Travelling to France

SW gasman · Nov 17, 2019

Hi all,

Just joined the Cali world and planning a couple of weeks in France next August (busy I know but we have kids in school).

Thinking a few overnight stays whilst driving/exploring but basing the trip around one or two longer stops in decent sites (by the beach in Aquitaine or possible Med coast or maybe even the Alps).

Any handy hints most welcome:
- Can we / do we need to book sites ahead?
- Which app or other method to you use to find sites (and trust to give a accurate description)?
- How busy is it that time of year?
- How well received is an English family/van in the French Campervan world
- Any places to avoid, rules of the road, general dos & don’ts?

Cheers.

WelshGas · Nov 17, 2019

SW gasman said:
Hi all,

Just joined the Cali world and planning a couple of weeks in France next August (busy I know but we have kids in school).

Thinking a few overnight stays whilst driving/exploring but basing the trip around one or two longer stops in decent sites (by the beach in Aquitaine or possible Med coast or maybe even the Alps).

Any handy hints most welcome:
- Can we / do we need to book sites ahead?
- Which app or other method to you use to find sites (and trust to give a accurate description)?
- How busy is it that time of year?
- How well received is an English family/van in the French Campervan world
- Any places to avoid, rules of the road, general dos & don’ts?

Cheers.

It can be busy.
Download the ASCI app, free, and then the data for France, less than £5, good reviews and all sites of a good standard.
You might look at Eurocamp Independant. They can book ferries etc: and sites. Minimum 3 nights total have to be booked with them and you can do what you want the rest of the time. Also good travel medical insurance with them and lots of info.
So you can book ferries, 2 campsites where you want and then wing it using aires, municipal sites the rest of the time

SW gasman · Nov 17, 2019

Cheers WelshGas and shame about the rugby, could have done with an England Wales final! P.S. Can’t wait to retire from NHS life but given they won’t let me do that until I’m dead and buried at this rate I thought we’d better get on and enjoy life in the meantime...

B J G · Nov 17, 2019

If travelling by Brittany ferries let me know before you book as you can use my Membership details to book as a 'friend' and get 10% discount. They're changing the payment/booking system from spring next year which seems to rel;ate to cancellation refunds and date change costs.

August as you know is peak time so booking sites would be a wise choice.
The French are very into Motorhomes (camping cars) which fill up the Aires quite rapidly on a daily basis in the popular areas. Aire at my Holiday Home Village has 8 Official spaces and have counted up to 23 during the summer season.

Swiss Cheese · Nov 17, 2019

Simon did a great travel blog about his trip this summer.

Felix in Europe Summer 2019

Angela and I are off to Europe in Felix the 2018 Ocean for a total of five weeks. I plan to keep a diary of the trip on this thread to hopefully share our fun and findings. Watch this space!... Simon Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Louis II · Nov 17, 2019

Little Switzerland in Folkestone very basic but great for a stopover before the tunnel.
City Camp Paris great location for a stopover & couple of days in Paris albeit overpriced.
We did both these in the summer holidays last year and was busy but not a problem.

Kirx · Nov 17, 2019

It can be busy in the obvious tourist spots but plenty of places on the outskirts of these you can find spaces. I never book before as never know where I may end up but occasionally have had to go to 3 places first before a space. If you arrive early at sites this gives you the best change of a pitch. I use some Apps e.g. park4night, campercontact, searchforsites. Car Camargue is fab, white horses, wild bulls and an amazing beach you can park on (not overnight, unforts). Plenty of aires on the way, I once did Lake Geneva, Lake Annecy, St-Etienne de Tinne, municipal site in Menton for a trip into Monaco. All the best and have fun.

CamperSteve1969 · Nov 17, 2019

Hi,

My first ever post but saw this so can throw in a couple of ideas.

My sister lives in France, so for the last few years we've always driven somewhere and she's met us at our final destination. Like you, we have always had to go in August due to our son being in school.

I've never been to the med coast because it's to far round and doesn't really appeal to us. However the Aquitaine and its body-boarding beaches have done and have been there a few times.

Regarding booking, prior to our son going to school we never booked, just turned up. In school holidays it depends on the type of site you're looking at. Being a family, if you're looking to go to a typical family campsite on the coast with all the activities to keep the young ones happy (e.g. with water slides etc.), then you will really need to book to guarantee a pitch. In the past we've left it late (late being April!) and our preferred sites have no availability so we had to go with our second choices (for our final destination at least). If you have a site in mind that you like then I would book it Jan/Feb at latest. If you're staying more inland then you can probably get away with leaving it later and maybe just turn up. We always book direct on the campsites website and they normally ask for a deposit upon booking and the balance is paid on arrival, though some do ask for full payment in advance (but not many).

For the sites we stay at on the way down, if I do book I generally leave it later as they don't all get full. We have just turned up but for ease we mostly plan the route ahead and book. I was chatting with someone in Contis Plage who was travelling back from Spain this August. They used one of the apps to just turn up at a Camper park (there's loads all over France, literally a car park for campers). They literally got the last spot as it was on the coast.

The main family coastal sites in August are mainly full, though if you leave arriving until late August (i.e. the last week) then you will find availability more easily and the pricing can often be cheaper, despite it still being August. I understand a lot of the French go back to work then.

We've always been welcomed in France, the main rules of the road being ensure you have to have reflective jackets for ALL passengers, a spare set of bulbs, self breathalyser kits, warning triangles, headlamp beam protectors. We always take the beam protectors but rarely put them on as we're always day driving.

I happened to draw up an itinerary for my sister in law this year (she came with us) and this is what we done, The village near Camping Saint Nicolas on the way back with it's monastery was an excellent stopover and I remember there was a camper park there where you could just turn up.

16.08.19: Evening drive to Kent, pub camping (Britstop)
17.08.19: Eurotunnel Folkestone to Calais Depart 08:20 (35 mins)
17.08.19: Drive to Camping Le Sabot, Loire Valley for 2 nights (5 hour drive)
18.08.19: Leisure Day – maybe visit one of the many Chateaus such as Chateau Chinon
19.08.19: Drive to Camping Lous Seurrots (4.5 hours) for 9 nights camping

28.08.19: Drive to Camping lac De Saint Cyr (3hr 50 mins) for one night LINK
29.08.19: Drive to Camping Saint Nicolas (3hrs 15 mins) for one night LINK
30.08.19: Drive to Camping Saint-Louis near Calais (2 hours 45 mins) for one night
30.08.19: Last minute shopping at Hypermarket near Calais (booze run)
31.08.19: Eurotunnel Calais to Folkestone

Perfectos · Nov 17, 2019

stephen.wedley said:
Hi,

My first ever post but saw this so can throw in a couple of ideas.

My sister lives in France, so for the last few years we've always driven somewhere and she's met us at our final destination. Like you, we have always had to go in August due to our son being in school.

I've never been to the med coast because it's to far round and doesn't really appeal to us. However the Aquitaine and its body-boarding beaches have done and have been there a few times.

Regarding booking, prior to our son going to school we never booked, just turned up. In school holidays it depends on the type of site you're looking at. Being a family, if you're looking to go to a typical family campsite on the coast with all the activities to keep the young ones happy (e.g. with water slides etc.), then you will really need to book to guarantee a pitch. In the past we've left it late (late being April!) and our preferred sites have no availability so we had to go with our second choices (for our final destination at least). If you have a site in mind that you like then I would book it Jan/Feb at latest. If you're staying more inland then you can probably get away with leaving it later and maybe just turn up. We always book direct on the campsites website and they normally ask for a deposit upon booking and the balance is paid on arrival, though some do ask for full payment in advance (but not many).

For the sites we stay at on the way down, if I do book I generally leave it later as they don't all get full. We have just turned up but for ease we mostly plan the route ahead and book. I was chatting with someone in Contis Plage who was travelling back from Spain this August. They used one of the apps to just turn up at a Camper park (there's loads all over France, literally a car park for campers). They literally got the last spot as it was on the coast.

The main family coastal sites in August are mainly full, though if you leave arriving until late August (i.e. the last week) then you will find availability more easily and the pricing can often be cheaper, despite it still being August. I understand a lot of the French go back to work then.

We've always been welcomed in France, the main rules of the road being ensure you have to have reflective jackets for ALL passengers, a spare set of bulbs, self breathalyser kits, warning triangles, headlamp beam protectors. We always take the beam protectors but rarely put them on as we're always day driving.

I happened to draw up an itinerary for my sister in law this year (she came with us) and this is what we done, The village near Camping Saint Nicolas on the way back with it's monastery was an excellent stopover and I remember there was a camper park there where you could just turn up.

16.08.19: Evening drive to Kent, pub camping (Britstop)
17.08.19: Eurotunnel Folkestone to Calais Depart 08:20 (35 mins)
17.08.19: Drive to Camping Le Sabot, Loire Valley for 2 nights (5 hour drive)
18.08.19: Leisure Day – maybe visit one of the many Chateaus such as Chateau Chinon
19.08.19: Drive to Camping Lous Seurrots (4.5 hours) for 9 nights camping

28.08.19: Drive to Camping lac De Saint Cyr (3hr 50 mins) for one night LINK
29.08.19: Drive to Camping Saint Nicolas (3hrs 15 mins) for one night LINK
30.08.19: Drive to Camping Saint-Louis near Calais (2 hours 45 mins) for one night
30.08.19: Last minute shopping at Hypermarket near Calais (booze run)
31.08.19: Eurotunnel Calais to Folkestone

What a first post it was well done

bigmac77 · Nov 17, 2019

We have taken our Cali to France and a few other European countries for the last four years. We go the Monday after our children finish school usually the 20th of July and go for around four weeks. We usually book a couple of five night stays and then just make the rest up as we go along. The coastal areas of France get very busy and when we were going to Il de Re we would have to book one particular camp site in November. Away from the tourist hot spots there is still an awful lot of amazing stuff to see and do in areas that are not too busy and we have never had any problem just turning up and getting a pitch, it is however always a good idea to have a plan B, especially when traveling with children.

Google and Google maps is now my preferred app of choice for finding campsites. The Park4Night app is good for sites too but also handy if you want to visit a town or city for a day and just want to park the Cali if you aren't sure of height restrictions etc.

We have never felt unwelcome anywhere, but then we are Welsh, there are loads of Germans, Dutch, Belgians, Irish, Brits etc on the move, you will just blend in with everybody else.

As for do's and don'ts. Do keep a spare key somewhere other than in the van, don't drive on the left (obvious but very easy to do), do take bikes, don't be noisy, do eat as much local produce as you can especially bread, wine and beer.

Just go and see what you like your first trip will be both excellent and a learning curve. If you want a bit of inspiration watch Rick Stein's latest series on the iPlayer, he's driving through France eating and drinking what could be better.

This is my post trip writeup after out first Cali trip to France, its four years old but I feel it's still relevant.

Summer hols road trip

We have been back from our family road trip for a few days now and I think it is about time I wrote a report, this post will be long. This year we decided against flying to the med and thought we'd make the most of the Cali and head over to France for a family holiday. We booked a couple of...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Dyddi · Nov 23, 2019

Vicarious Publications in Folkestone do a good range of guides and maps.
Highly recommend joining ACSI (something like 4 euros per annum).
Many sites offer free wi-fi so you can plan ahead.
Driving - French essentials are an up to date alcotest (buy on line but make sure it displays 'NF' official approval), beware the national speed limit, out of town, is now 80 kph (50mph) although many local authorities have reverted to 90kph and many signs show 90kph. Beware supermarket car parks which is where you can forget to drive on the right. Use cheapest insulation tape to alter dipped beam 'kick-up' - easy to remove on return.
You'll have a great time.

bigmac77 · Nov 23, 2019

Dyddi said:
Vicarious Publications in Folkestone do a good range of guides and maps.
Highly recommend joining ACSI (something like 4 euros per annum).
Many sites offer free wi-fi so you can plan ahead.
Driving - French essentials are an up to date alcotest (buy on line but make sure it displays 'NF' official approval), beware the national speed limit, out of town, is now 80 kph (50mph) although many local authorities have reverted to 90kph and many signs show 90kph. Beware supermarket car parks which is where you can forget to drive on the right. Use cheapest insulation tape to alter dipped beam 'kick-up' - easy to remove on return.
You'll have a great time.

Whilst French law requires you to carry a breathalyser in your vehicle, I believe that there is no penalty if you don’t have one.

Karlos · Nov 24, 2019

Hi if your thinking of camping in the med in high summer it is hot and sticky on the coast, we can highly recommend St Madelaine just outside Sospel, very pretty and cool in the evenings. Its about a 20 minute drive down the mountain to the coast at Menton. Free parking on the coast road to the Italian border and there's a great coastal walk from Menton to Monaco with the occasional F1 driver out on a training run.

CharlieBob · Nov 24, 2019

We had our first Cali trip through France last August and found the Michelin Guide to France Campsites invaluable. I would really recommend taking it with you. It gives reviews and details for all the entries which allows you to choose what sort of site suits you best.

Series :: Michelin Camping Guides :: Camping France - Michelin Camping Guides - Products

If you love the outdoor life in a tent a caravan or a bungalow this Michelin guide is for you The edition of Camping France has been fully revised to include 2300 campsites for all styles and budgets carefully selected by independent Michelin inspectors which includes good value campsites sites with

travel.michelin.co.uk