Aires or ACSI campsites

[stevel]

Am planning a winter trip through France, Spain and Portugal next January. Around 9 weeks in total. This will be our first foray into Europe so have a question about using Aires and ACSI campsites? ACSI sites I guess you need to pre-book (?), so it seems I need to make some early decisions. Do you decide from the outset to use either/or?

 

[mikebeaches]

Rarely necessary to pr-book ACSI, especially in the winter. One or two could be busy in the coastal honeypot locations on the southern Spanish Costas and the Algarve, but otherwise should be fine.

Very few campsites open in France during mid-winter.

We normally default to ACSI sites in Spain, but equally happy to use aires in France if just travelling through. We never book sites on the continent.

But all Funsters have their own preferences, which are probably not the same as ours...

Have a great trip!

 

[Landy Andy]

Don’t book anything. It removes the fun that is discovering.

 

[Toady]

I use searchforsites and stop at a mixture of sites. I rarely book anything.

 

[Folkranger]

Am planning a winter trip through France, Spain and Portugal next January. Around 9 weeks in total. This will be our first foray into Europe so have a question about using Aires and ACSI campsites? ACSI sites I guess you need to pre-book (?), so it seems I need to make some early decisions. Do you decide from the outset to use either/or?

Never pre-book

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[jumar]

Depends what you want from an overnight stay. Security Showers Laundry...both Private Aires and ACSI sites provide....
My advice to a first time in Spain visitor is to aim to arrive before lunch, say ACSI of you choice. then if you don't like the location etc have a back up Aire found on Park4Night..
Generally speaking Aires on Coast are Private.where inland lots of free ones are to be found...these may be basic, but a good back up if you only need to sleep. Don't be drawn into finding a nice place and staying put for weeks on end...Iberia has so much to offer....

 

[philann]

We use ACSI, never pre-book.

 

[Offagain]

We use aires.
Unless we were (rarely) heading for somewhere specific, my driver used to give me an hour or so’s warning and I would start looking for somewhere nice to stay the night. These days I tend to plan a little more in advance as our route is more predictable.
During the winter you may find that the fresh water supply is turned off in many aires in France so have a back up plan. We carry a large container of fresh water in the garage for flushing the cassette in emergencies.

 

[Reallyretired]

Very few ACSI sites open in France in the winter. Aires open but usually water turned off. Always travel with a full water tank and heating on to avoid the automatic dump valve operating.
Never book, you can't book Aires except CCP and a lot of ACSI sites dont allow booking.

 

[Rapido925M]

Always travel with a full water tank and heating on to avoid the automatic dump valve operating.

IF you can do that safely!

Gordon

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[Gaston aires]

No booking with Aires or ACSI. Not many French campsites open in the winter. Use search for sites app (the pay version)for all the information you need.

 

[peterc10]

On our first ever trip to France we made the mistake of booking camp sites in September. When we got there they were all nearly empty. Never made that mistake again.

Since then we have been to France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany and have never booked anything except the ferry/tunnel since. We have always managed to find somewhere to stop for the night using Campercontact app, ACSI or recommendations made by funsters and other motorhomers we meet on our travels.

But then we never travel in the high season.

 

[jongood]

It depends what you want to do; if you want an overnight then definitly an aire, but if you want a few days, do some washing, get the scooter out, probably a campsite. Just be aware Area Campers in Spain don't generally work thevsame as French Aires, and carry plenty of water in the northern sections.

 

[stevel]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. It will help a lot.