Why France campsites

[MikenPauline]

Just been on the website to book a pitch for one night 7th June. I cannot get it to show any less than €129. This cannot be right can it??

 

[MikenPauline]

Think you were looking at weekly rates. There’s an option to book for how many nights you want. We have stayed on this site before too and can say the restaurant was excellent. That’s a few years ago though.

 

[bobnick]

It would appear so. I think when Mrs Bob calls them she will sort it. I do like the look and sound of the place though.

 

[MikenPauline]

Just been on the website to book a pitch for one night 7th June. I cannot get it to show any less than €129. This cannot be right can it??

Think you were looking at weekly rates. There’s an option to book for how many nights you want. We have stayed on this site before too and can say the restaurant was excellent. That’s a few years ago though

 

[ceejayt]

The restaurant does not disappoint!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Catpirate]

I really enjoy France, have a family with teenage kids so use Aires as a stopover. Try to avoid tolls and use the drive to the Med as part of the adventure. We spend the summer holidays away and always stop in a site for a while. We love the area around Angeles sur Mer, and can nip into Andorra or Spain from there. We have visited Carcassone on our way down (kids bought wooden swords) and have driven to Lloret De Mar. Kids love meeting other kids, I send them to buy baguettes etc. Just so good for us all.

 

[GAVLAD]

If you’re happy with an Aire, why would you want a campsite?
We use both aires and sites. The site if we’re staying longer and usually try getting one with a pool for our child’s entertainment.
However I’ve been more than happy with most aires. If you were to try more sites I would recommend the French municipal sites. Every one that we’ve stayed on have been fabulously kept and represented value for money.

 

[Mags52]

For the first time this year we're spending a few weeks on some ACSI sites to take time chilling out, we can take out the table and chairs, put up the utility tent and just relax. We're on one at the moment at Millau. It's 12 euros a night and has everything we need. Electric, wifi, good service point and hot showers. A mixture of touring and chilling seems to work for us. I must admit it felt like we were selling out a bit - strange but true.

 

[DDJC]

What's the deal with the angles morts stickers are they a legal requirement?

Q. What's the deal with the angles morts stickers are they a legal requirement?
A. Yes for motorhomes (and other vehicles) that have a MAM over 3500kg, as stated in their V5C.

Q. Does it apply for non-French motorhomes?
A. Yes, but as with everything it may be that the Gendarmes might not be completely apprised on the rules, or bothered enough to pick you up on it. I wouldn't risk it.

Q. How bad is the fine for not having one?
A. €135. And the fine is the same if you haven't got the right sized stickers or not in the right places.

Q. Can I have a one with a pic of a motorhome on it?
A. Not tested unless anyone has tried it. There are two approved types (here) depicting a coach and a lorry. I have seen ones with motorhome graphics on them, but I doubt that it is legal. Anybody?

Q. Can I put small ones on?
A. No, they have to be at least 250mm height x 170mm width. A sheet of A4 is 297mm x 170mm so many will be able to print their own on a sheet of sticker paper. Something like this
Amazon product ASIN B09T3LJ8TC
Q. Can you take them off outside of Urban areas.
A. No. Seems to be an urban myth (sorry ). Keep them in on anywhere in France.

Q. Where do I put them?
A. You need three. One either side, and on at the rear. The side ones should be on the cab door (or where the cab door would be on an A Class). Both must be placed between 0.90m and 1.50m from the ground (i.e. cyclist height)

Q. Is there any vehicle length restrictions?
A. No. There is the daft issue that a 7.5m MH with a MAM of 3500kg doesn't have to wear them, but an up-plated 3650kg that is 6m long does.

Q. What about trailers?
A. It gets even more ridiculous when trailers are considered. If you have a 7m MH that has a MAM of 3500, and you pull a car on a braked trailer, your MAM is still 3500kg even though your Gross Train Weight is probably over 5000 kg. The French law seems to say that it is MAM that is the deciding factor, not your train weight (or length). So although as a trailer tower, it would be sensible to have stickers, there is no requirement by law to have them. I wouldn't want to trust this to the sour-faced Gendarme test however.

If you are required to wear stickers and you tow a trailer you need another three on the bloody trailer as well! Two sides and the back.

Q. Do I need them anywhere else in Europe?
A. No.

Q. Are they fugly?
A. Oh god yes.

 

[bobnick]

I wonder how many are just not aware they are needed, and some just not bothering with them at all.?

PS. i have bought a set but wont put them on until i see others at the Eurotunnel waiting to get on the chew chew.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Bobby dazzler]

Q. What's the deal with the angles morts stickers are they a legal requirement?
A. Yes for motorhomes (and other vehicles) that have a MAM over 3500kg, as stated in their V5C.

Q. Does it apply for non-French motorhomes?
A. Yes, but as with everything it may be that the Gendarmes might not be completely apprised on the rules, or bothered enough to pick you up on it. I wouldn't risk it.

Q. How bad is the fine for not having one?
A. €135. And the fine is the same if you haven't got the right sized stickers or not in the right places.

Q. Can I have a one with a pic of a motorhome on it?
A. Not tested unless anyone has tried it. There are two approved types (here) depicting a coach and a lorry. I have seen ones with motorhome graphics on them, but I doubt that it is legal. Anybody?

Q. Can I put small ones on?
A. No, they have to be at least 250mm height x 170mm width. A sheet of A4 is 297mm x 170mm so many will be able to print their own on a sheet of sticker paper. Something like this
Amazon product ASIN B09T3LJ8TC
Q. Can you take them off outside of Urban areas.
A. No. Seems to be an urban myth (sorry ). Keep them in on anywhere in France.

Q. Where do I put them?
A. You need three. One either side, and on at the rear. The side ones should be on the cab door (or where the cab door would be on an A Class). Both must be placed between 0.90m and 1.50m from the ground (i.e. cyclist height)

Q. Is there any vehicle length restrictions?
A. No. There is the daft issue that a 7.5m MH with a MAM of 3500kg doesn't have to wear them, but an up-plated 3650kg that is 6m long does.

Q. What about trailers?
A. It gets even more ridiculous when trailers are considered. If you have a 7m MH that has a MAM of 3500, and you pull a car on a braked trailer, your MAM is still 3500kg even though your Gross Train Weight is probably over 5000 kg. The French law seems to say that it is MAM that is the deciding factor, not your train weight (or length). So although as a trailer tower, it would be sensible to have stickers, there is no requirement by law to have them. I wouldn't want to trust this to the sour-faced Gendarme test however.

If you are required to wear stickers and you tow a trailer you need another three on the bloody trailer as well! Two sides and the back.

Q. Do I need them anywhere else in Europe?
A. No.

Q. Are they fugly?
A. Oh god yes.

Thanks for the info appreciate it

 

[ceejayt]

I wonder how many are just not aware they are needed, and some just not bothering with them at all.?

PS. i have bought a set but wont put them on until i see others at the Eurotunnel waiting to get on the chew chew.

Seen plenty of vehicles here including French ones with them on.

 

[MandP]

Just been on the website to book a pitch for one night 7th June. I cannot get it to show any less than €129. This cannot be right can it??

bobnick ,
La Bien Assise is an ACSI card site.€20 a night in June.
Have a great time

 

[Chockswahay]

A little ‘Thread resurrection’ here…..

We have used France Passion just a couple of times in the distant pass and to be honest I think we didn’t really ‘get it’ at the time. Whilst the claim is for free night stop we felt obliged to buy stuff (nothing wrong with that) however the issue was how much to buy. The main reason anyone would be a France Passion host is to encourage trade and sell their wares……. So here’s the thing…..

You are on a France Passion site….. you buy ONE bottle of wine for €5…… does that make you a cheapskate?

We would stay on more of them but just feel uncomfortable in the above scenario, on the other hand we could not afford to be buying (say) SIX bottles at a time either because of budget, storage or waistline!

So…… if you are a France Passion visitor, how much do you spend each time?

I’m curious, don’t flame me

 

[bobnick]

We also have the French Passion membership. On our recent France visit we used 1 only.
We were the only van on site that was a working winery?
As there was a big fancy wedding happening we could not use the restaurant and never bothered with "the shop".
We left in the morning having paid and bought nothing.
It was our intention to use more but circumstances prevented us.
Next year maybe and in answer to your point i would say a bottle or 2 to the value of say €10/15 would be appreciated. I mean wine is always going to be drunk eh (but not by me, don't like the stuff)

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[ceejayt]

The problem arises when they let you taste the wine first - how can you then refuse if you don’t like it?!

However, I really do like FP sites as a system and not all are winery’s. Stayed at a chocolate factory and a plum farm and a foie gras farm All of which were great and money spent was worthwhile

 

[The Wino]

We stayed on a France passion again this year as we have in the past but have never joined. The vineyard owner asked if we were members we said no. She asked if we were self contained for water and waste and she said fine they only joined because passion required that. Most tourist information centres in wine regions have recommendations of places to park for the night in the Jura she recommended a car park on a hill it was great and not on any websites as far as I could tell.

 

[Garfields]

I think you should stay away from camping sites.
How would you feel if you realised it was what you should have been doing for all these years.
Best you don't know

 

[chaser]

A little ‘Thread resurrection’ here…..

We have used France Passion just a couple of times in the distant pass and to be honest I think we didn’t really ‘get it’ at the time. Whilst the claim is for free night stop we felt obliged to buy stuff (nothing wrong with that) however the issue was how much to buy. The main reason anyone would be a France Passion host is to encourage trade and sell their wares……. So here’s the thing…..

You are on a France Passion site….. you buy ONE bottle of wine for €5…… does that make you a cheapskate?

We would stay on more of them but just feel uncomfortable in the above scenario, on the other hand we could not afford to be buying (say) SIX bottles at a time either because of budget, storage or waistline!

So…… if you are a France Passion visitor, how much do you spend each time?

I’m curious, don’t flame me

When we first went in the van 10 or so years ago we weren't on here and although Julie had lived there we hadn't a clue about anything but Julie had seen an article somewhere about France passion so thinking it looked a good idea we joined up, and we used quite a few, well a lot really, different one every night, until we discovered Aires, but anyway yes we thought they were brilliant, all sorts of different places and people really glad to meet you and we did buy some bits at some of them but never found anyone who went miserable about it if we didn't buy anything .
We are not in it anymore as we are well used to Aires now, but still have a book from 2017 and occasionally look in on them to see if we can stop and havnt been refused yet as most don't even ask if you are a member.
Anyway, we think it is a fantastic idea for anyone who is thinking of going for the first time, secure stops for free, what's not to like.

 

[chaser]

I think you should stay away from camping sites.
How would you feel if you realised it was what you should have been doing for all these years.
Best you don't know

We did go but didn't use any sites going again for a month next month , not planning on using any .

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[buttons]

Been going to France for up to a month at a time now for over ten years , never been on a campsite apart from one in st Maxime, just to use the washing facilities in all that time, we have booked up for what maybe our last time in a week , now got to wondering if we have maybe missed out on something, have we?
Can anyone tell me why we ought to try a campsite or is there even one in northern France where we intend to be.
No interest in camping car parks.
We have been quite happy with Aires and France passion but have we missed out on something we should try?

Morning chaser, I've not done too much touring of France but one memorable trip was some years ago when we did the west coast. It was a great trip and a campsite in La Roche-Bernard particularly memorable. It had river access and a lovely village, we had joined up with my brother at Royan, he was more familiar with the west coast and picked some lovely sites. We stayed at the site at La Roche-Bernard both on the way down and back. Benefits you can travel the area without worrying about your van being parked, makes buses and train transport a good option. Socially, sites are far better having bars and social areas with room to erect a small toilet tent or awning if you fancy. I don't think I've stayed on an aire in france and have no desire to do so, give me a good camp site every time.

 

[MattR]

We use sites simply because our sprogs want space and grass to pitch their tents. We have and would use aires and wild camping areas if we didn't need tent space.

We used a FP cider orchard in Normandy for 2 nights (we're not members and it wasn't a problem). We spent €60 on cider and calvados. The main problem now, according to sprogs #1 is that we've spoilt him by forcing him to try good quality cider. The cr*p he previously drank supermarkets is foul in comparison.

 

[chaser]

We use sites simply because our sprogs want space and grass to pitch their tents. We have and would use aires and wild camping areas if we didn't need tent space.

We used a FP cider orchard in Normandy for 2 nights (we're not members and it wasn't a problem). We spent €60 on cider and calvados. The main problem now, according to sprogs #1 is that we've spoilt him by forcing him to try good quality cider. The cr*p he previously drank supermarkets is foul in comparison.

I think most fp aren't bothered whether you are a member or not as it's no skin off their nose if you are not paying anyway but they might be able to sell you something and a lot are sort of farm shops anyway where anyone can go in. But you need to be a member to get the book or app to find them.
It used to be a devil of a job to find them anyway as the directions translated to English were very vague , no co ords or anything, and you could go for miles and not see anything.
But that has all changed now as the app works much like p4n and diverts you to Google maps as well as co ords.

 

[Pusscat]

After a few days of aires and french passion, we stayed for a few days at a site with…..a pool!

Nothing too elaborate but the luxury of just flopping out in water for an hour or so after a dusty day sight seeing was absolutely bliss!

Initially I really dismissed the idea but to be honest, like a lot of things in life, once tied, I’d have no hesitation of doing it again!

 

[chaser]

For anyone who might be interested in fp.

France Passion: Great stopovers with your motorhome in France

France Passion - A guide to friendly and gastronomic motorhome stopovers in the French countryside with farmers and winegrowers – agri-tourism and wine tourism

www.france-passion.com

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tribalbrit]

In Spain at the minute and used sites, Aires and wild spots on the way down.
We found some very nice Aires with trees and grass where we could sit out etc. One in particular beautiful wild spot in the pyrenees where we stayed for three days. However many Aires are basically car parks and I can not see the attraction of stopping regularly on these and if following the rules they're not to be used as campsites, chairs out etc.
They are perfect for one night stops granted buy not as relaxing as the other options
Some very nice sites too were used.
So in short we like sites, we like Aires and we like wild spots. IMO. mix them up as and when and enjoy either it's your holiday do as you wish.

 

[VXman]

We also have the French Passion membership. On our recent France visit we used 1 only.
We were the only van on site that was a working winery?
As there was a big fancy wedding happening we could not use the restaurant and never bothered with "the shop".
We left in the morning having paid and bought nothing.
It was our intention to use more but circumstances prevented us.
Next year maybe and in answer to your point i would say a bottle or 2 to the value of say €10/15 would be appreciated. I mean wine is always going to be drunk eh (but not by me, don't like the stuff)

Same experience here, except at the Vineyard we went to the shop was shut. Thought it was great of them to allow people to park up, provide EHU but clearly they were going to get nothing in return. Ours was busy - 10 vans.

 

[chaser]

Same experience here, except at the Vineyard we went to the shop was shut. Thought it was great of them to allow people to park up, provide EHU but clearly they were going to get nothing in return. Ours was busy - 10 vans.

Mostly how it is, we have been on some where we have never seen a soul.

 

[VXman]

In response to the original question, whilst we are happy to use Aires, park for night etc when travelling somewhere there does come a point where it's nice to set up more permanently for a few days relaxation. Somewhere with nice showers and toilets, swimming pool, restaurants nearly, maybe a beach. Get the tables and chairs out and just .....chill.

 

[chaser]

In response to the original question, whilst we are happy to use Aires, park for night etc when travelling somewhere there does come a point where it's nice to set up more permanently for a few days relaxation. Somewhere with nice showers and toilets, swimming pool, restaurants nearly, maybe a beach. Get the tables and chairs out and just .....chill.

That maybe the case for most people but apart from the swimming pool and beach we have all the rest at home living on a smallholding in the middle of the country and when out in the van we are mainly looking at different places and things and basically only need somewhere to park at night to go to bed, not bothered where it is or what the views like as you can't see it when asleep in the dark, very rare we stay in one place for more than two nights, then we do the relaxing bit when we get home.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}