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If you ever determine to ship your RV or hire an RV to go to France, you NEED to enroll in the France Passion program. The inspiration behind Harvest Hosts within the States, France Passion is the easiest way to see France. Not solely did we camp straight on among the most stunning properties, however we additionally tasted among the finest wines and met some actually great folks.
But earlier than speaking in regards to the France Passion program, I wish to shortly introduce Harvest Hosts (if you happen to’re unfamiliar).
Harvest Hosts is a program within the US the place you’ll be able to pay an annual charge (final I checked round $100/12 months) and get entry to over 4,000 farms, wineries, breweries, and golf programs throughout the nation. While had been full-time RVing within the US, this was one in every of our favourite methods to journey.
So once we booked our one-way RV rental from Paris to Barcelona, I knew that I wanted to enroll in the France equal of Harvest Hosts referred to as France Passion.
What is the France Passion Program?
France Passion was began over 30 years in the past. It was really the unique inspiration for the Harvest Hosts program within the US. The founders of Harvest Hosts liked their France expertise a lot, they determined to carry it again to the US.
As it stands in the present day, the France Passion has over 2,000 websites overlaying the vast majority of France. Sites embody stopovers like wineries, farms, and vineyards.
To get a greater glimpse of what France Passion stopovers are like, watch our video:
How Does France Passion Work?
You should be a member to make use of France Passion. I’ll cowl signing up in a second.
Once signed up, browse their e book or their app for excellent locations to remain alongside your tenting route. With over 2,000 places, you’re all the time certain to search out one close to you. Be certain to take a look at the itemizing particulars to see in case your motorhome can match, if youngsters/pets are welcome, and in the event that they require calling earlier than arrival.
When you present up at your chosen campsite, join with the homeowners to know the place to park. We all the time had a grassy space to ourselves. After getting parked, it’s customary to patron the enterprise. This means shopping for a wine tasting, bottles of wine, produce, or meals. We felt that this was a good way to get actually native meals and loved shopping for wine, olive oil, and different native treats from every place.
Be respectful throughout your keep by cleansing up outdoors your RV and never dumping any of your refuse or tanks. When you allow—there could also be most popular “leave by” hours—take a second to depart a evaluation within the France Passion app. You may also go away a evaluation on Google. Choosing to remain at France Passion websites means you’re supporting native household companies and each evaluation counts!
How do I be part of France Passion Program
The France Passion program is fairly old style. To enroll, it’s a must to order a bodily e book. I used to be barely confused at first on whether or not or not I’d additionally want to enroll and pay for an app individually, however you don’t. In essence, you simply go to their web site to buy a e book and then you definitely’re enrolled.
The price to enroll is at present at $33 (consists of the bodily e book, your membership card, and app entry).
Using the France Passion App
Once you’ve bought your e book, you’ll obtain login entry for the France Passion app.
The app is pretty user-friendly. Most importantly, the protection as we had been driving throughout France was phenomenal. By protection, I imply how typically we might discover host websites alongside our route. You can search within the app for websites close by or near your subsequent vacation spot.
The majority of the Passion websites we stayed at had 10 or extra evaluations within the app. The evaluations will break down each the general expertise on the host website in addition to how pleasant it was for an RV (or van) to drive to. Also, there’s a built-in translation characteristic for the evaluations so you’ll be able to learn them in your native language.
One merchandise I want the app would have included is user-generated pictures. There are not any pictures of motorhomes or vans parked on the places, which might have been very nice. If anybody from France Passion reads this, ajouter des pictures générées par l’utilisateur! ⬅️ In English: Add user-generated pictures, SVP!
Our Experience Staying at France Passion Sites
I converse zero French. Actually, that’s not true. I can say “je ne parle pas Français” (I don’t converse French). With my huge data of the French language, I used to be somewhat involved about coordinating with hosts.
I imagined calling French hosts and attempting to elucidate in English that we’d like to come back and keep of their winery. They would most likely begin asking me about our motorhome size however then I’d get confused and suppose they had been inviting me to a chocolate tasting.
Luckily, that didn’t occur. (Or unluckily, relying on the way you have a look at it. ????)
First, the vast majority of the hosts spoke English. Second, for those who didn’t, I used to be capable of bust out Google Translate (my finest pal when touring overseas) and we managed to get sufficient phrases like “camping car” into the combo or “France Passion”. Inevitably, as soon as they heard France Passion they gave an enthusiastic sure.
How we used the France Passion app
Our typical course of for utilizing France Passion was first to search for stops alongside or close to our vacation spot. We steered in the direction of wineries as a result of we had been in France and why not? However, there have been loads of stunning farm places listed as effectively.
I choose to go together with the lots in the case of selecting a spot to camp—aka the place with probably the most evaluations and most constructive experiences. I’d then click on on these host listings within the app and study extra in regards to the property. There’s a direct name button within the app the place you’ll be able to attain out to the hosts. However, a number of of the host places say there is no such thing as a have to name earlier than arriving. We did name forward for many of them simply to verify it was okay to remain in a single day.
The solely time we simply confirmed up as an alternative of calling it was completely high-quality. Many of the hosts we visited most popular visitors to reach round 5 o’clock. We by no means had an issue with a bunch turning us away or the location being too overcrowded.
Why France Passion Sites Were Our Favorite Stopovers
During our monthlong street journey within the RV, we stayed at business campgrounds, free campsites, and loads of Passion websites. Of all of the locations we stayed, France Passion stops had been our favourite.
There are a couple of the explanation why:
1. The folks.
Many of the winery homeowners and hosts are legacy farmers. Their nice, nice, nice grandparents planted the preliminary vines on a property and generations later they’re taking the reins. I liked listening to in regards to the legacy of those households and the way they’re nonetheless rising and bettering so a few years later. One of my favourite components of experiencing a brand new place is interacting with the folks. France Passion is a good way to fulfill actual locals.
2. The Views
Each of the France Passion stops we stayed at had unimaginable views and ambiance. In some locations, just like the one above, we had a complete winery and orchard all to ourselves.
3. The wine.
Let’s be clear. This was a major driver. We had been in France, in any case. The wine was superb. Being capable of park our motorhome after which stroll inside and decide up a pair (scrumptious) bottles of wine was pleasant.
Often once you keep at wineries within the States, the wine is okay. You maybe purchase some only for the free in a single day tenting. But in France, each bottle we purchased was unimaginable. The champagne actually took the cake although.
Is France Passion value it?
YES! I’d completely advocate signing up for France Passion. It’s cheap and also you’ll undoubtedly meet some great folks and style some scrumptious wine. Oh and as a bonus, it’s a simple manner to save cash on tenting charges. ????