Travel to France for first time... ever

This is all great! We were interested in the idea of the ferry crossing at night but I think we'll end-up taking the tunnel. It's a lot cheaper (£234 vs £729) and quicker and we've a feeling the kids will be less sick! (Not that we've ever done a ferry crossing with them).

When looking at ferry prices just now the categories suggested are, car, van, and motorhome, with the former being 1.83m high max.

Eurotunnel lists, low car, low van, high car, high van, with 1.85m high being the divider for both cars and vans. They also list "campervan" - "Any vehicle which includes living accommodation (including (without limitation) seats, table, sleeping, cooking and storage facilities". It seems pretty clear that our VWs should go in this group. For our family trip in July / August, a standard car would cost us £156 - so £78 more to take the campervan than a car.

Just thought I'd share my research.
 
bvddobb said:
We have always booked ferries as a normal car, less than 6m long, less than 2m wide, less than 2m high, which is usually the cheapest category, and never had an issue. When boarding we have seen Cali's in the other line, among those white giants, and always wondered what they were doing there...


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met behulp van Tapatalk
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I think that is OK on ferries but on the Tunnel they can get stroppy if a camper is booked as a car.
I think this is because of the gas bottle. We have sometimes been on the tunnel and they have actually asked to see the gas bottle and made sure it is turned off.
 
acer said:
Eurotunnel lists, low car, low van, high car, high van, with 1.85m high being the divider for both cars and vans. They also list "campervan" - "Any vehicle which includes living accommodation (including (without limitation) seats, table, sleeping, cooking and storage facilities". It seems pretty clear that our VWs should go in this group. For our family trip in July / August, a standard car would cost us £156 - so £78 more to take the campervan than a car.

Just thought I'd share my research.
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That seems quite expensive.

I only get charged an £11 each way supplement for taking a camper. I do have frequent tunneller, but also have to pay a £20 supplement for peak times but that is a standard supplement rather than a "plus 1.85m" loaded supplement.
 
hotel california T5 said:
I never hit one ...a Cali is less then 2m , if it chould toutch they can pay the bill
No serious , a alway use those lanes at the Peage!
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Have been through both the 2m tolls and the regular ones many times. Have not hit a pole yet, but have always been charged the same (car) rate whichever route I choose. So if you're nervous about it, you do have the option. I just go for the shortest line. Have not invested in the Liber yet, as co-pilot enjoys the tussle with the coin collecting and credit card machines
 
Uh-oh! I think that might move us towards a porta-potti.

I had read some threads on here and it all sounded okay - No 1s only etc - but then I saw a Youtube clip of someone emptying one and it suddenly looked somewhat less than okay.

Perhaps one strategy might be to empty it as little as possible (and make Mrs Acer do it - that will never happen!).

How many "go's" do you think you can have before the hallowed 335 needs emptying?
 
As jen said, generally no, but quite a few do have loos close by or if in a town perhaps a supermarket nearby.. The book does say which have loos etc.
Municipal sites are worth looking at as well, small charge but a lot have loos and showers.
 
Mine needs emptying around every two days, depending on how much I drink ...

Finding places to empty the 335 becomes an art form.

Most Aires have a "relaise" , a chemical disposal point and a water tap. A Junior "Relaise" will also boast a couple of EHU points and drinking water top up points which you normally have to buy a token for, around 2-3 euro's.

Aires are brilliant. The French are just so welcoming for campers and motorhomes, most municipal areas have an Aire, great for stopping over and seeing the local towns. I rarely use anything else
 
Many thanks briwy and Jen,
Again I am doing my Fagin - "reviewing the situation."
It seems that to go to the "Aires", I'll have to do away with my "airs and graces".
 
If you don't fancy emptying a chemical toilet what about a Popaloo. Don't need a chemical toilet disposal point, just a general waste bin. Very Eco friendly.
 
Porta Potti emptying, Jen makes a good point with her comment depending how much I drink. Sorry if I am venturing into unsavoury territory here but when emptying options are limited wild camping we have found using the pota potti for number 2's only does extend the days without emptying. Number 1's at night get done in the plastic liner for our stainless steel bucket and are much easier to get rid of than a porta potti contents. :eek:

You cannot really enjoy your van to the full without a porta potti if you want to get off the beaten track.
 
Two more good posts. Many thanks.
I was dreaming about these choices last night. Not the most pleasant dreams I've ever had!
 
Don't understand what people got against a porta potti , its the closest thing to a normal and hyhgenic toilet and very handy.
Baby's dipers, dog sh#t , ....no problem , but cleaning a pora potti
Once you visited France and experienced the French toilets , a hole in the floor and two handle bars....be glad you got decent toilet in the van.
As for emptying it , at most aires and in many towns there are places you may empy them , watch out for the sings entering the village or at the air. Also common that outside campsites you can empty it without entering and paying the campsite...
 
There is some business in life, once complete, you never wish to return to.

Perhaps I made a bad choice when I looked at

But, I can also see holidays being spoilt driving around looking for somewhere to 'go'. Self-sufficiency is important. Having a pouf to put my feet up on is also appealing. It will save forcing my children to kneel on all fours each evening. :)
 
There is something about the British, we do love our toilet humour, which too often has a big element of "loath to admit" truth in it.

We all need to go to the loo. Making arrangements to turn that into a convenient, comfortable and hygienic process is no big deal. The video of that bloke emptying the thetford is typical of a British camper that you see on a CL.

In practice you have a holding tank, easy to remove from the loo, and easy to carry from the van to the disposal point. You empty it. End of story. No unpleasantness, it just goes down a big drain via an access point somewhere. Give it a rinse, give it a shake and rinse again, pop in your favourite chemical to produce a sanitary state, pop the top back on again, done.

Finding disposal points is not difficult. In France most Aires have one, so if not staying at that Aire you can still use it, in the UK, well I've just spent 9 days on the road with only 1 night on a camp site. Otherwise, public loo's or pop into the pub if on a Britstop to ask if you can use there's. Just be totally respectful of the environment and hardly anyone will mind.

Everyone has one, everyone has to use one, everyone has to empty one. Why so many Brits see the need to be embarrassed by the process I don't know.
 
Not embarrassed by it, but will definitely want to avoid splash-back from it.
And not wear crocks like the guy in the video!
:)
 
Tip: Empty most of it by gravity first, only use the air-ingress button right at the end.
 
I also carry a pair of old trail running shoes in my van for walking across wet grass, emptying loo's, doing all those outside jobs such as cleaning the glass areas so I can see. Lightweight, relatively compact, goretex membrane keeps the feet dry and easy to rinse.
 
Very good. Mrs Acer tells me I'm a bit OCD with my creation of such systems. I can see lots of such little systems developing in the future. That's part of the fun of camping really. A mild form of "improvise adapt overcome" - marine style.
 
acer said:
Very good. Mrs Acer tells me I'm a bit OCD with my creation of such systems. I can see lots of such little systems developing in the future. That's part of the fun of camping really. A mild form of "improvise adapt overcome" - marine style.
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Goodness, CTC Lympstone would be proud of you ;)

I used to spend a bit of time there, and Stonehouse in Plymouth.
 
Great thread.

We're heading from Edinburgh to Bordeaux later in July. Well when i say we, I am, the rest of the family are flying and I will get them at Geneva for some Alps action then go across to Bordeaux to meet some friends for a few days. We have 3 weeks total so I will leave Edi on the Sat afternoon and drive to the Tunnel, cross on the Sunday AM (Anyone know somewhere secluded to park for the night near the Channel Tunnel ??).

Seen some great advice here and will get a Peage Tag as sounds a bit easier. Any tips on cheaper Channel Tunnel etc etc all welcome. And campsite recommendations around Bordeaux and Alps for family with 2 year old.
 
We usually stay here if going early morning on the tunnel. About 5mins from the tunnel.
It's not free, about a tenner normally, but the food is good if you don't feel like cooking after a long drive.
http://www.thedruminn.com/camping
My daughter always leaves it to the day before before booking the tunnel as she says it gets cheaper closer to the time you want to travel. She has just paid £60 return last weekend. I've never been that brave as the only time we tried it was few years ago when we broke down in France and missed the ferry due to the mechanic taking ages to turn up. The breakdown company paid for us on the tunnel, £276, glad I wasn't paying.:eek:
 
Have a Google for kingsdown international camping its about 25 minutes.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
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