Sat nav and route planning

[Samantha1239]

Hello

I am completely new to this and really some help and advice please.

My husband and two children ( aged 2 and 4) are planning on taking 3 months out to travel from Calais through the West Coast of France , across the south of France to the French Riviera, through Northern Italy and then Switzerland or Austria, Southern Germany and then back to Calais. We would leave May and return at the end of July. This year 2025. We have a caravan. Not a motorhome.

1. Which caravan specific sat nav would you recommend? We currently use Waze in our car but we are worried about the compatibility for caravan suitable routes and the requirement to always have phone reception.

2. We have spotted a few campsites that say motorhomes are allowed but don't specifically outline caravans. Is this a given?

3. I am really struggling with the journey planning.

Ideally I would like to stay in each place for 2 to 3 days. And go from campsite to campsite which have facilities for the kids ?

Is there a route planner? That I can literally enter the places we would like to visit and then drive times etc etc are all worked out ?

Or what is the best way to go about it?

I want to prebook all campsites because of the age of the kids.


Thankyou

 

[WESTY66]

You could try the Via Michelin app, I believe it can calculate fuel costs (approx of course) tolls for any motorways you might use.
Just check as you mention Switzerland I think you will have to get a vignette for the car AND the caravan, just check Austria is just for the car (you will obviously need all your original docs for the car)
Hope you have a great trip

 

[Reallyretired]

I recommend copilot caravan. It's not free but allows you to input your dimensions, and because the maps are downloaded to your device there is no need for an Internet connection in use.
You need a fair bit of storage on your phone or tablet you are running it on as Western Europe maps are around 1.5Gb and a bit more if you need Eastern as well.

 

[Reallyretired]

Most sites take caravans, it's only aires and stellplatz that are motorhomes only and you can't usually book those.

 

[LostInSpace]

Which caravan specific sat nav would you recommend

Probably better to find a caravan sspecific website. We all gave up tugging decades ago.

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[royandsharont]

Did you revisit the last thread you posted re help, lots of advice on there re campsites you were asking for?

I personally use a Tom Tom stand alone device because I am familiar with it and I can input dimensions but wouldn’t trust them to get it right. The map details are the problem not the device company you choose.

I check the route on a map and then if there are roads I want to avoid, or go along, I tell the device to include those by adding waypoints.

I have used Microsoft autoroute many times when planning where to go and it gives you a general route and driving times/distances. I tend to use google maps more for that aspect these days as I feel I am a more seasoned traveller after 12 years

Out of season I doubt you would never need to pre book but in peak times and in popular places you definitely would. Have you considered joining ACSI for off peak discounts and their App gives you lots of information about facilities and the area, which I find helps you decide what’s good for you.

Hope you get sorted

 

[pat100]

I use a combination of park4night, phone/tablet satnav, mapping app and Google street view. I can copy and paste decimal coordinates conveniently between them. So, I can plan a route. Get an idea of the size/layout of stopping places. Inspect it to see if it’s single track and what those hairpins are like. And what the site entrance looks like from the road. Then tell the satnav to take me to that entrance. And it helps me find LPG stations. And supermarkets with plenty of parking space

 

[cyberyacht]

An itinerary like that sounds like a recipe for a couple of very grumpy kids. A lot of driving time, not to mention, if doing it with a caravan, the hassle of setting up and striking camp every few days. That sort of itinerary lends itself more to a motorhome if moving every 2 or 3 days. Ideally you want to keep the journey legs at 200 miles or less. For Campsites, try the ACSI handbook or, for the net, SearchForSites.co.uk

 

[Tiger Bear]

Further to what cyberyacht wrote, I have recently purchased a Garmin Camper, which has ACSI data on it. I have also downloaded SearchForSites, and so far have found it to be a useful tool.

 

[Gellyneck]

Further to what cyberyacht wrote, I have recently purchased a Garmin Camper, which has ACSI data on it. I have also downloaded SearchForSites, and so far have found it to be a useful tool.

and you can install Garmin BaseCamp on a pc or iMac and preplan prior to loading to sat nav.

As you say you can load custom poi's from various sources.

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[WESTY66]

Further to what cyberyacht wrote, I have recently purchased a Garmin Camper, which has ACSI data on it. I have also downloaded SearchForSites, and so far have found it to be a useful tool.

and you can install Garmin BaseCamp on a pc or iMac and preplan prior to loading to sat nav.

As you say you can load custom poi's from various sources.

It all depends on which Garmin camper you have, I have the 785 and it won’t work with the MacBook Pro

 

[Gellyneck]

It all depends on which Garmin camper you have, I have the 785 and it won’t work with the MacBook Pro

Strange. Does say it's works with OS 10.13 upwards.

Garmin: BaseCamp for Mac Updates & Downloads

BaseCamp for Mac Updates & Downloads

www8.garmin.com

Having said that there is an identified issue with OS 11.0.1 Big Sur.

BaseCamp Locking Up or Not Responding on Mac OS 11.0.1 Big Sur | Garmin BaseCamp | Garmin Support

Garmin Support Center United Kingdom is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.

support.garmin.com

 

[Eddieb]

Hi sounds like a great trip. When we toured with the caravan before getting a MH we used the Alan Rodgers web site which is suited to caravans and MHs and will give good info on the suitability of sites for the kids. Also the ACSI handbooks and website are very useful. If you can it might be worth a visit to the February show at the NEC where there will be lots of reps from regions from all over Europe giving advice on sites in their area.

 

[WESTY66]

Strange. Does say it's works with OS 10.13 upwards.

Garmin: BaseCamp for Mac Updates & Downloads

BaseCamp for Mac Updates & Downloads

www8.garmin.com

Having said that there is an identified issue with OS 11.0.1 Big Sur.

BaseCamp Locking Up or Not Responding on Mac OS 11.0.1 Big Sur | Garmin BaseCamp | Garmin Support

Garmin Support Center United Kingdom is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.

support.garmin.com

I think the issue is with the 785 unit, Garmin has said it won’t work on Mac, Basecamp works, just can’t get it loaded on the unit

 

[Gellyneck]

I think the issue is with the 785 unit, Garmin has said it won’t work on Mac, Basecamp works, just can’t get it loaded on the unit

Really strange as all other RV/Camper units appear to work including 760/780/etc
Did they give any reason for it being non-compatible?

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[Speve]

Probably better to find a caravan sspecific website. We all gave up tugging decades ago.

Why are you trying to send here elsewhere there is a wealth of knowledge on MHF and not just for motorhomers it may even end up with her purchasing a motorhome.

 

[WESTY66]

Really strange as all other RV/Camper units appear to work including 760/780/etc
Did they give any reason for it being non-compatible?

I think it’s one of those units which they wish they’d never made

 

[Gellyneck]

I think it’s one of those units which they wish they’d never made

and one you'd never bought!

 

[SpeedyDux]

Another shout for the ACSI handbooks and card. Most of the OP's tour will be in low season therefore able to benefit from the ACSI affiliated campsites' low season discounted prices. ACSI soon pays for itself. In fact many of the French campsites need no reservations until the school holidays start in early July. I just turn up.

 

[DDJC]

I too use ACSI to find sites. If there is nothing on ACSI that I like the look of, I use Alan Rogers. If all else fails, then either one of the Club international site finders.

Re GPS, another vote for Copilot Caravan. It isn't as good as it used to be, but it still allows you to way find by your preference or roads, and the length and height of your rig. I also pay for the traffic add-on.

I also look for sites that have stuff for adults and bairns, and often take a similar route, although we sprint for Italy as we love it. Based on what you are looking for, can I suggest:

1. Camping International de Jablines, (three and a half hours from Calais. Rural but only about fifteen mins drive from Disney and forty mins from central Paris)

2. Campsite Le Soleil Fruité (Rhone valley) or Camping du Rolle (Switzerland -two yards from the shore of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva)

3. French Riviera, I have never found one I liked enough to go back to or recommend - sorry

4. Camping Isolino (Lago Maggiore)

5. One of the dozens of sites on the Jesolo/Cavalino/Punta Sabbioni peninsula near Venice (Adriatic coast. Safer, warmer and more child friendly beaches than anywhere on the Med). We use Camping Italy, and for 5 star luxury, Sant'Angelo, but it is very expensive and there is a minimum booking of a week. Both are actually on the Adriatic beaches- a few yards from the water. I have a list of the sites that we have been in or researched on the Adriatic sea area, below.

6. Camping Ötztal, Austrian Tyrol. Just beautiful. Or Heiterwanger See, also in the Tyrol.

7. Camping Kirchzaten, Black Forest, Germany

8. Lac d'Orient (Foret d'Orient, Champagne region)

Then five hours to Calais

I have disabled kids, so I too always pre-book. I did this route as a tugger, but have since visited them as a chugger. All take caravans and motorhomes.

Caravans take longer to set up than Motorhomes, so you might want to spend four or five days in each location rather then just a couple.

The very best of luck. You will love it.

Campsite Sant'Angelo Village	*****
Camping Village Marina di Venezia	*****
Campsite Al Boschetto	***
Campsite CaPasquali Village	*****
Campsite dei Fiori	****
Campsite del Savio	***
Campsite del Sole	***
Campsite Enzo Stella Maris	*****
Campsite Garden Paradiso	****
Campsite Miramare	***
Campsite Residence	*****
Campsite Silva	***
Campsite Union Lido	*****
Campsite Vela Blu	****
Europa Camping Village	*****
Jesolo International Club Camping	*****
Campsite Italy	****

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[royandsharont]

Lots of help here but I don’t think Samantha1239 has revisited it unfortunately, what a shame for all the effort people have gone to. Hope she & family are ok