What time to pull into an Aire?

Robert Houghton

Robert Houghton

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Hello,
We've been motorhoming for 4 years but have got our first trip abroad to France and Spain booked via the tunnel at the end of the month. We've got to get to near Malaga and need to get there reasonably quickly (6 or 7 days?) but hope to enjoy the journey as well. Obviously to cover that distance in the time we'll have to do a lot of miles and hours of driving in a day. We're planning on just using Aires, as we only really need overnight stops.
My question is, what time will we need to be parked up by in order to be fairly sure of getting a space at this time of year. I realise it will vary from place to place and what's on offer there, but I'm just after a rough idea on average. I don't want to just assume I can just drive into the late afternoon, early evening, only to find everywhere has filled up early afternoon. Equally I don't want to unnecessarily park up early out of an unfounded fear everywhere will be full, given the need to cover several hundred miles each day. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
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I'm thinking that at the end of February, most aires won't be busy so it shouldn't matter too much what time you get there. A word of warning though, some aires close without warning so we always have a plan B. Oh and we've arrived at an aire we've chosen and not stopped. We have a rule that if either of us feels uncomfortable, we drive on.

The other thing to consider is getting fresh water. Some aires have this payment card thingy and we've never worked out where you get the cards from. Other aires will be open but not have the water switched on.

During the busier months, we aim to get to our next aire before 4pm.

Good luck and I hope you have a lovely time.
 
Upvote 1
Done lots of trips this time of year.
I would not worry about the aires as they will be pretty quiet, main factor will be daylight hours for driving time.
France does not have as much street or motorway lights as the UK also usually no cats eyes so that just adds to the issues of driving in the dark. On our past trips I usually start once light and aim to finish and park up as its going dusk.
Also done the trips down to Benidorm in mid summer and can still be driving at 10pm (y)
My past route with some stopovers is posted in the resources and may give some tips..

As its a route you dont know I suggest early park up just in case there are any issues with availability, roadworks etc and that way at least you have an option to carry on and find elsewhere.

My piece of string is more like elastic.. :wink::rofl:
 
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We’ve never had a problem getting on an Aire somewhere. Occasionally one will be very busy but the only one I remember being full was at Carcassone in France. We tend to be early arrivers as get an early start in the morning and do our miles then find an Aire, park up and explore that area. Makes a holiday of the journey. I wouldn’t worry too much. Plus invariably you end up with Plan B or C or Z as you may not drive as far or further. Or find you don’t like where you first thought you’d stay. We used to plan but now just drive and start looking later. Enjoy!!
 
Upvote 1
All the French and Germans are here on the Med, it’s rammed. They had to get here somehow so the Aries may be busy. We like to be parked up about 2 to 4 pm when we’re on the road.

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138go said:
. The other thing to consider is getting fresh water
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Yep, always travel with a full tank between November & March as most Aires will have the water turned off. Also we found last year I think due to covid a lot of Aites had the water permanently off.
 
Upvote 0
Robert Houghton said:
Hello,
We've been motorhoming for 4 years but have got our first trip abroad to France and Spain booked via the tunnel at the end of the month. We've got to get to near Malaga and need to get there reasonably quickly (6 or 7 days?) but hope to enjoy the journey as well. Obviously to cover that distance in the time we'll have to do a lot of miles and hours of driving in a day. We're planning on just using Aires, as we only really need overnight stops.
My question is, what time will we need to be parked up by in order to be fairly sure of getting a space at this time of year. I realise it will vary from place to place and what's on offer there, but I'm just after a rough idea on average. I don't want to just assume I can just drive into the late afternoon, early evening, only to find everywhere has filled up early afternoon. Equally I don't want to unnecessarily park up early out of an unfounded fear everywhere will be full, given the need to cover several hundred miles each day. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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As you are intending to get to Malaga fairly swiftly l presume you are unlike to lay in bed on a morning,therefore,starting your daily journey at say 9.00ish with two short stops Coffee 20mins,Lunch 40mins you will cover a good amount of Mikes/Kilometres by 4.00ish, still daylight driving so no panic. Using S4S with very little planning you will not be far from a stop and in February you will have absolutely no problem. Done lots of times the most recent a week ago it’s not until you get seriously south Seville onwards that it’s a bit busier because of lots of people waiting for the crossing to Morocco to open.
 
Upvote 0
The best advice we ever got on our first motorhome trip in Europe was from a seasoned motorhomer who we chatted to in the car park at Carrefour in Calais. His motto was to always be stopped at the place you are going to overnight at by 4pm. So about 3:30 to 4:00 we open up the Campercontact app on the phone and see what interesting places there are to stop in the locality where we have got to.

After all we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves and driving until we are shattered and its dark is not our version of enjoyment. 4pm means you can get out of the motorhome and stretch your legs and have a wander around the area to see what is on offer at the place you are staying at. We have found some really lovely towns and villages in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy on our journeys that we had never heard of but enjoyed. Sometimes we are enjoying ourselves so much that we decide to stay another night. French towns and villages pay for aires to be built to encourage people to comes into their centres and spend some money.

If you are really determined you can hammer away on the motorways of France and Spain and get from Calais to Malaga in 3 days if you try really hard. But, if you do, you will probably miss some interesting places that you have never heard of. And you will be shattered when you arrive.
 
Upvote 0
Robert Houghton said:
Hello,
We've been motorhoming for 4 years but have got our first trip abroad to France and Spain booked via the tunnel at the end of the month. We've got to get to near Malaga and need to get there reasonably quickly (6 or 7 days?) but hope to enjoy the journey as well. Obviously to cover that distance in the time we'll have to do a lot of miles and hours of driving in a day. We're planning on just using Aires, as we only really need overnight stops.
My question is, what time will we need to be parked up by in order to be fairly sure of getting a space at this time of year. I realise it will vary from place to place and what's on offer there, but I'm just after a rough idea on average. I don't want to just assume I can just drive into the late afternoon, early evening, only to find everywhere has filled up early afternoon. Equally I don't want to unnecessarily park up early out of an unfounded fear everywhere will be full, given the need to cover several hundred miles each day. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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Calais to Malaga non toll is about 24hrs so over 6-7 days you're looking at 3-4hrs driving per day. Not huge driving.
We like to set off each morning no later that about 10 so allowing about 45mins for lunch, you will be at the next aire by 2.30ish. You should have no problems finding a space mid afternoon.
Before you set off, work out a rough plan of travelling times using something like Viamichelin and that will give you a target aire. On arrival, that aire maybe closed or you may feel like driving a bit further so have a couple of alternative aires a little further on the route. As previously said, always travel with a full fresh water tank and where possible an empty toilet. Like in UK, supermarkets generally have the cheapest fuel so never miss an opportunity to top up.
When planning an aire, always look at the pictures and reviews.

Terry

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Upvote 1
Robert Houghton said:
Seriously.....is that really the best, most helpful, or amazingly witty comment you can come up with ?
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Yes it is but written just after England lost to Scotland so I was in a depressed mood,
Seriously though we've arrived at aires at all times of the day and night with very varied results. As people have said .... it all depends on....... so its very difficult to advise unless you narrow down the circumstances and even more difficult post pandemic. I usually try to be helpful but rugby grief got the better of me and the afternoon started so well with Ireland drubbing Wales :p :p
 
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We have just travelled over the last couple of weeks down through France havnt found water turned off anywhere and now in Northeast Spain. Aires in France no problems getting on. The one we are on tonight in Roses Spain is full, we arrived about 2ish and was only a few spaces left. Saying that it is a Saturday. Don't worry too much there is always somewhere to park up.
Totally different from the UK.
Enjoy.
🏉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
 
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Robert Haughton, as others have said, getting on an Aire at this time of year isn't usually a problem.

Using tonka Steve's (non toll) Western Route (in resources), we leave Canterbury P&R after an overnighter with full tanks of water, fuel, and gas, crossing the Channel, and stopping for the night about an hour from Calais.
After an early night, we are often up between 5 -6 am, a quick wash and a coffee, then hit the roads while they are quiet. We stop for breakfast at around 09.00, then carry on until lunchtime, when we arrive at our next planned stopover.
This daily routine suits us and usually gets us to Benidorm on day five.

HTH,

Jock. :)
 
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I want to be parked before dark including time to drive to a Plan B, also I don't worry about water as there's always an Aldi, Lidl or supermarket enroute - servicing the loo is more important to us.

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I always tend to arrive early afternoon and have a look round the place.
Popular aires can fill up throughout the evening though very popular ones such as those with a beach on the med can be full with long stayers.
 
Upvote 0
Robert Houghton said:
Hello,
We've been motorhoming for 4 years but have got our first trip abroad to France and Spain booked via the tunnel at the end of the month. We've got to get to near Malaga and need to get there reasonably quickly (6 or 7 days?) but hope to enjoy the journey as well. Obviously to cover that distance in the time we'll have to do a lot of miles and hours of driving in a day. We're planning on just using Aires, as we only really need overnight stops.
My question is, what time will we need to be parked up by in order to be fairly sure of getting a space at this time of year. I realise it will vary from place to place and what's on offer there, but I'm just after a rough idea on average. I don't want to just assume I can just drive into the late afternoon, early evening, only to find everywhere has filled up early afternoon. Equally I don't want to unnecessarily park up early out of an unfounded fear everywhere will be full, given the need to cover several hundred miles eachof the day. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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I doubt if you will find many Aires that are full at the end of February (although I think I may have just invoked Sod's Law!).

We use one of the Aire locations apps to select several per day - based on an average of about 300 miles per day. We prefer not to drive during the rush-hour (we don't restrict ourselves to motorways) so often leave about 06:30 and stop for breakfast between 08:00 and 09:30. Then a longish stop for lunch before stopping before the eveing rush hour at 17:00. This gives us about 7 hrs driving a day. So we use the app to find Aires along the route from between 275 to 350 miles. This allows for a "good" or "bad" day. That usually gives us a choice of about 4 Aires. The apps often tell you if it is popular one.
If you're happy to drive in the dark you also have the option of doing a few hours after the evening rush hour.
The apps will tell you what facilities are available - assuming you won't need the full range every evening you should have plenty of choice, so if the first one is full you can go on to the next one.
If this is your first trip driving abroad you might want to factor that in too. You're likely to be concentrating more than usual and might want/need more breaks.
I hope you enjoy your trip - Covid willing we'll be doing a similar trip a few weeks later
 
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Aw poor Kups is depressed 🤣 😀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

If you’re desperate to get down to Malaga that quickly you’ll miss out in some amazing places but we haven’t found any difficulties with getting into Aires in mid season as long as you’re in around 4 pm. Take your time and enjoy the journey.🚐🚐
 
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Well, thank you all so much for all the very helpful information !! It really has basically answered my question, but with the bonus of extra useful tips thrown in as well. What the group is all about 😄
It looks like the general consensus is start early (ish), enjoy the driving, but best to try to be parked up by 4. Thanks again everyone.
 
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I wouldn't worry too much at this time of year. We have to do the tunnel cos we can throw up on a duck pond! That means hauling a large 5ver all the way to south of Benidorm. Having been stung with 1 night prices once, we always wild camp all the way down, even with the size of our rig. Usually takes us 5 days. We've only used one village Aire in France (twice actually) and usually pull off the Autoroute and head for the nearest forest. The French are mental for the outdoors so almost EVERY forest, lake or outdoor space will have a carpark, most of which (in our experience) do not have height barriers unless you're close to villages/towns/busy tourist areas.
Example. Stopping for the night down near Bordeaux. Pull of the Autoroute and head the short distance to the coast. NO CHANCE! Every single carpark/suitable area had restrictions. However, same area but INLAND of the Autoroute, out in the huge forest, loads of walkers/hunters carparks. Lovely and quiet and safe cos no one expects to find you out there.
 
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TheMachMan said:
Do Aires have toilet emptying facilities?
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They vary so much... I always tell people not to judge until you have visited quite a few..
Had some that are just a car park / parking area.
Some have waste dump and free water.
Sometimes there is a "bourne" where you can get low amp electric and water, often via token that you can purchase locally.
Been on some that are more like campsites or even converted campsites.
Stayed by lakes, centre of cities, up mountains etc.. The variety is huge(y)(y)
 
Upvote 1
Badknee said:
All the French and Germans are here on the Med, it’s rammed. They had to get here somehow so the Aries may be busy. We like to be parked up about 2 to 4 pm when we’re on the road.
Click to expand...
I’m surprised it’s not full of Dutch vans as nearly all the vans we saw in December were Dutch heading to Spain before Holland went in to lockdown.
 
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TheMachMan said:
Do Aires have toilet emptying facilities?
Click to expand...
The short answer is some! But that's no help to you.

If you've never used Aires before it might be a good idea to buy "Camperstop Europe" and you can browse it at your leisure.

Alternatively get one of the apps like Campercontact - where you can download information and search online.

All these options will list the facilities available at each Aire. They range from a place (free) tp park - to card entry access and electricity. Many have grey and black water dumps and water. Some have toilets. The site descriptions usually tell you things about the Aire's environment - e.g how quiet, if there's a view, how near the shops etc. And often you can find reviews from people who have stayed there.

A search of this site (Motorhome fun) will also reveal how to download the Aires to your GPS - which is very helpful because you can then use the "POI near" or "POI on route" function to plan your stops
 
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