armstrongpiper Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I have a copy of the book 'Guide Officiel Aires de Services Camping-Car', which is quite comprehensive. But, trawling the net I find a site 'AireCampingCar.com' which shows on its maps many more Aires than described in the Guide Officiel. Does anyone know if this site is only available through the internet (thus requiring the carrying of a laptop etc) or is there a book available which lists most of these? Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 You can download all the Aires of France onto a sat nav unit making them much easier to find....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 There are several 'aires' books - in various languages - obtainable either in their countries of origin or from http://www.vicarious-shop.co.uk/category.php?c_id=4 The most comprehensive and informative website for aires in France (though entries for other countries are included) is undoubtedly http://campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm A DVD of (most of) the data on this website can be purchased via the website and I believe it's also possible to download sat-nav coordinates of aires through the website. To the best of my knowledge none of the aires-related websites have equivalent 'copies' in book format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 By far the best source for Aires is www.campingcar-infos.com. Its in French but easy to follow. You can also purchase the DVD which gives great coverage. Edit. The above post did not appear when I wrote this so apologies for the duplicated information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Derek Uzzell - 2009-05-06 9:56 AM A DVD of (most of) the data on this website can be purchased via the website and I believe it's also possible to download sat-nav coordinates of aires through the website. Does the DVD include the reviews and photographs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Yes pictures and reviews included. Its brilliant. The only slight problem is that the DVD is very slow when run from the DVD drive. However, if you copy it onto the hard drive it is lightning fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 The biggest advantage about using Campingcar info site is that its bang up to date, the Gps downloads are updated every month and with new aires opening all the time this gives you the best chance of finding somewhere to stop. By its very nature any paper publication will always be lagging behind due to the logistics of printing , distribution etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 You can't read the Motorhometoday forum unless you register. I would rather try it first before registering so for that reason have not bothered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Could someone possibly tell me which of the files represent those overnighting aires that aren't large formal sites? E.g. the typical carpark in the middle of a village etc? Is it the APV files? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 mom - 2009-05-06 1:12 PM Could someone possibly tell me which of the files represent those overnighting aires that aren't large formal sites? E.g. the typical carpark in the middle of a village etc? Is it the APV files? Tony and I discussed the differences some time ago and he kindly contributed the following :-"ASV.ov2 - Areas of Verified Services - are places where water can be filled/emptied (including toilet). APV.ov2 - Areas of Verified parking Lot (or stationnement) - are places where a car (and therefore a motorhome - ALWAYS) can park overnight. AAV.ov2 - Areas on Verified Expressways - are motorway service areas which offer water facilties. I'd doubt the wisdom of staying there overnight but it's probably legal. ACV.ov2 - Areas on Verified Camping - will be places where you can not only 'park' overnight, as above, but actually 'camp,' even if it's not a formal campsite. The difference in French law, as has been said elsewhere on the forum, is that a motorhome is 'parking' if the only thing touching the ground is its wheels. In that case, if a car can park legally, so can a motorhome - EVEN IF THERE'S A SIGN SAYING OTHERWISE (although I'm not sure I'd want to argue that case with a Gendarme in the middle of the night!). However, as soon as you put anything else on the ground, even corner steadies, you're 'camping,' which may be prohibited even where parking is allowed. "Essentially, if it has a 'V' in the title the GPS location is verified as being correct . . ish, whereas, if it doesn't have a 'V' then the GPS location is approximate.W2G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks WTG! I actually saw this posting in the other thread, but still remain confused!... but my confusion is probably due to semantics and me being Australian!!! ;-) Could I possibly rephrase my question a little, to ask which of the files I would find the following in... 1. A fully equipped commercial site. (Perhaps these aren't actually included anyway?) 2. A Camping Municipale, where I pay a small to moderate fee for a fenced, low to medium standard site, that probably has facilities. 3. A recognised place, such as a designated car park, where lots of motorhomes park overnight, which may or may not have a bourne/toilets, and which may or may not attract a small fee, typically in or near a town (I definitely don't mean Motorway Services). 4. Motorway Service Aires. Thanks for your help :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Regarding the files, you won't generally find details of campsites (your categories 1 and 2, in publications concerning "aires de services camping-car". You'll need a campsites guide, such as the Caravan Club's Caravan Europe (Book 1 and/or 2 depending on countries), or the Dutch ACSI guide and or disk (Vicarious Books in UK now sell these).Your category 3 is, in essence, what a camping-car Aire, as referred to above is. It is a glorified car park with or without a borne for supply of water and electricity, usually a grey water dump point, and often a chemical toilet emptying facility. Some are much better than mere car parks, and are attractively landscaped, and a few even have toilets and showers - but don't expect these unless you have selected from a detailed description or illustration. Some campsites have areas set aside for overnighting motorhomes within the site perimeter, but there are often time limits on arrival and departure, beyond which the full, normal, pitch fee applies. Some of these deny overnighting motorhomers access to the full site facilities in view of the reduced fee charge. These should be included in the aires guides.Your category 4 is the source of much confusion. A motorway aire is a service station, or rest area. Some of these have the added water, electricity, and dump facilities for motorhomes. However, they are not intended for overnighting, and the official advice from the French police is not to do so. It is from these "aires" that most reports of robbery originate, so anyone overnighting on these is adopting, knowingly or otherwise, a high risk strategy to save themselves a few miles, and a bit of cash. Yer pays yer money etc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for that, Brian. :-) We're fairly experienced continental tourers, having an overwhelming preference for "Category 3's", be they France Passion sites, sites in the Guide Officiel Aires de Services Camping-Car, or when winter touring and hoping for electric, the CC books. We follow the same pattern in Italy (area di sosta) and Germany (ADAC Stellplatz), and wherever we can in central and eastern Europe. I was really just wondering which of the files above are category 3s, if you like. The description from Tony suggests they might be in either APV or ACV, and I was wondering if anyone knew which? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Our 'van has a DVD player/TV system installed. If the Campingcar DVD is used in such equipment, how does one navigate aroung it to find an Aire in a particulat location? I can imagine using direction keys/cursor on a computer, but how on a simple DVD player? Any answers gratefully received. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Sorry for teaching to suck eggs but you can use a translator to look at the reviews, you get the gist of what's said it's also amusing and informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 armstrongpiper - 2009-05-07 4:45 PM Our 'van has a DVD player/TV system installed. If the Campingcar DVD is used in such equipment, how does one navigate aroung it to find an Aire in a particulat location? I can imagine using direction keys/cursor on a computer, but how on a simple DVD player? Any answers gratefully received. Neil B That wont work I'm afraid....You need a laptop to navigate around the DVD. If not get the book....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 derek500 - 2009-05-06 11:16 AM Derek Uzzell - 2009-05-06 9:56 AM A DVD of (most of) the data on this website can be purchased via the website and I believe it's also possible to download sat-nav coordinates of aires through the website. Does the DVD include the reviews and photographs? JudgeMental - 2009-05-07 9:57 PM armstrongpiper - 2009-05-07 4:45 PM Our 'van has a DVD player/TV system installed. If the Campingcar DVD is used in such equipment, how does one navigate aroung it to find an Aire in a particulat location? I can imagine using direction keys/cursor on a computer, but how on a simple DVD player? Any answers gratefully received. Neil B That wont work I'm afraid....You need a laptop to navigate around the DVD. If not get the book....... And even easier and quicker, if you have a PDA, there is a PDA version on the CD that carries all the information as on the disc but works even quicker and of course is pocket sized. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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