What It is Like Motorhome Tenting in France

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France is called one of the crucial camper-friendly nations in Europe. However what’s it like RVing in France?

This weblog will share a number of the prime stuff you’ll have to know earlier than you hop in your motorhome.

Watch this video for the complete scoop ⤵️

Driving

French roads will be slim, particularly in smaller villages, to the purpose the place it’s possible you’ll end up pondering, “Is that this actually a two-way street?” The reply might be sure and as you noticed within the video, it could get disturbing quick!

However for probably the most half, driving customs in France are just like anyplace in America. You’ll see velocity restrict indicators (in kilometers), you’ll cross slower site visitors on the best, and also you’ll keep inside the traces of your lane whereas driving. You wouldn’t suppose I would want so as to add that final one, however if you happen to cross into Italy, you’ll instantly discover that the traces on the street imply nothing to Italians. They drive the place they please! You’ll discover vehicles half parked within the lane, half parked on the sidewalk throughout France, however they do at the very least keep of their lane whereas driving.

Associated: Planning an RV Journey in Italy

Toll Roads

Most main roads throughout France are toll roads (consider interstates or highways in America—they’re all toll roads in France).

Usually, you’ll seize a toll ticket whenever you enter the street and can hold onto it till you exit or till you come throughout a toll plaza. You’ll be able to simply pay with bank card—typically utilizing faucet to pay—and in case your French is rusty, press the British flag icon to change the toll machine to English. Extra hardly ever, you’ll come to a toll sales space with a set payment and an individual within the sales space. For instance, the tunnel within the Alps that connects France to Italy is manned and has a flat payment of round $60.

Sure, French tolls are extraordinarily costly!

That was our largest toll ticket, however on days the place we spent a few hours on toll roads, we often paid $20-$35 in charges. We opted for toll roads once we wanted to cowl a number of hundred miles or when the non-toll-road choice provided by Google Maps appeared a little bit too lengthy.

The toll roads will supply many relaxation stops, referred to as aires, the place you may refuel, seize meals, have a picnic, and even let youngsters play on the playground. (In the event you’re searching for a style of residence, you’ll typically see McDonald’s and Starbucks at aires.)

Highway Indicators and Indicators

Usually, street indicators in France are symbols that may be universally understood, versus worded indicators.

For instance, a Do Not Enter Signal within the US will say Do Not Enter with a purple circle with a white line throughout the center. In France, it’s going to simply be a purple circle with a white line throughout the center.

Not all indicators are the identical as their US counterparts, however they’re pretty self-explanatory. An important indicators to search for when RVing can be width, top, and weight restriction indicators. These white and purple round indicators can have black triangles on the prime and backside for top or on the edges for width and say “2,3 m” to let you recognize of an upcoming restriction. A weight restriction signal will probably say 3,5t. (Test your RV weight earlier than you hire, however you need to be protected with this restriction! 3,5t was the load restrict we noticed most frequently.)

And sure, the place we use durations for decimals within the States, they use commas!

Visitors lights in France are similar to the US with inexperienced, yellow, and purple lights. Lights are vertical, with inexperienced on the underside and purple on the prime. Not like different neighboring nations, you received’t see any flashing inexperienced or yellow lights. (Except you’re in a building zone—they do arrange yellow flashing lights.)

Mild posts are sometimes posted on the identical aspect of the road as you might be, which might make seeing the sunshine inconceivable if you happen to pull up too far at an intersection. We needed to again up a number of instances to see the publish. Nevertheless, you received’t see purple lights fairly often in your travels. Most intersections throughout the nation are roundabouts, making driving throughout the nation that a lot simpler.

Associated: 16 Variations Between RVing in America and RVing Overseas

Tenting Choices

France is understood for being one of the crucial camping-friendly nations on this planet and it lives as much as its repute. Throughout our month of adventures, we by no means struggled to discover a place to camp in a single day. (Conversely, once we crossed over to Italy for a number of days, it was a lot tougher to search out an open campsite!)

There are a number of methods to camp in a single day in France and through our first few days on the street (seen within the video above) we tried a number of.

France Ardour

Greater than the rest, we used France Ardour to search out free campsites throughout France. France Ardour is a membership (about $35) that permits you to camp totally free at wineries and farms throughout France. (France Ardour was the inspiration behind Harvest Hosts, the place you may camp totally free on wineries in North America.) And it was extremely simple to search out stunning locations to spend the night time! In actual fact, after driving throughout the nation, I’m fairly certain 99% of the French countryside is vineyards. Miles and miles of gorgeous vines.

(We have now an upcoming video displaying off extra of what tenting at France Ardour websites is like, however you may also see our very first one on this video!)

Associated: Why You Ought to (and The right way to!) Camp on Wineries and Farms

Dwelling Camper

Dwelling Camper is the place you may keep in your motorhome at folks’s properties/on their property—similar to a HipCamp or Boondockers Welcome. You’ll want a self-contained RV (AKA your individual toilet) and also you’ll in all probability need to know a little bit French, because you’ll be conversing with locals.

We used Dwelling Camper on our second night time within the RV to remain within the yard of a champagne home in Epernay. (Pictured above) This web site provided electrical energy, bogs, showers, and playgrounds, however facilities differ by web site.

Wild Tenting

Boondocking is sometimes called wild tenting or freedom tenting overseas. In France, we used the Park4Night app to search out boondocking spots throughout the nation. Within the video, we camped in a forest totally free and began our day mountaineering one of many many trails that began from our free in a single day spot. Even higher, it was quarter-hour away from a fort and a brief drive to a close-by village for morning pastries and low.

Associated: 31 RVing Phrases You Ought to Know

Campgrounds

The very first thing that involves thoughts when RVing in France is perhaps staying in conventional campgrounds. Much like an RV park or campground within the States, right here you’ll discover electrical energy, water, and sewer hookups in addition to facilities like a bathhouse, playground, and laundry. RVing with a child and a toddler, we spent much more nights than we thought we’d in campgrounds doing laundry whereas the youngsters performed.

We have been stunned at how kid-friendly many campgrounds have been. At one particularly, there was a big out of doors tent full of toys for youths. Blocks, dolls, a kitchen, bikes, a trampoline—Europe actually is extremely kid-friendly!

Campsites in campgrounds diversified. We stayed at one with stage, poured concrete websites (above). At one other, we had an unlevel grassy space with towering bushes on both aspect. One other, a grassy space with vines separating websites. Really, plenty of campgrounds used grapevines to separate websites! I informed you, 99% of the nation is rising grapes for wine.

Usually, your campsite may be very easy in comparison with States, so don’t count on an excessive amount of. However what the websites lack in niceness, the campground makes up for with recent baked items. Oh sure, you may scent the croissants and pan au chocolat out of your campsite. Heath swears the perfect pastries of the month have been at a small campground in Lourdes, France simply exterior Pyrenees Nationwide Park. We stayed there for 3 nights for “the proximity to the nationwide park” however Heath isn’t fooling anybody. It was the croissants.

Aires

And lastly, aires. Sure, these relaxation stops that I discussed discovering off the toll roads? Lots of them supply in a single day tenting. We didn’t truly keep in a single day at any aires throughout our journey, however we spent many afternoons dumping tanks, letting the youngsters play, and grabbing meals. Which brings me to 1 different key a part of RVing in France…

RV Companies

Within the States, tenting totally free creates a number of issues. The place are you going to refill your water? The place are you going to dump your black and gray tanks? The place are you going to throw out your rubbish?!

For a lot of campers, the reply is to seize a campground for an evening and deal with the RV.

However in France, no want. You’ll find potable water, RV service stations, and plentiful public trash cans in most cities. Heck, you’ll find sorted recycling bins in nearly each city too! France lives as much as the hype and it was shockingly simple to search out the providers we’d like for the RV.

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That is additionally the place aires actually develop into essential. They’re the perfect, best place to service your tanks, refuel (on gasoline, diesel, and propane), and even take out the trash when you’re driving down the freeway.

RV Tenting in France

Have you ever heard about tenting in France earlier than? It’s rising in reputation for worldwide vacationers like us and it blew us away!

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