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Looking to camp in France? France is understood for being one of the vital camper-friendly international locations in Europe and a kind of causes is the plentiful tenting choices. Here we’re diving into the highest 5 choices for tenting in France.
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1. Campgrounds
This is essentially the most easy, conventional approach to camp in France. Like RV parks within the States, campgrounds in France supply designated campsites and facilities.
At campgrounds, you may entry electrical energy, water, and probably a dump station. You’ll additionally discover laundry, showers, bogs, and—even within the smallest campgrounds—a playground.
Campgrounds are an ideal place to remain, however as a result of France is an especially camper-friendly nation, there are lots of extra distinctive motorhome stopover choices.
Read extra: What Campgrounds in France Are Like
2. Aires
Aires are relaxation stops meets fuel stations.
You’ll see indicators for aires about each 10 minutes on the freeway they usually have various ranges of niceness. Some are like picnic areas within the states—a spot to park and a few tables. Others are full-blown fuel station relaxation stops that join the east and west sides of the freeway with a sky bridge, supply a number of eating places, and all of the basic issues campers want like dump stations and showers. It’s fairly the vary.
How Do Aires Work?
These are typically first-come, first-served in a single day parking spots. Many aires are free, however some might require a small charge (lower than $10 and normally provided that they provide companies like electrical energy). Dump stations and water fills are sometimes free, however you’ll need to native verify signage.
Not all aires supply in a single day parking, so double-check the data on Park4Night earlier than planning an in a single day keep. I additionally advocate studying the evaluations (they need to translate for you within the app) for crime stories. France is mostly secure, however sure areas of France have extra petty crime than others. If you’re in a extra crime-ridden space, you’ll see stories of prowlers or theft in Park4Night evaluations.
How do you discover aires?
We completely used Park4Night to search out aires due to the evaluations and the options itemizing. When we would have liked to discover a place to eat lunch and stretch our legs on an extended drive day, we searched and located an aire with an enormous picnic space and a playground for the children.
You can, nonetheless, additionally simply hold your eyes peeled for signage or search “aires” on Google or Apple Maps.
3. Wild Camping
Wild tenting, referred to as boondocking within the States, is tenting without spending a dime in nature. We discovered wild tenting choices all through France, usually in forests or on rivers. At one explicit campsite—which was actually a gravel space on the aspect of a quiet nation highway surrounded by timber—we had miles of trails proper exterior our door.
We loved a peaceable evening in nature and awoke and hiked by means of the forest. Even higher, that campsite was quarter-hour from a fort and a three-minute drive right into a tiny village the place we loved espresso and pastries the subsequent morning.
According to the web, wild tenting is each allowed and never allowed in France. Officially, it’s banned. But it’s additionally as much as native ordinances. To put it within the easiest phrases doable, you recognize while you see a photograph of a tent on Instagram in the course of nowhere surrounded by mountains? That’s a giant no-no in France. You can’t simply go wherever in nature and name it wild tenting.
You’ll must discover a designated in a single day tenting spot to keep away from getting ticketed. Don’t fear, it’s surprisingly straightforward to search out free in a single day parking all around the nation.
How Does Wild Camping work?
We, once more, use Park4Night to search out wild tenting spots. Park4Night is only a itemizing app, in order that they don’t personal or coordinate any campsites. But they are going to present the precise location coordinates you want, usually paired with images and evaluations. You can click on the navigation button or copy-paste the GPS coordinates and head towards the tenting space. Park4Night is particularly for motorhomes and caravans, so that you gained’t get something that may take you offroad or the place you may’t drive. Read the evaluations if there are peak or size restrictions which may stop your RV from making the drive.
When we arrive at our “campsite,” we discover a stage place to park that’s out of the best way of any highway site visitors and leaves house for different campers to affix us. There are not any companies while you’re wild tenting, so establishing your RV is so simple as placing it in park. We usually instantly arrange our tables and chairs exterior so we might take pleasure in as a lot time exterior as doable.
Our Experience Wild Camping
Wild tenting felt each secure and quiet. We by no means encountered any rowdy campers or loud highway noise. We, as vacationers, are additionally overly cautious of native signage to verify we’re tenting in the best spot. The final thing you need on vacation is to get woken up by the police in the course of the evening telling you to go away.
4. Home Camper
Home Camper is the place you may keep in your motorhome at folks’s properties/on their property. (Very much like a HipCamp or Boondockers Welcome.) You’ll want a self-contained RV (AKA your personal onboard toilet) and also you’ll most likely need to know somewhat French, because you’ll be conversing with locals.
We used Home Camper on our second evening within the RV to remain within the yard of a champagne home in Epernay. We had been greeted by Frank, who guided us to a big area the place we parked with 4 different motorhomes. That might sound like quite a bit, however we had loads of house between our RVs! This web site provided electrical energy, bogs, showers, and playgrounds, however facilities range by web site.
How Does Home Camper Work?
To use Home Camper, you’ll first want to enroll and create a free account. Then you may browse their listings, see images and evaluations, and request or guide a reservation. We discovered a ravishing spot in Champagne after which chosen our dates, our car sort, and the way many individuals had been in our social gathering. Most Home Camper listings cost per particular person (like campgrounds do) however don’t cost for younger kids like ours. You will add your bank card data to request your reservation.
We clicked request and bought a request affirmation through e-mail. It notes particularly that if our request expires or is declined, we gained’t be charged.
Four minutes later, our host, France (pronounced like Frank), accepted our reservation.
With the reservation affirmation e-mail, we obtained the handle, telephone quantity, and e-mail handle of our host in addition to arrival data. We had been instructed to reach at 5:00 PM, which we mistakenly learn as after 5:00 PM. France was ready at his gate patiently at 5 whereas we had been sitting at a champagne tasting downtown. This was a complete cultural miscommunication on our half. Once we realized our mistake, we referred to as and let him know we had been on our method and headed to the champagne home.
The purpose this was necessary for this explicit reservation was that the images of the property confirmed acres of inexperienced grass and timber surrounded a ravishing chateau. We drove down a tiny metropolis road lined with buildings getting meters away from our vacation spot and we had been past confused. Shouldn’t we be in nature?
But there, behind a concrete wall and a large gate, was the hidden property. If somebody wasn’t ready by the highway to get our consideration, we might’ve gotten misplaced.
France greeted us and we apologized for our delay. He confirmed us the place to get parked and learn how to hook as much as his electrical energy. And then we had been free to discover and benefit from the property. We performed on the playgrounds, drank France’s champagne, and he even introduced over a couple of eggs he plucked from his rooster coop.
We stayed one evening, although we might’ve booked extra if we had the time!
5. France Passion
Despite what the identify may recall to mind, this isn’t a French relationship app. French Passion is a membership program the place you may camp without spending a dime at farms and wineries throughout the nation. This was our favourite approach to journey throughout France!
Because this can be a membership, there’s an preliminary charge. But after becoming a member of the membership, you get to camp without spending a dime throughout France!
How Does France Passion Work?
Before heading to France, we signed up for a membership on-line. (I’ll cowl signing up in a second.)
Once signed up, we might browse their guide or their app for excellent locations to remain alongside your tenting route. With over 2,000 areas, you’re at all times positive to search out one close to you. Be positive to have 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 house owners to know the place to park. We at all times 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 an effective 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 exterior your RV and never dumping any of your refuse or tanks. When you permit—there could also be most popular “leave by” hours—take a second to go away a evaluation within the France Passion app. You also can 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 skool. To enroll, it’s a must to order a bodily guide. 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 guide and then you definately’re enrolled.
The price to enroll is at present at $33 yearly (consists of the bodily guide, your membership card, and app entry).
Related: How the France Passion Program Works
Our Experience Staying at France Passion Sites
I communicate zero French. With my huge data of the French language, I used to be somewhat involved about coordinating with hosts. (I’ll cowl French phrases to know within the subsequent chapter!)
I imagined calling French hosts and making an attempt to elucidate in English that we’d like to return 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.
First, the vast majority of the hosts spoke English. Second, for those who didn’t, I used to be in a position to bust out Google Translate (my finest pal when touring overseas) and we managed to get sufficient phrases like “camping car” into the combination or “France Passion”. Inevitably, as soon as they heard France Passion they gave an enthusiastic sure.
Camping Options in France
If you’re planning a highway journey round France, you’ll not wrestle to discover a place to remain for the evening. As you may see, there are a number of free and paid tenting choices in France.
Want journey suggestions for motorhoming in Europe? Check out a few of our standard articles: