prewelli Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 My husband and I tried this in 2010 and ended up getting lost or being very disappointed. Thinking about purchasing again for a visit this year - any thought? We will be travelling from St.Tropez to Roscoff and want tontry something a bit different. Have done thr trip loads of times but feel we need to be a bit more exciting!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I can’t help you with the disappointment aspect, but the France Passion (FP) guide book now contains GPS coordinates for each FP site. So (assuming you have a sat-nav) falling to locate an FP site should be a thing of the past. https://www.france-passion.com/en/motorhomers/faq Becoming a member of France Passion now costs €29. If you would only be making use of the scheme during a relatively short-duration single trip from St. Tropez to Roscoff, you might consider whether that outlay would be worthwhile. As an alternative you might try the “Bienvenue a la ferme" network http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/recherche/index/sejours/2646/?q=&camping_car=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 My husband and I were subscribers some years ago and always purchased direct from France as, depending on the time of year, this can be cheaper. Just checked both sites and decided to use Vicarious Books this year. Bit nervous being a lone traveller but there are lots more places to stay than years ago. So looking forward to planning my trip. Book should arrive in a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-02-15 6:08 PM I can’t help you with the disappointment aspect, but the France Passion (FP) guide book now contains GPS coordinates for each FP site. So (assuming you have a sat-nav) falling to locate an FP site should be a thing of the past. https://www.france-passion.com/en/motorhomers/faq Becoming a member of France Passion now costs €29. If you would only be making use of the scheme during a relatively short-duration single trip from St. Tropez to Roscoff, you might consider whether that outlay would be worthwhile. As an alternative you might try the “Bienvenue a la ferme" network Many thanks that was very helpful - looked at the Bienvenue site and it would fit the bill! http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/recherche/index/sejours/2646/?q=&camping_car=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thank you Derek you are so right about the journey and Bien venue fits the bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-02-15 6:08 PM As an alternative you might try the “Bienvenue a la ferme" network http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/recherche/index/sejours/2646/?q=&camping_car=1 I must have missed something; I can't get basic information from the link. Do they charge, for a guide, for individual stays? How does this system compare with F-P? That said, if I could understand the offer, I'd probably give it a go alongside F-P, but it looks as though advance planning would be desireable, so I assume that unlike F_P, you can book a pitch in advance? I look forward to feedback from a few intrepid users, regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Snowie If you look at the link I provided you’ll see that, in the "Votre recherche” section on the left, the “Camping car” box is ticked. And, on the right, you’ll see "249 résultats correspondent à votre recherche”. Below the “Camping-car” box is another with “Aire de service (48)” alongside and ticking this box will show that 48 of the 249 “Camping car” places that welcome motorhomes (Accueil de camping-car) also have a motorhome ‘Aire de service’ facility. Clicking on "Voir les résultats sur la carte” will display the ‘site’ locations on a map of France. If you click on the map (lets say at Caen that has 12 Bienvenue à la ferme sites nearby) a box listing the sites will appear. Scrolling down the list and clicking on “Plus d’infos” produces fuller details of each site. For example “Ferme du lavoir" http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/accueil-de-camping-car/ferme-ferme-du-lavoir-2678-152113 that you’ll see is at Formigny, is open all year, has space for 6 motorhomes, has an aire de service and costs 10€ per night. The site’s own website is here http://www.fermedulavoir.fr/fr/index_fr.php There are only 249 Bienvenue à la ferme ‘motorhome’ sites, whereas France Passion has over 1800. So the two networks are not really comparable. As you are aware France Passion does not permit advance booking of ‘pitches’ - you just turn up and take pot-luck that space will be available. A few Bienvenue à la ferme sites, besides offering an "Accueil de camping-car", offer general "Camping à la ferme” facilities (Ticking the “Camping” and “Camping-car” search boxes retrieves 33 entries) and it may be possible to advance-book pitches for some of those. For example http://www.domainedelacapelle.fr/ Bienvenue à la ferme brochures can be downloaded from here http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/guides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-02-16 8:59 There are only 249 Bienvenue à la ferme ‘motorhome’ sites, whereas France Passion has over 1800. So the two networks are not really comparable. As you are aware France Passion does not permit advance booking of ‘pitches’ - you just turn up and take pot-luck that space will be available. Thanks Derek, I think I was a little impatient! maybe the poor translation? I would certainly sample a few next time we are in France. I wonder if any on the forum have experience of these sites? thanks, regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hi folks, I have used FP network in conjunction with other guides, and have been pleasantly surprised. Last year we visited a "cider farm" where they had provided 2 pitches in the farmyard surrounded by the farm buildings, very smartly laid out with a few small young trees for shade. Another site near Bourges had "welcoming music" in the form of a braying donkey in the adjoining field..what a raucous voice he had.. There was space for 4 vans. One site listed near St Flour, was eventually found but satnav data was a little bit adrift, and eventually we spotted it, but there was no one at home to check in with, so we moved on. A couple of years ago, we eventually found the site listed at Rezentiers, off the beaten track, adjacent to a wartime bunker. A few years ago, we stayed in an apple orchard somewhere in Normandy, and sampled their fresh apple juice...again well off the beaten track. Another occasion, the site was a farm where the main crop was "lentilles"and the farmer, s pronounciation confused me, but eventually I discovered what he meant..the majority of the conversation was in my version of schoolboy french,, but at the end the farmer admitted that he spoke English. I have requested this season, s book, and await it in anticipation. I am already attempting to plot this years trip to locate Aires and FP sites on route from Cherbourg to near Beziers, and have pulled out a list of Chateaux from last years books..now have to plot them on the maps etc. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 snowie - 2015-02-16 9:23 AM Derek Uzzell - 2015-02-16 8:59 There are only 249 Bienvenue à la ferme ‘motorhome’ sites, whereas France Passion has over 1800. So the two networks are not really comparable. As you are aware France Passion does not permit advance booking of ‘pitches’ - you just turn up and take pot-luck that space will be available. Thanks Derek, I think I was a little impatient! maybe the poor translation? I would certainly sample a few next time we are in France. I wonder if any on the forum have experience of these sites? thanks, regards alan b There is a degree of overlap between the Bienvenue à la ferme (BaF) and France Passion (FP) networks. I don’t know how many BaF sites are also FP sites, but a few certainly are. These are a couple of examples http://www.domainedescroix.fr/en/ http://www.complexe-apicole.fr/ There is a (potential) ‘charging' conflict for such dual-network sites, as FP involves an up-front payment to become a member of the FP scheme with subsequent overnighting being free, whereas overnighting at a BaF site should be expected to incur a payment. There’s no real problem when just overnighting is involved - FP members don’t pay, non-FP-members do - but I’m not sure what happens when additional services (eg. provision of electricity) are included in the BaF price. Presumably the owner of a BaF/FP site will decide the rules!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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