used a municipal site there).

Inland from Bordeaux? (We live there so may be biased........) But try to visit St Emilion of you like high quality red wine........ (but don't try to take the MH into the village - they are not permiited as the village is tiny, steep and with very narrow streets - but it is easily walkable and a Garnd Cru Chateau visit is well worth the time (and it's free to try the wines) - they are very welcoming indeed.

All in all there is so much to see before you get back to Normandy, but for me the Musee de la Paix (The Peace Museum) on the edge of Caen is a must - a really thought provoking time which should not be cut short. The landing beaches all have so much to see that you could spend weeks in that part of France alone......

As you can see we LOVE the variety that can be found in France - to such an extent that we chose to retire to the area South of Bergerac and continue to visit so many great places......

Does that give you a hint of what we like???? :lol: :lol: 

We are always happy to answer questions - just ask either via the open forum or via PM........  

Dave


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## musicbus (May 1, 2005)

have a great trip!

Seems like you really have your act together.

Passion France is great but remember there usually no waste facilities but usually water.

And yes its a great way to add to your wine collection as many will want to give you the tour and as we have found private tastings.

One of our fondest memories was at Chigny les Roses near Epernay on the Champagne route sharing wonderful champagne with three generations of a 5 generation champagne maker family at 10.30 in the morning. hic!

I am sure this will be the first of many great adventures for you.

barry


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## smithiesagain (Jan 8, 2012)

Welcome Flans-van,

That sounds like a really good trip...planned to some degree but with a bit of wriggle room. ...I like it !!


I have never used France Passion, when we had a big RV our personal choice was to avoid France ( we used the Ferry from either Standander or Bilbao,as that was cost effective)...but now that we have a little caravan we are getting to places we haven't been to for years, and are enjoying the meander !!!..

Enjoy...........



Jenny


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

I have to be a stick in the mud (Sorry) I was a member of France Passion, I did not get on with it, I found it difficult to locate sites, however I would not say that you should not join.

I find that using a combination of "Aires", "Municiple", and Commercial campsites, with the option of using National, and the Toll road network, works for me.

Enjoy your trip.

Normandy, volely aire at Arromanche, right in the little town, next to the play ground.

There are of course many more all around France


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## mr2 (Feb 26, 2009)

*Re: first trip to france*



Flans-Van said:


> Hi everyone, this is my very 1st posting as a recent recruit to MHF.
> 
> All of our touring has been all over most of Ireland and Northern Ireland & England & Wales over the last decade, but this year we are heading for France for all of July and a bit of August. Only thing booked is ferry landing at Roscoff and ferry home at Cherbourg. We, (just me and the good lady wife) are thinking of heading down the coast via Brest and eventually to Bordeaux then inland with my personal target of the Normandy landings area to experience some of the WW2 sites on the last few days of our tour.
> Apart from that and bringing the "aires France guide", a good map and satnav we have no plans.
> ...


Hi John & Emily

We use aires in the main and had 4 trips last year to France mainly Normandy & Brittany using Tesco vouchers and the tunnel converting £200 of vouchers into the 4 trips plus benefit of a quick crossing unaffected by weather! We have all the aires on our satnav so finding a place to stay has never been an issue with the thousands to play with.


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## b2tus (Sep 7, 2009)

Another thumbs up for the France Passion system.

Agreed they can sometimes be a tad difficult to find due to somewhat vague directions in some cases but well worth the effort. We have had some wonderful stops on various vineyards, small farms and on one occasion, a duck farm in the Dordogne producing superb foie gras. 

We have never stopped at an "aire" despite the numerous supporters of them on here. The ones we looked at always seemed to be chocka block with M/Homes parked very close to each other. Not our preference so we tend to go for the quiet France Passion sites and are rarely disappointed. We will however retain an open mind and keep a look out for quiet aires when we next visit France this September.


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## chickann (Sep 17, 2010)

hi Mr2

hope you don't mind me asking, but when you use aires are they signposted or do you have to get a book with them all in. we are off to france in august and don't really want to have to book sites, do you ever turn up and have problems getting in?

thanks 
ann


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## chickann (Sep 17, 2010)

hi Mr2

hope you don't mind me asking, but when you use aires are they signposted or do you have to get a book with them all in. we are off to france in august and don't really want to have to book sites, do you ever turn up and have problems getting in?

thanks 
ann


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

chickann said:


> , but when you use aires are they signposted or do you have to get a book with them all in. ......... do you ever turn up and have problems getting in?


Aires are usually signposted but the signs are fairly small and you need to get your eye in to spot them sometimes ! There are several books with them listed. The most comprehensive- and it is in French but easy to follow is Le Guide Officiel :Aire de Service Camping-Cars which comes out yearly. Vicarious Books ( who give a discount to MHF members also publish All the Aires, in English and with photos.

If you know where you are going there are lots of websites from which you can download the names and coordinates of the aires in the regions you intend to visit.eg

http://www.airecampingcar.com/

In high season ( ie July to mid August) the popular aires in honey-pot places can be full - though often people will squeeze up or there will be places in a nearby car park. If you arrive around 3-4pm then you should not have problems. In high season however it is always a good idea to have a fall-back in case your first choice is full.

It's also a good idea to make sure you travel with sufficient water and with an empty loo and grey water tank as sometimes there is no service point or it is not working or a token is needed and the place you get them from some way away.

It is also helpful to carry a reasonable amount of 1 and 2euro pieces and some 50 cents as some service points need coins to operate.

G


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## mr2 (Feb 26, 2009)

chickann said:


> hi Mr2
> 
> hope you don't mind me asking, but when you use aires are they signposted or do you have to get a book with them all in. we are off to france in august and don't really want to have to book sites, do you ever turn up and have problems getting in?
> 
> ...


Hi Ann

We use Aires all the time and have them (a) listed in a book called All the Aires-France which you can buy at www.vicariousbooks.co.uk- over 2000 aires with gps info. (b) I have a TomTom satnav and you can download the aires from the TomTom website as POI's. We just decide where to go and call up the aire on the satnav. August is the busiest month and on a few occassions have turned up but the aire is full. We just carry on to another as there is so many. Advise that if you are travelling to a popular site e,g Honfleur get there late morning, late afternoon is too late. Best wishes for your trip, you won't regret it

Barry


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