Quit my job - Off to France - Need advice

suffolkboi

Guest
Hi everyone,

on Thursday i handed my notice in, and will be heading off to France early March with my other half. For about 3-4 months.

We have work/accommodation sorted for 3 months via this great website Workaway.info the site for free work exchange. Gap year volunteer for food and accommodation whilst travelling abroad.

However - this isnt really making any use of my camper van, so i would like to explore France a for a month afterwards using Aires, cheap campsites and Wilding of course ;)

I just have a few questions on my mind, if someone would be so kind as to help me out -

*Whats best way to wash clothes/ourselves whilst at Aires/Wilding?

*What do we do with van during the day/ Just leave it at Aires and go walking into town, or park it up in town? I feel like i dont want to leave it out my sight!

*Whats the best book for Aires?

*Do i need an adapter or special regulator for french gas bottles?

*Any advice regarding Calais vs Dunkirk? We are heading to Poitiers first, is it worth trying to avoiding toll roads?

Feel like ive got a load more questions in my head, but that will do for now :)

Any other advice would be great.

Thanks guys!
 
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If you are going to stay in France buy yourself a french gas bottle and regulator. Good luck.

Forgot FRENCH phrase book .. Unless you have a good understanding of French as sometimes they really don't want to know.

The link looks like hard work for no pay ..
 
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You will find France so easy with a motorhome. For washing I used to enquire at the tourist information office if there was a Launderette( Laverie) in town. Vicarious books do a book in English of Aires but you can also go on this French website and download the aires as POI's on your satnav
http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm We never used any of the toll motorways. I'm sure others will advise you more
Sue:)
 
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Well we are heading near Bordeaux in April. Only in Poiteirs a fortnight, then our main job is much further South.
So come May and June, id thought it would be a more pleasant climate and campsites will be open.

And yes, we are learning some basic French - im sure they appreciate any effort you make.

Thanks Sue, laundrette makes sense. I just wasnt sure how easy it would be to locate one.
 
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you worry too much,first garage get a book on the aires.wash clothes in buckets or the river,hang on bushes.all supermarkets sell blocks of hard soap,time to step back in time a bit ! French gas bottles need a French regulator ! leave the van anywhere,but never on its own in an isolated area,think like a thief ! don't make it easy for the bad boys !
 
Just noticed Sky, you got 107 'likes' for that post, and quite rightly so. I would imagine that is a forum record?
 
As for a book of Aires and sites, we always say the best 2 things we ever bought for our travels in Europe are the Garmin sat nav and the book Camperstop Most sites and Aires in Europe are in it. Buy the download for the country or country's you intend to visit, they are about 3 euros a country, download onto you sat nave and you then have all you need, press button and all the sites and Aires come up on the screen with the distance and a page number look it up in the book and all the info is there ie. if its free, swimming pool , how far from shops etc, if you like one press the button and your sat nav takes you there.

Have a great trip, the last time we were in France we spent 7 weeks and never spent a euro on tolls or site rents.



:drive: :drive:
 
If you have a smart phone download the free Google Translate app. You can download the French pack for offline use, so you don't need a signal. It will translate both ways and even speak it for you. Very handy for anything complicated as you can type in English and then just show the translation to someone to read.
 
We went camping about 8 years ago with bikes only to France. I did the laundry in rivers, public toilets (in the sink I might add at this point), even walked onto camp sites and used their sinks. You will ALWAYS find somewhere just don't let it build up. I carried a little camping wash line to tie between trees and some pegs.
 
Here's some suggestions for you

suffolkboi said:
Hi everyone,

I just have a few questions on my mind, if someone would be so kind as to help me out -

*Whats best way to wash clothes/ourselves whilst at Aires/Wilding?
Launderettes

*What do we do with van during the day/ Just leave it at Aires and go walking into town, or park it up in town? I feel like i dont want to leave it out my sight!
You'll probably find that your space has been taken if it's a popular Aires - should be OK in March though

*Whats the best book for Aires?
Expensive but good - https://www.vicarious-shop.com/Camperstop-Europe-2014-9789076080376.html

Free and good - CAMPINGCAR-INFOS - for your Laptop or Tablet

*Do i need an adapter or special regulator for french gas bottles?
You will need a new regulator - also, they will not want your British cylinders

*Any advice regarding Calais vs Dunkirk? We are heading to Poitiers first, is it worth trying to avoiding toll roads?
a) Nothing to choose between the two
b) Avoid the Toll roads and you'll save a bit of money. I take it that you'll be on a fairly tight budget?
Click to expand...
 
suffolkboi said:
*Whats the best book for Aires?
Click to expand...

There's no 'best' book, as each has a different approach and often contains sites not in the others. I use 3:

'Le Guide Officiel: Aires de Services Camping-Car 2013' (in French but simple to understand for non-speakers) which has around 6,300 stops in it and you can buy in most supermarkets in France for about €10.50.

'All the Aires: France - 4th Edition' £24.99 from Vicarious Books in Folkestone (Vicarious Books - Camping Caravaning and Motorhome stopover site guide publishers.) which, despite its title, has only about a third of the total at around 2,700.

'Camperstop Europe 2013', which was also about £25 from Vicarious Books, and which contains around 7,500 stops.

In addition, if you use 'Autoroute Express' (which is great as it works offline), I recommend that you download Addie's POIs (there's approx., 130,000 of them) from this site HERE.

Despite all that information, you will still discover sites which are not in any of those databases as yet.

*Do i need an adapter or special regulator for french gas bottles?
Click to expand...

You don't say what kind of setup you have in your 'van re gas but maybe my setup will be of some help to you. I have a bulkhead regulator with a POL high-pressure pigtail which I use with Calor 6KG Propane bottles in the UK, but Calor is not available on mainland Europe. So, the simplest and cheapest solution I've found is to buy a 'Gas Cylinder Adaptor' which has a 5⁄8" BSP-LH female POL at one end (which fits my existing POL pigtail) and a 21.8 mm SI-LH female end at the other (which connects the POL pigtail directly to a male 'butane' fitting which is the connection on all French bottles) - I use those from Intermarche as that is the biggest - 11KG - which I can get into my gas-locker. The cheapest source I found for this adaptor is BES Ltd - Part No. 21123 - who sell it for £3.96 plus VAT & PandP, when most other places are a Tenner or more. This adaptor saves having to buy and swap pigtails and a bulkhead regulator means that I do not need to purchase a separate regulator for French bottles, unless you want to use CampingGaz, but then why would you - the bottles are so small and expensive, even in France, that they're a waste of time and money.

*Any advice regarding Calais vs Dunkirk? We are heading to Poitiers first, is it worth trying to avoiding toll roads?
Click to expand...

I always avoid toll roads, but then I am a Scot. Seriously, I don't see the point of paying through the nose to drive at virtually the same speed I do on non-toll roads, but others have a different opinion to me. In the final analysis, it's up to you. However, I would avoid Paris, were I you, and choose to go to Poitiers via Abbeville, Rouen, Evreux, Chartres, and Tours. On that route, there are good free aires at Nonancourt, Marboue, Chateaudun, Vendome, Villedomer, and Montbazon. If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll send you a copy of my route with roads and co-ordinates.

ADDENDUM: Others have mentioned the site 'campingcars infos' where you can download POIs for your satnav. They also have a version in pdf format which you can read offline. I posted the direct link to it on this site some time ago but can't find it now. However, if you want a copy of their pdf file ask me directly and I'll send it to you.
 
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The only thing I would add is (and I am sticking my nose in a bit here) that if I were you I would dump the work idea and just go and enjoy yourself.

If your worried about costs it is possible to trundle around France in a motorhome and never pay for parking or services. Quite easily done.

You have packed your job in. Go and enjoy yourself.

Tell me to get lost and mind my own business if you like.

Just sayin!
 
Robmac said:
Just noticed Sky, you got 107 'likes' for that post, and quite rightly so. I would imagine that is a forum record?
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Really? That surprises me given the amount of good advice given on here.

Just took a look at it again - it's up to 212 now. Not bad as I thought it was a load of old waffle when I wrote it. It's nice to be appreciated. :)
 
suffolkboi said:
And yes, we are learning some basic French - im sure they appreciate any effort you make
Click to expand...

Yes they have a laugh ( Just pissing by the door ) and just speak faster .. Normandy is very much like school french .. West coast seems to be a different dialect .. Don't forget it's a beer presson ( From the pump ) otherwise they find the most expensive bottle of beer in the place and whip the top off. It's to late to argue once it's on the table.
 
Without sounding paranoid...remember there's as many crooks and rogues in France as the UK or elsewhere...so ......common sense!
Watch you documents . (Just got an email from a mate....left his docs in a wallet under the driver's seat and went fishing....got back...window smashed ....no docs! (except his fishing license, which at least is a photo I.D.)
Me and the wife carry a photocopy of each others passport in case either of us lose a wallet. Might help in getting docs replaced in the event !!!
Garcia
 
begin at the beginning ...gas

what size bottles can you get in , and how many ?
is the regulator on the bottle or screwed to the vehicle body ?
which gas do you use at present ?
 
User1 said:
Yes they have a laugh ( Just pissing by the door ) and just speak faster .. Normandy is very much like school french .. West coast seems to be a different dialect .. Don't forget it's a beer presson ( From the pump ) otherwise they find the most expensive bottle of beer in the place and whip the top off. It's to late to argue once it's on the table.
Click to expand...

Don't do what my mate did and ask for poisson - the whole bar went quiet then everyone started laughing, still it broke the ice

Rich
 
I am trying to learn french at the moment and have found a great app for iphone or ipad ( dont know if its on Android though.)Its called Duolingo. I think it is one of the easiest ways i have seen to learn another language...plus its very engaging. It also has a lot of other languages you can learn. And its free ....yipppppppeeeeee
 
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