We've had the campervan packed & ready for a holiday in the UK but the weather still puts us off. We're due to go to France (Vendee) in September and as the sun seems to be shining once you get south of the Loire we're thinking of going NOW.
We don't want the heat of the Med - so the Atlantic coast looks favourite. If we travel down on spec until we hit the good weather are we going to find sites at this busy time ? Any advice on finding available sites please as we've not been into France for years. We were due to in June but had to postpone. I've started looking for sites with on line booking to check availability. We don't want to book and are quite happy to be inland but within reach of the coast.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
The French start their holidays this weekend - in fact Friday and Saturday this week are due to be the busiest ever. The last two weeks in August calm down considerably when the French return to work. Perhaps give a couple of your favoured sites a call to see what availability is like?
We are off the the Loire tomorrow - yippeeeee!
------------- Claire x
Jan 2013 - Skiing, Kühtai, Austria
May - Swiss Farm
Fforest Ffields
Aug - Saumur, France
Oct - Somewhere...
Jan '14 - Skiing, Les Houches
It depends very much on the type of campsites you are looking for.
If you want all singing and dancing at the beach it may become difficult, but if you limit your demands to 2 or 3 star campsites, you should be OK. I usually go for municipal campsites. These days also 3 star sites still often will have a small swimming pool.
I always bring the Michelin camping guide with me. Never booked in advance for 30 years. Only 3 sites fully booked and another one available within 15 minutes driving.
We usually stay on a site up to 4 or 5 days. Longer periods may be more difficult due to reservations, but a few days is nearly always possible.
Also arriving on site in time helps a lot. Try to arrive at 16.00 and in any case noit later than 17.00. Later may be possible, but many French have a tendence to arrive on site rather late. So timely arrival usually will secure you a pitch.
When in doubt about your arrival time, just use the telphone number of the site you intend to go and reserve the pitch for that day, of course telling them your estimated time of arrival. This usually works and is normally not considered as pre booking, hence free of booking charges. I used to do this for a specific site in St Nectaire in Auvergne, when I expected to arrive at 19.00/19.30 or so due to traffic circumstances. And yes, this is much easier if you speak a few words French. (Avez vous une emplacement pour ce soir, tente/caravane/x personnes...).
Still bring your waterproofs! We're in the Rhone Alpes Provence area and for the last few weeks we're had really mixed weather - lots of sunshine but also some impressive thunderstorms.
Weather here in the Loire at the 'mo is gorgeous. Many people have been telling us of the awful weather back in the UK when they've arrived. Even a bad day in France has to be better than what you poor people back in Blighty are suffering right now?
Hi Floydfan is the good weather in the Loire expected to last? Trying to get ready for our trip and difficult to know what to pack as the weather is not so good here and we had very indifferent weather in the Vendee last year.
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: Warmer weather in France ?
