Overseas Touring France Guide

fatbelly
fatbelly Forum Participant Posts: 438
100 Comments

Hi All,

We are going to France this year again & was looking at the Clubs "Overseas Touring France Guide" for £10. Has anyone bought this guide & is it worth it?

Thanks

Comments

  • Longtimecaravanner
    Longtimecaravanner Forum Participant Posts: 642
    edited March 2018 #2

    It does have a wealth of driving in France information in it all in one place and an old one was invaluable to us a couple of years ago when Hubby decided it was too early to stop at the site I had chosen and wanted to press on. However if you have Archies on your satnav, as we have, I would think you don't need it but for the sake of a tenner.....

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited March 2018 #3
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  • ihatew0rk
    ihatew0rk Forum Participant Posts: 84
    edited March 2018 #4

    I just bought a  2 year old edition off amazon for £4 including p & p. Little will have changed and easier sometimes to have a book than use a screen 

  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Forum Participant Posts: 438
    100 Comments
    edited March 2018 #5

    Thanks for the replies guys.

    What is Archies?

  • DSB
    DSB Club Member Posts: 5,675 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2018 #6

    I always take it with me too, in spite of the fact That we usually book all our sites these days.  I also take the Alan Rogers books too.

    David

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited March 2018 #7
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  • Longtimecaravanner
    Longtimecaravanner Forum Participant Posts: 642
    edited March 2018 #8

     That is very true. I wouldn't use it from choice to choose a site but it is good in an emergency when you just want the nearest one.

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,866 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2018 #9

    Unless I have misunderstood what others are saying Archies POI's are for finding the site once you have chosen it? Having said that its probably one of the most comprehensive campsite resources there is.

    David

  • meecee
    meecee Forum Participant Posts: 304
    edited March 2018 #10

     Same here, been using it for years, especially for 'en route' sites. We only get a new one every few years so the £10 is well spent, very useful book.

  • knilly
    knilly Forum Participant Posts: 62
    edited March 2018 #11

    Looking to get the French overseas,where on the caravan club web site to I get them

     

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited March 2018 #12
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  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2018 #13
  • dunelm
    dunelm Forum Participant Posts: 373
    edited March 2018 #14

    We have used the Club's guides to overseas sites for a number of years and found them useful. They feature sites previously used by members with  comments written by them  Some of these comments are helpful.

    However sometimes they are inaccurate regarding distances the sites are from the towns under which they are listed. Some members don't seem to know the difference between miles and kilometres whilst others just seem to have guessed the distance.

     

    If you are travelling outside peak season it would also be worth buying the ACSI Camping Card which comes with campsite guide books for many European countries and gives discounted prices on the listed sites.

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,830 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2018 #15

    I agree about the inaccuracies. The Club's Touring France guide is often unreliable and out of date but it has details of about 3000 campsites whereas the ACSI Camping Card  guide has only about half that number in France. Many of our own favourites have come from the Club guide but are outside the ACSI scheme and so I continue to recommend the Touring France book. 

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
    1000 Comments
    edited March 2018 #16

    We have used the Club's guides for over thirty years and update them periodically (they don’t change much). It is not often that you come across a site which is not listed so it is very useful. I have to say though that it is now becoming outdated when compared with, say, the ACSI books which are available through a smart app. The ACSI app also has reviews but of course there are far fewer sites and the rates are only applicable during the low or mid season (generally up to around the end of June and from the beginning of September). I thought that the Club said that they were working on an electronic version of the European sites guides but I guess that would be a big and expensive commitment.

    We have only used Archie’s POIs loaded on our Garmin Satnav for about two years but they have taken us right to the entrance to the site in France, Italy etc., I guess about thirty times without error. Sometimes directions in handbooks can be misleading or inadequate so I would really recommend Archie’s plus ACSI,  Club guides plus any other reference material. 

    For France I also wouldn’t travel without the detailed Michelin map book (A4 size). You can buy it in the UK or almost any large service station in France.