What's so great about motorhoming in France?

[Wee Bold Davy]

I’m glad you started this thread Davy I think I should go back for a second look maybe we picked the wrong area when we visited 20 years ago

It certainly opened my eyes to how we SHOULD be using our van Buying the van was a 30 year dream come true, can't wait to get rid of this virus and retire

 

[Drum Major]

Im sure we all agree with that can’t wait to be moving around like normal times

 

[Riverbankannie]

She can spend hours in galleries or craft shops, looking at castles or stately homes

The great thing about many campsites and aires is that the closeness of things to look at means that one of you can go off to explore the castle or the shops whilst the other does their own thing, I often leave my husband sitting somewhere with his sketchbook and paints, happy as Larry, while I go off. Mind you, we do that in the UK too

 

[pampam]

Hello we bold davy, i dont know if you are a member of either of the two big campingclubs but i know the motorhome and caravan club (old caravan club) used to do guided tours to europe for motorhomers rather pricey ,but they might give you that extra bit of confidence ,worth looking at for ideas ,best regards pampam

 

[Clarky]

Hello we bold davy, i dont know if you are a member of either of the two big campingclubs but i know the motorhome and caravan club (old caravan club) used to do guided tours to europe for motorhomers rather pricey ,but they might give you that extra bit of confidence ,worth looking at for ideas ,best regards pampam

A cheaper way of doing it would be to team up with another Funster for a first trip and let them act as a guide for the first few days.
I'm sure lots of Funsters would be up for it and I certainly wouldn’t mind helping to show someone the ropes on their first trip over the water.
Once someone is over the first few days they will be confident to carry on alone.

Richard.

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[busby]

Where would you recommend to be the ideal area for a short trip to dip our toe in the water to get a taste for the country?

Normandy,,superb coastline and beaches,,WW2 museums and plenty of historic towns and villages..BUSBY.

 

[Imala615]

I have been going every year for nearly 15 (sometimes a detour into Germany ,Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg) ,and only seen a small part and that includes rarely stopping more than 2 days anywhere. Much easier to tour than the U.K as everywhere is set up for the 'Camping Car'. I keep away from the big cities (have been to Paris once) and have maybe used a couple of campsite in all my trips. Have a look at my blogs and here's a link to a Going to France page.
<Broken link removed>

 

[Chris]

What do they do with the frogs without any legs?

I might open a farm.

 

[busby]

Thanks for that - hadn't heard of it before.

It's the best thing since sliced bread,,select your chosen site or aire after reading the reviews,,click on route,select Google and like a sat nav it takes you to your destination..BUSBY.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Hello we bold davy, i dont know if you are a member of either of the two big campingclubs but i know the motorhome and caravan club (old caravan club) used to do guided tours to europe for motorhomers rather pricey ,but they might give you that extra bit of confidence ,worth looking at for ideas ,best regards pampam

Thanks pampam, I think by the time we get around to going I will have done my homework thoroughly and will be well prepared. The members on here have been truly wonderful and I've soaked up much of the info like a sponge and this will be just another part of the journey to who knows where it will end

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[Riverbankannie]

A cheaper way of doing it would be to team up with another Funster for a first trip and let them act as a guide for the first few days.
I'm sure lots of Funsters would be up for it and I certainly wouldn’t mind helping to show someone the ropes on their first trip over the water.
Once someone is over the first few days they will be confident to carry on alone.

Richard.

Definitely. We still have 2 return tunnel tickets!
This day I walked around the chateau at Chinon, if you zoom in you might be able to see our blue van on the campsite and John in his chair by the fence painting the chateau. Lovely old town and a wonderful view of the chateau from our pitch at night. This is typical of places all over France.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Normandy,,superb coastline and beaches,,WW2 museums and plenty of historic towns and villages..BUSBY.

That was my initial thought, it does appeal to my wife.

 

[John Barrett]

That was my initial thought, it does appeal to my wife.

The Bayeaux Tapestry is nice. Unlike us, make sure that you start at the right end..

 

[Just smiffy]

She can spend hours in galleries or craft shops, looking at castles or stately homes

Then you will both love visiting the chateaus and most have their own camping car park on site as with some it can take 2days to see it all...

 

[138go]

It’s the way we get to Spain. Having said that we do like the area between Bordeaux and Biarritz. It’s far enough south for some decent weather and the beaches along there are amazing.

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[fullfat]

I like France as it is on route to somewhere better

 

[Lenny HB]

Once I’d been to France i did not want to tour England... you can virtually park up anywhere and be welcomed

I know the feeling well, the boss keeps wanting to do England I'm running out of excuses I dread the thought of it.

 

[Lenny HB]

I admit I do like Brittany and the people there

Who put you on the rack to get that confession?

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Who put you on the rack to get that confession?

It’s the drink talking, he will rescind that comment tomorrow (when sober)

 

[LesW]

.

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[Lenny HB]

If you hadn't noticed there are links in my signature to our trips over the last few years.
If viewing on a phone you need to turn it so you are looking in landscape mode to see signatures.

If you don't like it too hot May & September are good months to go normally dry and temperature doesn't often go above about 33°.

 

[Zoobec]

She can spend hours in galleries or craft shops, looking at castles or stately homes

she will love France then

 

[autorouter]

To be depressingly practical, two things a UK driver needs to know.

The 30mph (50km/h) speed limit is not defined by street lighting like in the UK. At the entrance to every town and village there is a name sign, which is the start of the speed limit. As you leave there is the same name sign with a diagonal red line through it, showing the end of the speed limit.

Most main roads have a yellow diamond sign, which means your road has priority. Just like the UK. In certain areas like the centre of towns and villages, and roads off the beaten track, there might be a yellow diamond sign with a black diagonal line through it. Watch out! It means that at unmarked crossroads and junctions, the driver from the right has priority. I find it helps to think of it like an invisible mini-roundabout. OK, a reversed invisible mini-roundabout. Er...

The first time you hear about the 'priority from the right' rule, you'll understand it but you won't believe it. It applies across the whole of Europe, as well as Russia. The only place it doesn't apply is the UK.

Diamonds are a driver’s best friend

The yellow diamond sign means you are King of the Road Counterintuitive It’s commonly assumed the Priority to the Right rule is dying out. But as our photos show, all taken in the past couple of ye…

driveeurope.co.uk

 

[EuroTrotters]

Where would you recommend to be the ideal area for a short trip to dip our toe in the water to get a taste for the country?

Doussard, lake Annecy.

 

[sedge]

It’s great if you like croissants and like quiet little villages with nothing to do.

They eat snails though so proceed with caution.

Only in season and in certain areas! Certainly not available everywhere or at all times of year. Don't try and put people off. You know as well as I do that very few people eat frogs legs either nowadays - it's just wasteful cos they kick the rest of the meal off the plate.

Anything touristy has info in all sorts of different languages. Many campsites are Dutch owned and they all speak English anyway, otherwise one of the staff will be able to converse in another language. Years ago we sat next to a Swedish couple at a communal meal at the campsite who had virtually no French, but the lady could speak English and both of them understood it, so we tried to help them out with the announcements made by the 'President' between courses. Meal was excellent and the wine flowed. When the local lady who'd had more than enough vino collapso came and sat on my husband's knee to tell him that volunteers had cooked the meal and they didn't get paid for doing this you know - there was no explanation necessary in any tongue! Bloomin hilarious day!

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[Lenny HB]

They eat snails though so proceed with caution

No different to England then, our local Lidl often has them and yes I eat them.

We were staying with some French people and the neighbours were out in the garden with touches in the evening collecting snails for dinner.

 

[pandas]

Thanks pampam, I think by the time we get around to going I will have done my homework thoroughly and will be well prepared. The members on here have been truly wonderful and I've soaked up much of the info like a sponge and this will be just another part of the journey to who knows where it will end

Also worth becoming a member of ACSI and buy the set of books for some (€16 ish?) which provide 2 massive books (content not size) plus a really good web site with the same info giving you whole range of different campsites per country with a brief description/price, and the Long/lat coordinates. Also provides insurance for when you are on a campsite. Of course as many have/will have said Aires are terrific but the ACSI books are a must have for us as an additional resource. They also provide a discount scheme out of season,July/August, that will bring the say per site cost from €20 to €16 so paid for the books in a few days use.

ACSI Webshop | Inexpensive camping in the low season

With CampingCard ACSI you can camp with a big discount on more than 3,000 campsites in Europe during the off-season. You can save up to 60% per night. On average you will have earned your purchase back in just four nights!

webshop.acsi.eu

 

[Oscar]

This thread gives us itchy feet!

 

[John Barrett]

This thread gives us itchy feet!

Agreed!

 

[chaser]

Afraid I havnt read all this thread as I know all the usual things will have been mentioned, so all I can add, is just go, do what you feel on the day, go anywhere you like , you will always find another wonderful place wherever you go.
But remember, when you have been , motohoming in the UK will lose all its appeal, once you have been and come back you will never be happy till the day you go again.
But one big tip that I am sure has been mentioned, get park4night on your phone and seek out all the out of the way Aires.
Another thing worth a mention is , France passion, free stops on farms and vineyard in the real France.

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