France is probably the most motorhome friendly place in europe. Most small towns will have a motorhome service point, where for a very small fee, you can fill up with fresh water, drain off your grey water, empty your loo, hook up to the mains and stop for the night. We actually stayed on one of these service areas in the Dordogne for 4 nights and it never cost us a penny. Again most small towns will have a camping municipal if you prefer a campsite, these are usually kept spotless and are quite cheap. We have toured most of France and for the beginner you cant fault it. For our last 3 holidays we had a little change in that we ventured to Croatia, taking in France, Germany, Austria, Italy Slovenia, and Holland, but next year we're off back to France. We cannot comment on recovery, although we once had to call the breakdown services back home to send a mechanic to sort out the immobilisor on our old Kontiki. This was done very quickly at no cost to ourselves. Tolls, we try not to use the toll roads unless we want to cover a great distance quickly, but hey! we're on holiday in a motorhome we want to see the country side not "fly" though it. I think that you'll enjoy France, we certainly have and we've been 10 or 11 times now.
The docs you need to take are: passport, registration docs (original), insurance docs, mot, breakdown cover, tickets and a camping carnet. I cant think of anything else from a legal point of view, hope this short list helps
Don't forget a breakdown triangle or two, a fluorescent jacket for each member of the crew, a set of spare lamps for the van and a spare pair of glasses for the drivers if you wear them, plus any medication and a form E111 duly stamped from the Post Office (currently being altered). These are all fast becoming a legal necessity in the Barmy EU. although I must admit some of these items are a good idea. Watch your speed & your vehicle weights, especially MAM. Weigh your van, empty & full and read your VIN plates etc. you may be in for shock or two, be very careful it is easy to be illegally overloaded and I would hate to see bottles of wine discarded by the wayside so that you can be allowed to drive home. With a coachbuilt van height and width restrictions mean what they say especially in the mountains and it can mean a lot of reversing practice on narrow ledges or an instantly modified van if they are ignored.
Michelin still produce the best maps, the wriggly roads that they edge in green are a super way to view the magnificent countryside. Use Autoroute on your laptop, or a cheap sat/nav on a PDA. France is a Motorhomers Paradise, the municiple sites are brilliant and very cheap by our standards, the Aires are a fantastic idea that we should emulate here (louts permitting, For these idiots I recommend Capital punishment not ASBO's). On the road watch for the Gendarmes they have been known to bend the rules and "on the spot fines" can be a very profitable little Hobby for them and spoil the trip for you. Keep some euro's for the Autoroute tolls or use your credit card. I prefer the free & good "N" roads using the free sections of motorway to bypass the very few towns I don't want to visit.
With regard to campsites download a list of both UK & French sites from John Harrisons www.jollyinteresting.co.uk . ITS FANTASTIC put it on your laptop & take it with you. For info. read MMM. Magazine each month and you will soon be an expert.
Be prepared for the time of your life.
Bill, an Ancient Mariner (land lubber division) since the mid fifties.
a usefull web site is www.campingcheque.com for cheap ferry tickets . we used them last year to get to cherbourg from portsmouth and have already booked up for this years trip via le harve. you have to purchase a minimum number of camping cheques with the ferry ticket, but even so this years return cost well under £350 including 10 camping cheques and thats for a van up to 7 mtrs long going for the month of august.
we tend to stay behind the sand dune when over there,my sport being kitesurfing ,last years total expense for overnight parking charges were 3 euros .
we can use the camping cheques here as there are a few english sites that take them on the south coast, so we end up with 10 days of free overnight parking with electric hook up to use during the rest of the year here.
just wish we had discovered france years ago; the west coast is just the best. have fun.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Touring in France
