France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

May Contain Small Parts

average_runner wrote: »

The only thing I say about the wash block there is they are constantly cleaning every 15 mins so the floor is always wet.

Funny, my main criticism of ones I've seen in Ireland is that's they're just inadequate. Way too small for the size of the place, with bad design and little or no place for stuff like washing dishes or clothes. Often not well maintained...and always dark for some reason.

Maybe they have to clean them so often because they're getting over-used?

average_runner

May Contain Small Parts wrote: »

Funny, my main criticism of ones I've seen in Ireland is that's they're just inadequate. Way too small for the size of the place, with bad design and little or no place for stuff like washing dishes or clothes. Often not well maintained...and always dark for some reason.

Maybe they have to clean them so often because they're getting over-used?

In fairness there is no queuing for toilets or showers. You pay for the showers there. For washing dishes, there is plenty of space. For clothes I don't know as was only there for 3 nights.

Nore Valley showers are free, about 10-12 showers.

josip

sdevine89 wrote: »

Has anyone camped in the South East of France, that would have recommendations? Heading on a 5/6 week road trip and trying to alternate between camping and hotels/B&B.

We've found camping in the South East to be more hit or miss than in the West/South West. Near the coast you won't find any green grass, but instead pine and dry dusty undergrowth. There are a lot more bugs if that's an issue for you.

2 that I'd recommend, that aren't quite on the coast/in France.

http://www.campingcoeurardeche.com/fr/contact-et-acces.html
Facilities aren't anything special, but we arrived here after a night at a fairly anal site near Toulon the previous night. It was like being in another country, very welcoming, warm spirited, relaxed about rules. The owners joined in the boules until 11pm while all the kids were up playing. Massive pitches.

Since you're in the South East of France, you're not far from one of the best camp sites we've ever stayed in, just over the border in La Fouly, Switzerland.
https://www.camping-glaciers.ch/fr/
There isn't any pool/water park, but who needs one when this is the view in the morning?

We have also stayed in nice campsites in Genoa and Savona if you're going that far/way and need a suggestion.

average_runner

josip wrote: »

We've found camping in the South East to be more hit or miss than in the West/South West. Near the coast you won't find any green grass, but instead pine and dry dusty undergrowth. There are a lot more bugs if that's an issue for you.

2 that I'd recommend, that aren't quite on the coast/in France.

http://www.campingcoeurardeche.com/fr/contact-et-acces.html
Facilities aren't anything special, but we arrived here after a night at a fairly anal site near Toulon the previous night. It was like being in another country, very welcoming, warm spirited, relaxed about rules. The owners joined in the boules until 11pm while all the kids were up playing. Massive pitches.

Since you're in the South East of France, you're not far from one of the best camp sites we've ever stayed in, just over the border in La Fouly, Switzerland.
https://www.camping-glaciers.ch/fr/
There isn't any pool/water park, but who needs one when this is the view in the morning?

We have also stayed in nice campsites in Genoa and Savona if you're going that far/way and need a suggestion.

Wow what a view!!!!!!!1

sdevine89

josip wrote: »

We've found camping in the South East to be more hit or miss than in the West/South West. Near the coast you won't find any green grass, but instead pine and dry dusty undergrowth. There are a lot more bugs if that's an issue for you.

2 that I'd recommend, that aren't quite on the coast/in France.

http://www.campingcoeurardeche.com/fr/contact-et-acces.html
Facilities aren't anything special, but we arrived here after a night at a fairly anal site near Toulon the previous night. It was like being in another country, very welcoming, warm spirited, relaxed about rules. The owners joined in the boules until 11pm while all the kids were up playing. Massive pitches.

Since you're in the South East of France, you're not far from one of the best camp sites we've ever stayed in, just over the border in La Fouly, Switzerland.
https://www.camping-glaciers.ch/fr/
There isn't any pool/water park, but who needs one when this is the view in the morning?

We have also stayed in nice campsites in Genoa and Savona if you're going that far/way and need a suggestion.

Oh wow, we will have to spend a few nights in La Fouly! How could we ever drive past that!

josip

I'm cursed with a weak bladder and I usually make a trip in the wee hours to the toilet block from our tent.
At night, in the silence and starlight at 2,000m above sea level, the surroundings were incredible.
I ignored Mr. Bladder for 10 minutes while I just stood and stared.
Because it's high up, the nights get cold (even snowed on July 6th, the night after we left) so have warm sleeping bags/extra duvet.

If you like walking, there's a hike you can do to Cabane de la Neuve.
It's an exposed, south facing glacial valley so can get hot if it's sunny and it's 1100m vertical gain, but there isn't any climbing.
The cabane and view at the end are well worth it.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/l-a-neuve-hut.html
https://imgur.com/XvxPgJX

Not South East, but if you're taking 5/6 weeks then perhaps you're going to be passing the Pyrenees?
The Cirquee du Gavernie is also spectacular and an easier hike.
We stayed lower down in Sunelia 3 Valleys.
They had decent water slides and the wild rabbits around the site would let you rub them

sdevine89

josip wrote: »

I'm cursed with a weak bladder and I usually make a trip in the wee hours to the toilet block from our tent.
At night, in the silence and starlight at 2,000m above sea level, the surroundings were incredible.
I ignored Mr. Bladder for 10 minutes while I just stood and stared.
Because it's high up, the nights get cold (even snowed on July 6th, the night after we left) so have warm sleeping bags/extra duvet.

If you like walking, there's a hike you can do to Cabane de la Neuve.
It's an exposed, south facing glacial valley so can get hot if it's sunny and it's 1100m vertical gain, but there isn't any climbing.
The cabane and view at the end are well worth it.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/l-a-neuve-hut.html
https://imgur.com/XvxPgJX

Not South East, but if you're taking 5/6 weeks then perhaps you're going to be passing the Pyrenees?
The Cirquee du Gavernie is also spectacular and an easier hike.
We stayed lower down in Sunelia 3 Valleys.
They had decent water slides and the wild rabbits around the site would let you rub them

That's brilliant thanks for all the help. Yes thinking of taking the boat back from Santander (We have only booked the boat over to Roscoff not return) so the Pyrenees will be on route.

now online

josip wrote: »

We've found camping in the South East to be more hit or miss than in the West/South West. Near the coast you won't
Since you're in the South East of France, you're not far from one of the best camp sites we've ever stayed in, just over the border in La Fouly, Switzerland.
https://www.camping-glaciers.ch/fr/
There isn't any pool/water park, but who needs one when this is the view in the morning?

We have also stayed in nice campsites in Genoa and Savona if you're going that far/way and need a suggestion.

Need suggestions!
Heading today for 5 weeks, I've already bookmarked that amazing one in Switzerland.

(We're loosely planning)
First overnight in France, onto Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and home through France!
We'll be doing some wild camping ( motorhome) using France Passion and some campsites.
All suggestions welcome!

juneg

Macy0161 wrote: »

A couple of weeks ago the childrens movies were Sherlock Gnomes and Isle of Dogs (both got good reviews from those of us that stayed awake!), and for the evening I think an Avenger one and Black Panther but we weren't really looking at those options.

Same movies last weekend

josip

now online wrote: »

Need suggestions!
Heading today for 5 weeks, I've already bookmarked that amazing one in Switzerland.

(We're loosely planning)
First overnight in France, onto Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and home through France!
We'll be doing some wild camping ( motorhome) using France Passion and some campsites.
All suggestions welcome!

Luxembourg is a fantastic walkabout city. Park up and allow a day there.

For La Fouly, buy any food you need in the Aldi/Lidl type supermarket down the valley in Orsieres, the shop in La Fouly is twice as expensive.
Also the Swiss motorway Vignette is fairly expensive since they only sell the 12 months one for €40. Best to allow a little extra time and stay off the motorways.

The year we went from La Fouly to Italy, we went via the St Bernard Pass and did a half day hike up to here.
At the pass is the monastery where St. Bernards were first bred and still are bred.
You can pay silly money to go for a walk with them up to the lakes.
Or if you're lucky like us, you can be going up at the same time as them (after lunch) and fall in with them for part of the way.
We were also lucky enough to meet a herd of ibex later, although the males were a bit reluctant to clear off our path.

I see that you're driving a motorhome. The campsites we stayed in Savonna (Borgio) and Genoa were lovely but tight, especially the Borgio one which is heavily terraced. The Borgio one was full of Italians who really do set up home when they camp and it's lovely to get a glimpse of.
The Genoa one had reasonable parking space for motorhomes up towards the back.
Again facilities were good without being wow, but both were friendly and well located (for campsites).

I doubt if any campsite will let you book a place in advance for 1 or 2 nights but also very few turned us away when we showed up and they did what they could to sort us out with a pitch.

If filling up in Italy, check how much is on the pump and how much you get charged. It's happened us more than once that they tried to charge us more. Also, some of the automated pumps will refund you the difference between the prepaid amount and what you used (if less) in the form of a voucher which you can only redeem at that station when it's open. Not much use to someone on a roadtrip.

As a motorhome owner you're already well aware of security and even in campsites don't leave anything visible when leaving the home unattended. 2 of our friends have had their homes broke into (Sweden and Germany).

Their opinion was that homes are an easy target, they are easier than a car to break into and usually contain laptops/tablets etc.
You're also no doubt aware of heights unlike the poor guy we saw last year in Avignon who didn't realise that the clearance height on an arched bridge applied to the highest part of the bridge. (Avignon well worth a stop too btw)

If you're travelling with kids like us, you'll probably want to do some kids stuff on the way. Legoland Germany works out very reasonable and the camping is almost free when you buy the passes and camping together, Best toilet block we've seen in Europe.

If you want a good beach side campsite, Les Sablons in Portir Agnes is hard to beat, just try to get one of the pitches close to the beach gate.

We'll be calling into Europa Park on the way back this year, similar to Legoland but more rollercoasters for the big kids

/BrainDump

Of course you won't have time to read this today, but perhaps on the road

mikerd4

Query time, we are headed to Toulousse in the car and noticed that its covered under the clean air tag system (emergency).  As it takes up to 6 weeks to get a tag Im too late, has anyone experience of this?

Baybay

mikerd4 wrote: »

...we are headed to Toulousse in the car and noticed that its covered under the clean air tag system. As it takes up to 6 weeks to get a tag Im too late, has anyone experience of this?

I understand that it can be ordered online & your receipt is evidence of what tag you need if you intend being in an area included in the system before the tag arrives.
Google Critair.

A friend suggests you try certificat-air.gouv.fr

mikerd4

Good stuff. I need my v5 for the emissions proof. Will do that and order tomorrow so.

josip

Baybay wrote: »

I understand that it can be ordered online & your receipt is evidence of what tag you need if you intend being in an area included in the system before the tag arrives.
Google Critair.

A friend suggests you try certificat-air.gouv.fr

I've just ordered mine from there.

The stated delivery time for France is 5-7 days so you could order it delivered to a French address?

mikerd4

Ive emailed Siblu and see if they can help me out.  What did you need to order it out of interest?

Baybay

mikerd4 wrote: »

Ive emailed Siblu and see if they can help me out.  What did you need to order it out of interest?

My impression is, not having ordered it myself, that the cert is sent to the address associated with the car's paperwork, details of which need to entered on the application so Vechicle Licensing Cert. VRT cert maybe.

josip

mikerd4 wrote: »

Ive emailed Siblu and see if they can help me out. What did you need to order it out of interest?

Very straightforward to fill out and I don't usually like forms.


https://certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/demande-ext/cgu


I only needed the VRT cert details.
I paid €4.11 by credit card.
You can specify a different delivery address to your VRT cert address.
I specified one on the other side of Europe so I should have it for the return leg.

mikerd4

Thanks for that Josip, just waiting on Siblu to let me know if I can send it to the site and collect there.

now online

Thanks for your very detailed reply!
We're in Brugge at the mo, we're going to spend a day or two here what a beautiful city. Spent a night in France as planned and went to see the beach in Dunkirk. We went into ostende in Belgium just for the day and moved onto brugee so much to do and see, hopefully we'll squeeze in as much as possible including plenty of r&r!

/BrainDump

Of course you won't have time to read this today, but perhaps on the road [/quote]

average_runner

Anyone know what the queue's are like in terminal 2 on a sat morning(10am) going through security ?

josip

mikerd4 wrote: »

Thanks for that Josip, just waiting on Siblu to let me know if I can send it to the site and collect there.

I got this via email today, which would definitely help our case with gendarmerie/polizei until we get the disc to display.

Dear,
We kindly request you to find as attachment your invoice relative to the Air Quality Certificate order concerning the registered vehicle 191D11235.
Your certificate will soon be sent by mail at the address indicated during your order.
In the wait , this invoice allows you to prove your approach and the classification of your vehicle.
Yours sincerely,
The Air Quality Certificate Service

BailMeOut

mikerd4 wrote: »

Query time, we are headed to Toulousse in the car and noticed that its covered under the clean air tag system (emergency).  As it takes up to 6 weeks to get a tag Im too late, has anyone experience of this?

never heard of this. How do you find out if the area you are going requires it?

josip

BailMeOut wrote: »

never heard of this. How do you find out if the area you are going requires it?

This page includes a map.
https://www.crit-air.fr/en.html


There's an App from a 3rd party that allows you to see what badges are allowed in an area thatday.
https://www.green-zones.eu/en/green-zones-app/info-the-green-zones-app.html

Ryath

josip wrote: »

This page includes a map.
https://www.crit-air.fr/en.html
[/url]

Don't buy it there though. It's only €3.62 on the official site.

https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/

BailMeOut

do you need it if just driving through the affected area?

wall

average_runner wrote: »

Anyone know what the queue's are like in terminal 2 on a sat morning(10am) going through security ?

We went tru security at 9:30 last Saturday and it was fine looking, I'd say it took less than 10 mins. We had paid for Fast Track in case it was busy.
On another note, I was wondering here about Bbqs last week, well, we arrived at Aloha and I bought a charcoal BBQ from the site shop, it's on a stand, has a wind brake and only cost €15. Sack of charcoal was cheap enough too. I brought a BBQ chimney starter with me which is so handy, though I saw the chimneys for sale here in Carrefour for only about €4. It's very nice here.

First Up

josip wrote: »

Very straightforward to fill out and I don't usually like forms.


https://certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/demande-ext/cgu


I only needed the VRT cert details.
I paid €4.11 by credit card.
You can specify a different delivery address to your VRT cert address.
I specified one on the other side of Europe so I should have it for the return leg.

Very useful information - thanks. However when I try to complete the form it asks for the Registration Certificate to be attached. I can't see a way to get an electronic version of the Cert and when I try to attach a photo, it says it exceeds the limit.

Any ideas anyone?

talla

First Up wrote: »

Very useful information - thanks. However when I try to complete the form it asks for the Registration Certificate to be attached. I can't see a way to get an electronic version of the Cert and when I try to attach a photo, it says it exceeds the limit.

Any ideas anyone?

Needs to be below the specified limit.
From the first page of process.
"Your registration certificate must be up-to-date, and be sent as an attachment.The attachment must be in .pdf, .png or .jpeg format and must not exceed 400kB."

I just saved the image as low quality when scanning in.

webpal

First Up wrote: »

Very useful information - thanks. However when I try to complete the form it asks for the Registration Certificate to be attached. I can't see a way to get an electronic version of the Cert and when I try to attach a photo, it says it exceeds the limit.

Any ideas anyone?

Save the image, then open using paint and reduce the size

josip

Or email it to yourself and choose a small size (MS Outlook)