Which app for finding places to stay (UK and EU) and why?

[The Fockers]

I haven't seen anyone else mention "Britstops". https://www.britstops.com
It's Pub carparks, Garden centres etc. that give a place to park up. The Pubs might expect you to eat and drink in the Pub but apart from that they're usually free.

 

[ejmoore]

We always use Searchforsites, bacause it's easy to see what's available in the area you're visiting, and it includes all sorts of sites - CMC & CCC, small & large campsites, overnight parking options like reservoir carparks, pub stops etc. It suits our mode of travel, which is generally touring around with single-night stops. But very useful to see everything that's available where you want to go, with details & reviews.

 

[Campertraveller]

Hi All, this is my first post, so be gentle. he kids grew up and cleared off so we're looking to start our first Cali adventure in the next few weeks. Seems like there are a lot of different apps, some paid, some free. What do you use and why? Books or other publications recommendations would be gratefully received also.

Good luck with your new adventures. I nearly always use the camping and motor home club and the camping and caravan club sites which have some excellent CL sites. I’ve also signed up for BritStops which many of my family use with good success. Happy adventures

 

[Celia Vanchez]

It depends if you’re looking for an app showing wild-camping spots or campsites.

For wild camping, I’ve tried all the apps I could find but always go back to park4night as my go-to app. It’s got all the spots and useful reviews. And at €10/year, it costs effectively nothing.

For campsites, I started with the ACSI app (https://www.acsi.eu/en/products/acsi-apps/ - The ACSI website is enormously confusing. The ACSI Campsites app is what you want and is just a directory of campsites that they’ve visited. It’s not a special network of campsites, you can’t book sites from the app and you can’t find availability from the app. The app just lets you find campsites and it’s then up to you to call the site or use the campsite’s online booking system to book. They also have a separate “great little campsites” app which is just a subset of the campsites the main Campsites app contains - pointless. Finally, they have a “CampingCard” system that’s completely unrelated to their ACSI Campsites app and that gives you reduced rates at a selection of campsites during low season. You need a separate app for that).

But I’ve now given up on ACSI as Google Maps does the same job for campsites - and it does often a better job as you get more pictures and more reviews. The only benefit of an app would be to be able to search by availability and checkin time and book in one tap. But the ACSI app doesn’t do any of that.

We gave up on the ACSI site not that great for the sites we tend to like

 

[Mehdime]

We’re driving to SW France this September in California. France Passion seems adamant that vans are self contained. Does that mean we could stay, using our Bog in a Bag, no showers? So v basic camping, but with the chance of great food?
Feels like they want motorhomes, not camper vans?

France Passion is a list of private individuals and private businesses like farms that allow you to stay on their land for free. There are typically no facilities, hence why you must be self-sufficient.

A few places will have a toilet (that’s indicated in the guide). But most won’t.

As long as you’re happy with this and don’t go and use the host’ land as a public toilet or expect to be provided with a shower, you’re fine.

 

[CaliDeventerNL]

We are at the moment making a trip of 2,5 month in Europe (Bosnia, Croatia , Italy,Spain, Portugal , UK, France, Belgium) we have been using the app Campercontact and Campy. Park4night backup, left reviews on most places. Apps are great to use and do not cost much. My planning I do in app and website called Free on tour. There you see lots of ideas for trips. Have fun

 

[Woz959]

I have to say, camping car parks is brilliant and well worth the money in Europe. And although obvious Google Maps type in campsites brings up pretty much every campsite you can think of it then just a matter of sending an email or phone them.. pitch up Website only (no app) is really good for guarantee and booking a place in advance however in Europe the campsites are limited but we used it twice on the way back through France and both campsites were excellent. It’s nice to know you have a guaranteed spot when you arrive and you also pay a deposit and the rest on arrival so can easily cancel without committing

 

[Teun intVeld]

Hi All, this is my first post, so be gentle. he kids grew up and cleared off so we're looking to start our first Cali adventure in the next few weeks. Seems like there are a lot of different apps, some paid, some free. What do you use and why? Books or other publications recommendations would be gratefully received also.

Hi, here Teun from NL. I use Norcamp.de App on the phone for Germany & Scandinavia; all information added by users. When you add your reviews and a few pics, you get the pro-version for free where you can add your saved sites; links for navigation app directly..

For rest of Europe we used Campy app - also filled by users..

Have fun

 

[RichardH]

I've tried lots in Europe but settled on Park4Night, the ACSI Camping Card App (no longer a card - membership is shown on your phone, but the discounts are still plentiful and substantial) and France Passion.

 

[Mehdime]

A tip for those new to wild camping with park4night: when we got our California, we found park4night quite overwhelming at first as it shows so many places and it’s hard to know even where to look.

So for the first few weeks, I would go to the filter section and filter it down to just the “surrounded by nature” (the green Christmas tree icon) places. It dramatically cuts down the number of spots and makes it a lot easier to ease into the wild camping lifestyle. It also tends to be nicest spots unless you’re into sleeping on industrial estate car parks.

After a few weeks, I removed the filter to find all the other spots. But initially, it’s a lot easier to have less choices rather than an overwhelming amount.

 

[King Harold 1066]

Hi All, this is my first post, so be gentle. he kids grew up and cleared off so we're looking to start our first Cali adventure in the next few weeks. Seems like there are a lot of different apps, some paid, some free. What do you use and why? Books or other publications recommendations would be gratefully received also.

We used Park4Night for a trip through France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands & Luxembourg last year. Only paid for two nights in Bavaria at Brunnen campsite, near neuschwanstein. There was only one night we felt uncomfortable in a Frankfurt multi-story car park.