Where I am now the pitches are not very big, in that I cannot open my windout awning fully and peg down the storm guys withint the pitch's boundary.
I parked up facing the drive with the cargo door on the driver's side on the left (she is an UK right hand drive).
This means my pitch neighbours to my immediate left will have their van's opening and outdoor space right next to mine.
Should I have parked with the front going into the pitch so that the cargo door and outdoor space is on the other side?
With hindsight, I believe I should have done that.
The owner of the van on my right hand side when he arrived said I parked the wrong way round, then he realised I am from UK and not EU.
Thanks for your advice in advance.
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$$ on it and walk away!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Not sure where you are, and certainly, some campsites do get you to park in a particular way, and I suppose there might be unwritten rules. However, we've seen all sorts of orientations in France. Folk with caravans and motor movers are particularly good at getting the best out of a pitch.
We would have parked the other way round, but then it depends on the folk on the other side too.
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 19/6/2026
Not sure where you are, and certainly, some campsites do get you to park in a particular way, and I suppose there might be unwritten rules. However, we've seen all sorts of orientations in France. Folk with caravans and motor movers are particularly good at getting the best out of a pitch.
We would have parked the other way round, but then it depends on the folk on the other side too.
I shall bear that in mind in future, to observe how the pitch neighbours have packed before driving or reverse into the pitch.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
However, having read another of your recent posts and predicting which campsite you might be on, their pitches are particularly long and narrow (or they were..) and the staff were very particular about how you pitched.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 19/6/2026
However, having read another of your recent posts and predicting which campsite you might be on, their pitches are particularly long and narrow (or they were..) and the staff were very particular about how you pitched.
Can't remember that one, sorry!
The site I am on now probably has the narrowest pitches of the few EU ones that I have stayed to date.
Some of the pitches are glorified parking spaces - I shall try and get a pic of the vans that have parked there.
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$$ on it and walk away!
Not happy to find my awning pegs being damaged, one was bent and pulled out of the ground, the other bent yet remained in the ground.
Both are within my pitch's boundary.
I suspect foul play by the new unit (German) that rocked up late at night and did not like my set up.
I managed to straighten them to an usable extent and peg them back in.
I shall sit outside when they come back and give them the evil death stare!
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Whilst I've camped a lot in France for some 30 years or so, it's mostly been on 'pop-up' sites associated with a motor race. The standard pitch is 7x5m and not measured properly, but paced out by a French dwarf! - that meant it was never anywhere near 7x5! Our solution was to get our English giant (a pal called Jim) who at 6'5" and doing something like a John Cleese 'silly walk' would demonstrate to said French Dwarf that our pitch was undersize! We'd end up with a 'generous' 7x5m (more like 8x6!!!!) pitch! It was important that we weren't fiddled out of our paid for pitch space as you had to get car and tent within that space, without any alternative car parking option, or possibility of 'pitch sprawl'!
My experiences of commercial sites is they are a little meagre on pitch size, and often bounded by hedges, so you can't sprawl outside your pitch. Last one we had we only just about got our 6 berth tunnel tent on it with guys pretty much in the hedges! The car barely had two wheels off the road, as there was no way we could get that fully on the pitch, no one commented or complained to us. Friends in a modest MH pitched across the access road from us had the van side against one hedge, and the pull out awning poles pretty much in the opposite hedge! - and it took them a bit of shunting to get the MH onto the pitch as not a lot of manoeuvring space.
Not any option on orientation other than nose or tail in, but with a tall hedge between pitches, the issue of 'facing doors' with the neighbours didn't really occur.
A few of the sites I've considered when contemplating taking the caravan to France, have had plenty of reviews reporting about the struggles of getting even modest 4 berth caravans onto pitches, both the limited manoeuvring space, and having A frames protruding beyond pitch boundaries! Between experience and given impressions, I see French pitches as not being overly large! Never had that issue in UK, partly perhaps because most UK sites seem to ask your unit size, and guide you to only appropriate pitches.
Fire breaks! What are fire breaks! - they have seemingly not crossed the channel, at least on the pitches I've used, or contemplated!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Just got back from 4 sites on La Loire, and one "Up North".
Luckily for us, we managed to pitch across the width of the pitch at each site, so side door/awning faces the pitch frontage.
This is our preferred option, if at all possible. (Only a SWB Transporter at 4.9m, but with bikes on the tow bar, on a tilting carrier, which must add another 1.5m when tilted?
So probably need about 8m minimum width (guessing!?) to be able to manoeuvre in/out and be able to tilt the bikes plus still walk around at front and rear of van.
I hasten to add, not one of the sites gave any hint as to how/where to pitch, other than the obvious etiquette of staying within the pitch boundaries. Once pitched, I don't recall any neighbouring unit being any closer than 5m to ours.
(We once had an 8m+ moho do similar on a neighbouring pitch, which came within a foot of our karsten when manoeuvring in (! ) but all was good once they were squared up and settled... and we did have 3 look outs using international hand signals whilst he did it!
No excuse for your neighbours damaging your pegs!
On a separate note, we've now done our very first evening tunnel crossing + Supermarket car park stopover, arriving at Coquellles around 22:00 and pootling 20 mins down the road to park up. About 3 other vans there, plus 7 or 8 mohos, so felt very safe, and all went perfectly well. Very (VERY!) quiet at Folkestone, and sailed straight through (It was a Wednesday night though), so defo intend to do that again. No more peak time crossings (and associated queues) for us!
No further issue with the territorial neighbour who only stayed for another night!
Going back to the French site where I stayed overnight on the way down and their pitches are massive!
I shall definitely be more mindful on how to pitch in EU sites going forward.
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!
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: How to park at EU campsites
via mobile 20/6/2026 at 11:44am
) but all was good once they were squared up and settled... and we did have 3 look outs using international hand signals whilst he did it! 
