A Few Tips For Your First French Trip

champstar said:
Im just about to get the tunnel for France for a couple of months..maybe head back to Germany then.
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Good to see you both in Neiulle on Thursday - well done for spotting the Wildcamping sticker.

I went through a load of snow as I hit Normandy, but luckily it didn't come to much.

I hope you have a great trip. :D
 
Great post Sky very informative - I am starting to wild camp over there this summer
 
We have been in France for 6 days now and its still blooming cold, snowing.today at Chartres.
Using sites because of the.ehu.. Our gas won't last long otherwise as we only have 2 x6kg bottl to last us got a Three month tour through France.
I can't worry to much about commas and stuff like that as I am using a smartphone and the text jumps around on my phone.
Excellent past very informative, still haven't found cheap data to use on phone though.

Haven't had much luck with WI fi yet on sites either.
 
Fantastic post. Thank you so much for all the advice. We are taking early retirement & are off to France in May for several months and it has been a great help.
We plan to wild camp & use aires and the odd camp site for a bit of luxury from time to time. We are also including some house/pet sitting jobs through trusted house sitters. It is all new to us so it will be an adventure that we are both really looking forward to.:dance:
 
Well have lots of fun over there. I'm glad you found my comments useful. :D

I'm back in England now and I must say I don't like it very much - it's too cold and we're back to that 'oy yer p***y; you can't park 'ere' attitude from people. :cry:

I didn't find many Aires that had WiFi at them. I think it was a total of about three, maybe four. You'll have to search out cafes, restaurants etc. and just park up close to them or take your computer in with you. It was the addition of the external antenna that opened up a whole new world for me. In fact, it's already proved it's worth here in the UK.
 
silverweed said:
Which external antenna did you use
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I got this one from Solwise. They do a slightly more expensive one here that should be just as good and will eliminate the need to plug in a cable, but I have no experience of it; I just didn't see it before I bought the cheaper one. If I'd seen it first I probably would have gone for that one.
 
Sky said:
I got this one from Solwise. They do a slightly more expensive one here that should be just as good and will eliminate the need to plug in a cable, but I have no experience of it; I just didn't see it before I bought the cheaper one. If I'd seen it first I probably would have gone for that one.
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I'll second that first recommendation. I've just bought one for my trip to France next week and the available wifi outside my house jumps from 4 to 18. that includes several BT WiFi ones that you can use if you have an account. I'm just hoping there'll be some BT partner wifi providers during my French wanderings.
 
Sky said:
Good to see you both in Neiulle on Thursday - well done for spotting the Wildcamping sticker.

I went through a load of snow as I hit Normandy, but luckily it didn't come to much.

I hope you have a great trip. :D
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Was nice to meet you also....the weather has been very good for the last week or so.
Now at Mortagne sur Gironde a lovely aire and free wifi as well as electric and services for 7:5 euro...very busy at the moment.
 
Just Brilliant!

Thanks for your brilliant post, Sky, - I've copied it onto my laptop for future reference if we ever get to France. We were supposed to be going on 26th April, but Derek's licence hasn't arrived yet (he was 70 on 28th march, and I started the renewal as soon as we could!!) and now he has a problem with his foot. As he is diabetic, we have to get that sorted properly before we can think about going, so we are crossing everything in the hope we will have good news on Monday.

Posts like yours make this site worth looking at; really helpful, and no bad feeling between the participants!



KP x x x
 
Glad to be of assistance - I'm pleased you found it useful. :D

Have a great trip.
 
:confused: I feel a bit daft asking this question, but the MiFi thingy, do you take it down or leave it attached to your motorhome when you move on? Can't seem to find an answer on any website I've come across.

Many thanks for your original post Skye - I'm wanting to travel to France, but being on my own have been a little wary. Armed with your knowledge I think I will be going sooner rather than later!
 
It comes with both sticky sucker cups and self-tapping screws, so the choice is yours.

I opted to use the suckers and bring the cable in through the window - this works well, but when I get my next van (this one's up for sale) I'll fit one in place permanently.
 
very helpful thanks

Thank you for a brilliant post, as a NEWBIE I was reluctant to travel abroad but your info has encouraged me to plan a trip over the channel & enjoy their better weather.

Ian
 
Xracer said:
Thank you for a brilliant post, as a NEWBIE I was reluctant to travel abroad but your info has encouraged me to plan a trip over the channel & enjoy their better weather.

Ian
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better weather ??? where , over the channel , are you talking about
I live in southern france , it was 4C when I woke up this morning , and has been raining steadily for a week ...forecast is some sun next week ...maybe

but don't let the weather put you off , france is heaven for motorhomers


CAMPINGCAR-INFOS

this contains just about every aire in europe , the books that they sell just copy some of their listings !
 
champstar said:
Was nice to meet you also....the weather has been very good for the last week or so.
Now at Mortagne sur Gironde a lovely aire and free wifi as well as electric and services for 7:5 euro...very busy at the moment.
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how is the wifi and electric free when you are paying €7.50 ???
 
Thank you Sky for a very informative post. Seems to cover all the practical bits someone like me needs for my first major expedition in August. I have a ticket from Dover to Calais on 6th Aug (£70) and then will head north to Dusseldorf and Amsterdam to visit friends.

Last year I used to walk down the river bank at Dusseldorf to get to work and used to pass a long row of MH's occupied by very contented looking Germans with a beer in their hands. Due to my rapid education on matters MH, I now know this was a Stellplatz(ish) and in August I intend to join the long line of Hymers with The Beast who now sports a Union Jack badge on the front!

After Amsterdam I shall wander is a leisurely fashion down through France to northern Spain and on down to Portugal. Apart from my ticket on the 6th Aug, I have no fixed dates or plans and will take life as it comes. I have no idea when I will return!!

The Beast has 2 x 11kg Gaslow bottles with central fill, 2 x solar panels, 2 x 110amp leisure batteries, 12v sat TV, 400 movies on a USB3 portable HDD (plus a backup!!) Cadac BBQ + wok ring.

I use a Navman sat nav and will investigate the availability of trucker software. As a "solo" I am wary of relying too much on satnav, but unless Claudia Schiffer has a sudden desire to live in my Hymer, I might have to settle for a Tom Tom. The Beast is a Merc diesel LHD auto and in very good condition. It will have a trip to the Merc main dealer for a full service before I go.

After that, its all down to luck!
 
Really informative post and will be putting all the tips gleaned from it to good use next week on our trip to France. Have already purchased the Solwise wifi usb that you recommended so many thanks for that tip too.
 
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