Just in case anyone was wondering why we choose to camp in Europe and not the UK, I checked out the prices at Portmerion today as someone on another site said how good it was. An "extra large" pitch ( that is 8m x 5m, about half the size of what is normally on offer in France!) was £75 a night.
Can`t wait for my next French sojourn.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
But doesn't that price include entrance to Portmerion as well? You also don't need to pay for a ferry or travel insurance so a little bit pointless trying to compare the two. Not so easy for us to go abroad now but we had many lovely holidays in Europe and high or low cost was not the driver.
Yes price includes entry, during the day and in the evening when day visitors have left and only village residents remain with the restaurants open.
Smaller pitches start at £55 so its still not cheap but with admission at £10 per head £35 is the true cost.
Worth noting dogs not allowed.
Can't see the comparison between a night or two here and travelling to France for a couple of weeks but can say Portmeirion is absolutely beautiful and well worth a visit.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
As David says price is not the key driver for many people.
We love to holiday abroad but we like the UK just as much.
Most important for us is location, availability of dates we choose and facilities. Then comes things to do nearby and then it's price.
------------- 2023
Mar : Lanzarote Spain
Jun : Corfu Greece
Sep : Aix en Provence France
Nov : Nerja
2024
Mar Cape Verde
Apr Catalunya
Jun Orkney
Sep Ceret France
Nov Cape Verde
Going to Mainland Europe for camping trips in my van with the dog will incur static expenses such as tunnel crossing, Animal Health Certificate and worm treatment.
These expenses are the same regardless of whether I stay for one week or more.
Hence I am staying longer to make the most of it from now on, 2 weeks instead of just one week.
My recent camping trip in France in the van reminded me how much I enjoyed driving in the continent, especially France, and that alone would entice me to return.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Quote: Originally posted by billy on 30/6/2023
Reading between the lines I think the point the op is really making is that France is nicer & better than the UK. Which it is. Even more so nowadays.
I was wondering if the expense and hassle of going to France was worth it when it took me nearly 6 hours to drive to the tunnel on Friday, having left early to avoid the traffic as much as possible and still got stuck on the dreaded M25, arriving at the hotel in Cité Europe shortly after 23:00 local time.
However, the tiredness and frustration melted away when I started to drive on the excellent French roads coming out of Cité Europe the next morning.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
12 hours ie 2 days for us to get to channel ports, which takes 4 days out of a trip to Europe (I prefer Germany to France, but that doesn’t matter). When we could only take 2 weeks annual leave at a time, plus all the dog faff, we made a conscious decision not to bother. Happy to get sunburned on a deserted shell sand beach on the west coast of Scotland, with turquoise water & a beautiful sunset over the islands out to sea.
What’s “nicer & better” is everyone’s own definition, thankfully there’s no one size fits all or UKCS would be very boring.
We had a long trip from Shropshire on 2 June to Folkestone. Heavy traffic We stayed at Black Horse Farm. Quick and easy check in at Dover onto quiet ferry. We stayed at La Bien Assise for a couple of nights to chill and stock up!
Roads here so much quieter and even back roads are not full of potholes!
Most sites are €19 to 20 with ACSI although we will have to pay higher rate for a few days. Back on 15th July.
We enjoy using our van in UK too but avoid school holidays!
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 30/6/2023
Adult only CLs/CSs for us in school holidays.
Definitely adult-only during school holidays in August.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Quote: Originally posted by badger54 on 29/6/2023
Just in case anyone was wondering why we choose to camp in Europe and not the UK, I checked out the prices at Portmerion today as someone on another site said how good it was. An "extra large" pitch ( that is 8m x 5m, about half the size of what is normally on offer in France!) was £75 a night.
Can`t wait for my next French sojourn.
Just had a look and realised it's a 'motorhome park' and the following prices are given:
'Small pitch (5.5m x 4m) - £55
Medium pitch (7m x 4m) - £65
Large pitch (8m x 5m) - £75
Prices per night based on 2 people. Additional fees will apply for extra persons.'
They really are parking bays rather than camping pitches, aren't they?
I entirely agree with your sentiment regarding preferring to camp in France. It's a much bigger country with very many more campsites than in the UK, which possibly explains the bigger, better pitches (usually with hedge boundaries) at a lesser cost.
In low season, the cost of crossing the channel can be offset against the savings made in pitch fees on any trip of a week or more. Then there's the food and the wine; the weather; the markets; the better roads; the diversity of different areas and the overall ambiance.
Don't get me wrong, we've visited very many lovely areas in the UK over the years, but camping there now just feels a bit overcrowded and overpriced.
I love France, but wild horses wouldn't drag me the relatively short distance (around 100 miles) from home in NW London to the Tunnel, it's the journey from hell and NOT IMHO the best way to start a holiday with all it's frustrations, delays and worries, even if exposure to dreaded M25 is minimised. Driven to that part of Kent plenty of times without heading for the Tunnel, but for other reasons, so experienced and no fan at all!
Much happier with the western Channel ferries to get to France, a leisurely cruise atmosphere, and a far simpler less stressful drive to the port. There is a balance between time and expense, and a degree of stress free comfort IMHO. Much rather put in the miles (or should that be Km!) on French roads than UK ones if heading to eastern France, and absolute no-brainer for central/western France.
I can find plenty of places in UK that are cheap enough (bit harder these days than it used to be!), and every bit as interesting and enchanting as France, AND importantly for me, I can take the dog/or don't have the aggravation and expense of foreign international dog transport bureaucracy to satisfy!
Now for me Fiona W's west coast of Scotland sounds idyllic even though it'd be a near 500 mile two day drive for me. ..... but I'm well used to regularly driving over half that distance to my beloved Lake District, so not a journey I'd dismiss out of hand.
As to adult only sites, every time if I can manage it, far too many children allowed to be inconsiderate unruly (unsupervised!) brats these days, no longer possible to enjoy children just having innocent fun and that childish laughter that is but a brief thing, more a case of constantly wondering what the malicious little thugs are up to next! - best avoided altogether!
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: Just in case you were considering
via mobile 29/6/2023 at 8:29pm
