Extended trip to France.......
We have made quite a few 2 week trips over to France and are happy with the day to stuff, driving, Aires, sites, fuel, electricity, hi vis vests, warning triangle, breathalysers, etc.
I shall be retiring next March and we intend to make an extended trip of 6 - 8 weeks (or longer!) to wind down & forget all about work. We are really looking forward to being able to take our time and not have the 'mad dash south' we have had in the past.
So why am I posting? Well here are a a few questions that immediately spring to mind for an extended, open ended trip:
- Can we get open return ferry tickets Dover - Calais?
- We are hoping to go over to Corsica. Should we book return crossings before we go? Can these be open ended?
- Where can we get a regulator to enable us to buy a refill gas bottle in France should we need one? Can we get one (French regulator) before we go?
- We may decide to go over into Spain. Is there anything we need to be aware of if we do that?
- We shall be travelling in our Rapido motorhome that I will have fully serviced (vehicle & habitation) before we go.
Any other advice or tips will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.
Mike
Comments
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You can buy single tickets (not open returns) for ferries and then book the return journey by phone or line when you are ready. That is common practice on the short haul ferries, and I don't imagine the ferries back from Corsica will be fully booked and leave you stranded there if you are going early in the year.
You can buy all sorts at pigtail gas adaptors to fit all sorts of cylinders from the Gaslow company, and they will advise you, but as Camping Gaz is available everywhere an adaptor for those cylinders is a first step.
Other people know more about Spain than I do and will be along soon.
I hope you have a good trip.
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Thanks eurotraveller I'll check those out.
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your Rapido may have come from the factory with two 'butane' pigtails, but these might have been changed if you use Uk Calor propane gas.
in which case, the pigtail will terminate in a bullet shaped POL fitting for the calor bottle...you may have two pigtails like this...
you could change one of them for a 'butane' pigtail, which will terminate in a LH threaded female 21.8mm nut....this is the std 'building block' onto which all Gaslow (and similar) adaptors are fitted.....
so, with one butane hose this would fit directly onto many french bottles, so no need for an adaptor AND you could leave the other pigtail connected to your calor bottle.
you could also buy a Spanish 'Jumbo' adaptor (to fit your new butane hose) which would then fit most Repsol/Cepsa spanish bottles, so good to go....for france/spain/uk....
however, NONE of the above requires you to do anything about regulators as you will, no doubt have a bulkhead fitted one??
i am only talking about adaptors here.....
OR......you could even think about a refillable system if you are going to be in france/spain far more often...
good luck.
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If you choose to use the tunnel be wary of booking a single ticket, the return at short notice can be very expensive. Far better to book a return then change the date if you need to (this is also the Club's advice). Book direct because there is no admin charge for changing and you can phone 7 days a week whereas the Club has limited opening times and you have to hold on the phone whilst they check. You will have to pay any difference in fare category but not the inflated short-term rate.
Not sure whether the ferries are the same but I suspect you can get a better return deal than two singles if you book early. Some ferry operators are very flexible about changes. We turned up on the wrong day outbound with DFDS (long story) and they just shrugged and let us on. We have however met many people who just buy the single tickets so I guess on the ferry this is OK.
You don't mention what time of year you are going but in the summer, Spring, Autumn, you should be able to get by with one large gas cylinder for 8 weeks unless you are going off of EHU. French Antargaz, Calypso, bottles are freely available and are lightweight and have been recommended on another thread so you could check out what adaptor is needed. Also Le Cube bottles use the same clip-on adaptor as Gaslight bottles.
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Hitch is right about the Le Cube bottles BUT the issue is that the adaptors only fit onto a 'butane' hose, ie a LH thread female 21.8mm nut.
its no good buying an adaptor and assuming it will fit on a UK 'propane' (POL) hose.....it wont.
ill try and post a picture of our gas locker set up later...
we have a large locker for two big bottles which (being German) came with two butane hoses and a switchover regulator BUT i have one Gaslow refillable which also requires one butane hose (with all necessary Continental adaptors) and one vacant space.....but with the second butane hose (ready for a French bottle in an emergency) and a Spanish Jumbo adaptor for any Spanish emergencies....
the butane hose also fits many german bottles, so an extra bit of flexibility.....
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Depending on when you go ferries to Corsica do get booked up in higher season, we went in late June a few years ago and it was chocca so be prepared to be flexible with return ports... WE used Corsica ferries overnight both ways and it was great, would highly recommend Corsica as a destination also a great place.
I think for ferries to France just book a single then the return when you are ready to come back, if you book a day or so in advance it would be cheap enough, obviously more than a return but not too much.
For gas why not get a single refillable bottle such as gaslow and have a back up calor as a spare like we do, top up as you need it with the security of the calor if you do run out anytime or cannot find a LPG station.
Have a great time.
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"For gas why not get a single refillable bottle such as gaslow and have a back up calor as a spare like we do, top up as you need it with the security of the calor if you do run out anytime or cannot find a LPG station."
in effect its what we have, Michael, except that it wont be Calor used as back up, it will be either a French/Spanish/German bottle, to be chosen if/when refilling becomes a critical issue.....never has, so far, but (as mentioned earlier) the 'infrastructure' (pigtail/adaptors) are in place.
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Thanks everyone for your replies.
On with the planning!
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Instead of worrying about how much gas you use, why not buy a two ring electric hob, and use that from the hook ups you'll be using whilst away. I don't think we've used one full gas bottle in the last five years................ because we have a mini electric oven, and two ring hob, which effectively 'come free' with the hook up which is part of the package on many French and Spanish campsites.
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Unless you are going to the Alpes for winter ski holiday, you shouldn't worry about gas supplies. Buy a 1kW fan heater or an oil-filled radiator, plus a 1 ring hotplate to make use of the electrical supply you will be paying for on campsites. We have an 11 kg Flogas bottle plus a French 7kg 'le Cube', but we hardly ever use gas except for a heating boost in deep winter, or to cook when the supply is metered.
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as highlighted by WTG, above, i mentioned the gas as the OP stated he was familiar with aires (how familiar and how much use they will get, we dont know) but for 8 weeks (maybe longer), starting in France, in March, and, perhaps, staying on some aires (remember they have a MH, not a caravan, so sites arent de rigeur) i would want to be sure i had a system that could make use of the local gas, be it bottled, again as WTG pointed out, simple BUT the correct pigtail/adaptor needs to be used) or refillable..(probably a step too far for first trip).
yes, sites will have a good leccy supply. and we have just made good use of it with a table mounted hotplate (well, we dont have an awning to heat
) but this doesnt preclude the requirement/flexibility to cook (and heat, in March) and run the fridge when away from sites...id just want my bases covered where you cant just ask the warden for another Calor...
again, it also depends how much the OP is planning to take with them..
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Although I didn't take into account the fact that the OP has a motorhome, there are obviously motorhomers such as ChasnCath and BoleroBoy who use electricity on aires and on campsites where it's available. I still think that having an electric hob gives an alternative option for cooking - especially as you can now buy single ceramic hobs from the Lidl outlet in Lincoln for a fiver! (See the thread on Tips for making Caravanning Cheaper)
We have a gas hob in the caravan which we use for cooking whilst travelling, and in our 'all electric' house in France we have a portable gas heater, and a a camping stove so that we can keep warm and cook in all eventualities.
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Our gas lasts for ever too. We just don't cook. We eat out most days for lunch - whatever the plat du jour in some little restaurant might be - or eat the paella or roast chicken we have bought in the morning market - and then graze on prawns, cold meats, cheese and wine in an evening. The old Italian espresso pot is about the only use the gas ring gets.
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