Trip thru France

[Alanjarvis]

This July we are hoping to retrace our honeymoon 10 yrs ago when we drove down thru France to Switzerland. That time we did it in an old VW camper van, this time we will be towing our new caravan. We will book a site in Switerland (Interlaken). On the journy down 10 years ago we just drove till we were tried then looked for a campsite, there was never a much problem finding one. How realistic do people think this approach will be with a caravan? We will probabaly use the autoroutes, and get a Tom-Tom, I don't fancy getting lost towing a caravan. Maybe if we phoned ahead to a suitable campsite to check if it was free. What book of French campsites do people recommend?

All advice much appreicated!

 

[DavidKlyne]

Alan

If you are getting a TomTom it might be worth downloading campsite POI's (points of interest) from here European POI's Campsites will obviously be busier in July especially mid to end. The Caravan Club European Guides are a useful source of campsite information as of course is the internet.

David

 

[JohnM20]

Hi Alan

Our very first trip overseas with a caravan in tow was to Interlaken. That was back in 1993. We made one overnight stop near Langres, having used the autoroute for most of the way. We arrived in Interlaken about mid afternoon quite easily.

In about the last 10 years we haven't booked any sites, whether on route or the final destination, just the ferry and have never come unstuck. Admittedly we usually go late June into early July. Later July may be more crowded. The Caravan Club's 'Caravan Europe 1' (or 2 which includes Switzerland) are books that I will never be without with literally thousands of caravan sites in each volume.

Although I have satnav in my car I, and my better half who is a great navigator, still prefer maps. Not only can you see the route to where you are going, you can also see places that may be of interest on the way that wouldn't necessarily be classed as POI in a satnav. They may be a few miles off route but its easy with a map to see whether the roads should be OK for the detour.

JohnM