France dos and dont s

killalanerr

Haven't had one of theses for a while,as we are ramping up for our tip to France ,here are a few of my dos and donts for traveling in Europe in no particular order feel free to add your own

do not over plan if you spend your time rushing from place to place you can miss so much

do use the aries it is wild camping but not as we irish know it but also do use the sites as well especially if you have kids they put the irish sites to shame

do use a map sat navs are super but they do bring you on some funny trips some times also if you read the map you get a better feel for the area

do not use motorways ,unless you have a long distance to cover stay off the motorway they are expensive and one motorway looks pretty much like another

do not stay more than 3 days in the same place, thats why you bought a motorhome !

do keep a few notes in a little black book it can come in so handy when you revist a area ( mine was i little blue book and i left it in the last van i sold if the new owner is on er can i have it back please)

that should get the ball rolling

spaceHopper

do spend between 4:50 and 6 euros on a bottle of wine and buy are least two, sample them there and keep notes, keep the labels if they are nice or take a photo with your phone so you can buy them again to bring home.

elaverty

Just a quick one,,,,Do you have to use beam benders when going to France,,,,I wont be driveing at night,, but as regard geting pulled over or stuff will LE GARDA take me away and lock me up for 6yrs,,,if i havnt got them...

WildWater

Do you need one of those square red and white reflector if you are carrying bikes on the bike rack? It's obviously a requirement in Germany as all the Germans have them but what about France?

killalanerr

@elaverty I'm not sure what the legal requirements are but i have never fitted them and never had any bother

@WildWater again i dont own one but always bring the bikes ,must add to the do list,do always bring your bikes to france it is one of the most bike friendly countrys in the world with miles of safe cycle tracks

WildWater

Thanks, Killalanerr. We have done France in the car many times but this year will be our first time in the camper. Three weeks in France this summer sure can't wait. We will be bringing our bikes as we intend to do lots of cycling so I was wondering about the reflector.


@ elaverty Re beam benders. The first time we went we paid a ridiculous sum of money for AA beam adjusters. These were nothing more than black stickers. So the poor mans version is to use insulation or duct tape cut to shape. If you don't intend to travel at night the exact shape you cut and location you place it on the light is not exactly too critical.

Our case history:
First trip: bought AA beam adjusters
Second trip: poor mans version as above
All subsequent trips: never bothered

niloc1951

Aires,
Do use those provided by the local town council, they will be sign posted and usually the parking is specifically reserved for 'camping-cars'. If you hear someone driving around the aire blowing the horn at about 9.00am..............it's the breadman with hot fresh bagettes and croissants for breakfast :D

When moving between aires it is best to travel in morning as they can be quite full by mid afternoon in the more popular areas.

While most are free and can even have free leccy there can be a charge of between €5 & €10 in the more popular resort areas, but the fee often includes services and leccy.

NO NOT confuse these with the Aires which are rest areas on motorways and main roads, these can be most unsafe.

Most important of all, take it leisurely, forget about rushing along motorways, and enjoy being part of a welcomed sector of tourism, unlike like here in the good ould RoI.

muint

DO NOT use motorway aires for overnight stopovers.
Extremely dangerous with all sorts of undesirables roaming around. They have no fear and no hesitiation about robbing you........

killalanerr

just to be clear i did mean the aires for camping cars and not motor way services or rest areas
i have used this book https://www.vicarious-shop.com/All-the-Aires-France-3rd-edition.html or try one of theses for the french version http://www.librairie-voyage.com/?r=2&p=2&id=1169&AbId=015194

Betsy Og

Surprised to hear that re aires on motorway, stayed on 2 separates ones with a caravan a few years back and seemed ok. Any views on the UK ones?

danny50

You don't need red/white reflector for bikerack in france ... need it in Italy.
You need Hi-viz jackets for everybody, breakdown triangle and spare bulbs.

niallam

spaceHopper wrote: »

do spend between 4:50 and 6 euros on a bottle of wine and buy are least two, sample them there and keep notes, keep the labels if they are nice or take a photo with your phone so you can buy them again to bring home.

Last time there we bought 90% of our bottles for €1.90-€2.20 and some of the nicest wines you could get, dont think there's any need to spend between 4.50 and 6, be like spending €20+ on a bottle of wine in Ireland.

WildWater

Anyone know of a good specialist camping/camper van shop in France? Anywhere along the Atlantic between Roscoff and Bordeaux. Something like Camping Kuhn in Offenburg. www.kuhnshop.de

zoltar_boi

A quick google found this site - http://www.top-accessoires.com/index.php

They seem to have branches all over France

WildWater

Thanks Zoltar, I had tried google but all i got was Decathlon. Top accessories looks good. Love going into places like this for a good look about.

zoltar_boi

Hope they're good - now I've found them, we might find ourselves outside one or two "by accident" this summer

WildWater

zoltar_boi wrote: »

Hope they're good - now I've found them, we might find ourselves outside one or two "by accident" this summer

I wont have to do the "by accident" bit the first time as herself would be just as keen the 4 and 5 times would definitely have to be "by accident"

Another DO for France

Do visit Top Accessories (and if you get there before me let us know what they are like )

Macy0161

Betsy Og wrote: »

Surprised to hear that re aires on motorway, stayed on 2 separates ones with a caravan a few years back and seemed ok. Any views on the UK ones?

It's a long time since I lived in the UK, but the used to have a bad rep and weren't recommended for overnights. Can't see how they'd be any better than France tbh.

niloc1951

Do visit the CampingCar-Info and iCampingCar websites before you go.

Again, DON'T overnight on motorway or main road Aires (rest areas)

studiorat

Spare bulbs and First Aid kit must be in the car at all times. (le law)

Repolho

Sorry to Hijack.

Had originally booked holidays from work for last week july & 1st week in August. We found the Ferry to France way too expensive and were just goiing to stay at home. Originally this was the only time I could get off work but I can now swap it for the middle of September (from 12th to 25th). Would this be very late in the year for camping in France in terms of weather, facilities being open etc etc.

Thanks in advance.

WildWater

I would go, the ferry will be a lot cheaper as will the campsites and you have every possibility of a fine September Indian Summer. Most of the campsites that I have looked at are open until october or beyond. However, be sure to look carefully at the facilities as in some campsite they will close features like the outdoor pool and other entertainments in September.

bo.jangles

we booked ferry to france for 1st september return on the 23rd 350 euro well worth taking a trip at that time.

niloc1951

Repolho wrote: »

Sorry to Hijack.

Had originally booked holidays from work for last week july & 1st week in August. We found the Ferry to France way too expensive and were just goiing to stay at home. Originally this was the only time I could get off work but I can now swap it for the middle of September (from 12th to 25th). Would this be very late in the year for camping in France in terms of weather, facilities being open etc etc.

Thanks in advance.

If you decide to go off season (other than July & August) a subscription to ACSI Card will give you very good value and you will know in advance your campsite costs.

Repolho

Think I might just give it a punt so .

dfbemt

In France at the moment so here are my 2 tips

- free wifi in McDonalds if you like to keep in touch
- diesel is €1.35 off motorway so fill up when you get here and fill up before you leave

Weather is just ok but we're here. Let the fun commence.......

newwifey

DO bring your own tinned baked beans.
The french don't know what these are. The only place you'll find them is in the ex-pat aisle of the bigger supermarkets. Then you'll pay 4 times the price for them.

Thats my little gem of wisdom:D

sunchaser

For those of you interested in Camper accessories you can also visit Narbonne Accessories, they have branches all over france.
Do register for a loyelty card at Auchen or Carafur as you can avail of discounted fuel sometimes with your card. It is cheaper to get fuel at big supermarkets than motorway services. It will pay to go off motorway to get your fuel.

crackcrack30

How much booking in advance is needed for the campsites in france or is it usually safe enough to just arrive and be accommedated?.....wishfull thinking?

*Kol*

crackcrack30 wrote: »

How much booking in advance is needed for the campsites in france or is it usually safe enough to just arrive and be accommedated?.....wishfull thinking?

Normally you will get a site without booking. Best to ring ahead with some of the more popular sites just in case though.

dfbemt

Cheapest fuel so far has been in Luxembourg at €1.15 !!!!! Yes, you read it right. Germany has cost us €1.33 and the cheapest so far in France has been €1.30.

Currently on a Castels site in the Comte region called Val de Bonnal. God it is just lovely here. Very quiet, not at all full. We were at the pool yesterday morning and we were the only people there until mid afternoon !! And this is a great pool with water slides, kids area, etc. We had rang in advance to book and were told not to bother just arrive. Arrived in torrential rain but glorious the next day. Planned to stay for 3 nights, will now stay for 6.

Daughter got an infection while we were in Germany. Went to doc - no charge as we had our E1-11 cards. Brought precription to chemist - again no charge for €60 worth of meds !! Doc wanted to send a sample of the infected area off for analysis and would have results back next day but we declined as we had to move on. Now that is a health service.

Went shopping at an Intermarche last night. Sun cream expensive (Factor 50 for kids was €13. Most other things are cheaper.

So my updated 2 tips
- bring your own suncreams
- bring your E1-11 card

Au revoir