Motorhoming through France
An ambition of mine is to tour the scenic side of France in my motor home. I would really appreciate some info on power hook-ups, lists of sites, and generally tips and recommendations.
Many thanks
Colin Smith (new to motor home travel this year, hence the broad question!)
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Hi Colin
Download the Campercontact app. It’s packed with details of sites throughout Europe with members reviews too. French municipal campsites are generally excellent but many are disappearing at the moment. Motorhoming in Europe has a different culture to that in the UK. Most villages and towns have a motorhome Aire (France), Stellplatz (Germany) or Sosta (Italy). Most campsites have electric hook-ups, many Aires do not but this is reflected in the cost.
I’m afraid I don’t holiday in France normally. We mainly travel through, but there will be lots of others who will give you advice re recommended sites/areas to explore.
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I think that you should decide whether you want to stay at “Aires”, full sites or a combination of both. We have seen many French Aires but never stayed at one so that’s down to personal preference. Out of season, ACSI is worth joining as it offers good quality sites at competitive rates and, of course, the Club’s continental touring books are helpful although a “manual” reference book is becoming increasingly outdated and doesn’t have the search facilities of on-line apps and guides.
Unless you are going at peak season to very popular areas such as the Med., there is never a need to book which is why it’s so popular.
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Way Two Go is correct that there are many permutations of holiday to be experienced with a motorhome in France.I will stick to some basic advice.
Purchase the ACSI books to keep campsite costs down.If you like Aires then All The Aires can be purchased from Vicarious books.We keep Autoroutre use to a minimum but have an Emovis tag for when we do use them-they have a UK office at Hookstone Park,Harrogate.
Most sites now have UK style hook up connections but there are still plenty with continental plug in so purchase and adaptor lead.Reverse polarity is quite common,so we carry a tester and a short reverser cable to correct for it.Some disregard RP but I do not- you do not get two chances with electrocution.
GPL is more readily available than in the UK if ,like us,you have a built in gas tank.Adaptors are available from Gas It and Gaslow.French bottles with a detendeur can be purchased at a supermarket filling station and you can prior purchase a pig-tail to convert them to your UK van's system.Calor not available and Camping Gaz works out very dear.
As for areas to explore -get away from the Autoroutes and go exploring for yourself.Areas adjacent to the Autoroutes are busier than elsewhere.Try the Western routes if you want to get directly into pleasant rural France .Normandy down to the Loire is a pleasant first trip,The Pas de Calais and Champagne region route is rather dull from a scenic aspect. We have happened on areas like the Drome - Provencale and the Plateau de Valensole whilst bimbling.The Alpes Mancelles and the Loir ( without the e) are pleasant as is the Charente.The Gers and further down towards the foothills of the Pyrenees around Trie sur Baise are other examples.
My advice is not to do too much driving to get to the honey spots- you will miss so much en route if you do.
It is better to travel hopefully....etc.
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Go to public library or to Waterstones and get hold of some guide books to France - decide where you want to go and what you want to see. There are campsites and Aires everywhere. Enjoy your planning.
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Colin
You mentioned that you wanted some information on power hook-ups. This link might explain a few things for you? http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/european_electrics.html
David
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