Summer Plans?

Jameschlewis
Jameschlewis Club Member Posts: 15
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in Roof Tents #1

With warmer weather on the horizon, does anybody have any exciting summer plans?

I’ve just negotiated permission with my employer to work and travel abroad for 5 weeks in September! I’m looking at heading to the South of France, round the Alps dipping into Italy, Switzerland and hopefully Lichtenstein before heading down to San Marino for a motorsport event (Rally Legends). Then, working north to the Netherlands for another event the following weekend so stopping off at a few places in Germany on the drive up. Any recommendations on places to visit in any of these locations would be greatly appreciated!

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  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Trusted Posts: 23,512
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    #2

    @Jameschlewis you might pick up more tips for sites and sights in the Overseas section of the forum 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • Jameschlewis
    Jameschlewis Club Member Posts: 15
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    #3

    You might be right to be fair. I just popped it here on the off chance there were any other rooftent owners who had done any trips near the areas I’m heading. For instance, when I’ve stayed in Spanish and Portuguese campsites, many of the sites have trees and coverings over pitches so it can occasionally be a bit tricky to find a pitch on a site where you won’t have branches knocking on your tent in the wind (when opened, the top of my rooftent must be about 3.5-4m high I guess?).

    I’ll pop another post in that section for more general suggestions 😊

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,547
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    #4

    Quite a trip, I syphasise with your problem, my motorhome is 3.4 metres high. You could browse my web site to see if it offers any interest. I have toured fairly widely.

    peedee

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Trusted Posts: 23,512
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    #5

    Have we got any other rooftent users here @Jameschlewis? The only person I know who owns one left CAMC because his outfit was deemed unacceptable. C&CC, on the other hand, have accepted rooftents for as long as I can remember.

    I realise CAMC has had a change of heart and it would be interesting to know if there are any/many rooftenters now.

  • Wherenext
    Wherenext Club Member Posts: 10,918
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    #6

    Give me some idea of where roughly you want to be in France, Germany and the Netherlands and I'll see if there's anywhere I can recommend. We've come across Roof tents on various sites in those countries and there doesn't seem to be the same class snobbery that you can sometimes find here.

  • Jameschlewis
    Jameschlewis Club Member Posts: 15
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    #7

    Thanks @peedee , I’ll take a look! I do recall staying in Salou (not at a club site) a couple of years ago as we were there to spectate the Spanish WRC. We had to walk around the site to find a plot that didn’t have low overhanging trees. We found one and although the trees weren’t hitting the tents, we still left with some sap that had fallen from the trees onto the roof tents. So that’s definitely something I’ll be bearing in mind in the future.

    @Tinwheeler I’m not sure on numbers, but I do believe the number of members with rooftents are growing. With the roof tent article in the magazine earlier this year and now the inclusion of a rooftent category in the Lightweight Leisure Awards, it shows that the club are very much welcoming of rooftent campers.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Trusted Posts: 23,512
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    #8

    Yep, as I said, the club has had a change of heart which can only be a good thing.

  • Jameschlewis
    Jameschlewis Club Member Posts: 15
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    #9

    @Wherenext In France, I’m looking at staying by Lake Serre-Ponçon (found an amazing looking site through the club there). Will look to stay there for a week working remotely before heading to Monaco for a day, up to do the Via Del Sale route near Limone Piemonte in Italy and then working clockwise round the Alps to Switzerland. As for Germany, it’ll be heading up the western side of the country, potentially going via Stuttgart for the Porsche Museum and then towards Heidelberg for the Technik Museum Sinsheim. But other than those, I’ve not got anything else planned (I loosely use this term planned as its very early days!) for that stint.

    Like you say, I’ve never had any snobbery across the channel when it comes to my rooftent. But saying that, I haven’t really experienced any snobbery in the UK either. I might just be fortunate but everyone has been intrigued and friendly when its come to my rooftent 😊

  • CameronBurns
    CameronBurns Club Member Posts: 7
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    #10

    Hi @Jameschlewis,

    We generally use the Camping Sandaya network when travelling through France and Northern Spain. They’re exclusively four and five star sites, often with upgrades to have your own private toilet/shower facilities on the pitch, which will be nice to have alongside your roof tent. When you factor in the facilities of their sites, they’re fantastic value for money. They also run a loyalty scheme whereby you collect points and exchange them for free site night vouchers. Nothing to do with the CAMC unfortunately, but they should definitely look at teaming up with them!

    I’d also recommend getting the ACSI book (I think it’s actually available via the CAMC website) as the camping card in the cover is accepted as your ID by pretty much all campsites, which saves you leaving your passport or driver’s license at reception. This book features a huge varied selection of sites, with off-peak discounts which can be huge. A few years ago, we stayed at a site just south of Paris which is usually around €45 per night for just €18 with the ACSI book. And the discounts would definitely be applicable for the timeframe in which you’re travelling through Europe.

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