Escorted trips

We hosted a First Timers Abroad tour a few years ago, as Eurotraveller mentions, near to the port of Calais.  Almost everyone who was on it, enjoyed having the option of supoort without organised 'tours'.   However, one couple were absolutely 'shredded'
when they arrived because they'd had about twenty miles to drive on unfamiliar roads.  By the end of the week they drove themselves into Little, parked, found a restaurant, and booked to go on an organised tour later in the season.

Personally, when we took our caravan for the first time, we just booked a ferry, bought a campsite guide, and just 'went for it'.  We toured for three weeks, taking in several areas, and have been back every year since.

 ,, Ohh !!  And France is a BIG country !! You won't have to go far to enjoy the hospitality and culture .Enjoy !!.

No dogs - well that stops me from even thinking of a tour - thank you Eurotraveller - useful info. 

Firstly I have to say that I have not been on  an organised  tour so others will no doubt correct me (courteously of course) if I make wrong assumptions. On the other hand the list of European countries that I have not visited is shrinking fast.

If you want to go on an organised trip because you are inexperienced and perhaps worried about going abroad then I think you will get the benefit of having some or perhaps all of the  logistics and planning done for you. You may also feel more secure being
in  a group and this may provide company and the opportunity to meet new like minded friends. Some trips travel in a convoy but not all so the
in transit comfort may not actually happen. So you need to look at and analyse what any particular trip offers and includes e.g. does it include breakdown/rescue/medical insurance ferry/tunnel costs etc. etc.

Against this I think organised trips are a pretty expensive way to travel although I acknowledge that there is a value in the trips/admissions and meal content and that the organisers and their agents and suppliers all want to make a profit.  Additionally
I am not aware of the mix between Caravanners and M/H on such trips. They tend to go to a limited number of sites for each trip e.g. The Dresden offering for the Club is 8 days in the same site. I don't understand how a M/Homer on such  a trip would deal with
self-organised outings  away from the site as the logistics seem to be geared to having a towcar. No doubt some car sharing would occur but personally I would not want to rely on that. 

As I have said before a M/H pattern of travel is normally

 A--B--C--D--E-A  but a caravan tends to be A-B-C-B-D-B-E-B-A.

There is lots of information on the web (including the clubs own resources) and a excellent book Go Motorhoming from Vicarious Books which will help you plan a European trip on your own and understand what Europe is like. ACSI off season site deductions
and the use of Aires/Stelplatz/Sosta or their equivalent allows you to get up close to places that an organised trip can't do and for me that is essence of what M/H should be about (a bit of an adventure not something which is organised to nth degree). If
you have any experience at all in driving on the "wrong" side of the road you will find driving in Europe relatively easy because traffic tends to be lighter (there are exceptions) and driving standards mainly good. Oh and if you are going early in the year
say April-June inclusive you can nearly always get by in Europe without booking sites ahead.

Your first foreign trip has the potential to be a great adventure so use the remaining winter months to learn and plan. 

Best of luck whatever you decide.

We went on a First Time Abroad tour with CC in 2014, having bought our first caravan the previous year. Whilst we had lots of European holiday experience, we just felt it would be nice to have the back-up of the Club when it came to ferries, continental
sites and general caravanning stuff. Have to say the trip was first-class. Superbly planned and beautifully executed by the two hosting couples. it was not "regimented" but there was structure for those that wanted it. Two really interesting coach trips were
included and two group meals organised also. We had loads of fun, enjoyed meeting others with shared misgivings and in the end shared achievements. I'd highly recommend it. 

The last thing you want is a convoy. It makes concentrating on your driving even harder as you are distracted by trying to keep up/ watch for the outfit following. A bunch of nose to tail outfits won't endear you to the other motorists either.

Write your comments here...Not if you were in the Merchant Navy & in the North Atlantic 75 yearso ago CY . 

Hello

We have hosted many C.C. Tours including First Timers and the idea of a convoy is a total "NoNo".  It is very dangerous and what happens if someone becomes detached and lost.

All participants on First Timers Tours are notified that they should NOT convoy but they do receive really excellent directions and all the necessary info. needed to make their first journey abroad as stressfree as possible.  They maybe arrive on site a
little stressed but by the end of their stay most can't wait to get away abroad on their own.  It is an excellent introduction to touring in Europe.   

Most of these participants are in the older age groups and really enjoy having their hands held for the first time. It has given us great pleasure to meet up with a number of them on other sites as they spread their wings and enjoy Europe.

My first solo trip to France after a long break from towing - I packed a tent on a trip to visit my brother - with two overnight stops planned - when I got to Dieppe I just imagined I had the caravan on the back and travelled that way!  I was planning not
to put the tent up if the weather was unkind but both nights were great fun - I did miss the caravn's luxury though!  The next trip was with the caravan and there have been a few since.  I think we have to do what we are comfortable with - but I had a lot
of encouragement from other "campers" telling me I could do it!  That helped a lot!  Going a little out of my comfort zone was very good for morale too. 

Blue Van Man.  Most tours have a mixture of caravanners and motorhomes. If the motor homers are on a First Timers Tour they will be encouraged to go off site even if it is just to do some shopping or get fuel. Caravanners can also help out with transport
but the purpose of the Tour is to get the drivers all to get as much practice as possible and to build confidence. The excursions on most of the tours have coaches arranged for everyone and this means that a lunch with a glass of wine can be enjoyed.

We are hoping to host the two Loire Tours in June from 13 th June at Les Saules followed by Bois du Bardelet on 29th June and would love to meet up with anyone at either of these sites.

OK so it sounds like the tours are mainly geared to/patronised by first timers. I can see that could provide experience and training benefits as well as the social aspect. I appreciate also that they may be of particular interest to the "more mature" client.
 In my past life I never attended a course or training without coming away with something important that I had learned. So they have a place but not for me as my next trip planned is to the far North of Norway via the Baltic states.

Can understand why people might use a tour for far flung places. Also, personally interested in the various wine tours, the c&cc have a particularly interesting one to Portugal and Spain, would seem to be an excellent way of visiting vineyards, no problems
tasting 'cos transport included. Interested to hear from anyone who has done one of these tours.