The Camping Forum

[Mike&Stacey]

Hey guys, just wondering what your opinions are about camping abroad like in France, Spain ect. We are considering doing it next year in August. Also, bring our own tent or rent a pre pitched?

Thanks

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[Wayne]

Never done it, really fancy it but got to try and get the courage

Andy is a seasoned pro abroad as are quite a few on here, so you should get some good feedback

[AlanI]

Well if you've got your own tent I don't see why you would even consider renting a pre pitched unless you have particular mitigating circumstances.
As for camping in Europe - well we love it, especially in France although we are somewhat biased living just over the border from the Alsace region. We've always found (or maybe just lucky) most grounds to be well serviced with clean facilities as well as being reasonably priced. When first searching for sites it's well worth investigating the local council run one's first as these can often provide even greater value for your money. Camping is a national pastime for the French during the summer months so their entire approach to it is somewhat different to that of Germany and I dare say that of the UK.

Here's a post that was made in another thread which basically reinforces what I've just said and makes me wonder why I bothered replying at all :

Have a look at my blog, there's a link to it in my sig (below).

Last year I did 5 weeks & 13 different sites in France. My advice would be, have a look around the north first off, a lot of people seem to think the further you drive, the better your holiday will be, which simply isn't true. The south is very crowded, expensive & the roads aren't as good, generally.

The absolute MUST HAVE item is a copy of "Le Guide Officiel" distributed in the UK by Vicarous Books & available for around a tenner from Amazon.
This book contains all the sites in France, all 13'000 of them! It has a quick guide on how to use it printed in 4 different languages near the front. This & a sat-nav were the only things that got me around safely & without any major problems when I was over there.

Feel free to email or PM me if there's anything you really want to know & you think I can help. I am by no means the most knowledgeable person on the forum where camping in France is concerned, but a lot of it is fresh in my mind.

Also, I highly recommend the municipal sites, they are very well priced, they usually don't take advanced bookings (they're not obsessed with pre-booking in France, like us Brits are) they usually have plenty of room & very good, clean facilities. You just turn up, pick a pitch & get on with it. Someone will come round (usually the Mayor or one of his contemporaries) & take your money when they are ready. It takes some getting used to, but I like it.

Good luck. You can't go wrong over there, camping is a French national pass-time.

[Admin]

Yup I agree take your own plan well be prepared for french toll roads! and you'll be fine

Hmm what else. dont worry to much and overload on food you might not get the same brands or stuff but you will find plenty of food french hypermarkets are well stocked.

Satnav makes light work of travling.. i would'nt go without one.. yes some will say read a map etc. etc. but im being honest when your in another country and on a time limit for arrival to pitch you'll be thankfull you have it trust me

If i think of somthing else ill come back

[Camp Moose]

If you're thinking of it just do it.
For the car you'll need :-

headlight converters
GB badge if doesnt have GB on number plate
Fire Extinguisher
Hi-Viz vests for driver & all passengers to be kept in car so can put on if breakdown befor egetting out of car
Spare bulb set
warning triangle
take your license & car documents including insurance paperwork.

See some of my threads in the Europe sub-forum for some idea of campsites I've stayed in.

[Mike&Stacey]

Okay, thanks guys! Does anyone have any recomendations of places to stay? I actually have no idea where to start for plannning this holiday, hence starting so early...

Any help will be much appreciated!

Thanks

[Admin]

I find the best way to start is decide how far/long you are prepared to travel in one go. then you can work out via google maps roughly what sort of destinations are options.. thats how we start anyway

[AlanI]

Does anyone have any recomendations of places to stay? I actually have no idea where to start for plannning this holiday.......

My suggestion would be to take some time to think over how you would wish to spend the holiday and what you would like to see etc. For instance: are you interested in wine, do you like old historical/medieval towns or how about daily hiking trips? Once you've narrowed it down a bit then you can start narrowing down the places that are able to meet these requirements assuming you don't intend sitting in the tent all day of course.

[Mike&Stacey]

Does anyone have any recomendations of places to stay? I actually have no idea where to start for plannning this holiday.......

My suggestion would be to take some time to think over how you would wish to spend the holiday and what you would like to see etc. For instance: are you interested in wine, do you like old historical/medieval towns or how about daily hiking trips? Once you've narrowed it down a bit then you can start narrowing down the places that are able to meet these requirements assuming you don't intend sitting in the tent all day of course.

Okay, thanks! Thats really helpful. Although we're not sure exactly what we want from this holiday yet, we do want to explore the country and see what it has to offer. We are thinking the North of France to begin with, set up camp there then travel to other places to do touristy stuff then back to tent at nights. I defo want to go back to Paris so I suppose thats a start Im not sure how to go about finding campsites in France, any suggestions for this?

Thanks again!

[Mike&Stacey]

I find the best way to start is decide how far/long you are prepared to travel in one go. then you can work out via google maps roughly what sort of destinations are options.. thats how we start anyway

Thanks Andy, we know we will probably spend a day or two traveling there and back and are prepared to do that Once you decide where you want to go, how do you go about finding nice sites with reasonable prices? Any suggestions?

Thanks again

[Camp Moose]

OK try this for starters.
See this thread.
campsite-chat-from-the-rest-of-europe-f81/topic2427.html

I can recommend this place.
On the banks of the Seine river at Les Andelys.
Monet's Garden nearby which is lovely.
Historic city of Rouen not far.
A family in another tent we chatted to did indeed pop down to Paris for the day.

[Mike&Stacey]

OK try this for starters.
See this thread.
campsite-chat-from-the-rest-of-europe-f81/topic2427.html

I can recommend this place.
On the banks of the Seine river at Les Andelys.
Monet's Garden nearby which is lovely.
Historic city of Rouen not far.
A family in another tent we chatted to did indeed pop down to Paris for the day.

Thanks! That site looks lovely! Will defo look into that, thanks very much! You guys are great, so friendly and helpful. I love this forum!

[Camp Moose]

How do plan to cross the Channel?
Tunnel or ferry ?

[Mike&Stacey]

How do plan to cross the Channel?
Tunnel or ferry ?

Probably tunnel