Rules of Aires in France
Hello! First time away exploring France in our motorhome been several times in our caravan and motorbike. Just wondering what are the rules of Aire du camping and how safe are they're for our 6 year old. Many thanks.
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The main rule is that they are only for motorhomes. As for safety, some are better situated than others. We don't use them extensively, but we've been to a couple which just didn't feel right for some reason and we've not stayed there. We've also been to some which have been lovely, whilst some are more like a carpark with little space in between. Same as campsites really, some are nice, others not so.
Whether an aire is suitable for a 6 year old I don't know. For the occasional stop for a night it would be fine, but IMHO a campsite with playground/pool would be more suitable for a longer stay with a young child.
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Strictly speaking you are supposed to be 'self-contained', ie with all facilities on board, and not supposed to put down a table and chairs, or other bits and pieces which does limit you somewhat in my opinion - although you do see some Aires where this is completely disregarded.
I wouldn't want to spend time on an Aire with a six year old - though many of them are in lovely settings, many of the popular ones are crowded with little space. However, if all you intend to do is sleep there, and then travel off elsewhere to picnic, play, swim, shop, etc., then they would be OK. I would do as Ina suggests and choose campsites - you will still find space almost everywhere you do, and your six year old will probably be happier.
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as Ina says, if it feels OK it probably is OK, if its at all uncomfortable to you, move on to the next village and try there.
again, they arent campsites, they are stopping places, however some allow stopping for more than one day, which is often great for exploring a large town or city (arrive one morning, explore/lunch/dinner etc) then able to overnight and fully enjoy the stay...
for anyone new to aires, there will be a little aprehension, just approach with an open mind and follow your feelings on 'safety'.
just for comparison, id much rather stay on a quiet village aire than on a busy, smelly, noisy Mway service station.....
once you have done one or two, you will develop your 'nose' for places.
there are just so many different types (village, rural, city, mountain, beach etc) that each has their own feel.
good luck, enjoy, its a great system....
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Aires can be good , indifferent or bad and are ideal for one night stops but not really ideal for a six year old with a bundle of energy and only play on their mind.
Some Aires have designated children play areas but most do not and many children ride round the site from dawn to dusk on their bikes – similar to some UK sites.
If you decide to use Aires they are very safe to stay and many are away from busy roads and traffic.
The only etiquette is that habitation doors are not facing each other and this usually means British vans face the opposite way to Continental vans – not a problem once you get the hang of it.
Forget about parking with the MH near a peg or the 6 metre rule and just park where you feel is a decent position on the Aire for you – whether it be in the shade or overlooking the beach then that's okay.
Most Aires where space is available, and even on the overcrowded Honfleur Aire, awnings are wound out, tables and chairs are spread around and everyone eats outside unless it's hammering it down with rain.
Many Aires are free to stay overnight and €5 or €6 is the normal rate if you have to pay.
For a general idea of what to expect have a look at my videos of Aires we've visited - www.youtube.com/user/keithchesterfield
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Six year old children need space to run and play, wild flowers to pick, ice creams on sale, shady trees, and in hot weather a pool too, or a stream for paddling.
If you can find those things on an Aire I shall be surprised. Aires are for old people who sit indoors in their motorhomes.
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So which is it? Brave adventurer seeking rule free Aires or Vegetative campsite dweller??
Oh, seems that it is both. This really must stop, I mean what can people have dig about when others can't be pigeon holed?
Have a great holiday Kirst.
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There are some attractive Autoroute aires although we only ever used the ones with 24 hour services as we felt they were safer. Ideal for an overnight stop if you are hurrying South, also good if you come off of the tunnel/ferry late. We used them with our caravan with two young children.
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As a regular user of Aires whilst en route and campsites when at a resort, I would say you have got your plans just right. It took me a while to get the confidence to use an aire for the first time but, after some excellent experiences and only a couple of disappointments, I now use them whenever they suit me.
Aires have the advantage that access is invariably much easier than winding your way around campsite roads, many are on primary routes, there are no reception office hours to negotiate, they are often much closer to towns and facilities and they are usually open all year round.
I would say GO FOR IT.
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A question to those who use Aires, have you noticed that an increasing number of aires now have barriers on them and you have to be a member/card holder to use the aire.
We noticed this in Epinal and a few other places when on holiday this year. We haven't yet used an aire but we are always looking out for them and noting any that we think we might use.
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Having used the "Aire De Camping Car" in France with barriers,I found that the only 'card' required was a debit or credit card.After that the entry/exit was controlled by a security number that you were issued .1 -
Yes, Tammygirl, there are a lot of Aires that have been adding barriers in the last couple of years.
It saves having someone call every evening to collect the monies whatever the weather and time of year, especially when there aren't many vans on the Aire, and probably it isn't cost effective.
Some vans turn up late and go early to avoid paying and a barrier effectively stamps that practice out.
A recent thread on these forums discussed getting water from sites and the Club not allowing it - but on many sites in France you can go on the site and top up with water, 100 – 120 litres is normal, without paying for it – the barriers will stop that and will save each Aire a vast amount of water that up to now hadn't been paid for.
We've also noticed most 'new' Aires have barriers fitted as standard and a CC is essential if you want to stop there.
Mailleraye is one example of a barrier being fitted -
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Thanks for the reply K&M, that's not what we saw though. I've seen the type you describe on Ill de re and other places this was different.
OH just found photo of it. The website is WWW.camping-car-park.com it says on arrival to show your badge to the reader, if you do not have a badge you have to phone the call centre and buy you 'Parknight' access with your credit card, they will then send you an SMS with the access code, you have to leave the next day before 12 noon or the barrier doesn't open. I think someone we were talking to said that to be a 'member' its 10€ a year which gives you the 'card' he also said that they are changing to this kind of setup all over France.
Wondered if you or anyone else had seen these, its like they are 'private' aires in a group
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Yes I saw one adjacent to Camping Conleau. I thought it was 4 Euros for a pre-payment card which you then top up using a debit or credit car or even an FX card to buy credit to cover the cost of staying on these sites. The card is then used to enter the Aires and pay for your stay on exit. I was not aware of any time limits. The system seemed to confuse many who arrived for a stop over but a phone number was displayed for help.
peedee
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Yes there was a notice giving all the info in about 3 or 4 languages explaining how to use it.
The leave by 12 noon I think applied to those who didn't have a 'member' card but had phoned for the entry code, I guess like the other type of Aires there has to be a cut off at some stage when a new period starts. If you have the 'member' pre paid card I guess when you leave the amount is just taken from that card.
As I said we haven't yet stayed on an Aire but we are taking notes for the future.
Sorry for taking the thread in a different direction but hopefully it is all relevant to the OP
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Barrier controlled Aires seem to be the way things are going, the latest ones have multi lingual card machines in much the same way as the cash machines at most banks. Pass Etape are spreading Continental wide, perhaps they will even try to venture into the UK?
peedee
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The ones you mention on the www.camping-car-park.com with pre-paid barriers represent less than 90 Aires in France but with over 5,000 other Aires it's only a very small proportion of the total choices.
With many free or cheaper options for Aires in all the areas that have pre-paying sites there is plenty of choice if you want to stay on Aires – and also France Passion and Campsite choices as well.
I've seen people, usually of Foreign extraction, who are completely baffled by pay machines on Aires because they rarely have to pay for parking throughout France.
We, the Brits, on the other hand are faced with a pay machine almost every time we go into towns and Cities and, unfortunately, it's part of our way of life.
The new barrier at Mailleraye-sur-Mer caused many Foreign motorhomes to turn away once they saw the barrier and the site had around a dozen British plated MH and only one 'Foreign' MH when we stopped overnight in April.
For most small village Aires it probably isn't worth the hassle of paying for and putting in a barrier and that's why there will be Aires available at minimal cost to us for many years yet.
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Huh !! wishful thinking ?? Maybe ,Hope so,possibly,Hmmm !! "Brexit" or no Brexit,the U.K is SO far behind in providing park up facility's !! Even our own 'truckers' as well as continental have to use unsuitable lay-by's for night stops.!!Which doesn't leave any room for a 'vanner' to rest in.
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