Driving to France!

[Stay Frosty]

Not cheap using the autoroutes but just like the choice between staying on the M6 and taking a leisurely stroll through Birmingham or the expensive £9 version where you hurtle past at 70 mph.
If you've got to cover 300 plus Kms and get there in time for tea, no site seeing, then covering that distance at 80 mph is doable, saying that their route nationals make our roads look the shame they are.

 

[Jonesy68]

Not cheap using the autoroutes but just like the choice between staying on the M6 and taking a leisurely stroll through Birmingham or the expensive £9 version where you hurtle past at 70 mph.
If you've got to cover 300 plus Kms and get there in time for tea, no site seeing, then covering that distance at 80 mph is doable, saying that their route nationals make our roads look the shame they are.

Yeah we tend to go more scenic on the way back, we are doing hotels so I just want to get there at a reasonable time to have some time there and get out of the seat. Amazing roads in France though, the Normandy Bridge was amazing today

 

[Lubrown]

I took a headlight deflector kit on a European trip and didn't fit them at first as I thought I wouldn't need to be driving in the dark in mid summer, but I had to fit them in Norway when I realised I was going through loads of tunnels, and got flashed by oncoming cars once or twice. So check if you're route involves tunnels.

Tunnels is a good point and in France you are supposed to use dipped headlights in the rain I think, certainly on the motorways.
Yes it will be in daylight (although storm clouds make it pretty dark at times) so less of a dazzling issue for other drivers but you will stand out.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Not cheap using the autoroutes but just like the choice between staying on the M6 and taking a leisurely stroll through Birmingham or the expensive £9 version where you hurtle past at 70 mph.
If you've got to cover 300 plus Kms and get there in time for tea, no site seeing, then covering that distance at 80 mph is doable, saying that their route nationals make our roads look the shame they are.

Not quite. Most large cities/towns have free sections of autoroute as a bypass/“Rocade”. The rest of the time there’s usually a main road/dual carriageway running parallel to the autoroute. On a trip the length of France, 800 miles or thereabouts, the autoroute will save about 6 hours of driving, but cost around €100. We set the satnav to “Avoid Tolls” unless we are in a real rush (very rarely). You get to see much more of the country, stop off in a pretty village or town for lunch instead of a soulless services, that’s assuming you can actually get into the services & find a parking spot. AND you get cheaper diesel.

 

[Stay Frosty]

You can use the autoroutes without having to use the services or the fuel pumps.
We generally stopped for fuel in town when leaving the previous campsite and for food on the journey it would be whatever we had left onboard, for bogs it would be an autoroute aire.
We stopped at 6 sites over the four weeks in France with either 4 or 5 nights at each location, enough to get an idea of those areas via foot, camper, bus or train and leave lumps of France untouched for future adventures.

 

[JumpShip]

We drove through thick fog in france for about 5 days on the trot last year while heading to spain in December.
Needed fog lights that I haven't used for years .

 

[wilko1979]

hi all driving to france next week.

I have the headlight benders do you have to fit these even if your not driving at night?

any photos of how they look fitted please.

tia

 

[Alied]

Just about to pack the van up for an early start tomorrow down to the tunnel, couple of stops in France then down to Murcia Spain.
What's the price of diesel in France like? Last year it was cheaper.

Sorry for the late reply but I use this site when on the continent Real time petrol prices in your area

 

[Salty Spuds]

hi all driving to france next week.

I have the headlight benders do you have to fit these even if your not driving at night?

any photos of how they look fitted please.

tia

Where you fit them (or not) depends on the model of lights you have. Unless you’re intending to drive at night I wouldn’t bother personally.

 

[ginkster]

hi all driving to france next week.

I have the headlight benders do you have to fit these even if your not driving at night?

any photos of how they look fitted please.

tia

If you have OEM LED lights you may not need them. Otherwise, yes, theoretically they should be fitted all the time you are in the country. Headlights are required in rain and tunnels, not just at night. Having said that many don’t bother and haven’t been stopped. Mine often seem to blow off and I don’t bother refitting. Your choice if you are happy with the risk and subsequent in the spot fine if caught.

Sorry, no pics on the Transporter but instructions are normally included.

p.s. most, like the Eurolites, don’t bend the beam, they just block the upkick to the left.

 

[Lubrown]

hi all driving to france next week.

I have the headlight benders do you have to fit these even if your not driving at night?

any photos of how they look fitted please.

tia

Been travelling to France for years and this is the first year I haven’t fitted the headlight stickers (although they are in the glovebox).
We don’t drive at night - prefer to be chilling out with a beer. I use the headlights when it’s raining - as you should in France, but I adjust the angle with the dial on the dash so the reflectors tilt downward. Not that people will be dazzled in the daytime to much.

Fitment instructions are usually provided in the pack.

If you do fit them remember to peel the off as soon as you’re at the ferry port. Warm the lenses by keeping your headlights on for five or ten minutes so the adhesive is soft. The ones I use tend to leave the adhesive film behind (by design - to be removed separately) and if you soften it by warming, as described above, this film backer peels off really easily. Never had an issue.

 

[Fishinbrine]

Well we are all safely back from France!
Can't believe I've never done this before! Super simple to use the tunnel, driving abroad was very easy too!
Feedback on what I would say were essentials and great advice for our trip:

• Emovis tag! Made the tolls on the way to the site and absolute doddle, we went an alternative route on the way back to see more of the country as tolls are very boring and actually quite expensive, cost us roughly £70 on the way there.
• Telescopic window cleaner and decent window cleaner, I use glass polish anyway but wow - the amount of bugs on the screen was unreal! Every toilet break for the kids and whilst on the tunnel I gave the glass a clean, wouldn't like to pute windscreen cover over all of that when arriving on site!
• EHU adapter we didn't take one but the site had them for free so was no real issue - typically the one thing I forgot we needed
• Socket tester for the mains, maybe not essential but I felt much better knowing all was correct
• Diesel costs! Wow so expensive on any sort of 'main route' we actually spent time on the way to our site seeing the most expensive rather than cheapest €2.16 for regular diesel!! On the way back, we paid around €1.50 away from the motorways and toll roads.
• Headlight deflectors, I took them, kept them in glovebox, it rained on way back in Calais, I turned the adjuster and dipped right down and was fine into the tunnel - this last section is on a motorway with little chance of dazzling anyone.
• One great thing learnt, on the T6.1 head unit, changing the units to metric gave me the large KPH display on the instrument cluster and was a real benefit for me.

All in all a great easy trip and one I will be doing many more times in the future, site was great, weather amazing, van drove great - 40 psi fronts, 42 psi rears felt nicest.

Thanks again all for the advice, I hope to be able to advise and help anyone else concerned on their first camper adventure abroad!

 

[Bav]

I was going to start a new thread, but this one seemed ideal to tag on to the end of...

We (me & the missus) are off to France mid/late September - first time in the van, so nervous and excited in equal measure.

Lots of useful info here already, so appreciate all the contributions so far, but looking for additional advice specific to our trip.

We plan to head to the Charante-Maritime area (La Rochelle, Île de Ré, Rochefort, etc.) and stop on a single site, using that as a base to explore the area. I believe there aren't any French school holidays in September, which hopefully means there won't be many kids around (even if we book one of the bigger sites) and there'll be adequate availability. Have I got that right or is it likely to be busy and/or overrun with kids?

What's the weather like typically at that time of year in that area of France? Appreciate the weather could be atypical, but, ideally, we'd want daytime high temps in the low 20s °C with a low risk of rain - is that a realistic expectation for that area at that time of year?

Any recommendations for a beach-side campsites in that area? The choice seems overwhelming, but we'd prefer a site that's within walking/cycling distance of a few restaurants, which seems tricky to gauge.

We'll be catching the early evening ferry from New Haven and reaching Dieppe around 9pm, so we'd want an overnight stop pretty soon after that. How easy will it be to find an aire (or a site) on spec? Should we look to book somewhere (bearing in mind it'll be dark by that point and we'll be avoiding the tolls/autoroutes)?

Google maps says 7.5 hrs driving time from Dieppe to La Rochelle if avoiding tolls/routes. Does that sound realistic?

Aaargh - so many questions!

TIA.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Went to Ile de Re last year and while it's ok there it is very flat and reminiscent of the fens around Boston or down around Chichester.
Isle de Noirmoutier further up is pretty similar and not as rammed, if you're still at the booking stage and don't mind going past Bordeaux then Arcachon is very pretty with Cap Ferat opposite and the Dune de Pilat 5 Kms south, you can catch the train to Bordeaux from Arcachon for €44 two returns, Bordeaux is worth a visit.


Arcachon above, Dune de Pilat below...

Bordeaux...


After 4 weeks looping around France we were back here a week and I experienced a genuine feeling of loss, life in a powered dumpster can be pretty liberating.
Edit, realistically getting out of Dieppe at 9:00pm would be a case of stopping in a decent Aire.

 

[Wayne01]

Sorry to jump in, why dont you need to "light stickers" on OEM Led's?

I've got a 74 plate highline - are you saying you do need them as they are equipped or don't blind cars on the "otherside"

Thanks

 

[JumpShip]

You'll love it Bav , soooo easy and the roads are so nice compared to ours .
Once you've got your head around driving on the wrong side , roundabouts etc it's an absolute doddle.
There's a site at Neufchatel-en-bray we use on the way in and out that's very good and not far from Dieppe.

Camping Sainte Claire - Camping*** trois étoiles, aire camping-car - 76

Camping Sainte Claire*** à Neufchâtel-en-Bray, 76 Seine Maritime, Normandie. Location au camping : tente, caravane, camping-car, aire-camping car automatique.

camping-sainteclaire.com

Everything you'd ever want/need within walking distance.

 

[Bav]

Sorry to jump in, why dont you need to "light stickers" on OEM Led's?

I've got a 74 plate highline - are you saying you do need them as they are equipped or don't blind cars on the "otherside"

Thanks

LEDs, the OEM version at least, have a flat(tish) beam pattern - there's a small up-tick, but nothing like beam shape cast by asymmetric headlights.

 

[Bav]

Went to Ile de Re last year and while it's ok there it is very flat and reminiscent of the fens around Boston or down around Chichester.
Isle de Noirmoutier further up is pretty similar and not as rammed, if you're still at the booking stage and don't mind going past Bordeaux then Arcachon is very pretty with Cap Ferat opposite and the Dune de Pilat 5 Kms south, you can catch the train to Bordeaux from Arcachon for €44 two returns, Bordeaux is worth a visit.
View attachment 298398
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Arcachon above, Dune de Pilat below...
View attachment 298401
Bordeaux...
View attachment 298402
View attachment 298403
After 4 weeks looping around France we were back here a week and I experienced a genuine feeling of loss, life in a powered dumpster can be pretty liberating.
Edit, realistically getting out of Dieppe at 9:00pm would be a case of stopping in a decent Aire.

Would certainly like at least a taster of Bordeaux - even if it's just to confirm it's somewhere we'd like to revisit.

 

[Bav]

You'll love it Bav , soooo easy and the roads are so nice compared to ours .
Once you've got your head around driving on the wrong side , roundabouts etc it's an absolute doddle.
There's a site at Neufchatel-en-bray we use on the way in and out that's very good and not far from Dieppe.

Camping Sainte Claire - Camping*** trois étoiles, aire camping-car - 76

Camping Sainte Claire*** à Neufchâtel-en-Bray, 76 Seine Maritime, Normandie. Location au camping : tente, caravane, camping-car, aire-camping car automatique.

camping-sainteclaire.com

Everything you'd ever want/need within walking distance.

It's not the driving that bothers me - I'm a[n overly] confident driver and I've driven abroad quite a few times, albeit in LHD cars. It's the stressing over finding accommodation on spec and getting to the right place at the right time, oh, and the minor matter of having barely-used 43+ year old French language skills!

Thanks for that site recommendation - it looks just the ticket, especially with the "automatic" area where you can arrive and park-up at any time of the day or night. Murky buckets as they say.

 

[Bav]

BTW, do the French still apply that counterintuitive priorité à droite nonsense?