Overwintering in the south of France

[Shockingdog]

For the past two years due to illness we have not been able to spend the winter in Spain. We are thankfully planning to do this again from December 2018. We would like to reduce the total mileage if possible and spend the winter in the South of France. We would be glad of information from any member who has stayed in the South of France during the winter, Q. Is it warm enough? recommended aires, Campsites (If any are open ) and just general info. Thanks in advance.

 

[5andy]

We are in Narbonne at the moment and have been around north east Spain for the last couple of weeks. It’s depends how you define warm enough, bearing in mind this is almost April the temps are ok through the day but still pretty cold at night. I would suspect that at best temps would be unpredictable and probably pretty cool. The price difference in almost everything is pretty obvious. By that I mean drinking beer In bars, eating out and diesel, not much bothered about anything else. As an alternative as part of the plan I would would include the north east coast of Spain, at least costs are less
prohibitive. Once you hit Spain just do fewer miles turn around and then do fewer back again.

 

[pamjon]

south france

We have just been there in Jan it was warm in the day but at night cold. We had a few problems, we had to get a french gas bottle and pig tail about 45 euros intermarche also when we came back had a solar panel put on . The aires are ok but free water rare, electric non free not like central france where we were spoilt, still, cant have everything!! We are going back to central france in April, but we will be going back again to the south of France next Jan now mh better prepared.
Of course the person who you should be asking questions of is Chris at Admin. He helped me out tremendously. Hope this helps.
PJ

 

[Channa]

I lived in Beziers for 12 months and Frejus another 12 ..Contrary to what people tell you it does get cold , indeed not uncommon to see -1 on the car thermometer in a morning ...By mid morning t shirt and a light jumper Come afternoon when sun set temps plummet no cloud to trap heat. Commissioning vans we were having to use propane....albeit Easter when sites opened a lot were butane

Channa

 

[John H]

If you want to reduce the total mileage and still spend winter in the sun then you might consider the ferries to Bilbao or Santander and miss out France altogether. We love France but it can be very cold in winter.

 

[Shockingdog]

We have just been there in Jan it was warm in the day but at night cold. We had a few problems, we had to get a french gas bottle and pig tail about 45 euros intermarche also when we came back had a solar panel put on . The aires are ok but free water rare, electric non free not like central france where we were spoilt, still, cant have everything!! We are going back to central france in April, but we will be going back again to the south of France next Jan now mh better prepared.
Of course the person who you should be asking questions of is Chris at Admin. He helped me out tremendously. Hope this helps.
PJ

Hi PamJon
Thanks for your reply. Can you point me in the right direction on how to contact Chris I cannot see a link to to use to PM Admin ?
Thanks

 

[Canalsman]

I'm here ...

I have spent four winters on the Med in France. The first three the daytime weather was pleasantly warm with plenty of sunshine.

This past winter has been disappointing by comparison. Not enough sun but not much rain either. Night time temperatures are quite low.

I have found it imperative to stay close to the sea. Venture inland just a short distance, and gain some altitude, and the days are notably cooler.

The further east you go the better the weather gets.

There are very few campsites open in winter, but there are enough aires to provide services. I wild camp exclusively and you will find many locations in the POIs. Lots of these have been added by me and visited.

I spent last winter in Spain and Portugal and the weather is somewhat warmer there but not by a huge margin.

Personally I prefer France because I speak some basic French and in addition there are very few motorhomers that go to the Med in winter. Consequently there is no contention for spaces and some of the prime resorts permit parking in superb locations off season.

Have a look at the POI Map and I think you'll be inspired ...

 

[Derekoak]

Winteŕ in france

I have spent winter in both southern spain and france i agree with all the above comments the other thing important to me is daylight / sunlight. You may get 40 minutes more daylight per day in southern spain at midwinter. And more sunlight i feel, but whether it is worth the diesel is up to you. costs are less in Spain once you are there. Spainish coast is more crowded with motorhomes in winter.

 

[Snapster]

We spent 4 weeks in southern France just south of Carcassonne, most of February and the start of March. Temperatures were much higher than we expected, up to 21 degrees and warm enough to be out without a coat for about a week. My sister lives there and says winters can be very cold at night. When we headed back north, it got really cold around Bordeaux, down to about -8 with snow in the midi Pyrenees.
It’s definately warmer and drier in the south than here in Brittany, but I think you need to go into Spain or Portugal to get the best winter weather.

 

[Clunegapyears]

Near Nice?

Nice is no good for world camping generally but there is a lovely campsite at Villeneuve Loubet, called Parc des Maurettes. It is open all year. There is a bus stop right outside the door. Local the buses are €1.50 for any distance. And the washrooms here and showers are heated. Lots to do by bus there.