# Aire Tokens



## RichardD (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi All,

Just running through our last minute checks for our first trip in the MH to France on Friday.

We intend to make use of the Aires and have been reading up on the various protocols in the All Aires Guide, but what to know how many operate the token system and where do you buy them from?

Also is sitting outside (if we get any decent weather!!!) in chairs with a beer totally frowned upon?? 

As it's our first trip any other advice or help on a things to take checklist?

Richard


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Hi Richard hope it goes well. 

I think when you have to buy tokens ("jetons"), they are normally on sale at the Mairie, or town hall, during opening hours. I must admit we've never had to do this, most fees are either collected in the morning or evening, or you pay in a pay & display type machine by cash or (very frequently now) by credit / debit card. Service bornes (for fresh water or electric) also are mostly cash or card. I did go to a small private aire recently where they have a machine that dispenses jetons (on credit card payment) which you then use for the Flot Bleu type service borne. It's advisable to have a supply of 1 &2 Euro coins for machines where cash is payable.


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## bozzer (Jul 22, 2009)

Hi

We've used Aires quite often and really enjoy staying on them. If we arrive at one and don't like the look of it we simply move on to the next.

The only time we've come across tokens is if you need water/electric and the tokens have been from either the Tourist Office or Hotel de Ville

Many simply have the equivalent of a parking meter and you use coins or credit card. We've never tried the card. From the moment we get to France any 1 or 2 Euro coins go in a container for these meters.

We have sat out at Aires without any problems. Just don't get the washing line out and spread!!! We've dried towels on the bike rack. 

You'll have fun just don't leave finding the Aire until too late as they fill up. If TV is important to you you'll need to get there early!!! We've had lots of entertainment from people moving places up goes the dish, round and round it goes, down it goes and off they go!!

Jan


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

As mike says the Marie is a good place for Jetons (tokens) but local shops often have them and there will usually be a sign somewhere saying where to get them from. Some service stations just take Euros or are free or are included in any fee (if there is one!).

Don't worry. Aires are very relaxed and generally chairs and tables etc are always out, despite what the book tells you! If there is a spare bit of grass (or car park) you can pretty much guarantee that the French will park a table and chairs on it! Just follow their lead.


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## worzel (Apr 12, 2007)

*France*

Good Morning from a wet and windy Devon,

First of all you can get tokens (JETONS) from the Tourists office and the town hall (Maries office) but don't get to many at one time as they are different types in each town.

As for a beer sat out side!! If you are parked next to me and you buy me one, Yes that fine. Ha Ha.

We are off to France (PLYMOUTH TO ROSCOFF) Saturday 28th April for 3 months might see there.

Mike.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

at most places you can sit outside comfortably, some get a bit cramped and are basically just car parks for MH's! There's alovely place on the med coast neat St Tropez (Pampleonne beach) where you have space to wind out the awning and spread out, others are not quite so spacious :roll:


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## Gary1944 (Feb 21, 2009)

I would second the comments made here. We have found that if you need to purchase Jetons (and there are a number of different types) then there is normally a note on the Borne where to buy them, sometimes a local bar or shop as well as the Mairie etc.

Read the instructions as they vary in operation. I once put the Jeton in and inadvertently pressed the electric button. The water that I needed then wouldn't work so off to buy another Jeton, but by that time I had a queue behind me! Luckily they understood and we had a good laugh at the English stupidity.

Have fun, we will be following behind you next month, Gary.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Use aires a lot but never yet bought a jeton. 

Maybe that's because the only aire paying services we need is fresh water, we can go several days between needing fresh water, and so invariably get to use an aire when the water is free, or a municipal, or other site, or indeed topped up in the cposed season from church tap.

Some aires rarely need a token to get past the barrier, but increasingly these paying-access-up-front ones take coins and cards.

Dave


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

The simple answer is that the whole thing varies, jetons are used by some aires and they are commonly of the same style, but increasingly the points are a €2 coin system for water or power with emptying being free of charge. The same system seems to be being rolled out more widely now.

As regards sitting out it depends on how busy it is and where you try to sit..... if the site is busy and you try to sit beside you may well attract some negative comments and find a MH reversing towards you 8O 

If the aire is busy then you can probably sit behind your MH since they generally are parked side by side so the back end is not up for contention by other vehicles.

We have been on aires where there was plenty of space for awnings and little competition for space and others where the aire was full from about 1430 onwards - it all depends on where it is and when it is through the year.

Try and see but don't plan too rigorously in advance - if the aire is full there will be another one along soon! :lol: There are few places without another suitable stopping place within say 10 - 20 km. You often find that by moving you find a much quieter place with less pressure - hence a good reference book or MH stop list is highly desirable, don't overlook the France Passion scheme too - often close to aires and totally underused.  

Dave


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

If you follow the captions (most important to follow flow & understand context/ reasoning) on this motorhome photo account of our recent Easter saunter in France, you will see how we use aires. Seek out a municipal or independent site when the weather is iffy and you might need plenty of heating and TV, and use aires otherwise, sampling them as you poodle along until you stop at one you like 

https://picasaweb.google.com/108495877005911654786/Easter2012Share

(I can't tell you how you will see this page, as it depends on whether you are signed into Google, or use Picasa, etc. Google is in the middle of integrating all its products such as Picasa into Google+.)

Dave


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

DABurleigh said:


> Seek out a municipal or independent site when the weather is iffy and you might need plenty of heating and TV, and use aires otherwise, sampling them as you poodle along until you stop at one you like
> 
> https://picasaweb.google.com/108495877005911654786/Easter2012Share
> 
> ...


For me it shows up as a page of photographs with captions underneath, I doi not use Picassa.

Nice series of pics thanks,

Dave


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

... and if you do plan to stop on a particular aire that night - have a Plan B already in place. Aires change, they are not always as per the guide book and sometimes, as you pull in, you just know it's not for you - back on the road to the Plan B aire.


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## RichardD (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the link to the picture gallery. It just the areas we're thinking of going for the first trip. How do I know in what location the pictures were taken as I especially like the Aire looking over the canal?

Richard


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

I have noticed that there seems to be an increasing amount of barrier controlled aires in France which,once you are inside provide a freshwater tap,cdp point and sometimes toilets if you are lucky. 

Some of them take payment on the way out i.e. you take an entry card from the machine to lift the barrier to get in the aire and then insert the card at the exit barrier and pay be credit/debit card.It calculates the time you have spent on the aire and charges your card accordingly(you can use cash as well).This type of aire stops the freeloaders that arrive late in the evening and leave in the morning to avoid paying an attendant or getting a ticket.

Others have coin operated barriers(sometimes card as well) at the aire entrance and charge a fixed fee for 24 hours,these mainly rely on peoples honesty as I have never seen an attendant checking tickets in windscreens.

The majority do not have barriers and are simply a parking area,some expect you to pay for a parking ticket,a lot of them are free.These are the ones that generally have the service bourne which accepts coins or tokens(jetons) for a fixed amount of water or electric hook up.

As has been said jetons are usually for sale at the town hall although I have seen them only available at the local shop in some small villages.

In my experience these bournes do work but vary greatly in efficiency-some will dispense copious amounts of water for a couple of euros,others hardly any,it's the luck of the draw in France. :roll:

Putting out the awning and sitting underneath it in your chairs is not considered good motorhome etiquette on the French aires,this will reduce the amount of parking spaces available and if it is a particularly busy aire will make you very unpopular.

At a very busy aire in a lovely location next to a river I was surprised to find a m/home with the awning and chairs out when the aire was full.It was a French registered Pilote :x


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

RichardD said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> Thanks for the link to the picture gallery. It just the areas we're thinking of going for the first trip. How do I know in what location the pictures were taken as I especially like the Aire looking over the canal?
> 
> Richard


Get stuck into Google Earth.

Input the aire co-ords and go have a look - it's a great way to see where the aire is located relevant to the nearest village/interest. Many are viewable at Street View level.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

RichardD said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> Thanks for the link to the picture gallery. It just the areas we're thinking of going for the first trip. How do I know in what location the pictures were taken as I especially like the Aire looking over the canal?
> 
> Richard


Richard,

That's why you need to see the captions to follow the chronological photo order/ story  
Unfortunately I need to know which photo you mean to be definitive if you can't follow the photo captions.

In the meantime, you might also like blog/photos of previous trips we've done to the area:
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-46405.html#46405
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-830474.html#830474

As to sitting outside, there are rules and judgements and much depends on the particular aire. You won't go wrong if you follow the principle that if your van or activities extend to prevent someone else parking next to you, then you should curtail them!

Dave


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Plenty of good advice here.

We've used nearly 120 aires in the past couple of years. We use the Vicarious aires book almost exclusively, although we have the aires POIs on the TomTom, and the Camping-cars infos database on the computers. We tend to look for an overnight spot at no later than around 3pm, because some of them get very busy. However, the French seem to come and go at all hours - we've seen them hit the road at 7pm, making us wonder where they would be going. A number of times, we've visited (and rejected) a couple of aires during the day before finding one to our liking. We will often get to an aire at lunchtime. If we like it, we'll stay, and if we don't, we'll move on.

We have found aires are becoming more automated. Some of them work OK with our Visa debit card, but some don't. We couldn't use an Aireservices point, because it rejected the card. We've been able to use FlotBleu barriers without a problem. One aire (Roanne) had a jeton dispenser (I think it was Flot Bleu) which wouldn't accept our card. However, I asked a lovely French lady, who bought a jeton for us on her card, and we paid her the cash. That's when we found the services needed 2 jetons to work :roll: 

On the whole, you'll soon get into the swing of using them. We stayed away from them for a couple of years, always preferring Campings Municipale, but we never visit a French campsite now.

When you visit an aire, make a note in a blog or a diary, so you know what it's like for the future. We started scoring them (out of 10), and now we have a right old table of data for each aire:

Town
GPS
Access
Places
Cost
Parking
Services
Noise
Safety
Satellite TV
Dogs
Attractions
Market day
Comments
SCORE

We currently have 6 that have scored 10/10, and 16 that scored 9/10. You may score them differently, of course, but our top scores have a clean site, good services, somewhere to walk with the dog, and good scenery.

We always forget, but we try to remember to print out our aires database and our diaries to remind us. That didn't stop us, last autumn, of visiting an aire for the 3rd time, having forgotten that we'd found out the 1st time that it had closed down.

Gerald


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Come on Gerald, share your top 6 with us - we promise we won't tell anyone else.


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

tonyt said:


> Come on Gerald, share your top 6 with us - we promise we won't tell anyone else.


Cross my palm with silver, young man, and the secrets shall be yours :lol:

Okay, here we go:
(and in no particular order, as they say)

Sully sur Loire
Anglet
Chusclan
Sancoins
St. Pourcain sur Sioule
Semur en Auxois

Maybe not to everyone's tastes, but they suited us.

Gerald

Edit: But this is just between the two us, OK? :wink:


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

geraldandannie said:


> But this is just between the two us, OK? :wink:


OK - seeing as it's only you I'm telling, here's my top 6:

Chusclan - for obvious reasons.

Peyrusse Le Roc - for the drive up there and the view.

Comps - the riverside setting

Vailhan - solitude.

Lampaul Guimilau - spacious setting

Cardaillac - so peaceful (apart from the church bells!)

As you say, we all like different things in aires.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

What is interesting is Chusclan scores in both your top lists. I've never been there, but looking it up, the attraction isn't obvious. So what is it? 

Dave


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

DABurleigh said:


> What is interesting is Chusclan scores in both your top lists. I've never been there, but looking it up, the attraction isn't obvious. So what is it?
> 
> Dave


Looks pretty obvious to me Dave..........

local alcoholic atraction


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## jo662 (Jul 27, 2010)

DABurleigh said:


> If you follow the captions (most important to follow flow & understand context/ reasoning) on this motorhome photo account of our recent Easter saunter in France, you will see how we use aires. Seek out a municipal or independent site when the weather is iffy and you might need plenty of heating and TV, and use aires otherwise, sampling them as you poodle along until you stop at one you like
> 
> https://picasaweb.google.com/108495877005911654786/Easter2012Share
> 
> ...


Enjoyed your pics,some good ideas for the summer.

Jo


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## Skar (Jul 13, 2010)

Dave, interested in the New Aire at Montreuil do you have the co-ordinates for it? How many places are there?

Cheers, Steve


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

wakk44 said:


> DABurleigh said:
> 
> 
> > What is interesting is Chusclan scores in both your top lists. I've never been there, but looking it up, the attraction isn't obvious. So what is it?
> ...


and I found it first! 
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=1138


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Skar said:


> Dave, interested in the New Aire at Montreuil do you have the co-ordinates for it? How many places are there?
> 
> Cheers, Steve


I found that one first as well!!!

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=11465


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

bognormike said:


> and I found it first!
> http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=1138


........ and it took me 4 years to write the first review!


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## mygalnme (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi just returned from Spain via France had plenty of rain during the last week and not very warm so hope its on the change for you...we use Aires a lot never bought jetons though and if there is room and its warm enough sat out. Just thought I,d mention though nothing to do with Aires have found a lot of Supermarkets now putting barriers up making it difficult if not impossible to get on carpark and also for fuel? Don,t know if its to stop people parking overnight(not that we would after last years episode) or just don,t want our custom?
Bon Voyage, Margaret


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

DABurleigh said:


> the attraction isn't obvious. So what is it?


It's free, there are defined, flat and level parking spots with picnic bench (or dog sit-out place) next to each. The local village is lovely, with a tiny centre and a bar. Everything's been renovated and the facades cleaned. There is a bread shop, and that's about it.

If you go to the mairie, you can get a map of a walking route which takes you through the local vineyards, with views out across the river Rhone. There's also a walk up to a monastery (or something  ) in the hills behind the town.

It's a quiet, safe and peaceful aire.

Oh, and you can taste and buy wine within staggering distance :wink:

Gerald


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

bognormike said:


> Skar said:
> 
> 
> > Dave, interested in the New Aire at Montreuil do you have the co-ordinates for it? How many places are there?
> ...


That's strange Mike. It wasn't in camping-car.infos until very recently, and it looks all pristine:
(this photo and next showing loos)
https://picasaweb.google.com/108495877005911654786/Easter2012Share#5733237222239484130

Dave


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