Advice camping in France.

Hi All (once again),

I'm about to take my first trip, in my VW Topaz, to France. I figured that travelling with a full water tank wasn't a good idea. I wondered what fittings and hose I need to take with me in order to fill up. In fact any advice would be welcome.

Thank you in anticipation,

Clive

There are different fittings,old and new, depending on which part of France you are in and what facilities are available. 
I take a 3 metre hose pipe onto which is fitted an adaptable fitting that you can just slip on a tap and then tighten up the wing nut. These are available in Wilkinsons(wilco) very cheaply @£3.00.

This sort of thing on ebay 

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In addition I have a plastic jerry can. I have found sometimes it's easier to just do it manually.

This sort of thing on ebay:

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An essential resource for touring France is   :       All the Aires France [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is full of places you can stop and fill up and discharge waste water. 

Hope this helps and please ask if there's anything else you need help wiith.

Bon voyage

Ian

Wow, thanks Ian. Im sure i'll have more questions. 
We are heading for Brittany first, do you have any advice on ferries. Ive been checking online and going through the Caravan Club seems to be cheapest.

Clive.

Hi Clive,

I have travelled from Brittany but because  I prefer a slow drive through France and sometimes only a distance of a few miles I prefer the route from Dover to Calais. With the motorhome it's quite reasonable (less than £50) in September. There are Aires in Calais so you can rest overnight before starting your journey proper. I would also recommend the full breakfast on the ferry!!!!

I read recently that fuel is more expensive now in France so it might be worth checking and filling up before you go. In anycase try and avoid filling up in roadside garages as in the UK you'll find supermarkets are often much cheaper.

Cheers Ian

Thanks for that info Ian. You've been very helpful.

Regards,
Clive.

Diesel is cheaper in France. In the hypermarkets we usually got it at about €1.30 just a few weeks ago.

As per Ian I have many fittings for taps but 49 times out of 50 I find it easiest to use my dedicated fresh water watering can.  I would leave a little water in the tank so you don't have to bleed the system at each stop.

I prefer the convenience of the tunnel and find the Caravan Club cheapest.  Prices vary considerable during the day and from day to day so its worth going on line and trying options before booking.

I prefer Aires for 1 or 2 night stops but tend to look for a site if staying for a longer period.  I can't recommend Aires enough but the style and facilities are many and varied.  I suggest you have a back up plan for a conventional site the first few times you uses Aires just in case you find one you are not comfortable with or can't work out which are the fill and emptying points.

Enjoy your trip.

Peter

We returned yesterday from 3 weeks in France in our Topaz; siting of water taps can often be somewhat bizarre and would require more hose than I care to carry; we used a 5 litre collapsible container for top-ups and did most of our washing-up at the site facilities.
To be frank, there is not room in a Topaz for carrying a watering-can, unless it is one of those miniature indoor ones for pot-plants. 

Incidentally, in the July issue of MMM, Andy Stothert recommends using the Municipal campsite on Calais docks... don't bother, it has been closed for some time. 

Cheers,
Pete.

Over the past 24 years we have personally found that it is far cheaper to book direct with ferry companies rather than using offers from Caravan Club/Camping Cheques/ACSI etc.

The so called special members prices they quote have invariably been more expensive than the direct on line booking with ferry companies.
We have found this to be so on cross channel from Dover/Portsmouth/Folkstone/Ramsgate

Same has also applied to the so called cheap ferry sites on the web.

When booking direct, through ferry company web sites, always have a good play around in regard to departure times both ways that you are willing to accept. You will be surprised at the difference a few hours makes.

Hi cas
We've just got back from a fantastic couple of weeks in and around Brittany, we mixed sites and aires, the aires was a new experience for us and I thouroughly recomend them, in Bayeux we stopped right in the middle of town just near the tapestry for free, topped up with water using a watering can but I can understand if you haven't got room for one, the site fees vary widely, one site we did find was only 9 Euros a night it was right next to a reservoir in the middle of a national park, an absolute gem if you don't mind being a bit remote, no bars or restuarants within 3 K's, but then again with beer at £5 a pint we gave them a wide birth anyway and bought cheep from the supermarkets, anyway good luck and enjoy it, the people in brittany seem much friendlier than the rest of France to top it all.