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At one time, Google maps was unreliable in finding exact locations of campsites (or hotels) as we found to our cost when trying to find a hotel in Girona.  We actually printed off great directions from Google maps and followed them to the letter, to end up in a back street (correct name, so we were in the correct place we'd been directed to park) but at least a km. and a half from the hotel!!! 

You'll notice something similar with the campsite map on this website, where it relies on postcode details, and sometimes the site can acually be quite a way from the marker on the map.  According to the webmaster campsite owners can move the markers if they're not in the right position.  At one time the flag for Val de Cantobre was right in the middle of the military firing range across the Larzac (at least three kilometres as the crow flies from the site, though I notice it has been moved now!)

I think it's all to do with postcode areas in most of Europe being less specific and covering a much bigger area than here in Britain, and the marker goes in the middle of the postcode area rather than exactly where the location is.  It may have changed, now, with the advent of Street View, however, which is much more accurate in finding places.

Quote: Originally posted by Floydfan on 23/7/2010

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Ina, it isn't harsh at all. It's a fact.

It also wasn't aimed at you. Nor was I tarring all motorhomers with the same brush. But, sadly, it's a fact that we rarely see motorhomes on site here, they'd rather stay for free and use/abuse the facilities provided by the various communes in the hope that some money will be spent locally. It used to be like that too. But, when times are hard, everyone tightens their belts. Motorhomers are no different. That said, how many times have I read, here & elsewhere of camping caristes telling one another how they never pay for a site?

If you read the same paper that I do, you'd understand there's quite a resentment among locals in Saumur over this. There's been an ongoing battle by the communes of both St. Hilaire St. Florent, Gennes, St. Lambert des Levées and Saumur Ville to have the carparks blocked to camping caristes (incidentally a French term), or to have installed barriers and methods of automatic payment.

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