French Municipal Campsites -costs
Hello,
It is some years since we toured France in our caravan but are planning to do so this year.
In the past we usually have only booked possibly the first camp site and the last site close for Ferries. Maybe if we are aiming for a particular region we may book a site in advance for a set date. However, we tend to just play it by ear by travelling for a few hours and then look up a Municipal Campsite site in the Club's European Campsites handbook. ( We may have to get a new up to date one ) Prices were very reasonable when we were last touring in France, certainly a lot cheaper than the UK. 10 - 14 euros per night paid for very pleasant short stays as we travelled around. I am certain prices have increased greatly but wondered if someone could advise what an average price is at the moment for rural municipal camping with a caravan.
thank you in anticipation.
Ray
Comments
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Some of the municipal sites we liked have closed and some have been privatised, but of the ones which remain the going rate for car, caravan, EHU and two adults is not likely to be less than €20 a night this year at many sites.
It will vary of course depending on the popularity of the location, so look at websites for a few municipal sites you know and check out what they are charging this year - but electricity will always be an add on to the published list price.1 -
Ray, when are you planning to travel as prices do differ across the season. We were last away Sept 2023 and this year it will be June 2024, so out of high season. Using ACSI we have/will be paying typically Euro 15-19 per night on non municipal sites, so you should expect a euro or two less.
Colin
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Ray
Even if you do purchase a new Club's European Campsites handbook (are they still available?) I would treat mentions of Municipal Campsite with some caution and do a second check online. As ET has pointed out some have been sold off and others converted to motorhome Aires. Worth also following up Colin's suggestion of the ACSI book as that is refreshed every year so you can be sure the sites listed will be available.
David
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I really wouldn't bother buying the new CAMC book as it will most definitely be out of date.
We go to France twice a year and the number of municipal sites that close each year is getting worse. Some become Aires own by the Camping Car Parks group, some are taken over and run privately, some are in the Acsi scheme and some sadly closed for ever.
The Acsi book is all you really need but if you are happy to use an App then the Searchforsites one is excellent, it's about £5 a year for lots of very good reviews, suggestions etc and is very easy to use. It's our go to when away.
As to price you can still get the odd site at 14€ but 18€ is more the average these days. Some of the more popular and 'posh' sites are 21€ still excellent value for money given what you get on a French site.
We sometimes book the first and last night sites depending on what time we travel and from which port.
Ferries, at the moment the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry is excellent value for money, if you are over a certain age do the booking direct with them as you get 20% discount.
Hope this helps.
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The ACSI company has a separate list on line called Great Little Campsites which you can look at. They are sites with fewer than 50 pitches, so not at all comparable with CLs. but certainly some in there that we liked.
The universal list of almost every site in France is CampingFrance.com and it’s possible to pick small sites from that list if small size is particularly what you want.But the ACSI Camping Card which has already been mentioned will undercut most sites if your priority is simply low season price .
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Ray
Because Municipal Campsites are run by the various local authorities I am not sure you will find a single website. There used to be books listing them, perhaps try Vicarious Books. What you could do, if wanting to return to a previously visited campsite is to look it up on Google Maps. They often highlight if it has been closed but if it is still open they list the contact details. Another option might be the UKCampsite website. They have extensive reviews of European campsites and if there are fairly recent ones they may be useful.
David
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I made two trips over there last year and used a mix of sites ranging from motorhome aires to full facility sites, none were free. The average price I paid was just over 22 Euros a night. Whereever you decide to stay, as long as it is not in peak season on the coast, you will still find sites much cheaper than here. Books like the Clubs guide are good country guides but for information on sites have been superceded by some very good Apps full of all types of site information which is not from just Club members. Like TG I consider £5 well spent on the Search4Sites App or you can access the web site for free. There are others but I have found this one to be one of the more useful ones.
peedee
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As mentioned earlier, a lot of municipal sites in France have been transferred to the stewardship of Camping-Car Park under the banner of "Camping de mon Village".
Prices vary but are usually 14€-17€ a night including electric. During the summer season these sites have a facilities block and accept caravans as well as motorhomes and campervans.
Last summer we stayed at the site in Chablis and had a great stay - site details here.
If you don't already have one, you will need to pay a one-off fee of 5€ for a PASS'ETAPES Card to gain entry/exit which can be obtained on-line or at the entry bollard to the site and is valid for life.
CCP have a very good website in english and their sites are also listed by Search4Sites.
Happy travels
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We're still using the invaluable Archie's camping list of campsites with co-ordinates although sadly he has been unable to continue updating this so it will increasingly be out of date. I load it into my own Access database and can then use it to search within a specific radius of a named town, selecting only those whose name includes "municipal" if I choose. I also have lists of museums, markets, tourist offices etc en the same database so can find local destinations easily, with the co-ordinates of each ready to load into the satnav.
We try to use municipals almost exclusively but as said many have been transferred to private companies.
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CCP have a very good website in english and their sites are also listed by Search4Sites.
They also have a very good call centre with English speakers. On one site the barrier wasn’t working using the card and they were able to sort it out remotely. They also quickly refunded the overpayment as the malfunction meant we continued being charged after leaving.
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Thank you for all that information. I'll be checking all this out.
We stayed at Chablis once. I presume it is the same site in the village. Very quiet when we were there. I remember it for a visit to a local doctor due to a bad ear infection.
Ray
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Only the mon Village ones, which were previously municipals and then only when the facilities are open, as JimE mentioned above. This is generally in the summer months but the dates vary from site to site. Dates when the facilities are open are shown on the CCP App or web site. At other times they are Motorhome Aires only.
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Hi again Tammygirl, I went to the ACSI website to check out the price etc and found that even that has become a mine field now with so many different options. When I joined last some years ago you got a card and a book and that was it lol
I don't mind using an app but we tend to book up the next camp site while travelling. I tell my wife okay let,s looks for somewhere to stop within the next 30mins. She would look in the C&MC handbook and pick one out then give me the directions. I am sure she can use an app also on the move but I guess my worries are single strength issues. Do you know if these apps are accessible 'off line'. Or would you stick to the book ?
Ray
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Do you know if these apps are accessible 'off line'. Or would you stick to the book ?
The ACSI app works off line, except of course for links to site web sites, which require a connection. Personally I find the App a lot easier to use than the site list book and map location book.
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We still use Archie's database in the sat nav. When he announced the closure of the website he said the site details would still be available as an App, and would be updated regularily as the website was. The App is available for a small one off payment.
Our 34 days in France last year averaged just under €17 per night. the cheapest municipal at €14.20 an increase from €13.80 in 2013, not all bad news.
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Hi, yes you can get a card for CCP from the bollard at the first site you use, however as mentioned only the Mon Village sites allow caravans and only at given times of the year. You can check it out online first to see if it suits.
Re Acsi, we prefer the books as I look at them while other half drives. He does have the app which he uses and likes.
Acsi now have a digital membership( no books) which is valid for 12 mths from the date you register with them. This is handy as the books run from Jan to Dec so it can be a bit of a pain if you travel over the winter.
There has been issues however with some sites not accepting the digital version. I think Acsi are working hard with sites to overcome this.
Searchforsites is really the only App I use on a daily basis when we are away.
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I never got round to using the new breed of Mon Village sites and personally wouldn’t go out of my way to seek them out.
Why? There are only about 300 of them which accept caravans and that’s for very limited dates too. But there are 8200 camp sites in France which do accept caravans so the choice is immense. I love choice and would never want to be limited.
I can think of a number of French campsites which we really liked. All were family owned and run by a family couple. They cooked food when we arrived hungry. They took orders for fresh bread and croissants and brought them to our awning before we were up. They helped us make the Wi-Fi work. They kept the swimming pool in order. They made appointments tor doctor and dentist when we were in trouble. And more besides. Their customer service was really top class.
Sure we paid a bit more at sites like that, but automated card entry to an unstaffed site wouldn’t appeal - even if they are cheap. Family owned, family run sites in France were the ones which hit the button for us.
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Thank you very much. Thats probably all the answers I need to know. Yeah my wife prefers to have a book while I drive. We have been discussing the answers received from this posting. I'll use ACSI card and book and also the Search 4 sites app. I can always buy a CCP card when an if I need one. Cheers and thanks again.
Ray
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Hi, yes I remember a lot of great sites like that. 2013 was our last trip to France in the Caravan having toured since our children were young and beyond that on our own. Still looking forward in our 70th year to do it all again. It maybe our last fling I don't know, hopefully not.
Holidays further a field, sitting around swimming pools in hotter climates are fine but we still love the life of travel with the van around France in particular but also other EU countries. Really looking forward to this .
Much appreciate your time to reply.
Ray
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