kevandali Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hello All We pick our van up, this Saturday and we have quite a lot of things we will need to get before heading into France from the middle of July. I/we plan to go for two weeks using campsites as and when required but not for the whole two weeks. I would like to know which maps to get that will cover France with details of camp sites. (Am I best contacting the caravan club or similar?) I will check back on here for past postings regarding other peoples visits to France as all I know about France at the moment is that it has a big romantic city with a tower in it and lots of lovely countryside. (+Wine) While I am here, I would also like to ask - - - - - - As we are kitting the van out from scatch, what esential items would I need for a European trip? I am sure we will learn as we go along, Diesel, water, food, money,wife, kids, map, ferry tickets viola, sorted. Again, any help much appreciated Kevandali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chalky Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hi Kev when you get to France you want to buy the AIRE DE SERVICE book, you then can find many places across the whole of france where you can stay for the night or more for free, some might make a small charge but most are free and in some very pretty villages. Hope this is of some help to you and have a good time & safe journey. Regards chalky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hi Kev, Being a paper map and MK1 eyeball man I use the "Michelin Atlas Routier et Tourisitique" 1:200 000 e which is 1 cm = 2 km. It runs to 242 pages and has 50 town plans. It is a very detailed atlas especially if you like to use the "D" roads. We have used it for many years and usually renew it every couple of years. The best place to buy it is at the Hypermarkets in either Calais or Boulogne. The best ferry buy at the moment looks like Norfolk Line in July you can get a return crossing for £73 if you are prepared to travel at unearthly hours. Safe travelling Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 Cheers for the info, has now been stored and added to the things to do/get list. Could you give me details of the Norfolk line please Don. Is it called the Norfolk Line, does it run from Norfolk? kevandali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Kev, http://tinyurl.com/lj8pl In haste Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hi Kev Welcome to the 'club'. We've just bought ourselves a new map, the AA Big Easy Read France (1cm = 1.9 km). There are 2 versions A4 normal bound and A3 spiral bound - we went for the A3 version as it's easier to keep open and won't fall to pieces so soon. We got it from WH Smiths for £12.99, you can get it off the web a bit cheaper but we wanted to see it in the flesh (and had some gift vouchers to spend) so went to a shop ... something we don't do very often! You can wait until you go to France and get a map there but the problem with that is you can't really do much planning on where to go, what routes to take etc. Before you leave make sure you photo copy all of your documentation such as passports, insurance docs etc and hide them in a safe place in the 'van, and I mean HIDE. There'll be lots of places to tuck them away safely if you start digging around. That way if you loose your originals you will be able to show the copies if needs be. We're doing this with ours and are also going to keep a scanned copy of the important stuff on a media card which we can carry around with us, it's about the size of a postage stamp. That way if anyone nicks the van (hopefully not) at least all will not be lost. As for kitting out your van, don't buy stuff from the dealer's accessory shop, it's way too expensive, instead take a trip into Newark or your local town centre and hit the cheap pound etc shops, you'll get most of what you want there such as plates, cutlery, kettle, pans etc - charity shops are a very good place to look as well, especially for bedding etc, that way you can leave all the bits and pieces in the van to save having to unload and re-stock each trip. Don't forget things like tin and bottle openers, a few plastic storage tubs for bits and pieces of food, basically have a good shuftie around your home and make a list of the things you use on a daily basis and then decide what items from this list you really need with you in the van. Also, if anyone is on any medication make sure you've got enough for the whole trip, with a few spare that you again can hide somewhere in the van in case you lose the others. Make sure you keep them in the original chemist's bottles/packets though so that you can prove that they are yours and were prescribed properly. Just remember, you are going to a foreign country but they do still eat, drink and live so you can get most of the things there that you do at home so you won't starve ... unless of course you live off Heinz baked beans which are a bit scarce there! Gas - make sure you've got full gas bottles - you don't have to get them from the dealership, see if you can get your hands on some from one of the normal retailers or ask around, someone may have one or two for sale as you only 'rent' them from Calor and pay a premium when you first sign up for this but as you exchange them for refills the nice new bottles you have just bought will then go to someone else and you'll probably get something a bit more tatty! Hook-up cable, 25m is more than sufficient, also get a socket tester and lead from Brownhills (they're cheap enough for this) and a couple of continental sockets as well, get someone who knows what they are doing to make one of these into a reversed polarity version as you'll more than likely come across this on at least one campsite if not more - make sure it is clearly marked to show it's the reversed one. We also made a mini hook-up cable about a foot long wired in reversed polarity which we can put in between the normal hook-up cable and the connection as even some of these UK type sockets that you will find in France can still be wired up as reversed polarity. Paper plates - we use these quite a lot, especially when wild camping, as they are cheap and mean less washing up which conserves water and means less waste water as well ... they don't make paper pans for some reason though!! That's enough from me for now, I'll let someone else help for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrie w Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 good evening, i think you have so far been given very sound advice. a couple of thoughts come to mind ! as regards as what to take ,think of what you would would normally use at home during a weekend.if you have spare this & thats use them,don't buy. french supermarkets stock most utensils,pots pans etc at reasonable prices. if you find you need something buy it as you go,if not don't. the weather is warming up,28 in the shade today near la rochelle & it gets warmer ! so maybe you won't need to pack long johns & wellies. bottled water is a good stock item. lidl supermarkets are cheap & the quality is pretty good.(we can recommend the chilian cab sauv @ 1.15 euros a bottle) french bread is brilliant when its fresh(goes well with fresh goats cheese) but becomes hard & will resemble a cosh very quickly.so don't stock pile this. hats for you & children especially if you're a little folicaly challanged. what about your loo?do you have a sog ? if not DON'T use elsan blue or similar.most of france uses fosse septiques and the chemicals in loo fluids will kill all the microbes that process the waste matter.the site owners won't be too pleased if they have to empty & clean out their systems thetford tell me that their green fluid is ok. where to go ? take one good map & follow your nose.there is so much to see.the atlantic is much colder than the med but if its hot who cares ? despite the myth the french are very friendly & helpful,they like you to try and speak french however basic & will in general have a joke with you about your efforts & enjoy correcting your prenunciation.don't just talk louder in english if you can't make yourself understood.a note pad & pencil could be handy & hand signals help. the road networks are excellent but traffic will get busy in the season & just to complicate matters you have to drive on the right so be extra careful if it's your first time.it can be very easy to park somewhere on the left & forget where you are & drive off on the left into oncoming traffic !! most of all enjoy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Hi kevandali, Yes to get get lots of good quality top brands equipment in the French Hypermarkets, usualy a lot cheaper than UK this goes for lots of things. I saw a computer in a Leclerc once about £200 cheaper than UK. as for French bread once its gone hard damp it and stick in the oven for a few minutes, its as good as new. Dont take food with you perhaps a couple if tins for emergncy use. take Tea bags, and just enough of the fresh food for the first day or so. Coffee over there is about half the UK price, thats filter or ground, not instant. Lidl and Aldi our well established in France and there stuff is good and cheap also another good fair priced Supermarket is Leaderprice.. Have fun David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixter Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Hi Kevandali, most things seem to be covered in the previous postings, but have you considered what the kids will need? I dont know if they are good travellers or not but most kids get bored eventually and you wont be able to use the tv when you are travelling. A lap top would need to be very secure for them to be able to use it on the road. Our kids where into Game boys at that age so perhap a modern lightweight equivalent may be worth considering. The other issue with our kids to start,was " foreign foods", so a few family favourites Marmite, Branston etc were hidden away a bargaining tools to get them onto FF! An Ipod with French language for beginners would be most useful, though perhaps not classed as cool !!! regards vixter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.