Ist time caravanner to france help needed please!!!

[rocco]

hi all,

we are very new to caravanning having only been on one caravan site in england 2 years ago. we are planning our first caravanning trip to france in july.

we plan to arrive in france calais at approx 9.30am and from there we would like to find a cheap camp site for a couple of nights, and then on to anywhere in brittany for a approx 4 nights and then move off to some where else in brittany for 4 nights again, and then back up to normandy and stay 4 nights there.

we have absolutely no idea where to go, and what sites to go on.

we have breifly looked at a few sites on the internet but have found them very expensive, does anyone know of any " farmers land/basic " types of site in these regions? we do not have the need for on site entertainment etc, as we can use the car to travel to the nearest city/town to do our site seeing/entertainment etc.

your help will be much appreciated.

ps. i have seen the word municipal mentioned alot on this site, can somone tell me what it means please?

pps. it would be also very helpful if anyone knows of any cheap sites in brittany or normandy not too far from a coastal region ie up to an hours drive from the caravan site, as i would like to take the kids to the beach if possible on this trip.

thanks.

 

[ValA.]

It may be worth you buying the Caravan Club book 'Caravan Europe 1'. This lists all sorts of sites, from inexpensive to 'all-singing, all-dancing' types. Also, look in your local library for the Michelin green campsite guide. You can also get regional guides (say for Normandy, Britanny, and Pas de Calais - the areas you're looking at) from the French Tourist Office in Piccadilly, London. Camping a la ferme or Municipal campsites are likely to be the cheapest. There is a separate guide to Camping a la Ferme, and there is also a website - will look it up shortly, and post again. One thing I would say is that the last two weeks in July and first two in August are the busiest weeks of the season, and if possible you should try to book ahead. If you don't have to go in July, then in mid-August you can start using Camping Cheques on some sites, which means a pitch for two people, including car, caravan, awning and electricity will cost only

 

[ValA.]

http://www.farmholidaysinbrittany.co.uk/tariff.html#camping_tariff,
http://www.camping-lannhoedic.fr/
Both obtained from 'googling' 'camping a la ferme brittany'. I should try it for other areas. Still not particularly cheap, though. Municipals might be cheaper.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

We always stay at

www.campinglebohat.com

A good stop over between Calais and Brittany is Honfleur just over the Normandy bridge

 

[RayS]

Good advice to get the CC book Camping europe vol 1 which has a section devoted to newcomers to the pleasure of touring France.

Municipals are site run by the town (or sometimes area) and vary from the large and elaborate to the small and unattended - on these the warden usually calls twice a day to collect money etc. and the security may not be very good (or non-existant). However, many are in charming places and are worth considering.

Reviews in the CC book are by members and so tend to tell it as it is (since the site may not know it's being mentioned in the book - unlike the commercial guides) There are paid-for advertisments for some sites but these are clearly identified.

Suggest you look at the book in conjunction with a good map (Michelin yellow) as some of the directions leave a bit to be desired - people sometimes forget to say which direction they are coming from etc.

Take you time and enjoy it.

 

[rocco]

It may be worth you buying the Caravan Club book 'Caravan Europe 1'. This lists all sorts of sites, from inexpensive to 'all-singing, all-dancing' types. Also, look in your local library for the Michelin green campsite guide. You can also get regional guides (say for Normandy, Britanny, and Pas de Calais - the areas you're looking at) from the French Tourist Office in Piccadilly, London. Camping a la ferme or Municipal campsites are likely to be the cheapest. There is a separate guide to Camping a la Ferme, and there is also a website - will look it up shortly, and post again. One thing I would say is that the last two weeks in July and first two in August are the busiest weeks of the season, and if possible you should try to book ahead. If you don't have to go in July, then in mid-August you can start using Camping Cheques on some sites, which means a pitch for two people, including car, caravan, awning and electricity will cost only

 

[rocco]

We always stay at

www.campinglebohat.com

A good stop over between Calais and Brittany is Honfleur just over the Normandy bridge

hi thank you for your advise and reply!

 

[rocco]

Good advice to get the CC book Camping europe vol 1 which has a section devoted to newcomers to the pleasure of touring France.

Municipals are site run by the town (or sometimes area) and vary from the large and elaborate to the small and unattended - on these the warden usually calls twice a day to collect money etc. and the security may not be very good (or non-existant). However, many are in charming places and are worth considering.

Reviews in the CC book are by members and so tend to tell it as it is (since the site may not know it's being mentioned in the book - unlike the commercial guides) There are paid-for advertisments for some sites but these are clearly identified.

Suggest you look at the book in conjunction with a good map (Michelin yellow) as some of the directions leave a bit to be desired - people sometimes forget to say which direction they are coming from etc.

Take you time and enjoy it.

thank you for your reply and advice!