Motor homing n France

Hildagard - sorry, can't help you with motor homing in France (I'm sure someone else will) but just wanted to ask a question about motor homing in general. My DH is still toying with the idea of buying a motor home. He is anti-caravan as he doesn't fancy towing but keeps worrying about not having a car once you are on site, so you have to take the motor home if you want to go off anywhere. Do you find this to be a major problem? Do you have any tips about buying one?

Would you be renting in France, and if so in which part? For the passport, just go to the DEFRA website. Going to France is easy peasy, returning is more complex with the dog. You need to insure you get the microchip and rabbies jab done soon as you need x months between jab, retest, and being able to travel (can't remember off hand, must check).

I would also recommend travelling via the Tunnel and not ferry, so the dog can stay in the car with you- and won't even notice, instead of having to stay in the car in the hold, which can be horrendous in bad weather. And on return, you will have to visit a French vet (from top of head, but again, regs changed recently, so must re-check Defra site) no less than 48 hrs before or max 72- and s/he will have to administer a vermifuge (you can't do it yourself) check the dog for good health, the microchip and jabs, + enter the vermifuge, stamp and sign (must be done in passport- we witnessed a lady being refused travel because it was on separate sheet of paper). You then have to allow time to go to Pet Check just before the booths at the Tunnel- and go with your dog where they check, again, that all is in order I(and they are real sticklers- if you are even 30 mins out of sinc, you have to wait or be turned away).

We have a rental company near us in FRance that has really good off-peak deals, and we quite fancy having a go this year. Personally I'd never buy one- as they cost the price of a house, but loses value very quickly.

How bizarre- there are 2 threads on this subject, by same person.

re dog passport - much easier now - ask your vet. No blood test required any more just get the jab done 3 weeks before you travel. French vets are v helpful re the timings of your return trip and the flea treatment. we zapped thru at the tunnel on the way back. V impressive.

Check the Brittany Ferries site as on some crossings they now have a couple of cabins which accommodate dogs with their owners. They also have a dog exercising area.
It depends really which part of France you wish to visit and the length of your stay as to which crossing us better for you. For the last few crossings we have chosen to use the Caen or St Malo to Portsmouth crossing partly because of the route cutting almost 100 miles off our journey the French side of the Channel but also the recent upsets at Calais.

Hi I will answer NottooOld first. Tips on buying motor home, buy from a reputable dealer, look at them for awhile so that you know the layout you prefer, there are so many. Not having a car when on site is not a problem, we walk a lot and use the public transport. When you need to stock up on supplies the large supermarkets parking is not a problem, or an industrial site on outskirts of towns. Hope that is helpful, if you want more advice private message me and I can give you a call.

Granjura I clicked twice hence two threads easily done when you live in the sticks and think it it your device not bad signal.!! Motor homes do not need to cost the price of a house and they depreciate about 10% per year and are definitely worth it, the freedom and flexibility We managed to get away for 10 weeks last year, not in a block, but a few days here and there great, I think that I must descend from Romany stock!! Freedom of theroad

Good advice from others about the dog passport.
I hope you enjoy your visit - you'll notice a big difference between roads in France and in the UK. Because France is a much bigger country, but with similar population to the UK, the roads seem much quieter. There are many excellent motorways, though you do have to pay on some.
Only problems - around big cities, especially Paris .
You need to time your journey carefully to avoid traffic jams there.

Thanks TriciaF going in September

TriciaF, for most of FRance, it is very easy to by-pass Paris (thank goodness, the périphérique equivalent of the M25 is a total nightmare!).

We are planning trip to France soon and have done the rabies jab bit with entry in dogs passport. As I understand it you only have to organise blood test if entering EU country after being in a non EU country. As others say, DEFRA website is great.
We thought about the Eurotunnel but as Poole is closer we plan to book with Brittany Ferries and cut down on a few miles.

We haven't driven over recently, so I wonder what the situation is like at Calais? With the would-be immigrants camp (the"jungle".)
If it's still difficult the ferry fom Poole is a good idea.

We are going to avoid Calais and reading in the press probably Dunkirk,Poole to Cherbourg sounds best for us to.

Hi Hildagard. We sold our Motohome last year. Been all over France, lovely country to Motohome.
I don't know how/where you plan to camp but one very good book is: Wild Camping.this will give you 100s of cheaper sites in France.
I'm afraid the best times have gone with respect to wild camping in France, this is because a certain type of "Traveller" were taking over sites.
Another good book is: The lonely planet guide to France.
Of course I don't have to tell you NOT to stop if somebody is trying to wave you down to tell you something is wrong.
One very good tip that somebody gave us was: Get an old handbag, put a purse in it and other bits and pieces that you don't want to make it look like your bag. Put it on show. There could be a time when someone will try to get in your van, they will see that bag, grab it and run.
I don't know if you plan to use the pay roads, but there is always a place to sleep safely on these if you need to.

I am a caravan-tower rather than a motorhome type, but we go over to the Continent every year. Usually France, but Belgium and Germany have their attractions too. My best advice for someone new to the Continent would be to stay close to the channel ports the first time you go. If you are sailing into Cherbourg there are some fantastic campsites on the Cotentan Peninsula, and much to do. Caen, Bayeux and St-Lo are all worth visiting, and the coastal towns around Arromanches-les-Bains are lovely whether you are interested in the "Normandy Beaches" or not.

Smaller French towns often provide free overnight parking places for motorhomes. Some are fantastic - some are dire. Have a good look around and speak to some of the other occupants before deciding to stay there. If you have any specific queries I will do my best to answer them.

Thank you for all your comments and advice. Having taken information n board and done a bit more research myself, we are staying in the UK. There are still so many places to visit. Among the reasons are, dog is quite old and do not want to risk on going trauma, and migrants.

Buy ' All the aires' France, we spent 8 months away in our mh starting in France .....
Paulandalisons2012tour.wordpress.com
You'll find lots of info in this blog. It's followed up with another one with more of our travels.
Like previous poster said some Aires are lovely/free/electric, some not as good, and some a few euros, if you don't like the look of one drive to the next village/town.

........just seen your last post about staying in uk!!! Never mind, blog is a good read anyway