In France & sooo easy to wldcmp

[Steeveboy]

Hi all.
I came over bout a month ago nervous and on a budget. well here I am on my first paid up campsite near Vannes in Bretagne since I got here. Washing finally catches up with you so thought I would give myself bit of R and R.
The point I want to make though is how easy my HTC sensation + Co pilot Sat nav + google maps has made wild camping. Set a dawdling route on the sat nav and when you've had enough of driving through the gorgeous rural French countryside you just stop, either head for a local Aire if your short of water or need to empty toilet etc. Otherwise fire up google maps on the HTC, satellite vision, and literally look around you for a suitable quiet spot to park up for the night. It has not failed me yet and has given me some lovely places.
Any body else found the same. OK so it is March and France is reasonably empty which does make it easier but the French do seem to be accepting of 'Autocaravanes' wherever, even may I add, at this time of year, in spots where there are clearly signs banning parking of 'Autocaravanes'.
Happy camping.

 

[Steeveboy]

wonndering

wondering why original post never appeared on the front page as a recent post , did I not tick something?

 

[mitzimad]

Hi all.
I came over bout a month ago nervous and on a budget. well here I am on my first paid up campsite near Vannes in Bretagne since I got here. Washing finally catches up with you so thought I would give myself bit of R and R.
The point I want to make though is how easy my HTC sensation + Co pilot Sat nav + google maps has made wild camping. Set a dawdling route on the sat nav and when you've had enough of driving through the gorgeous rural French countryside you just stop, either head for a local Aire if your short of water or need to empty toilet etc. Otherwise fire up google maps on the HTC, satellite vision, and literally look around you for a suitable quiet spot to park up for the night. It has not failed me yet and has given me some lovely places.
Any body else found the same. OK so it is March and France is reasonably empty which does make it easier but the French do seem to be accepting of 'Autocaravanes' wherever, even may I add, at this time of year, in spots where there are clearly signs banning parking of 'Autocaravanes'.
Happy camping.

how are you using the internet is it through your phone ? do you have a french data card ? or are you using the english one ?

 

[GeoNomad]

Yes, France is the greatest for wild camping. So many places and so welcoming. And it works. I have some euros left over for nice dinners out in the restaurants in those villages I camp near.

how are you using the internet is it through your phone ? do you have a french data card ? or are you using the english one ?

McDonald's is everywhere in France and has free WiFi unlimited. Some of them have their WiFi on 24 hours a day. Others are only on when they are open. Often the range is restricted.

One thing to watch for - WiFi channels in France are different from the rest of the world (now there's a surprise!). Although many channels overlap, there are some that don't, so if your WiFi setup allows it, select the France channel setup option when you are in France, or you will miss out on some hotspots.

For backup, I use the SFR dongle. You can pay as you go with cards picked up at the supermarket or Tabac. Sometimes I will buy 24 hours unlimited, other times one of the data plans.

I summarized a lot of the information on my web page: Peter's Paragliding Nomadness - WiFi on the Road

Peter

 

[Steeveboy]

great advice Nomad. so far my vodafone data roaming plan giving me 25mb per day on the mobile has met all my needs. costs me £26.00 a month and still able to use my minutes allowance for phoning. just have to pay a one off 75p connection charge per hr long call....which i've never managed yet.
great idea of yours *****. which river/canal was your favourite and would make a good starter for mek?