We've done that in the past and for some reason it seemed to take longer as we had stuff all over our pitch and things like the cool box needed to go in a certain place in the trailer....
We've actually bought a smaller tent that will fit in the car rather than taking the trailer this year so we can use overnight hotels - once I'd found one that sleeps 4!
I think it's just trying one method and then seeing if it suits you and your family
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We did a stop over at Caen last year and fortunately our 4 man tent is easy to put up and take down, the poles are already attached to the tent and they just need clicking into place, this takes approx 20mins. We put everything we would need for our night stop on top so that it's easy to get out. Thankfully my husband is very organised when it comes to camping, it's a pity he's not the same in the house!
------------- Holidays
2011 - Turkey, France (Brittany), Finland (Lapland)
2012 - France (Paris), Luxembourg, Belgium (Bruge, Ghent), Germany (Black Forest)
2013 - Scotland (Isle of Mull), Tenerife
2014 - Tenerife, Wales (Abersoch), Scotland
We moved from tenting to a campervan partly because of the faffing with all that canvas and poles etc. Its not ideal after a long drive. We'd spend an hour or more in baking sunshine putting everything together and the campervans/caravans would just turn up on site and hook up in no time. We also used the cheap chain hotels, apart from Formula 1 which we found to be pretty horrible. I do miss tenting though.
You might want to think about a pop up tent which makes things easier for an overnighter. We have a full height pop used as an awning. Very handy it is too
------------- John
May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France
For me its not about the cost or how long it takes to get pitched. I just prefer camp sites.
I find the cheap hotels a bit seedy and noisy, with doors banging and TV on at all hours. The chain restaurants attached are normally sub-standard.
On a camp site you get a decent pitch and facilities and peace and quiet. We take about an hour to get sorted out from arriving on the site, including showering/freshening up. We then find a nice local restaurant and have a good evening meal.
I also find I never worry about the camping gear being stolen when on a site, which is something I always worried about while staying in an hotel.
------------- Ollie
2016
Monplaisir - Provence
Camping Les Gorges du Loup
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Fair comment re the camping stuff going missing as I've often shot up to look out of the window when hearing something! Towards the end of our tenting years we avoided pitching up just for one night though.
Never had a problem with noise or the quality of bedding/ showers etc at Ibis/Campanile. Formula 1 is a different matter......and decent restaurants can be easier to find from the edge of town hotel.
------------- John
May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France
This is the only down side of camping in France in a tent (for me) we have tried over nighter in a pop up tent, twice, it was uncomfortable to say the least, with 3 of us squashed in! Plus it means rumaging around the boot of the car for stuff you need, not good when you have a bike rack attached!
Next time it will be an Etap hotel or something similar for us
we used a little dome tent for 4 of us near the ferry when doing the Dieppe route and actually managed to sleep! The kids were very little then though. We did not bother with cooking having a chippy tea and then breakfast on the ferry the next day. We found it ok but then our kids were decent sleepers! Dont think we even blew up bdes, just slept on a couple of mats!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Stopping in Lille on the way to Holland in August. Little one is only 12 wks old now, so much easier to do that than trying to find somewhere to camp overnight. Plus an ace restaurant we found on a citybreak a few years ago, so over-priced hotel food as well.
------------- 2019: Hurn Lane CAMC, Cirencester Park CAMC & Lytton Lawn
We regularly do overnight stops when we are in France for the month. We used to take 2 small cheap tents but bought a small 4 man tent when we got to one site and I would have had to pay double for them - we pitched the 12 man instead...
We have a small tent which always goes towards the top of the pile. We also take a suitcase stove. The bedding is all in the roof box and the night before we use the small tent we pack 1 night's worth of clothes into a bag so that we don't have to get all the clothes out.
I would rather camp than use a hotel for anything other than the last night. Then we stay in a hotel so that we can have a good sleep, wash and actually stay clean for the trip home. I can cope with dirty nails on every other day!
------------- pork
Remember a good wife always helps her husband with the dishes.
Ever since the night in Falaise when our son decided he was too old to spend the night in the same dome tent as us (or that we were too old and smelly) we have taken 2 tiny tents for the overnight stop.
Even when we stayed in the Etap hotel we'd end up taking the bikes off and rootling around for toilet bags etc. We find it's easier to do that on a campsite. But we're the most disorganised people on the planet
My month's holiday in Europe is a CAMPING holiday. I love camping, I love erecting our old canvas tent. It's a frame tent and takes about 15 minutes to erect, blow up our beds and set the table and chairs out ready for a cuppa. We tour and rarely spend more than 2 or 3 nights at one campsite, sometimes only 1. Admittedly it is only the two of us.
One of the greatest pleasures of our holiday is picking our pitch; that is usually the thing that takes the greatest time; and then making our little home from home. We are a couple of old kids, and long may it last!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by Portia Hussey on 30/4/2012
We regularly do overnight stops when we are in France for the month. We used to take 2 small cheap tents but bought a small 4 man tent when we got to one site and I would have had to pay double for them - we pitched the 12 man instead...
I always wonder about this pricing logic. If I pitched 2 small domes then covered them both with a huge Outwell would the site owner charge me for 2 tents or 1 ? Or 3 ?
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Overnight stops with tent.
