When in search of the perfect nation to tour in a motorhome, it in a short time turned clear that France is without doubt one of the finest European international locations for van life. In actual fact, we predict France is ideal for van life, particularly in case you are nonetheless comparatively new to life on the street.
Whereas Europe is, on the entire, extraordinarily welcoming of motorhomes and campervans, you’ll usually discover that completely different international locations have completely different views on wild tenting and low-cost campsites might be few and much between. For instance, Croatia, closely publicises that tenting outdoors of authorised campgrounds is prohibited and due to this fact relying on if you journey it may be costly. Even out of season, there are only a few campsites that cost lower than 20 euros an evening.
Van life in France nevertheless, is a pleasure and on the entire, stress-free.
France is without doubt one of the largest international locations in Europe, the roads are sometimes quieter and there are extra locations to stopover. That doesn’t imply you received’t come throughout issues, however even within the smaller villages there’s usually loads of parking for everybody.
Why is France the proper nation to go to for van lifers?
Firstly, journey to France from the UK is painless. There are a number of suppliers that provide transport throughout the channel, making it one of the vital accessible locations to go to and when you choose to take the euro tunnel prepare throughout, you might be there inside 35 minutes.
However to make your life even simpler we have now compiled this starter information for anybody who is considering taking their camper throughout to mainland Europe.
A free park up on the banks of the Loire Valley
A Newbie’s Information to travelling in France
Entry to France
Whereas France is just 20 miles away, there are specific guidelines and rules that everybody travelling through street should comply with.
#1 Entry necessities:
France is a part of the EU so anybody that has EU residency has freedom of motion. Nonetheless, for non-EU residents, you have to to stay conscious that it’s a part of the Schengen Zone, that means you can keep for as much as 3 months (90 days) over the course of 180 days.
Right here is a straightforward information for anybody fighting the Schengen guidelines. It additionally features a helpful calculator which is ideal to assist with future journey planning.
#2 Travelling with Pets:
Many van lifers like to journey with their furry associates, and why not, however it is very important do not forget that there are specific issues you must do forward of journey. Firstly, canine and cats each want an EU Pet Passport or an animal well being certificates which you’ll then must convert if you get to France.
On high of this you have to a vet to verify that they’ve had a rabies vaccination, a minimum of 21 days earlier than journey and that their booster is booked in. Lastly, all pets should be mirco-chipped.
For a extra in-depth information on travelling to France with Pets I like to recommend studying this complete article by Pets That Journey.
#3 Vital Paperwork & Insurance coverage:
On high of a sound passport, you additionally must be sure to have:
For you motorhome or campervan:
– your driving license,
– proof you personal the car (V5),
– an MOT Certificates
– legitimate insurance coverage for the car
– a Inexperienced Card out of your insurer
– An Worldwide Driving Allow (solely relevant when you determine to journey to different international locations presently outdoors of the EU eg. Montenegro)
On high of this, we might additionally recommend you are taking out breakdown cowl, however make sure that whichever supplier you go together with they cowl you for the total size of time you might be in mainland Europe and never simply a regular 30 days in anyone journey. That is additionally true for car insurance coverage.
For You:
- Journey insurance coverage that lasts for the total period of your keep
Since leaving the EU, not all journey insurance policies cowl you for greater than 30 days at a time. Alpha Insurance coverage is without doubt one of the few insurers that we have now discovered providing an extended keep coverage the place you’ll be able to state your begin and end date in response to your plans.
#4 Different Authorized Necessities:
There are additionally fundamental gadgets you must carry with you always when driving in France:
Different issues to contemplate embrace:
On high of this, you not want to hold breathalyzers nevertheless, they will nonetheless be bought must you want to.
#5 Bear in mind your Crit’air France sticker
Firstly, a crit’air sticker is a clear air certificates which you must affix to your windscreen as a way to journey by way of sure cities and cities in France. It signifies that your car meets the present environmental standards and that you’re not over-polluting an space of heavy footfall.
At current, your motorhome or campervan might want to adjust to Euro 6 manufacturing guidelines, and will likely be assessed on their emissions output.
You must apply for a crit’air sticker through the crit’air official web site, including all of your car data to allow them to make a good evaluation. As soon as this has taken place you’ll then obtain your sticker by way of the put up. This may take as much as 10 days so be sure to apply in loads of time.Your sticker, which is available in six completely different colors, highlights the classification of your camper and whether or not you’ll be able to journey by way of the low emissions zones in cities presently below the scheme.
Choices for in a single day stays
As soon as your entire paperwork is sorted, you’ll be able to then begin planning to your journey. That is usually the most effective half; planning the place to go, how lengthy to remain for and what to see. So as to add to this, you additionally want to start out serious about what stopovers in France you wish to use.
There are a number of completely different choices right here together with:
Campsites – which regularly require you to e book prematurely, particularly in excessive season and are improbable if you wish to cease in the identical place for every week or two. If you’re travelling out of season, we extremely advocate buying an asci card, which gives you with reductions of as much as 60% on greater than 3,000 campsites throughout Europe.
French Aires – these are usually low-cost or free alternate options to campsites and are excellent in case you are self-contained. One can find these throughout the nation in each bigger cities and small villages. Whereas they don’t include swimming swimming pools, bathrooms or showers, they usually have a WC Chemical disposal, a gray waste grate and a contemporary water provide (eau transportable). Some aries will even have an electrical hook-up (EHU) facility though this isn’t assured.
Aires should not usually bookable prematurely, though Tenting Automobile France do have a number of websites the place that is doable, due to this fact it’s advisable to reach early, particularly if you’re going to a busy location like Honfleur which has over 200 spots however in August will refill shortly.
Honfleur Aire, France
Aires are additionally not campsites and due to this fact you’ll usually discover that awnings should not allowed and it isn’t a provided that chairs and tables are acceptable exterior equipment. All the time be sure to learn the foundations as you drive in. Likewise, whereas some aires will fortunately allow you to pay to remain for 4 or 5 days, some solely permit a 24 or 48 hour stopover.
Motorhome Aire within the Jura at Lac de Saint-Level
To search out the most effective aires in France there are a number of apps you would use together with Park4Night, Search4Sites, iOverlander and Campercontact. These apps spotlight not solely the placement of the aire but in addition how huge it’s, what services they’ve and the way a lot it prices, it could additionally let you know learn how to pay. Cost is just not all the time by card and due to this fact we might all the time advocate having some money on you simply in case. We had been caught out in Saumur after we visited, however luckily the group visited each day to gather the charges and so we had been capable of backdate it.
French Ardour – in case you are in search of some conventional french delicacies, these would be the excellent in a single day stops in France for you. Began again in 1993, French Ardour permits self-contained motorhomes to remain in a single day at no cost after buying a yearly membership which for 2023 is simply 33 euros.
Hosts are typically rural, set inside farms or vineyards the place they produce their very own olive oil, fruit and greens, honey, cheese, remedy their very own meats or bottle their very own wine. For these staying you may have the chance to discover the environment and check out a few of the finest that France has to supply, though there isn’t a obligation to purchase.
If you’re seeking to keep off the primary vacationer observe and your France street journey itinerary permits, then French Ardour is definitely price contemplating and will actually assist to maintain the value of touring Europe in a motorhome to a minimal.
Wild Tenting – whereas another international locations frown upon wild tenting, France is extraordinarily open to the thought so long as you comply with sure guidelines. These embrace:
- You must search permission from the landowner the place required
- You can not wild camp on the French Coast, close to designated historic websites or in Nationwide Parks
- French authorities have the appropriate to create and alter guidelines for their very own space at any time which can prohibit in a single day tenting, though indicators must be clearly displayed.
On high of this, you must keep away from parking near residential areas, by no means put an awning or your desk and chairs out and solely keep for the evening. You must also keep away from dropping gray waste and should all the time take your garbage with you.
Wild tenting on the Loire Valley
Different Helpful Issues You Might Want
Armed with all of this data, you are actually able to plan your subsequent journey throughout to mainland Europe however to make your time there as worry-free as doable we have now a number of suggestions for you.
Sat Nav: A respectable motorhome Sat Nav is unquestionably the most effective factor to buy. It lets you navigate unknown roads and keep away from low bridges or roads with a weight restrict. We’ve got used the Garmin Avtex for a 12 months now and love the truth that we will add within the dimensions of our motorhome in order that we keep away from any unsuitable routes.
Wifi: Whether or not engaged on the street or wanting to maintain up along with your favorite Netflix or amazon prime reveals, an excellent motorhome Wifi system is a blessing. Working remotely, we have to make it possible for we will all the time get on-line and for that motive we invested in a Netgear router in addition to quite a few sim playing cards.
Sim Playing cards: Whereas with reference to sim playing cards, since Brexit, anybody travelling from the UK into Europe could now be subjected to knowledge roaming prices once more so be sure to examine along with your supplier to search out out precisely what’s and isn’t lined. If you end up in want of a brand new sim card in France, head to the native hypermarket the place you can see a number of choices accessible to you on a pay-as-you-go plan.
Safety: This doesn’t simply apply when travelling in France, however it’s one thing necessary to contemplate. Nobody desires to be damaged into and due to this fact, including some deterrents is all the time worthwhile. We’ve got added a door lock as a result of the Elddis one simply didn’t appear very sturdy. These can be added to storage doorways when you have a bigger storage which permits entrance into the primary residing space. On high of that, we even have a steering wheel lock and a pedal lock.
Refillable fuel bottles: Gasoline bottles have gotten tougher to pay money for and whereas within the UK LPG is usually laborious to search out, in Mainland Europe, you can see it all over the place. If you happen to determine to buy fuel bottles as you go, additionally, you will want to alter the adaptors if you change nation. With refillable LPG you should purchase a easy adaptor package to make filling up simple irrespective of which location you might be in.
Finally, for anybody new to motorhoming or van life, journeys to France will open your eyes to simply how simple life might be. Search for routes that take you off the motorways and benefit from the drive by way of the French countryside, stopping off at comparatively unknown locations and waking as much as the scent of contemporary baguettes on supply on the native boulangerie.
France actually is a van life dream.
Have you ever visited in your motorhome or campervan? What suggestions do you may have for inexperienced persons driving in France?
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