Holiday in France first timers
Hi We are we are middle aged first timers going abroad to France in our little VW campervan with our little dog looking for some sites to visit in August next year hopefully 3wks easy to drive to think we will use Eurotunnel do people stay on same site or move round we have this years CAMH Holidays Venture Abroad book
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Happy to help.
Most people with a VW Camper would move about, but if you find somewhere pleasant of course you can stay. The Venture Abroad booklet gives you a very limited choice of campsites -just a few hundred out of about ten thousand sites. Buy a copy of the Club's Touring France guide for a bigger choice as well as invaluable travel advice.
In early August sea front sites will be fairly full, but inland you will still be able to arrive at most sites by mid afternoon and find a place without booking, and the cheaper campsites always have more space than the dearer ones.
Your dog will need a UK vet to supply a pet passport and a rabies injection well in advance, but others know more about dogs than I do, and when Brexit is finally sorted you will see whether the rules for dogs have been tightened.
Enjoy your planning.
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I guess the answer to your question is it all depends on what you fancy, what you want to see/do, and how far you wish to travel. We do travel around, probably in a 3 week period having 2 main stays and then a number of en route stops.
by definition, if you wish to go to the south (say, the Med) you will make one or two stops en route in both directions. Then you have to decide are these just sleeping spots, or do you want to sightsee for a day or two?
August is probably the busiest month, so that may mean booking ahead is worthwhile, rather than making it up as you go (the latter of course means you can follow the weather to some degree, if that’s important to you). But probably not so easy to do in August when campsites are busier.
Remember there are many more sites than those in VA. Look on this forum for threads about Archie’s app, and ACSI.
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As a first time Motorhome visitor it might be a good idea to select an area you'd like to visit that isn't too far from where you arrive in France.
The first time we went by Motorhome we 'bounced' along the Northern coast heading West for a week or so and then meandered back to Calais and the Tunnel.
If you haven't got 'facilities' (toilet/shower) you may need to stay on Campsites – although many Aires de Camping Car do have toilets provided – do not overnight on Motorway Aires.
There are many Apps to help you find stopovers and camps – iPads or iPhones to take with you are certainly worth considering.
The books 'All the Aires' are available although they are usually out of date by the time they are published but can be a help if you don't have electronic devices.
The Venture Abroad book may have its uses to some but unless you want to stay in one place for any length of time I think it is not much use to you – and France has so many places, sights and diversity that I believe that staying in one place defeats the reason for visiting France.
Eurotunnel is probably best, it always has been for us, as the dog and you remain together in the VW for the 35 minute crossing.
Your dog will need a Microchip, their normal annual vaccinations, the Rabies treatment and a Pet Passport.
The Rabies and Pet Passport should cost a total of no more than £100 – shop around; you don't have to use your own Vet if you feel they charge too much.
We have acquired a new dog recently and I have had quotes of between £70 and £209 for the Rabies and Pet Passport from local Vets.
You will need to visit a Vet for a worming tablet and the Pet Passport dating and stamping between 1 day (24 hours) and 5 days (120 hours) before returning to the UK – that is rarely a problem but needs to be kept in mind.
Your dog will be welcomed everywhere, bars and restaurants will readily accept you, and even if you only sit outside (people watching) you will have a bowl of water provided for your dog.
Do not plan too much because the 'French' way of life takes over, you realise that the French actually like having Motorhomes in their country, and speed becomes less of an essence and relaxation takes over.
Busting a gut to get anywhere becomes less important and finding 'gems' of towns and villages you'd never heard of before starts to take over your enjoyment of France.
August is busy but we've always found places to stay as long as you try to avoid the obvious tourist hotspots.
Hope this rambling post helps.
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Your in a small Motorhome unit (assume without kids ?) and so you have even more flexibility to travel, tour or stay put wherever you wish so my view would be :-
1. Follow the weather that you'd prefer. Check two days prior and adjust the route if needs be.
2. Stay very very flexible as to your general route and possible sites.
3. Like a site = stay longer. Dont like = dont stay or move on. Pay for first night with option to perhaps stay a bit longer.
4. Book the Tunnel Crossing but that's it. There is a lot of scaremongering as to fixed advance pre-booking of pitches and sites. .
Lots and lots of bigger site listings and mixed reviews on the Internet.The CAMC listings are a very very restricted viewpoint.
This listing was recommended to us and might appeal
https://www.france-passion.com/en/
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We always used to go away in August and rarely found sites to be full BUT don’t count on finding a pitch anywhere on the Mediterranean coast unless you have booked. As you are a couple with no children I would suggest avoiding the large family orientated sites in the Club’s brochure.
There is absolutely no need to book anything unless you are keen on a particular site. In France you always pay when you leave so you don’t need to decide how long you wish to stay.
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As everyones idea of what to see/do in France will probably differ and France is such a large country you would probably be better off doing a little research first as to what you would like - northern battlefields, Loire valley chateau, Dordogne and Lot valleys, wine regions, coasts, Alpine areas etc etc and then asking for suggestions in a particular area. France has some stunning things to see and do. What else is there to do on cold autumn/winter nights than to plan for the sun next year!
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As Paul56 points out, France is a big country. Try not to be over ambitious and end up spending too much time on the road. One or two regions to explore might be enough and in August, the northern regions should still provide nice sunny days for strolling around. Normandy is beautiful; Brittany is delightful. Alsace is picture-postcard pretty. Having an app like ACSI lets you plot your way around with one or two days planning ahead. Being school holidays, I think I would check with sites beforehand, just to ensure a free pitch. Have a lovely time!
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We are thinking about heading to Toulouse area in January with our caravan and dogs. This would also be our first trip abroad with the caravan so all the previous comments are great but just wondering if anyone has any further advice about travelling at that time of year?
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You may have a perfectly good reason for going to Toulouse in January such as a family wedding or to head up into the Pyrenees for skiing - but if there is no such overriding reason I would wait until spring.
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Agree with Montesa. Last August was very hot in France, and if you recall there were problems on the tunnel with heat. We delayed our first visit to Europe until September. Only booked the tunnel going, winged it for the rest of the 3 week break.
Basically because we’d been wanting to go for two years but couldn’t, I think I overthought the whole holiday and in the end just went with the flow and had a great time.
Try and have a plan B, ie pick a site and head for it but have a second or third site in mind nearby in case your first choice is full or turns out to be not very good.
Just go for it but consider August may be hot for you and dog.
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Heading down there for rugby and just pondering taking the caravan as an alternative option
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EasyJet or RyanAir.
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How much do they charge for a caravan?
No, you are probably right, leave the dogs and the van wrapped up safe and warm at home and just fly out as we usually do.
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Can I presume 'campervan65' has been ill or away on holiday for well over a month due to the lack of his/her response to the replies ?
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