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Hi

Me my wife and 3 kids have only been camping twice now never abroad, i would love to go in France but not sure how to go about it would i just book for the one site there or move around and how do i find a good site?

What suggestions can you give me i want to try and keep the driving to a minimum really as i have a young child and we live 5hr drive to dover aswell,the most amount of days we can make together is about 10 hopefully.So if this was you what do you think would be a good plan of action.

Sorry if i sound a bit of a novice but i am really unsure on how to tackle it

Thanks Alot

Steve

Join the Camping and Caravanning Club and use their travel service, Carefree. They do a big glossy brochure full of French and other foreign campsites, all rated by themselves. You can book ferry, campsites, insurance etc in one phone call to them, or on line. They are a supremely helpful lot and the prices are pretty competative as well. It`s a great way to start out....in fact, I`ve never bothered to do it any other way when we go camping in Europe.

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/directory2/details.asp?revid=207&typeid=

Hello Steve, and welcome to the site.

When are you thinking of going to France? If you are going outside July/Aug you really don't need to book sites, just the ferry crossing. Then you could look at the Camping Cheque website for a good selection of sites and their facilities. They can book you a ferry too.

Even in peak season, you will get in somewhere, though coastal sites are always the busiest, and you may have less choice.

France has an excellent selection of municipal sites too, with nearly every town having their own campsite, and these are usually cheaper than comercial sites.

For a 10 day holiday I would not go any further south than the Loire Valley, weather is usually reliable, and it's a lovely area to visit, with lots to do, and loads of good sites.

Welcome to the world of camping abroad

We all had to start somewhere and I too would suggest you plan through either the Caravan and Camping Club or Select Sites (Abergavenny)  both are do-able on line and there's no joining fee for Select Sites.  The latter seem to have a personal knowledge of the sites they offer and will give you an insight into them.

Both will offer you all that you will need.  With each successive year I've done less and less through agencies because it is possible to sort things out independently and slightly less expensively.  You only do things as you become more secure of your needs, and international requirements.

Good luck, you'll love it, but if it's better weather you are looking for try to venture down to the Vendee (4 hour drive from Caen).  Don't expect Brittany or Normandy to be either warmer or drier than, say Cornwall.

I would agree with the advice about using Carefree or Select Sites if you are a newcomer. It has become much easier to book direct, what with the growth of the internet and the increasing acceptance of creditit cards for booking etc, but if you are first timers, it is still a boost to your confidence to let someone else do the work - and probably not any more expensive, either.

As for whether you stay in one spot, or move around, it is possible to argue for both. When we had young children, we often found that they liked to stay put, making friends and getting to know the site. Now that we are oldies, going away on our own, we tend to do a bit of both -staying for a short while at one or two sites on the journey out and on the way back, with a longish stay somewhere for the middle portion of our holiday, so that we can eally chill out. It really depends how much time you want to spend settling in each time you move - if you have a caravan, it need not take very long, on the other hand if you have a big frame tent, you might lose several hours in taking it down and re-pitching each time you move, so a single site might be preferable. In any case, a ten day stay, with minimal driving, sounds to me like a good case for finding somewhere that would give you a relaxing and interesting break and staying there for  the major part of your holiday.

Whatever you decide - enjoy it!

Hi

Thanks for all the replys they've really given me something to get going with i'll have a look at all the suggestions

Thanks Alot

Steve

Hi

What is the website address for Select Sites?

We too are considering France, but next year now. 

Michelle

There are so many people asking for guidance about 'France for the First Time' there must be a book in this somewhere!   Any budding authors out there willing to give it a go?  Or shall we just start a section of this website called TIPS FOR FIRST TIMERS - and keep adding and adding to it?

I can't remember finding it at all daunting the first time we went with the caravan - we bought out caravan (old) six weeks before we went, booked a ferry, did up the caravan - which included a complete re-upholster which I did, and a complete electrical refit which David did, then  took it out three weekends before to make sure it was OK.  Then we 'planned' our route!  We decided approximately where we wanted to end up, took a large map of France and a ruler - and ruled a line from Calais to Avignon (ish), highlighed a route nearest to this line in green, found a Michelin guide in the library and highlighted with a pink dot any campsite within about 10 miles of our 'planned' route.  We used N roads, and D roads - keeping to almost a straight line.  It was a fantastic holiday - we didn't book any sites in advance - and we ended up doing a round trip down through Burgundy, as far south as Carcassone, and then back up via the Dordogne!!!!  We had two or three days at each stop - and great weather for the whole 17 days.  The exception was an electrical storm in Burgundy which made for some memorable photographs.

The main thing is not to worry about it - just enjoy the adventure.  The main thing to remember is that it's honestly easier to drive in France, easier to find a place to stop for a picnic, and MUCH easier to just roll up at a site and find a pitch.

Michelle and Kev here is the link to Select Sites http://www.select-site.co.uk

-  I have used both Select Sites and Carefree and found Select the cheaper and more informative.  Plus you don't have to pay membership fees.