Back to touring in Europe
Hi all, we are back to caravanning after a gap of about 17 years ( we had a lovely tent in the meantime but it never quite lived up to our requirements - too cold, beds too hard - obviously far too used to our creature comforts!) we now have a 1993 Swift corvette that my husband has completely renovated.
We toured all over Europe last time, even down to The Black Sea in Romania but that was before the child and the restricted school holiday times 
. We're off to Denmark late July coming back through the Netherlands and Belgium and taking about 3 weeks to do so. My husband does not want to book any sites in advance preferring the flexibility that this gives - I'm concerned that the sites may be too busy and we won't be able to get in anywhere 
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I would appreciate any advice on how busy European sites are now and if the 'drop in' approach still works or if it will leave us out in the cold!
Comments
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I would imagine it may well depend on the popularity of the area selected. If you should choose the 'road less travelled', booking may be less of an issue.
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I would endorse KjellNN's advice. We always try to arrive at a site in afternoon and have had no problems. However, we do normally travel out of peak season. Booking first and last sites and then phoning ahead is sound advice and retains some of the freedom to move when you wish to that we enjoy with our hobby.
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The OP said "late July for three weeks" and that's very different from off peak touring. Definitely phone ahead the day before.
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We rarely book any sites but that is because we go in the lower season when it is unlikely that we won’t get a pitch.
Last year we stayed on a site in the Vendee in August and booked the whole stay almost a year before as there was no chance of one had we just turned up and as we were with five grandchildren that was not an option.
As you will be in peak season, European countries seem to start school holidays sooner than we do in the UK,I would at least look at sites that you think will be viable and their booking options.
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The Dutch love caravanning and you'll be there slap bang in the middle of the school break. I definitely wouldn't bank on just turning up. Either book for those sites you definitely want to go to or as others have advised just ring before moving or use the web to check availability.
Be aware that quite a few Dutch sites ask you to leave your car in a car park away from the caravan. We've done it numerous times. It's an inconvenience to be sure but not a deal breaker.
Enjoy your holiday.
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I would normally have been cautious, like others, but last year we toured in July and August and had no problems finding pitches. We stayed on three sites, all with pools, a bar and a restaurant, but all the smaller and cheaper sites, and all had plenty of vacant pitches. It was unplanned because we'd taken our caravan out of storage to meet up with family in the Correze, and on the way back learned that our caravan storage site was very near to severe flooding. We decided we didn't want to risk taking it back so stayed alongside the Cele river (one valley north of the more popular Lot), in the Aveyron, and then back to the Ardeche. We didn't pay too much for any of the sites (somewhere around 20 euros per night from memory - would be more with children depending on their ages) and all were of an acceptable standard. I would say if you don't want four/five star sites then you should find places in almost all areas except beachside and five miles inland from a beach.
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Another query please, we want to do a one night stop over on the way to Denmark ( have already booked another night at a club site) and wondered how easy it is to use / find Aires in the Netherlands? All the websites I have found are for campervans and motorhomes and don't allow caravans.
Thanks again
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For caravanners this book is more useful than a list of Aires. You can of course get it from Club HQ
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