Hi all.
I have often advocated staying over night on the French services (Aires) as they are well equipped and free. I only ever stop overnight at the busier Aires, e.g. the ones with petrol stations and shops.
However this year when travelling back from the South East of France, along the A7, we stopped to overnight at a very busy, all singing and dancing Aire and were met by the gendarmes who are patrolling said Aires. They told us that there were issues with robberies in the area so we moved on.
We stopped approx 20 miles further up the A7 only to be met by different police officers who informed the same problem is across the whole A7 and we were advised to not stop on the A7 at all. Passports, phones, money and credit cards are regularly being stolen. The gendarmes told us that the 'Bad people' are experts at breaking and entering and that quite often people do not realise that they have been victims of theft until the criminals have been and gone. (Difficult to take in I know, but non the less, it is food for thought).
I just thought I'd share this as I always extoll the virtues of staying on the services. It has made me change my mind, and from now on I will book sites across the journey.
I stopped just outside Calais on Saturday night in an Aire(I couldn't book a site as they were all full). I woke up at around 2 am, the road was quiet, it made me realise just how vulnerable we were.
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Quote: Originally posted by The hog on 10/8/2022
I thought it was common knowledge, certainly common sense. I wouldn’t dream of overnighting in a service station.
It was for advice to others....
Not smart replies...
But what ever makes you feel superior!
What is the difference between a carpark and a service station?
But they can’t steal passports, phones, money or credit cards if they are in the locker under the bed and you are sleeping on top of them. Put them away.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We don't stop overnight in aires for that reason, plus possible noise of trucks coming and going. In fact we don't leave our van unattended in service areas.one of us stays with it.
We have fitted a safe under one of the bed boxes, it has a steel plate underneath the floor and coachbolts through so the nuts are inside.
Not much to buy from a DIY store.
House keys and docs etc go in it.
You can only do,your best to be safe.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Main issue I have with stopping on motorway services is noise & possibility of getting your rig whacked by a truck but certainly security issues as mentioned have been highlighted for years. Just wrong place wrong time if you do get trouble though. I would guess thieves mostly target empty motorhomes & caravans after watching owners go into cafe for meal. Chances of getting broke into while sleeping are minimal I guess.
My plan if free overnight stop is required is supermarket car park in small town. Don’t park anywhere near loading bay though as there can be night deliveries.
We used to stop at aires quite a bit when driving thru France, never had a problem. Use BF direct to Spain now. Sites aren’t that much more secure than aires really…. I remember as a teenager in 1986 on a 5 star site in soulac sur mer the German family next to us woke up to find 2 men in their caravan robbing them whilst they slept.
I would quite happily use aires transiting France, and still do occasionally in Spain, just make sure to park near facilities building or under cctv surveillance.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Rich73 - I for one appreciate it. At least with the information provided, people can then make their own decisions.
Aires de camping cars are fine, obviously not allowed for caravans though.
Some look quite good others just a car park for camper vans.
Useful, if we change to a motorhome we might use them for night stops but not a full holiday.
It was good that the police were warning people of the risk.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by bofs on 10/8/2022
Thank you for sharing your experience, Rich73 - I for one appreciate it. At least with the information provided, people can then make their own decisions.
Quote: Originally posted by Dot P on 10/8/2022
Have never stayed in the Aire services but having this info would make sure I don't in the future either.
Thanks for the heads up, first hand experience is always worth noting for me.
Tbf Rich. There have always been thefts from Services. In my truck driving days I would never leave truck unattended. With a truck you often have little other choice of where to stop though. If you have always been ok with stopping at services then carry on I would just don’t leave rig unattended. I’m sure you never have anyway.
Thank you for posting the advice about the current situation on the A7.
TBH, I don’t see a lot of difference in sleeping on a motorway aire, a supermarket car park, or a motorhome aire. Anyone determined to rob travellers can easily access them all. If the service areas provide poor pickings for thieves, as the police warn people from staying, thieves are not going to give up, they will just go for the other areas people park up that they can access. That’s why we like to use campsites.
It is also common knowledge that Formula 1 and similar budget hotelss within a short distance from ferry ports are targetted by 'bad people'. Cars full of campihg gear etc are great 'swag' for some people.
You are better to stay somewhere with secure parking.
This is for people who meed to stop over after a long drive to the port prior to boarding the following
------------- CAT
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Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
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Topic: Overnight stops on the French aires
via mobile 10/8/2022 at 12:33pm
