How to Tour France, 1st timers

[Dustydog]

We are spending 10 weeks en France. We want to stay some time at Chamonix Mont Blanc, Provence near the Gorges de Verdon,

Possibly Perpignon area and Dordogne on the way home. We are looking at the Caravan Club recommended sites . Any better ides will be welcome. By the way we will be towing a twin axle. Will this affect your suggestion?

Many thanks .

Alan

 

[Tim2]

Hi Alan

We've been travelling to and France for over 10 years now and I'm sure you'll have a super time. I don't know the areas you are going to but can offer some general comments.

Regarding guides we use Alan Rogers "France" and the CC "Caravan Europe" both available cheapest from Amazon. We, also have a DVD from ACSI (Dutch Camping organisation) this has a very good route planning facility between sites as well as details of the thousands of listed sites - you can buy it from ASCI direct. Last year we bought and used Tom Tom Sat Nav for the first time - WONDERFUL and helpful campers have produced files of campsite locations. It is, also, worth posting on the other main caravan websites as members are very helpful with recommending routes and specific campsites.

It is worth remembering that most French towns, even quite small ones have municpal campsites which are usually of a very high standard. The French generally take their camping very seriously and even the smallest sites tend to be very well equipped commpared with the UK ones! I can't really recall a bad French site in my experience.

The French road system is excellent. The autoroutes, some toll and some free, are excellent ways of getting places quickly but the "N" roads are of a high standard too with the bonus of passing through interesting French towns. When travelling on the autoroutes we often stay overnight on the "aires" (rest areas) these are much more frequent than on UK Motorways and range from picnic areas to fully featured services similar (but often better and cheaper) than the UK equivelant. Stopping at aires is controversial as some people have reported being robbed, however in 10 years of doing so we have never have any problems and it means that we can just drive until we are tired and then stop without having to unhook the 'van.

Until last year we had a twin axle Avondale Landranger and never had any problems with this. Most French sites have at least some pitches which are big enough. Some sites display signs saying no twins but I think this is probably because they associate them with "travellers" and are often allow bona fide holiday makers. Some French sites, also, charge a bit extra for twin axles but not much.

If you are going out of season discount schemes like Camping Cheques can save a lot of money on sites. ASCI, also, sell discount cards which can be used at their associated sites in off-peak times. (We can't as we're teachers and have to go peak season). We have rarely booked and just tend to phone ahead on the day we hope to arrive using the campsite guides and our mobile - we buy a French pay-as-you-go sim card from a French supermarket. Booking direct gives good prices and flexibility as to when one arrives

For ferries we use Caravan Club for cheapest prices. We would recommend Norfolk Line Dover to Dunkerque. We paid only

 

[ValA.]

I'd second everything Tim has said in his (as usual) helpful post. One thing I would add, is that France gets VERY busy in mid-July to mid-August during the French school holidays, and consequently there's more traffic, sites are busier, and supermarkets, markets and restaurants in holiday areas more crowded. France is lovely early in the season - most sites are open from mid-April onwards, and even the busiest sites can be idyllic then. In mid-May this year we had one whole area of a site to ourselves - like being in the middle of our own forest! However, in mid-July it's totally different, and some sites can be quite manic, so choose carefully if you're planning to be in France during this period. We always go outside peak season now, usually in May/June, and then again in late August/September, and use a combination of Camping Cheques and ACSI card to pay for sites - a good saving over the normal site prices.

The Gorges du Verdon are spectacular - but again, very crowded during July/August. We stayed near Castellane, at Le Camp du Verdon - however this was a few years ago now. On your way back from Perpignan I'd personally visit the Gorges du Tarn and Gorges du Jonte (and cross the spectacular Millau viaduct on the A75 north) as well as the Dordogne - a beautiful area, and less crowded than the Dordogne.

One tip, just like England, supermarket petrol is cheapest - but by a bigger amount than the discounts available in England. Don't try to fill up at supermarkets whilst you're hooked up though - as access (and/or exits) can be very tight.

Access to fuel in service areas is no problem, and service areas generally offer much better food than English equivalents. Supermarket cafeterias can be of almost gourmet standards (though not all, I hasten to add). We did have lobster once, near Frejus (could have been the Castellane trip).

Obtain as many guides as you can, to work out the type of sites you like the look of - and one of us on here will probably have experience of those sites. There are many of us on this forum who have years of experience of caravanning in France - and who enjoy sharing their experiences with others.

 

[MikeJE]

Try www.acsi-gids.com on line if you do not have the D.V.D. It provides aerial views as well.

 

[RayS]

No much left to suggest. Since you are looking at CC recommended sites i assume you have the CC Europe volume 1. If not, do get a copy. in addition to sites, it will guide you to such things as site electrics and the adapters you may need.

If you use public telphones instead of mobiles, very few are now coin operated, so you could buy a French phone card. They are valid for about 2 years.

If you don't have a mover, i would seriously consider having one fitted before you leave. Many nice French sites have hedged pitches, but the site roads can be quite narrow, so reversing a long TA onto the pitch might be a bit stressful. A mover would also enable you to place the van on the pitch to get the best view which may be good if you are going to the mountains.

Many French sites have semi-serviced pitches, so it's probably worth taking a mains adapter for you aquaroll, together with some hose (although you can easily buy this and tap adapters at a bricolage DIY. I carry 30m of hose as 20m and 10m lengths and use either or both as required. You can buy the fitting fro the aquaroll or make you own very easlily - search through the Technical and Equipment forums and you will find quite a number of posting telling how to do this. You will need to be able to extend your drain hose - again, linking on some cheap supermarket hose is quite easy. Then you can have a holiday without having to carry any water (except the loo) - luxury !

Good sites at Payrac for the Dordogne - lots to see and a nice little town.

I agree the RN roads are generally pretty good. Many have recently been made the responsibility of the Departments and are having their numbers changed. There may be a format for this but so far it has escaped me, except some are putting 9 in front of the 3digit RN number. It will be some time before the maps catch up and probably likewise the satnavs.

Towns can get busy around 12.00 - 14.00 - the sacred lunchtime. This is quite a good time to travel if you want to cover distance. It is sometimes worth coming off the RNs for 2 or 3 junctions on the autoroute to get round a big town with minimum fuss.

First few days don't get too ambitious as to distances. If not booking ahead probably best to be at a site by about 16.00 and a good idea to have a "second choice" in the same area. Reports in the CC guide are ;mainly by members and some of the directions can be a bit vague - almost the "straight on, you can't miss it " type. I tend to try to find them on a large scale Micelin before starting off, and sometimes putting the postcode into the map search on www.viamichelin.com or www.mappy.com - although the French post code areas can be quite large and confusing.

Main thing is - enjoy it. France has so much variety and so much less population density. Like other posters, I've been going for years (since 1969) and have never got bored. Bonne Route.

 

[MikeJE]

As Ray S says "don't get too ambitious as to distances". Especially on the first day allow for losing driving time due to the clock change - depending on time of year - when you land and allow yourself time to acclimatise to driving on the right.

 

[anotherDavid]

The other posts seem to have covered almost everthing but my main advice is if you can avoid July and August please do and then there is no need to advance book anything. I spend about 4 months a year in France and Spain (outside these months) and have never booked or found a full site. As to using motorway Aires, I used to do this and although I dont believe the gassing stories I dont now think its worth the risk.

Regards

Dave

 

[clive_5040082]

Alan,

Don't know what time of year you are going but if it is out of the main holiday season suggest you look at using 'camping cheques' or join the Camping and Caravan Club and use their 'Freedom Camping vouchers'.Either of these allow yuo to have pitch + electric for just over

 

[Tim2]

Hi Alan

As I said earlier wife and I are both teachers and go away for whole of the summer hols, 5 weeks or so, caravanning on the Continent and have do so for 10 years.

The first time we went we took 2 full 6Kg gas bottles and a small camping gaz cylinder, as a back-up which could be exchanged if necessary. We have, however, found over the years that we usaully don't even start on the second one.

We tend to eat in a cooked meal once a day and as the Continental electric hookups are often low powered often use the gas for the fridge and water heater. Obviously in high summer on the Continent we don't often use the heating - it was 32+ degrees in Italy this Summer. Even so gas supply has not been a problem.

In fact I am seriously considering just taking one full cylinder to cut down on the noseweight of the 'van.

Regards

Tim

 

[anotherDavid]

Hi Alan

As I said earlier wife and I are both teachers and go away for whole of the summer hols, 5 weeks or so, caravanning on the Continent and have do so for 10 years.

The first time we went we took 2 full 6Kg gas bottles and a small camping gaz cylinder, as a back-up which could be exchanged if necessary. We have, however, found over the years that we usaully don't even start on the second one.

We tend to eat in a cooked meal once a day and as the Continental electric hookups are often low powered often use the gas for the fridge and water heater. Obviously in high summer on the Continent we don't often use the heating - it was 32+ degrees in Italy this Summer. Even so gas supply has not been a problem.

In fact I am seriously considering just taking one full cylinder to cut down on the noseweight of the 'van.

Regards

Tim

Regarding Tim's comments about hookups, some of them are quite low wattage but I have never come across one that wouldnt run the fridge (which is a major consumer of gas). We use a 2kw hotplate (bought at Leclercs) as much as possible and now are getting most of the year (3-4 months)out of 1 camping Gaz cylinder. The worst supply I ever encountered was in Italy at 2 amps and was useless for anything but the fridge and when it tripped 3 or 4 other vans got tripped as well.

Dave

 

[Dustydog]

Tim,Valerie,Mike E,David,Clive,

Many thanks for all the time you gave and your great words of wisdom.We can look forward to our French holiday with the comfort that the knowledge you have imparted will keep us safe and thus we will have a great time.

I have reviewed previous posts and looked at other web sites pooling all the knowledge available.

As we are now semi retired we can enjoy nearly 10 weeks away which is a milestone for us!

Again many thanks

Alan

 

[Angela_5076436]

I totally agree with all that's been said .

The only difference from our 'normal' travel is that we always run on Camping gas - it can be bought in ANY reasonable sized Supermarket

Wherever possible we run on Electricity - never seem to have many problems - other than on one Site where even using a low power kettle tripped to supply [ discovered after the 3rd time it was 2Amp !!!

We have a LOT of electrical stuff in the Van and have a set of Power surge protected Extension blocks running round the caravan so we can use things in convenient places . We are careful - I have an electric ring on the cooker and a small electric oven as well

 

[RayS]

I totally agree with all that's been said .

The only difference from our 'normal' travel is that we always run on Camping gas - it can be bought in ANY reasonable sized Supermarket

Wherever possible we run on Electricity - never seem to have many problems - other than on one Site where even using a low power kettle tripped to supply [ discovered after the 3rd time it was 2Amp !!!

We have a LOT of electrical stuff in the Van and have a set of Power surge protected Extension blocks running round the caravan so we can use things in convenient places . We are careful - I have an electric ring on the cooker and a small electric oven as well

But be aware the small camping gaz cylinder ( about 3kg) is now very expensive - I exchanged on at a Le Clerc earlier this year for 22 euros. Two 6kg UK propane shuld last 10 weeks if you use all the electicity you can.