France or Holland (1 Viewer)

Jun 16, 2013
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Next summer will be our first trip to Europe in the motorhome. We originally thought of Holland via Harwich, but after reading some threads on the roads etc now wondering whether France would be better.

If France better for a first trip? My OH only wants to use camp sites so no aires. Are the roads less busy? Is it cheaper than Holland? More interesting?

The ferry from Harwich is cheaper in summer holidays, but it is a long drive, would rather go from Portsmouth if going to France than Dover.

Thanks
 
Feb 16, 2013
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:cool:only my opinion ,France every time ,avoid Holland like the plague . Nowt wrong with Aires either usually more room on them than campsites and more money left for wine
 

Mel

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Nothing wrong with The Netherlands we often go for weekends.
However France is very different you are much more welcome with a Motorhome than any other european country.

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Feb 16, 2013
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Holland for a couple of days,fine, Amsterdam especially but if you don't want to be bankrupt looking at the same Old flat countryside,getting run over by maniacs on bikes , stick to France
 
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Steve101uk

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Holland is nice but France wins for me. If you go to France you will see loads of motor homers from Holland and Belgium.

I don't understand why you would avoid motor home aires. some are virtually as good as sites, and some not. but they are generally cheaper and easy to find. We usually do a bit of both aires and sites. mostly municipals.

And the roads are not as busy in France just avoid large city's as they can get busy. Driving in France is generally much easier than the UK.
 
Feb 16, 2013
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we stayed on the second to last acsi site in France before Spain on the med, although I'm not complaining, 18 euros a night , cc and ccc would have gone into meltdown, about 6 foot between vans, fresh and black water on same post,just dust ground, we are now on an aire in the Pyrenees, tarmac,as much room as you want ,toilets the lot mountain views all around, five minutes from town centre,4 euros, no comparison
 
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Chockswahay

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I agree with everyone before me. Holland is fine for a short visit but not very MH friendly. I have MH friends from Holland and they would tell you the same!

France has just about anything you could possibly want.......... food, wine, culture, history, scenery, mountains, flatlands, sea, good weather,............. the list goes on.....

You said 'no aires'........... but how can you make a qualified decision without any experience?

Be kind to yourself, if you are going abroad in your MH for the first time then France is probably the best place to 'cut your teeth'.........

The cities are like any other country......busy and cosmopolitan. The roads are well suited to the slower speeds of MH's and there is no need to take toll roads unless you wish to cover many hundreds of miles in a day.

Take the blinkers off and enjoy ;)(y)
 
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Jun 16, 2013
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Thanks everyone I will take it France is better :)

I would love to stay in aires, but OH doesn't want to one with out toilets. So interesting to read that some have toilets. :) I think I should buy a book on Aires and have a good read. I am a planner so the first trip will be planned, with the hope that the next time we will be more flexible.

What is the best crossing point from the Portsmouth area? Some seem really expensive, but it is in the August holidays. Is it better to do an overnight?

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Chockswahay

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Spidey....... I'll just say what others are thinking........ why not use your own toilet? surely it's one of the benefits of having a MH in the first place.

As for which route, it really does depend on what you want. Price or convenience? We find the unsociable hour ferries OK for us but it is true to say they can be quite fatiguing if longer than 90 minutes or s0

Also, plan your entry point in France with your target destination in mind. The saving made in a cheap crossing can be lost if it takes another 500 miles to get to where you want.

Hope this is not obvious reply, but you did ask..;)
 
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Spidey
Jun 16, 2013
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Totally agree about the toilet, but my OH is adamant that we only use it for number 1's. :( I am hoping in time he will change his mind. Especially with the money that can be saved by using aires. ;)

So excited about our first trip in MH into Europe. :)
 

Steve101uk

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You will likely find that your MH loo is cleaner than many public loos. we use ours all the time, its the point of having it!

I am not a fan of ferries although I am considering it for next year as we are going to the Il de Rey and as others have said it cuts out a lot of driving going this route. I like the tunnel as its fast and easy and booking through C&CC gets 10% off. and I don't book until about two weeks before leaving. Price wise I don't think there is much in it once you add fuel costs, and tolls etc.

I do have a rough plan when we go but it tends to go off piste very quickly as there are just so many options.

One option you may consider is Brugge in Belgium and then make your way back to France so you get two for one. We did this earlier in the year and plan on doing it again.

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