Le Havre Aire - PRICES CHANGED (1 Viewer)

[jools66]

Had a night at the Le Havre Aire (N49.4899 E0.10673) on Wednesday this week.

Would like to tell you all that our 'All the Aires' 3rd Edition and the 2013 Camperstop Europe book tell us its FREE to park, well its not! Its €6 to park and €5 for water and some EHU time on the bollard.

Not in a bad place for shops/seafront/marina but bit of a trek in town to get there and right next to a bus terminal and very busy with native MHs

 

[mentaliss]

Had a night at the Le Havre Aire (N49.4899 E0.10673) on Wednesday this week.

Would like to tell you all that our 'All the Aires' 3rd Edition and the 2013 Camperstop Europe book tell us its FREE to park, well its not! Its €6 to park and €5 for water and some EHU time on the bollard.

Not in a bad place for shops/seafront/marina but bit of a trek in town to get there and right next to a bus terminal and very busy with native MHs

its because France can no longer support free Aires... all of us who travel to France next year will find that the local authorities will be charging for Aires sites...but the sites will be improved:Cool:

 

[Parcverger]

Part of the problem is that TVA (French VAT) on campsites and many other services is to increase from 7% to 10% (an increase of over 40%) from 1st January 2014. The higher TVA rate goes up from 19.6% to 20%, so the change is not so noticeable.

Aires are paid for directly or indirectly by local businesses, and with many hit by these increases and other tax rises (austerity applies here as well as in the UK) they are finding it difficult to support what they see as external services. At the same time, many visitors are trying to keep their expenses down, shopping in supermarkets and eating in their motorhomes, so fewer are eating in restaurants and cafes which are hit by this TVA increase. It is inevitable that local aires that provide services are coming under scrutiny.

The second part of the problem which applies particularly to ehus, is that EDF have increased prices from August 2013 by 5%, and have announced that the same increase will be applied in 2014. Their stated aim is to achieve an overall increase of between 20% and 30% (depending on the tariff) within three years.

The taxe de sejour (visitor tax) has long been a fact of life in many areas, though it is only three years since our local authorities introduced this in this region to help pay for the local tourist offices. The rate here is only 20 cts per night and applies from 1/5 tp 30/9, but no doubt the rate (and perhaps the dates) will be increased periodically as costs increase.

France is still very motorhome-friendly, but Funsters and others will need to budget a bit more for overnight stops on aires and campsites. There is so much to see here so it is really worth that bit extra!:thumb:

Bob
www.parcverger.com

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