Wild Camping for the first time in France

tenderfoot

Guest
Snoopy is heading to France next week for 2 months and the word on the road is that wild camping in France is not recommended and we are safer to stick to Commercial and municipal campgrounds. Apparently vehicle break ins is rife. If any of you lovely people could advise from your own experience how best to tackle France and any suggestions on what regions to explore or any other advise would be much appreciated...thanks in advance Toni and Richard
 
***** said:
Welcome. Whoever told you it is not safe, obviously does not know a thing about Motorhoming in France! It is one of the safest places to motorhome, if not the safest.
We don't usually use any camp sites, we use the French Aires which are designed for motorhomes. Check out below

Vicarious Books - Camping Caravaning and Motorhome stopover site guide publishers.

Do not overnight on motorway service areas, these can be a little iffy.
I suggest you search the Wildcamping Threads and you will be reassured!
Happy Camping
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Ditto

Richard
 
No such thing as wild camping in France, you can park almost anywhere so long as you park sensibly .I have been over nearly every year for the last 10 and never been broken into. if it doesn't feel right don't stop. Every region is worth exploring .If you do intend camping ie tables chairs and washing and awning out then do use sites. Have a read of my blogs ,latest a month of updated stops and no campsites
Blog - rebbyvid
 
We're just back from France where we mostly stayed on free aires, but also wildcamped in a couple of places and stayed once on a campsite and once on an aire we paid for. We felt perfectly safe at all times, as we have every single year we've stayed in France.

I agree about not overnighting on motorway aires, but we've been fine resting up on them during the day in France, say after an overnight ferry crossing.

Actually, we've felt safe in every European country we've ever stayed in - Scandinavian countries, Estonia down to Greece, Italy, Germany etc. We've never taken the van to Spain or Portugal, but wouldn't anticipate any problems there either.

One rule we always follow is if either of us has any doubts at all about the place we stop, then we respect that and move on. If it feels dodgy, it might well be, and it's not worth the risk. We have very, very rarely had to follow that rule and never in France.

Lesley
 
As all the above, France is 90% safe. Even small villages have dedicated 'Aire de campingcar' places, and if you are not happy with the one you land in, there will be another within a few klics. As with all things, common sense is a pre-requisite, but just go for it, you'll love it. As a full member you have probably got a sat nav full of p o i's, use it, all the points are ones that we, the members, have used and happily pass on. Don't be afraid, just gird your loins, sally forth and have the best holiday experience ever.
For some kind of reassurance, have a look at Kiethchesterfield's youtube travels keith chesterfield - YouTube
 
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Easy over here

France is much, much easier than the UK to wild camp. If you can wild in the UK you can wild in France.
Enough said above to hopefully quell any fears you had.
 
tenderfoot said:
Snoopy is heading to France next week for 2 months and the word on the road is that wild camping in France is not recommended and we are safer to stick to Commercial and municipal campgrounds. Apparently vehicle break ins is rife. If any of you lovely people could advise from your own experience how best to tackle France and any suggestions on what regions to explore or any other advise would be much appreciated...thanks in advance Toni and Richard
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Whoever told you that I doubt has ever visited...The French as a rule so relaxed and laid back ......Motoway aires in some areas are best avoided. Once you have been, I make you a bet , you will wonder why you didn't take the plungs years ago

Channa
 
tenderfoot said:
Snoopy is heading to France next week for 2 months and the word on the road is that wild camping in France is not recommended and we are safer to stick to Commercial and municipal campgrounds. Apparently vehicle break ins is rife.
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Complete rubbish!

I have spent the past four Winters wild camping in France, Spain and Portugal with no problems, concerns or hearing of anybody that had experienced any security problems.
 
POI Admin said:
Complete rubbish!

I have spent the past four Winters wild camping in France, Spain and Portugal with no problems, concerns or hearing of anybody that had experienced any security problems.
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That's a tad harsh, we have to be gentle with virgins---------oh dear, I've done it again. Seriously though, we all have had to start somewhere, and in an alien situation all is scary. Your four winters must have begun with an unknown, so with all due respect, lets allow someone else to be a tad apprehensive eh
 
The French Aires are great but can be full of foreigners :scared:.. We have found the best ones to be off the beaten track and not the ones by the beaches. We went to Honfleur cannot see why it is so popular. Aire was packed, Someone had a couple of new bikes stolen and we had the worst meal of the whole trip. As always you need a PLAN B and sometimes PLAN C as well. Aires disappear and new signs send you to campsites. Some of the Wild Camping ones are a bit .. well .. yuk .. Think we should be able to grade them. The French seem to have a passion for Lidl car parks so they don't have to walk far for their bread. Have a great time.
 
***** said:
Me thinks Guys, that Tenderfoot has very little European Experience as from Aussi Land!
So Tenderfoot, will be out of comfort zone, much more than us lot!
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,

You are joking surely. Aussies brave crocodiles, world's most venomous snakes, deadly spiders, voracious sharks, poisonous fish, endless deserts and swarming backpackers AND drop bears --- and that is just to get out to the outback dunny at night.

We don't have an "out of comfort" zone.
 
oppy said:
That's a tad harsh, we have to be gentle with virgins---------oh dear, I've done it again. Seriously though, we all have had to start somewhere, and in an alien situation all is scary. Your four winters must have begun with an unknown, so with all due respect, lets allow someone else to be a tad apprehensive eh
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I meant that 'the word on the road' as quoted is nonsense, not what the poster had said.

By all means be cautious, as I am, and don't park in places that feel unsafe. Then all will be just fine :D
 
QFour said:
The French Aires are great but can be full of foreigners :scared:.. We have found the best ones to be off the beaten track and not the ones by the beaches. We went to Honfleur cannot see why it is so popular. Aire was packed, Someone had a couple of new bikes stolen and we had the worst meal of the whole trip. As always you need a PLAN B and sometimes PLAN C as well. Aires disappear and new signs send you to campsites. Some of the Wild Camping ones are a bit .. well .. yuk .. Think we should be able to grade them. The French seem to have a passion for Lidl car parks so they don't have to walk far for their bread. Have a great time.
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Honfleur is a great place to meet like minded people, to pick up tips on what is happening and where, what to avoid or may be dangerous and on your homeward journey, pass on your updated info to those that may be setting out on their first trip.

Richard
 
Tbear said:
Honfleur is a great place to meet like minded people, to pick up tips on what is happening and where, what to avoid or may be dangerous and on your homeward journey, pass on your updated info to those that may be setting out on their first trip.

Richard
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You make a good point, I read lots of blogs of travellers going long distance on motorcycles, A consistent theme is treat home office advice with a pinch of salt, Travelling through places like Iran or Libya. As you enter talk to the people that are leaving the country, Up to date info re insurance, border crossings general mood of the place and troublespots to avoid etc, Significantly different to France perhaps but the theory remains constant and seems to work

Channa
 
Save in France

Its depends on the place and the time you are someware .
France is not save anymore like 20 yaers agow.
I feel safer in Albanie then in France.
1 Try to pick my trailer once.
2 Broke in to my camper in South France.
3Broke in in Huelva,(spain)
For us its over,no more France ,Spain.
Portugal is no problem.
The fact you say ,dont overnicht on hw parkings??
I am an Flemisch speaking and French speaking from Belgium. France was my second country,3 brothers born there.
When we go to Portugal ,we overnicht on free campersites in France and Spain.
Willy
 
France is big but so is the number of MHs visiting there, add the Brits, Germans, Italians, Belgium, Dutch and you have thousands and thousands of vans traversing from A to B and mainly on the Aires. We went to a campsite once on our earlier 6 week trip this year, and it was full of Brits...and I mean Brits. Never seen anything like it. Aires went from just us to well over 50 in some of them varying from 0 to 18 Euro (St Michel Mount). There are loads of gypsy camps all over the place but they do not seem to interfere with the aires at all, and we saw not one dodgy migrant. The only thieves we saw was the so called cafes and resteraunts, they take your money and serve you dressed up nosh....be wary of French Cuisine, some of it dreadfully overpriced and they think nothing of charging you 8 euro a pint.
 
By 'eck, lad, it can be rough out there in deepest France.

Earlier this year we were on an Aire overnight by a river, just us and a few rabbits, and at 4 am we were surrounded by men in cars.

Slamming doors and chattering away in a foreign language, French I think, and when we decided enough was enough and they needed remonstrating with - we found there were about fifty of them setting up for a fishing match that morning and apparently an early start is required - bl**dy foreigners!

And the smell of bacon and sausages from there cooking facilities was a nightmare!

Then a few weeks ago there was a right din after midnight in a Sports Hall close by the Aire we stayed on - a Wedding party were singing and dancing the night away - luckily they stopped the noise at 7 am and we got half an hours sleep - bl**dy foreigners!

And that's as bad as it's got in ten years staying on Aires in wildest France - you'll be safe wherever you stay as long as you use common sense.


:dog: :dog: :dog: :dog:
 
Never felt uneasy on aires.we have wild camped in many places.
Use common sense if you don't feel comfortable then leave.
In twenty years never had problems.
 
Wildcamping France.

Arrived back after 4 weeks in June no problems whatsoever wildcamping little concerned one night when travellers pulled up trying to repair vehicle offered to lend them extension wheel brace found them v polite. Just relax and enjoy.
Different scenario last year intruder tried to break in whilst quietly watching tv late at night with blinds up shocked when i looked out of window.This location Campsite in Porthcawl South Wales.
 
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