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Markco

Markco

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Good evening to you all me and the wife are thinking of doing a run to France next year never been to France so total new to motorhomeing aboard any suggestions on where to go and what routes to take we like walking and pubs on a evening any help would be appreciated 😀
 
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There is no need to book campsites. There are so many free Aires in France, many with free services for water and cassette emptying. Download free Park4Night app.10€ for full membership.
 
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Boris7 said:
Its just not an issue, simply book a ferry or the tunnel and get on with it, you'll not find stopping or emptying or filling an issue.
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Stealaway said:
There is no need to book campsites. There are so many free Aires in France, many with free services for water and cassette emptying. Download free Park4Night app.10€ for full membership.
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Sounds good idea will do
 
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Stealaway said:
There is no need to book campsites. There are so many free Aires in France, many with free services for water and cassette emptying. Download free Park4Night app.10€ for full membership.
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The OP's going in the July Aug hol season. I never have been over at that time but I've read that aires get pretty full unless you get there early in the day and if using sites then booking might be advisable...........:unsure:
 
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Spriddler said:
The OP's going in the July Aug hol season. I never have been over at that time but I've read that aires get pretty full unless you get there early in the day and if using sites then booking might be advisable...........:unsure:
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If you stay near the coast you will struggle with the Aires. Go inland a little, there are dozens of nice village alternatives.
Park4Night is your friend.
 
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The main Bank Holiday in France falls on 14th July - Bastille Day - and it really is a National Holiday and hence MANY businesses are closed. Also be aware that smaller businesses and shops (especially in smaller places) may close for a whole month or only open for shorter hours whether they are supermarket chains or privately owned ones. The main meal of the day for all French families takes place at lunchtime rather than an evening meal - lunch is rarely a quick sandwich on the go - unless of course you make it yourself !

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Markco said:
Good evening to you all me and the wife are thinking of doing a run to France next year never been to France so total new to motorhomeing aboard any suggestions on where to go and what routes to take we like walking and pubs on a evening any help would be appreciated 😀
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dont try to do all of france pick an area and research it for walking brittany is nice lots of coast and coves but weather isnt gauranteed if you want warm you need to go south
 
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Get yourself a card from
BROKEN LINK
They have network of aires all across France nearly all have electricity and Wi-Fi , some are more like small campsites with showers and toilets .
And at least you have space on their pitches to put your canopy out unlike many of the free ones where your parked like sardines in can .
Reasonably priced as well usually between €10-12 a night with no time limit on your stay
 
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sedge said:
The main Bank Holiday in France falls on 14th July - Bastille Day - and it really is a National Holiday and hence MANY businesses are closed. Also be aware that smaller businesses and shops (especially in smaller places) may close for a whole month or only open for shorter hours whether they are supermarket chains or privately owned ones. The main meal of the day for all French families takes place at lunchtime rather than an evening meal - lunch is rarely a quick sandwich on the go - unless of course you make it yourself !
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Just to complicate matters, in the Vendee, the French don't celebrate Bastille Day [14th July], because they didn't support the French Revolution; instead, the Vendéens celebrate on 13th July, but, being French, they also take the 14th as a Bank Holiday as well ... And, in addition to the annual shutdown for pretty much the whole of July, there is the July/August Thursday Bank Holiday where there is a Public Holiday almost every week, and being France, a lot of shops and offices won't bother opening on the Friday after the Public Holiday. And the Banks tend to be shut on Mondays ...

And remember that the Tour de France takes place for 3 weeks in July ...

We were on a camping holiday in Brittany in 1996, and arrived on the Sunday of the France v Brazil World Cup Final, so that wiped out Sunday and Monday for the event and the celebrations post match. Tuesday was too much effort for local businesses to reopen, Wednesday involved the Tour de France passing through the local large town, Thursday was a Bank Holiday, Friday was the day before the weekend, then came the weekend, and on Monday the Banks were closed. We had about 2 days of normality before it was time to start heading back towards the Ferry ... But it was a wonderfully relaxing holiday ... (y):giggle:

Steve
 
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If you arrive on Sunday morning remember supermarkets shut at 12:30pm. Many restaurants out of tourist areas shut Sun/Mon.
 
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Stealaway said:
Take a Halifax Clarity credit card . No charges and that days exchange rate. Credit cards are very popular in France. You probably only need a 100€ cash for a fortnight.
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🤣🤣you are joking

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If you've never been over the channel before, you'll have all the issues common to any foreign country (driving on the right, language, passports, money, names of supermarkets, unavailability of Hobnob biscuits etc.) and issues specific to France (the public holidays, shop opening times, motorways labelled with A, tolls on motorways etc). It can all seem a lot to take in, but you'll soon get used to it.

Of great importance if you're an English-style tea drinker, take a good supply of tea bags, the French ones are rubbish - even the Tetley branded ones.
 
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Spriddler said:
I hope you check that there's no-one underneath if you do have to go. :giggler:
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Good point but i have an onboard toilet ,a French bloke with a concorde on site used to soend a cent behind his van rather than use the luxury the Concorde offered 😀

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Firstly, routes and route maps for France and Spain. This first link is an award winning database about France. It has a host of information on best routes to many locations. I have selected the famous N10 route from Calais to Irun which is used by many motorhomes when travelling to Spain. It’s almost Toll free (more on that a little later) and almost all duel carriageway from start to finish with the exception of about 100 K. This route is great for motorhomes small, medium and large. Note: (HGV’s are not allowed on French roads, Sunday’s, so plan your journey over a weekend if possible).

https://about-france.com/tourism/no-tolls-routes.htm

Fuel & Toll costs. For a class 2 Motorhome. Calais – Irun. Toll = €153.80 Fuel €158.11 Based on 1083 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.46 per ltr. 3.5T motor-home). N10 Calais - Irun. Using partial Toll = €11.50. Fuel €154.17 Based on 1056 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.46 per ltr

Tolls: Avoid the toll road from Calais to Abbeville and save 13.20 Euros. The non-toll route is quite scenic and fairly straight forward, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Abbeville.

At Abbeville, join the A28 and cross the river Sein at Rouen. We take the second exit immediately after crossing the bridge (about 50 m past the first exit at the end of the bridge), swing down and under the bridge you have just crossed and continue on this road and join the A13 motorway until the N154 which takes you down to Evreux. (Note: there are a number of different options for getting through Rouen and no doubt other members will have their own preferences. We find this very straight forward on both outward and return legs). Approaching Tours on the D910 join the A10 toll road at Jct. 19 and exit at Jct. 23. This will take you through the city via the toll road, (€1.80). At Jct. 23 take the exit lane for Montbazon which returns you to the D910. (Reverse for the return leg). That’s the last toll to pay until you hit the bottom of the A63 after Bordeaux.

To save toll fares on the A63 south of Bordeaux please read the route recommendations in the above link. Do not come off the A63 near the bottom as all roads will be heavily congested and it’s worth paying the last few tolls. (From Jct 6 €8.90 in total). This route is also recommended during winter, due to its proximity to the Atlantic ocean, which means little to no problems with ice and or snow, unlike using the A75 to cross the Massif Central. Although the A75 is quickly cleared, it is advisable to have winter tyres fitted and there may be some small delays due to snow ploughs clearing this route.

If heading to the Mediterranean side of Spain, it’s worth taking the N121-A to Pamplona after crossing the Spanish boarder on the A63 at Irun. It’s clearly sign posted (Large white sign) about 300 m after passing through the last toll booth and crossing the river. Also near here, cheap fuel with easy access (https://www.fuelflash.eu/en/alcampo...rcial-txingudi-zona-araso_b_-ventas-80-33301/) and shopping opportunities. You will find more details in this link for the N121-A and how to navigate Spain toll free.

https://about-spain.net/travel/no-tolls.htm
If you decide to pay Tolls in order to save time getting to Spain, your best route options are in this link.

https://about-france.com/tourism/routes-to-spain.htm

Should you choose to plan your own routes anywhere in Europe and also establish Toll costs, (or toll free costs) use this link. Under route options, select caravan then select toll roads. Toll costs for a class 2 motorhome will be calculated for the whole journey. You can also choose Non toll routes and other options. This is currently one of the best online free route planers.

https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/

As for stop overs on routes, you can’t go wrong using the App below which is free but I would recommend getting the paid version for about £6.00 which you can then use off line. You will find numerous places to stop along the above route and I have deliberately not made any recommendations so drivers can make their own choices. This app is also brilliant for finding other places too and highly rated by many users.


https://www.campercontact.com/en/content/app



A popular app/website. Used by many and worth taking out the small subscription. Loads of up to date reviews here too.

https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/


There is another popular app/website that is used which you may also find useful if you’re doing a lot of wilding and looking for free overnight stops. It too is used by many motor homers in Europe. Get the paid version to use off line for around £9.00

https://www.park4night.com/

One of the best off line MAP ‘App’ and used by many. It also includes a sat-nav function which is quite good and can also be used off line. Again, many motor homers use this, especially in Morocco.

Broken Link Removed.
 
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Spriddler said:
The OP's going in the July Aug hol season. I never have been over at that time but I've read that aires get pretty full unless you get there early in the day and if using sites then booking might be advisable
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Been in France in July & August many times. Never used campsites, and yes, they can be busy then - we only use Aires, and never really had a problem finding somewhere to stop. I would just avoid coastal areas at this time of year and head for the lakes and rivers.
 
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Pre pandemic, we used a combination of Bank Transfers via Currency Brokers and Euro currency purchases at the local PayDay Loans/Pawnbroker to both top up our French Bank Account and to give us currency for the journey to our hovel. The movement of the Currency Dealer's Exchange Rate around departure date determined whether I paid the currency into the French Account or whether I kept it to pay the campsite fees on the Camping Municipals

I've taken as much as £1400 currency, and as little as £150. The Nationwide Cretin Card covers the balance of expenditure, with the French Debit Cards available as an emergency backstop [such as when we changed Gas Supplier and instead of delivering the same amount of gas as the former Provider pumped out, the new Gas Supplier filled the entire tank and presented me with a bill for €1970 for immediate settlement ... Oops, or 'Oh merde!' as the Gas Salesman responded to my complaint (n) :rolleyes: :giggle:

Steve

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If you’re looking for nice and easy, head west out of tunnel to le touquet excellent place, next down to honfleur then Cabourge, and then down to la Baule.
On the way back pick your favourite and return there.
All have excellent camp sites and Aries and not to much driving.
Remember to pack plenty of euros. Happy holidays.😎😎
 
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Skez said:
Been in France in July & August many times. Never used campsites, and yes, they can be busy then - we only use Aires, and never really had a problem finding somewhere to stop. I would just avoid coastal areas at this time of year and head for the lakes and rivers.
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Thanks, much as I thought would be the case. It would suit me though as having grown up on the coast and sailed the French coast for many years I'm not interested in beaches and coasts and I never sit in the sun or visit a beach for longer that it takes to eat an ice cream, but I can easily sit in the shade beside a river for a couple of hours before my pointy bum has to move on.
 
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