Motorhome Aires in France and Italy
We are off to France at the end of the month and Italy in September. This will be our first overseas trip without a caravan and habit will point us to ACSI sites or the Club's directory for overnight stops as we regard that as very much part of the holiday.
Are we missing a trick? I hear a lot of talk about motorhome Aires but the only ones I have noticed look more like car parks and if you are arriving early wouldn't be much fun for a few hours relaxation.
Are there directories for each country?
Comments
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There are directories eg "All the Aires in France", "Bord Atlas" etc. We tend to use the internet to find them using "Stellplatz" in Germany and "Area Sosta" in Italy. As you say, they tend to be 'car park like' but they are often very conveniently situated
near town and city centres. Its often difficult to find parking for a motorhome when visiting places and hence the Sostas are ideal. We tend to use them only for short visits to such towns and cities although others use them all the time0 -
Hitch, AFAIK the 'definitive' source for aires is www.campingcar-infos.com however the site is totally in French.
if you can find your way around it, its possible to download a complete file to a satnav, i have them on my tomtom.
they are also available in a number of different categories (around nine, i think) eg,....
service area with overnight allowed
day parking with services
day parking without services
day/night parking with services
day/night parking without services
dedicated mh only parking
aire on a farm
aire attached to a campsite
etc, etc....
a number of 'complicated' icons help distinguish between the different types.....there are sometimes photos to help
as i said, this is the full list, and for most of us, we want somewhere to overnight, possibly with dumping/water services.
Vicarious Books has compiled a subset (or 'recommended aires') to acheive this, complete with photos and short description.
Archies Campings also has lists and POI files for aires.
the thing is, these are not designed to be campsites, they are for overnighting safely, away from traffic yet giving access to towns/cities for vehicles that might otherwise struggle to park there.
if you pull up at virtually any town and ask at the Mairie (pr tourist office) they will direct you to local aires.
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Best book to buy is Camperstop Europe, as it says it covers most of Europe. Photos are included of most Aires/Stellplatz/sostas so you have an idea of what type they are. We have stayed on some which would out the average ACSI site to shame for scenery
etc. we have stayed in beautiful spots on the edge of tiny villages and even in towns. Biggest advantage is that they are always near a village, town etc and can be some of the friendliest places you have stopped. give them a try, but try more than one
as they really do differ a lot.0 -
If you want an App for the Aires "Motorhome Parking" looks good and can be used with off line maps. I have only had it a week so still not tried it out for real but it looks every bit as good as the books with photographs and reviews available as well as
essential information about each Aire.peedee
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We agree with Nethernut. Camperstop Europe gives a wide range (usually with photographs) of locations where you can stop overnight free of charge. Yes, some are a bit like car parks but others can be very pleasant indeed. Have a look
HERE:0 -
Thanks to everybody for the extremely helpful information. I will check out the French website as I speak French but, also, the book looks worth having.
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Hitch, AFAIK the 'definitive' source for aires is www.campingcar-infos.com however the site is totally in French.
if you can find your way around it, its possible to download a complete file to a satnav, i have them on my tomtom.
they are also available in a number of different categories (around nine, i think) eg,....
service area with overnight allowed
day parking with services
day parking without services
day/night parking with services
day/night parking without services
dedicated mh only parking
aire on a farm
aire attached to a campsite
etc, etc....
a number of 'complicated' icons help distinguish between the different types.....there are sometimes photos to help
as i said, this is the full list, and for most of us, we want somewhere to overnight, possibly with dumping/water services.
Vicarious Books has compiled a subset (or 'recommended aires') to acheive this, complete with photos and short description.
Archies Campings also has lists and POI files for aires.
the thing is, these are not designed to be campsites, they are for overnighting safely, away from traffic yet giving access to towns/cities for vehicles that might otherwise struggle to park there.
if you pull up at virtually any town and ask at the Mairie (pr tourist office) they will direct you to local aires.
Hi BB, this is a great website. If you download the GPS to your satnav does the list differentiate between the different categories such as - autoroute aire, parking tolerated etc. I could try this on my Garmin.
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hi Hitch, AFAIK you can load as many (or as few) categories to your device as ypu wish.
by doing them like this you will get the appropriate icon with each set of data.
this will allow ypu to be selective on your device as to which categories you want displayed....eg, only the ones that allow overnighting or only those with service point etc.
i cant remember if they can be done all in one go, and if so, how the icons will be downloaded....
Archies camping (i think) has already downloaded these and you can het them from there if you think it might be clearer.
good luck.
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If you download Aires_CCinfos_totales its a zip file with ALL aires included. Unzip it and it includes the icons (bhp files) and files for each type of Aire. You can then select what to copy to your sat nav. The sip file also includes an installation pdf which identifies which icons are which.
peedee
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hah, Peedee....thats what I meant, lol....good post.
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If you want an App for the Aires "Motorhome Parking" looks good and can be used with off line maps. I have only had it a week so still not tried it out for real but it looks every bit as good as the books with photographs and reviews available as well as
essential information about each Aire.peedee
Write your comments here...great app by the Dutch camping club with daily updates. Well worth buying the full version For a few €. All in English and with plenty of reviews, also has a satnav facility. I got this app and a book - just in case - when I set
off a few months ago. Haven't opened the book yet0 -
Hitchglitch
Don't forget to have a plan B!!! We had planned to spend some time at the Landenburg Camper Stop for a couple of days. When we got there full to overflowing with people waiting outside for spaces. OK its not a very large place but just goes to show that
you can be disappointed. Fortunately we found space at the ACSI site in Neckargemund where we had been before.David
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Hi David, I noticed on another thread, about Fuel, that you filled up at Ste Menehould. By any chance, did you stay at the Aire in Les Islettes, just down the road? If so, what was it like. It looks good in the book. We have not used an aire yet but
are keen to try one and this one looks good to get started. We were going to stay at the old municipal site in Chalons, which has now privatised.BillC
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Bill
No we stayed at the Municipal campsite in Ste Menehould it only has about 35 touring pitches and pleasent enough for a couple of days and you can walk into the town and the supermarket.
David
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Hi, my husband and myself are considering going to Italy in our motorhome for a month in a few weeks time. This will be our first trip abroad in our motorhome. I am in the planning stages at the moment and would like to ask if anyone can recommend a good
travel guide which includes aires and maps... or am I asking too much for them all to be included in one book?? If not a possibility, can anyone recommend individual ones please.Cheers
Gillian
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, " Vicarious Books" may be what you need !! ( See the first few posts on here ).0 -
Ahh, many thanks triky auto, I'll check them out. I'm not only new to motorhoming but also blogs
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We are quite new to aires, despite being motorhomers of ten years. Some area great - free electric etc, whilst others are little more than a car park. That said, we have stayed on some of the latter type in lovely locations.
Russ
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I am here at a campsite at the wild, rocky, pointy end of Brittany - glorious weather, glorious scenery and plenty of empty pitches. Thete are a few British and German motorhomers here, but no French. There are in the car parks at the Ponte du Van, the Pointe du Brezellec, the Pointe du Milliers, and no doubt down in the cove. The site owner shakes her head and says French motorhomers NEVER pay.
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