# wild camping in france



## greeny (May 22, 2014)

Hi everyone,  I live in France, and am flying over next month to collect our hymer 544 1989, I'm wondering whether many have wild camped in france ? I know there are alot of Aire's but they are not all in great locations, any idea's ??


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## The Grand Wanderer (May 22, 2014)

greeny said:


> Hi everyone,  I live in France, and am flying over next month to collect our hymer 544 1989, I'm wondering whether many have wild camped in france ? I know there are alot of Aire's but they are not all in great locations, any idea's ??



In France le Camping Car is a national hobby. In my experience they are pretty laid back so stopping is not a problem. French Passion is good for some awsome places to stop.


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## yorkslass (May 22, 2014)

hi,:welcome::wave:


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## Canalsman (May 22, 2014)

greeny said:


> Hi everyone,  I live in France, and am flying over next month to collect our hymer 544 1989, I'm wondering whether many have wild camped in france ? I know there are alot of Aire's but they are not all in great locations, any idea's ??



In France it is legal to park your motorhome and sleep in it, provided there are no explicitly posted restrictions, and provided of course that you park sensibly, legally and without inconveniencing other road users ...

I have wilded in France extensively and not used many aires - it's fun and highly recommended


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## greeny (May 22, 2014)

Thanks for replies ,really looking forward to wild camping I thought I might try around la rochelle for our first outing, does any one have any tips for our first trip out??


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## Goaskalys (May 23, 2014)

Hi there, we've spent a couple of summers touring France and never had any problem finding somewhere to wild.
Enjoy your trip.


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## Deleted member 21686 (May 23, 2014)

Welcome to the forum.
Look in the European group under community at the top of the page, there's loads of info worth reading.


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## Deleted member 19733 (May 23, 2014)

Hi and welcome to the forum, have fun


:welcome::camper::have fun::cheers::drive:


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## Garcia (May 23, 2014)

You won't have a problem anywhere in France so long as you're sensible.
Park up for a a few days, get your awning and your washing out and sure enough you'll be moved on.
But a night or 2 here and there is never a problem.
Plus there's Aires everywhere. You don't need campsites.
Be careful tho....many of the small towns are "privatising" their Aires ...ie  selling 'em off to private co's ....these can be real pricey....up go the barriers and .with no real extra benefit. Might just as well go on a site.
Don't use motorway "aires"......not safe.......regularly hear of thefts and problems........
Garcia


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## marydot (May 23, 2014)

We have used Aires in many places in France and done a bit of wild camping in convenient car parks.  As long as you feel safe, and check the area out before settling down for the night, you should be fine.  

Marydot


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## greeny (May 24, 2014)

Thanks for all the welcome's and advice they are much appreciated . We don't plan to go away in the holiday season as we have a gite ( hollidaycottage) to run and as everyone says places are too busy anyway, we also have 2 dogs so prefer it to be quiet. We live near Bressuire ,france so our first trip to la rochelle is only 1hr 30min but will do for the first outing, can't wait but I'm not collecting the hymer until the 14th june so having to be patient!!


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## ronste (May 24, 2014)

Been traveling in france now for 2weeks only had to pay in a couple of aires about a tenner in total most are free . And the wine cheap !


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## barryd (May 24, 2014)

If you can get to grips with CAMPINGCAR-INFOS they have thousands of wild camping spots as well as aires.  They are usually marked with a P icon with a moon on it which means safe to overnight.

You can download them all for your sat nav for free.

I spend a lot of time in the Alps and Ski resort car parks make good wilding spots as they are empty in summer.


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