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Going to do our first trip abroad to France end of May/June and trying to get the C&CC Carefree brochure to possibly do one of their rallies, have waited 2 weeks now.
Trying to list the things i have to do .
Just renewed our passports
Will sort out the dogs injection/paperwork
Have ACSI camping books.
Have driving reg bits apart from headlight reflectors.
I am pondering with Channel tunnel then heading West/Southerly (avoiding Paris) with my first stop after about 150mls/kms.
Queries are How do i find out whether Aires have EHU/Toilets ? as Mrs insists these are basics for any stopover.
Is the water drinkable or do we have to buy?
How do i find out which roads are TOLL roads? i prefer off motorways if possible/
Any suggestions or guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Hi,
We did our first trip abroad last year and I was asking all the very same questions!
Firstly get yourselves the All the Aires in France guide from Vicarious Books and that will give you details of what facilities are available on the Aires.
Do not overnight on a motorway aire as that is not recommended but there are plenty of good Aires to choose from and you will always find a place to stay for the night.
If the Mrs wants facilities then maybe you may need to use more campsites?
With that in mind it would be a good idea to buy the Caravan Club Book Europe Book as that lists plenty of sites.
We used Michelin maps and our Ventura sat nav and we used Toll Roads most of the time but if you have a sat nav you can usually set it to avoiding tolls if you want.
Hope that helps.
If you need any more information send me a PM and I will give you the beginners point of view!
Enjoy!
Val
Papaken,
France is a great place for motorhomers. We've only had a motorhome for 2 years but have made several trips to France, Belgium & the Netherlands. Not encountered any problems so far!
You asked some specifics:
1) Where do you find out about the facilities on aires - suggest you buy the All the Aires book from Vicarious Books - well worth it. In general I would not expect to find toilets at an aire but probably most have water/waste facilities. However, check the book for details.
2) the water is drinkable. It's up to you whether you drink water from your water tank or buy bottled.
3) As a rule all toll roads are motorways but not all motorways are toll roads! Suggest you buy yourself a French Road Atlas as the toll roads will be displayed differently to ordinary motorways.
I suggest you don't try to drive too far on your first trip. There are loads of nice places to see and stay along the Northern French coast, or inland if you prefer.
With a little bit of planning you're sure to have a great trip!
If Mrs insists on toilets and EHU you will be better off using campsites as quite a few have EHU but very few have toilets.
The trouble with most campsites is that they tend to be away from towns/villages and if you want to visit you need to take the van or use bikes or long walks.
Hi Papaken, we are hoping to do similar trip same time as you. We also use tunnel as Mary hates ferries, find it's quicker too as you miss out Calais centre. We usually avoid toll roads, they are clearly marked on France road map. I have resisted getting GPS as yet but I'm sure someone will be along soon with advice on them.
We always tend to use bottled water for drinking but a lot of aires have water. Not many have electric - at least not the few that we have used, some have toilets but we mainly use our own.
We went to the brass band festival at Amboise last year which was great fun, good social side too as several other MHF members in attendance, well worth a visit. It's the first weekend in June this year I think.
Oh yes, and they drive on the wrong side of the road over there
If you are hoping for loos at the aires you will mostly be out of luck.
When I have been into a french public loo I have got out quickly most are dirty and smell terrible.
That is why you see the french using any green space at a services for a pee, including the ladies.
As for hook up some will have them look in the book "All the aires France third edition" 17.50 plus postage
from Vicarious Books Ltd
Andy
______________________________________________________________ There are no typing, spelling, or grammatical errors in my post. What you are seeing is the evolution of the English language in action.
This post may be unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs,if you are please disregard the above post. Andy
All toll roads will be signed as 'Peage' and you will always be warned well in advance giving you a chance to get onto the next N road if you want to avoid the toll road.
France is a very motorhome friendly country - enjoy!
Agree with most of the above, the French toll roads are all signposted "Peage" and are easily avoided, even at the last moment until you get on one........
Aires rarely have loos, if that is essential look for the Municipal campsites - run by the Local Authority or delegated by them and MUCH cheaper than commercial sites. Generally well equipped and run and very plentiful - most towns have a sign to them or similar sites.
The Tourist information office in towns will have a list of campsites in that area - some can be accessed on line by putting the town name in.
Use the MHF Campsites directory on the very top line hover over Reviews and the directory will reveal itself - it has loads of good sites in which can be used as a guide. It has a mixture of commercial, aires and municipal and each can be found where you want (as reported by MHF members).
DO NOT TRY to cover too much on the first day - you are on holiday so relax and enjoy it, stop in a village you may well be surprised to find the facilities that YOU want available freely beside a canal or whatever....
Plan roughly where you want to go, but be prepared to change the plan as you suddenly find somewhere even more interesting......
If you use a GPS it will ask whether you wish to include toll roads so it is easy to opt out, toll roads do not suddenly appear - you can see a map of them in advance;
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