Aires in France

Ebbo

Ebbo

Joined
May 3, 2020
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Basse Normandie France
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I'm a newbie
Hi All

Its getting closer to the time when we pick up our first camping car and we are starting to look at places to go,

Ive downloaded a few apps Campercontact & park4night etc and have looked at the many sites available,

some of the sites we have looked at are stated free to use, how does this work? do we just park up, stay and go or do we need to tell someone we are there get a slip or jeton or something?

if there are so many free sites, why stop at one that charges, what is the advantage?

I know I'm in France, but Ive never used an aire before so any advice experiences would be welcome
 
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All aires are different. Some offer free water and cassette dump whereas others want a few euros. You can even find some that offer free electric. If its free just park up in an empty space. You might want to stop in a paid one due to the location or recommendations. Some are merely cramped car parks and others laid out nicely with own patch. Read the reviews on the app and try to leave one too :)

When you get there go with your gut feeling, if it doesn't feel safe then move on. Never stop in motorway aires as they are prone to break ins. Try and spend a few euros in each town/village you stop over.

Cute little puppy you have btw.
 
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Can’t add too much to the above. Especially in Aires that are free, we always leave a Thank You Card written in my bestest French at the Marie that serves the Aire. Just to say thanks for the service you have provided for us.
 
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The beauty of aires is that you just roll up and park.
No booking, no wardens/jailers, no high fences/compounds and very few rules/ regulations.
Generally, if you follow what others are doing, how they are parking etc. you won’t go far wrong.
Many free aires are in lovely spots but it’s sometimes worth paying a few € for better facilities or a super view.
Use the apps like CamperContact but trial and error is the best way to find places that you will want to return to again and again.
Enjoy! (y) :cool:

Richard.

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As your out there already why not have a drive out in your car and have a look at a few, if you’ve got Campercontact there will be some around you.... I love it when I come across one that isn’t in the books or apps...?
 
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Camper Contact tends to be the most reliable source even then you can get caught out & sometimes you find one that has bad reviews and it's superb just a few wallies that have written the reviews. Park4Night is a bit hit and miss a lot of the places aren't suitable for anything other than a PVC always best to check on Google satellite or street maps.
 
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I have to add, aires are Parking spaces and not campsites so the general rule is no awnings out, no washings hanging out, no mats outside. Some sites are quite lax. I normally do what the others do.
 
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WJACC said:
Of course it is not only France, most European countries have their equivalent.. Even the UK has one or two :LOL:
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You are right with the "one or two " :LOL:

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.... also remember that they are, in principle, single over night stays.
 
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Often the details on costs where to get the jetons are on the campercontact app or there will be signage on the actual aire otherwise some have credit card machines the barriers or ticket machines similar to a carpark.
 
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suavecarve said:
And some of them at the right time of year give you a free alarm clock calling when the boulangerie comes to you
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The problem is they always come at 8:30 I'm still in the land of nod.

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Hi Ebbo,
Give us an idea where you want to go , the basic area & what sort of aire you are looking for ,
i.e. by water river canal or lake, in a village or town , near eating places , rural spots or good views .
also what you would like to expect , free water , free aire , paid aire , electrical hook up etc.
I'm sure someone on here will come up with some good suggestions on your first few aires
 
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Fidget .. as newbies ( we havent even picked our van up yet) we have no idea what we will be looking for, in an aire but free anything is always good in my book, we will need to try a few out with the info gleaned on here and take it from there
 
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We have travelled France, Spain and Portugal many times, and there are some beautiful free aires. Equally there are some poor ones.

Craig

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Can't say much more than has already been said apart from try searchforsites as another useful resource.
 
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Many French towns and villages used to have their own municipal sites well maintained and cleaned as the locals benefited from the revenue.
Sadly many have gone or become aires but still cheap even if you have to pay for water and dumping!
We try to use parking places near towns and villages so we can use their bars cafes shops etc

The really expensive campsites are the ones with pools children’s play areas !
Not for us these days!?
 
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'All The Aires' from Vicarious media is a good hard copy manual of Aires - they cover north south France and most of Europe in separate books. It's useful for the small pictures it provides
 
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lorger said:
Can't say much more than has already been said apart from try searchforsites as another useful resource.
Click to expand...
i would also suggest www.campingcar-infos.com which, although in French is available as an app for android (but not yet IOS) and widely regarded as the definitve aire source...for the whole of Europe.

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