# newbie needs a lot of guidance and help please



## IzzyJnr (Dec 28, 2012)

Hi I'm a new member and have just bought a second hand motorhome. I'm off through france spain potugal and into morocco on a surf trip. please can you help with some advice. i was going to go into france and work my way down the coast to gibraltar then to morocco. but have now changed my mind and will head straight for morocco and will work my way back up the coast in spring when the weather is warmer. (propex heater in van not working, hoping to get fixed in moroc ), Ive been reading a lot of the forums and it's opened my eyes a bit!!

please can you advise on the following
1. should i get a sat nav? - I've noticed all references provide co ordinates. is this much easier than just using a map. i don't speak French or Spanish. if so which one is OK. all money spent is coming out of my fund which means less beer and food - well less food.i got lost reading the sat nav test forum!!

2. where should i get the ferry to. i live just near m25 j6 surrey. i couldn't believe they wanted 500 quid to take me to bilbao or santander. is calais or st malo better? please advise a cheap ferry crossing or is it 6/12 of one and 1/2 a dozen etc

3 is there a standard route that experienced motorhomers take with decent stopovers/ campsites etc ( i would prefer some electricity for heater - but not essential as i've several sleeping bags) is it expensive to get from from france to gibralter using toll rds. I've read it is?? is there a standard toll free way and is it worth it compared to using more diesel going off route??.
i think thats it for the moment but I'm starting to panic mr mannering!!... i know ive got loads more questions but this is a start thanks for helping me, Izzy


----------



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

You could try Newhaven - Dieppe, especially if you are under 25 or over 60 - 20% discount for both those categories.

It could save you mileage both sides of the channel and there is an Aire right outside the dock gates at Dieppe good if you have a late arrival or early departure there.

You could then catch the St Nazaire to Gijon crossing to northern Spain and cut out most of France outbound.

Newhaven - Dieppe & St Nazaire - Gijon are both LD Lines so it could be worth ringing reservations and see if they do a through fare for both crossings.


----------



## Hydrocell (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi Izzy

Item one, having a sat nav can in the long term save you money, however you can do it with a good European atlas, there are plenty of offers out there at the moment, but make sure that it has full European per loaded.

Item two, this all depends on the time you have available if you are not time limited then Dover Calais is the cheapest route, first you can get a return crossing from around £88 next get to Dover with about ¼ tank of fuel, once in Calais drive to Auchan supermarket on Avenue Roger salengro you get Diesel around £1.14 per Litre.
You will save around £250 going this route rather than the Bilbo route.

Item three, we try not to use toll roads, we will only use a toll road if it’s cost affective for instants we stay on the A16 until junction 28 it costs us 1euro 60cents this saves time and fuel not have to turn off the A16 drive down to Boulogne drive on busy side roads and a clime back up.

We find the best route for us is straight down the west side of France to Irun on the Spanish border, then head for Madrid and on to Granada and then Malaga and on to Gibraltar.

Our first stopover is at Marine Parade in Dover

The route from Calais is as follows

Calais – Boulonge – Abbeville – Rouen – Evreux – Chartres - Tours - Poitiers
Angouleme – Bordeaux - Bayonne - St Jean – Irun - San Sebastian - Burgos
Madrid – Cordoba – Malaga

Once we get of the ferry the first thing is to fill up at Auchen them pickup the A16 to Boulogne and then the N901 towards Aberville to join the A28 onto Rouen.
Follow the ring road around Rouen and pickup the N154 to Evreux and onto Charters. After Carters you’ll pick up the A10 duel carriageway to Tours and onto Poitiers on the same road now the N10.
We make Vivonne our first stop in France this Aire is in the 3rd Edition all Aires in France Page Number 514 Item 10 Good safe stop in the winter the water is normally turned off but electric and waste is available. The Aire is in the town, which has nice shops and a super U supermarket for fuel. There is a Market here on Thursday morning at the bottom end of the car park.
Continue on the N10 past Angouleme and on to Bordeaux and Bayonne and then to St Jean de Luz still on the N10 there is an Aire at St Jean on the left next to the train station with free electric and water but it fills up very quickly if it’s full carry on the N10 for around 7 miles to Irun.
As you drop down the hill to Irun you’ll come to the first of two roundabouts go over the first and after 500 yards too your left you will see a large car park over looked by a large restaurant we have used this place 5 or 6 time safe for over night park free between 6pm and 8am we have used this stop going and coming but and always had a good nights rest.
The next day follow the same road to San Sebastian and onto the A15 and then turn onto the E08/E05 past Beasain and onto Vitoria-Gasteiz follow this road to Burgos staying on the E05/A1 to Madrid we used the Camp La Cabrera in Madrid just off the A1 easy to find it’s in the ACSI book page 692 in old book and page 366 in the 2012 book item 1985 after the campsite go back on the A1 and take the ring road around Madrid and pickup the E05/A4 down to Cordorba and then follow the A45 down to Malaga.
This route is around 400 or so miles shorter than the Perpignon route
This route is a good safe and easy way of getting to Malaga, Madrid ring road is the only bit where you’ll have to watch out for the right junction it can get very busy apart for that it’s a breeze 

I hope this information help but of course you can go and stop where you wise safety is always a priority for us luckily we have never had any problems with intruders or police, we do three long trips per year and generally it’s France, Spain or Italy.
Good luck to you all and have a safe journey were ever you go.

Regards
Ray


----------



## IzzyJnr (Dec 28, 2012)

can't thank you enough for your replies. i looked into the ferry crossings and it's a lot cheaper £88 quid from newhaven to dieppe and £100 from st to gijon!!! thats more like it!! and a massive thasnks to you as well ray that was just what i was looking for a route I can easily follow and some safe stop ofsf to get me started.

ANOTHER question!!
I read about this acis card, are they worth getting? are these the cards you hand in instead of your passport?

should I buy one of these free aire books/ campsites guides or is this what acis is? and where can i join?

if you reccomend a guide book to campsites/ aires i will get it. is there one that is better than the rest or do i down load or print them off of the motorhomes website. do they do these for kindle? ( ebooks )

sorry for all the questions - but I know you lot have been there and got the t shirt. you can't beat experience!! thanks izzy


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Get the ACSI card!

Using a SatNav can be valuable when you wish to avoid toll roads.
We prefer the Burgos Salamanca Caceres route avoiding Madrid (which is not difficult)
Caceres has a good campsite but an even better Aire with free electricity.
The ACSI card comes with a book (2) telling you where to go. The first nights stay at a site should pay for the book (almost)

Enjoy all

Alan


----------



## Hydrocell (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi sorry one thing I forgot is that there is a free safe stop at Benalmadena just down for Malaga, the stop is behind the sunset beach hotel next to the sunset beach.
Drive through the centre of Benalmadena along the Ctr Cadiz road if you are driving towards Fuengirola just before you get to the sunset beach hotel there is a large round about go right around this turning back up the ctr Cadiz and turn right down the hill and follow until you underneath the sunset hotel, the road is called Calle Torrevigia, the car park belongs to the hotel but the rest of the parking area belong to the local authority, it is safe we have parked here for two nights no problem.
Easy found on google earth. 

Regards 
Ray


----------



## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

With the money saved by doing the ' shorter' channel route - do yourself a massive favour and get yourself a GPS ! (my preference is TomTom)- others will have their favourite make...believe me if you are driving alone GPS Guidance (instead of constantly looking at a map or atlas) makes for a stress free trip!!
Also, do get the ACSI book & "All the Aires" books - both are worth their weights in gold.
Lastly - Do Not, repeat - do not contemplate any overnight parking or stop on any of the motorway service centres . . . plan stops around small villages well off the main roads, oh yes,- use supermarket petrol stations as they are (usually) cheaper . . - last ' lastly' is Don't rush- just take your time and enjoy :wink:


----------



## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Hi and welcome
Definately get a sat nav but dont get into theb habit of turning it on and turning your common sense off. Put the route in and then look at this and compare it with a paper map. Some sat navs - even ones designed for big vehicles where you can enter the size of your rig will still work out funny routes. So use them but check the route before you set off. 

Otherwise they are invaluble especially when going through towns and cities.

In france there are Aires all over the place so stopping isnt really a big problem. Just dont stop overnight on the motorway service areas on big roads and motorways. Ok in the day for a rest break and lunch or cup of tea though. Yes get the all the aires book or "camperstop" (camperstop covers all of europe) from vicarious books. If you get the camperstop book you can then dowload the point of interest into your sat nav (if you buy one that allows you do download your own POis). Tom tom and garmon do so you dont have to input the co-ordinates.

Cheers
Phill


----------



## Hydrocell (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi Izzy

Yes getting the ACSI book is a must especially if you are travelling off session,
We never leave home without one there are two main books the ACSI for cheap campsites and All the Aires in France, there is one other I use which is called Camper Stops Europe.
I use the first two books all the time and the camper stops is a bit hit or miss, however you can purchase all you books from www.VicariousBooks.co.uk there is another one called Aire for Spain & Portugal I had one but give it away it just wasn't worth it. 
As Vic mentioned in his thread as Sat Nav can make it lest stressful.
All the stops I've sent you are safe ones and not on motorway Aire's I use them my self at least twice a year, and the route I gave consists of N roads not toll roads however most of the route is made up of duel carriageways, once you get down to Malaga try and stay on the A7 as the AP7 is a toll road which runs down to Gibb.
The toll roads in Spain however are much cheaper than France by how much I can't say because I never use them unless I have to, I have been to Gibb many time but as yet I've never been to Morocco.

Hope this helps
Regards
Ray


----------



## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Travelling solo? Then my vote also goes for a sat nav/GPS.

When solo it's very difficult to keep stopping to check the map.

My tried and tested solo method is to plot a route on a map, make a list of the towns/road numbers you want to use, stick that list on the dash somewhere and let the sat nav help you follow the route. 

It works for me.


----------



## IzzyJnr (Dec 28, 2012)

HI thanks for all the valuable info, i'm about to order my acsi card, i dont know whether to get the camperstops europe or the aires books for france spain and portugal is it one or the other or a combo of a few??? ,( i know you said it wasn't worth it ray, but it's a tenner.) is it not worth it because all the info is in the camperstops and acsi books? I've never toured spain and portugal so have no idea where to go or what to expect and a few free nights can't be a bad thing?? or is it just a poor guide? for info.... also the camperstops books will let me download info ( not that i know how to ) and yes I'm travelling solo so will be buying a sat nav for stress free travel ( looks like a couple weeks off the beer!!! but i suppose once I've got them i won't need to buy them again, thanks so much for your help again Izzy


----------



## statenisland (Aug 17, 2007)

Good morning Ray,

Thanks for the detailed route from Calais to Malaga.

I usually travel via Perpignan as I thought the winter weather would be better on the coastal route but with so many MHF members using your way I am thinking of trying it. A few questions, if you would be good enough to answer.

Do you use the tunnel to cross the French/Spanish border?
Does the weather not cause problems during the winter months?
Is the Spanish part of the route mountainous and therefore slower?
Are there any tolls other than the short stretch you mention just after leaving Calais?

Thanks
Brian


----------



## IzzyJnr (Dec 28, 2012)

HI another question!!!!! what does everyone do about money?? do you take travellers cheques? take some cash, use atm card. Iknow some atm cards will charge you etc and can work out expensive. do you take credit cards etc. should i inform my bank i will be abroad and using my card etc

thanks izzy


----------



## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

If money is an issue you would be best using aires rather than sites, even with ascii (or whatever it's called). Sites will be a deal more expensive.

Many of us prefer aires, which are quite informal although providing only basic facilities, to the regimentation found on many camp sites.

There are thousands of aires in France, many of them free. Look here: http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm for aires in France.

Click on Clicquez por entrer and choose France.

Alan,


----------



## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

For money try and get the Halifax Clarity, or Nationwide card. have a look on moneysavingsupermarket.com for the latest deals/advice.

They both charge a small amount for cash withdrawels but its a set sum per transaction NOT a percentage (which many of them do) AND you get a better exchange rate than buying TC's or getting Euro's from Thomas cook etc. Although they dont charge commission they DO give you a rubbish excahnge rate.

Get a sat nav they are well worth it. I have an old Tomtom Go 300 (the one fitted with an SD card with all the info on rather than the hard drive version that failed after about 4 years!!) thats working fine and already has Western Europe maps, France Aires, ACSI sites Supermarkets and other useful "stuff" on it, going cheap. PM me if interested looking for £25 plus postage Only reason for sale is I got a new one from santa !!! 

Avoid the Peage motorways and enjoy the drive down !!

Ferry costs are a minefield. I live in Weymouth but its cheaper for me to drive 200 miles to Dover (even taking into account all the extra fuel both sides of the channel) than taking a "local" route. If you go to DFDS you can get a Dover-Calais crossing (one way) for £49 quid !! If you are in the CC then you can get a RETURN crossing for that amount. I have just booked August - September for a 7.5m MH and paid just £49 return   . 

Western approaches crossings are in the region of £500 return for me  (especially Portsmouth - St Malo)

Its worth spending an hour getting online quotes from various companies just to compare but Dover Calais will ALWAYS be the cheapest owing to the competition and overcapacity. 

You need to do the maths a bit to work out if its cheaper to take the ferry down to Spain than driving down. Dont forget its a loooong way down from Calais to Spain. You can save time OR money, never both I am afraid !!!


----------



## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

We go for 2 weeks and usually take money (approx 600eu) in case but hide this in the van wrapped in fouil in tins hidden all over the place as well as the safe. yes i kniow a major fire would be a problem but this works for us.
Then we use cards for buying fuel

Dont forget if you want to use cards to get them OKd at the bank. You have to go in to do this and tell them the dates you will travel and return. they will then OK them for each country as this stops them being refused by some places.

We always use aires and have never use a campsite in 5 years. Most of them are perfectly acceptable and some of them are beutiful near beaches or other nice places. if you only need a stop for the night and have your own facilities this is the cheapest and best way to go. theres usually water and a place to empty the loo and watsr on these too and sometimes electricity.


----------



## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

It's worth getting the ACSI books and card. You could also buy "all the Aires France" and "All the Aires Spain and Portugal", though we haven't found the books very useful fot planning a route; often it's better to go the route you want, and just watch out for the signs for an Aire - they are easy to spot. Also, many Aires turn the water off if there's any sign of frost; if you've got dodgy heating as well, you might be better to go for campsites. Even campsites are few and far between in France in the winter, so try the ACSI website, there's more sites there that aren't in the book, some of them as cheap or cheaper than using the card.

Best way to go. we think, is (from Calais) Rouen, Tours, Bordeaux, Irun, Burgos, Salamanca, Plasencia or Caceres, then south to Gibralter.

Sat nav can be very handy, not to use all the time, but certainly to find the campsite or aire you want. Just turn it on when half an hour or so away. You can buy them second hand, but make sure you get one that includes at least one map update, as the Spanish build new roads at a tremendous rate. If you have a smart phone, you could get an app. that will give you satnav.You can set satnav to avoid tolls, but sometimes its worth paying a small toll to get round big cites etc.

Nationwide select is the best credit card if you are a Nationwide customer. If you're not, look at moneysavingexpert.com.

Don't carry too much cash, especially on the Spanish coast, or in Morocco. Some dodgy characters about.

Make sure you have at least one photocopy of your passport, travel insurance etc, and make sure you have an up to date European Health Insurance Card. This might not cover you in Morocco, but it will en route.

If you're as young as you sound, make sure you've got the phone number of mum/dad/favourite auntie to hand! Good luck!


----------



## selstrom (May 23, 2005)

If you have a laptop you can use autoroute and a USB GPS reciever, far better for reviewing route and choosing aires. Below is a link to very large file of POIs.

Unless you plan to stay in an ACSI site there is little point buying bthe guide. All info on sites is available on their web site.


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Stick a sock load of money into the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, there is no charge for using their card.
Nationwide used to offer this but when they stopped - we moved.

You can find ATM cash points even in small villages these days. This way you will have little cash on you to have stolen, should that situation arise.

Alan


----------



## IzzyJnr (Dec 28, 2012)

once again thankyou to EVERYONE for your help. I feel much more confident about it all already. they say knowledge dispels fear!!

I think I'm going to have a plod down to spain via the west coast route and stop off a few times on the way and have a surf, take my time and enjoy it. 

mrplodd ive pm'd you

I've just bought a second-hand laptop today ( another 2 weeks off the beer) 8O 

does anyone carry spare fuel? or is that a step to far? as there are a lot of filling stations?

does anyone have any advice about what food to take or start off with.? ie take a bit of dry and tinned food and just add fresh food along the way?

absolutely can't wait now!!!!!!!

thanks again Izzy


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

I do not carry fuel; you must make your own decisions.
The TomTom will always tell you where the nearest fuel station is. Gaps of ten miles would be big.
If your van is 3.5 tons or over, watch out for the speed and overtaking restrictions down the west coast south of Angouleme.
Fresher food than you can carry is everywhere; buy it when you stop at an Aire. That is what Aires are for, other than for parking.
Alan


----------



## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Lunch at supermarkets in France, good food, good value, no cooking. e..g. Casino, LeClerc etc.

Select a numeric PIN for your cards, not alphabetic.

Bon voyage, IzzyJnr.

Viv


----------



## merctoby (Jan 18, 2007)

*ACSI !!*

Hello , 

Just thought i would add some knowledge in here about the ACSI . We travelled though europe last year for 6 weeks , Brilliant time cannot wait to do it again this year .

You mentioned the ACSI book and joining it sounds good , But we bought into this as it made perfect sense for for us , as we would be looking for camp site,s 
We did use about four camp sites that was in the ACSI camp giude we did get all the paper work and books in the post , Thought this great . The plan was coming together and made us more confident . 
We found a site in the ACSI while we were away in germany and found a bueaty . Great , But when we were charged all the extra,s it was 2 day,s along the rhine we hooked up for electric had shower at the site , In the ACSI book it stated 2 people using shower one would be free . No ! They would not have it , 2 other couple,s complained for the same reason , That this was one of the book entitlment , They vigorously said no as they were not a member of the 
ACSI, But they were in the book , So it cost us $200 euro,s . this happened 4 times at different site,s And they all complained the same thing they were not in this book . But they still had the sign at the entrance . All of them did ! , We complained to the ACSI when we returned and their reply was it was a mistake on their part . Not good enough . So we did learn from this , We met a guy travelling around germany he was from stuttgart a german fellow . He taught us the rope,s we never spent another euro along our whole trip from that point on . And we will never ever use them again who can you trust !! this is the question ,. MY advise to you is when in france buy their aire,s books and the passion, But again buy them when you are out their . They have a hell of a lot more in theirs than you get in the english print version . 
But you will get the best of information here , and from those who have tried and tested . 
Good luck , And hope you have a great time .
denton.


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

We use the ACSI book and to date it has proved excellent. As a member the first thing we do on arrival is to ask about ACSI, show the card and ask if it is valid. We are in other clubs and do the same with their cards including the Caravan Club, who always ask for the card when booking in.
Perhaps I am missing the point but I am not sure where things go wrong if this is how you check in.

Alan


----------

