John swift Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Can anyone tell me what these sites are and do they have any facilities on them i.e. shower block Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 8-)...............You have a lot to learn :D................firstly they're not sites ;-)..............and they vary from cramped car parks to idyllic locations B-)...............and some cost money and some are free............although more seem to charge now days :'(...............You'll rarely find any in the UK.......I think at the last count there was one (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) Mostly they are across the ditch ;-)..........France and Germany have the majority but they're spreading in Spain B-) Oh...........almost forgot some do have showers...........but rarely ;-).............you will normally find a place to dump your waste and water plus electric, although payment for water and leccy is often required via a token ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Welcome to the forum John. I suggest you use the " search our forums " button where you will find lots of info about aires. They are not camp sites, simply areas set aside in towns and villages where motorhomes can stay overnight. Usually have a water supply, and dumping facilities. Sometimes electric hook-ups. Cost may be free - or up to 5 or 10 euros. NOT to be confused with aires on motorways which are NOT recommended places to stay. p.s. looks like Pelmetman beat me to it. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John swift Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Cheers so not much good for more than 1 night stays are they good for town visits :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 John swift - 2013-04-29 8:43 PM Cheers so not much good for more than 1 night stays are they good for town visits :-D I reckon you need to get a book on aires ;-)..............as some are only 24 hrs, some a week..........although the one we've spent the last 3 New Years at..... Biarritz...... the same chap has been living there :D But in general they are usually near a decent town/village B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 John swift - 2013-04-29 8:43 PMCheers so not much good for more than 1 night stays are they good for town visits :-DMost of the Aires I have used have been really good and certainly good for longer stays unless they have time restrictions on them, [ Seldom Enforced ]they are usually close to or in towns cities so are good for visiting these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/Malcolm6969/media/AIRES10.jpg.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilmac Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 John swift - 2013-04-29 9:27 PM Can anyone tell me what these sites are and do they have any facilities on them i.e. shower block As already said Aires vary a lot. An example... http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/articles/reviews/motorhome-sites/france-stopovers/aquitaine/756.html?task=view Others are smaller and little more than a villge car park. Showers are a rarity, but then most motorhomes have their own :-) . They're very much a stopover facility rather than a place to stay for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Car parks for motorhomes. Quality varies from hit and miss to idyllic. Prices from zero to 20 € most costing half that or less.....Its a great Europe wide system (more or less) and so convenient. UK a disgrace in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirralian Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 As an example of how size varies, two aires we stopped at in France recently differed considerably. The first at Nersac (just before Angouleme on N10) accomodated 7 motorhomes (and police kept an eye on this!) and the aire at Honfleur for over a 100 motorhomes. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 pelmetman - 2013-04-29 8:57 PM ...although the one we've spent the last 3 New Years at..... Biarritz...... the same chap has been living there :D B-) One of the reasons we don't have them in the UK is for fear of people abusing them. People often express wonder at why that doesn't happen in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 One point not mentioned is that Aires are not usually places where you can put out your chairs and sun umbrellas. Most are places where you can park and stay overnight in locations ranging from idyllic to downright awful. It's a bit hit and miss but the www.campingcar-infos.com site is a good place to do research with photos and sat nav coordinates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Mike88 - 2013-04-30 8:14 AM One point not mentioned is that Aires are not usually places where you can put out your chairs and sun umbrellas. Most are places where you can park and stay overnight in locations ranging from idyllic to downright awful. It's a bit hit and miss but the www.campingcar-infos.com site is a good place to do research with photos and sat nav coordinates Don't seem to stop the French :-D have seen many examples of awning outs and a full on Sunday lunch with guests.....but your right no camping generally allowed but no one has eve objected to us sitting outside reading, having a cuppa and catching some rays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambukashot Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Have a look at this page and you will get a good idea what French Aires are all about -:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 8:46 AM Mike88 - 2013-04-30 8:14 AM One point not mentioned is that Aires are not usually places where you can put out your chairs and sun umbrellas. Most are places where you can park and stay overnight in locations ranging from idyllic to downright awful. It's a bit hit and miss but the www.campingcar-infos.com site is a good place to do research with photos and sat nav coordinates Don't seem to stop the French :-D have seen many examples of awning outs and a full on Sunday lunch with guests.....but your right no camping generally allowed but no one has eve objected to us sitting outside reading, having a cuppa and catching some rays... I did say "usually". The point is on some Aires you might have a motorhome parked so closely to you that you cannot open the door unless you are one of the sensible one's and own a panel van. :-D I can think of a few of these such as Narbonne Town, Erquy, St Nazaire, and Sarlat (Cemetery car park) etc. There are of course many others where you can lounge outside such as La Maillerie Sur Seine, Gruissan, Narbonne seafront and there is the Aire near the French Grand Prix circuit which is a former Municipal Campsite where you can do what you like and even swim in the Municipal Swimming Pool. Basically Aires are a mixed bag. I love them but they are not for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 sambukashot - 2013-04-30 9:34 AM Have a look at this page and you will get a good idea what French Aires are all about -:) Other links that may be useful: http://www.motorcaravanning.com/travel/aires.htm http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Aires This is the definitive website for French 'aires', http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm Some 'aires' (though not many) will have facilities approximating to those of a normal inexpensive campsite. For example http://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/airepda.php?numid=15187&Localit%E9=SAINT%20JEAN%20SUR%20MAYENNE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudders Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 10:16 AM Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :DOK so you love your pvc i think us cbs have got your message by now. everyone to their own as a newby I must admit you certainly know how to upset people, I thought this was a forum for everyone, but apparently not, I rest my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 rudders - 2013-04-30 7:22 PM JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 10:16 AM Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :DOK so you love your pvc i think us cbs have got your message by now. everyone to their own as a newby I must admit you certainly know how to upset people, I thought this was a forum for everyone, but apparently not, I rest my case. I started off the sliding door reference in jest. This is a forum for everyone. Are you suggesting that the constructive information in this thread or indeed this forum is confined to those with panel vans? What case are you resting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My door is at the rear and we climb into the truck vertically. We can get in and out no matter how confined a space we find ourselves in. Should I be offended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Why get into a confined space in the first place, go on, spend some money, use sites and you will always have plenty of room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 rudders - 2013-04-30 7:22 PM JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 10:16 AM Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :DOK so you love your pvc i think us cbs have got your message by now. everyone to their own as a newby I must admit you certainly know how to upset people, I thought this was a forum for everyone, but apparently not, I rest my case. Its ok Mike, their are a handfull on here who made the mistake of buying PVC's and spend most of their time trying to convince themselves they have done the right thing. Made the same mistake myself once but rather than suffer sold the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 rupert123 - 2013-05-01 9:42 AM rudders - 2013-04-30 7:22 PM JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 10:16 AM Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :DOK so you love your pvc i think us cbs have got your message by now. everyone to their own as a newby I must admit you certainly know how to upset people, I thought this was a forum for everyone, but apparently not, I rest my case. Its ok Mike, their are a handfull on here who made the mistake of buying PVC's and spend most of their time trying to convince themselves they have done the right thing. Made the same mistake myself once but rather than suffer sold the thing. No mistake Rupert. Having had two caravans of identical construction to coachbuilts ruined by damp and a third with ingress issues I vowed never to own such a millstone again. I frequent the Swift forum and the number of damp/water ingress issues that occur on there is both mindboggling and frightening. A recent thread on there which has yet to be removed quotes a dealer asking for a deposit of £7500 before commencing work. Scary or what! Your mistake Rupert was downsizing from a coachbuilt to a small 5.5 metre panel van and then complaining about insufficient room. You failed to see the advantages of a sliding door and could not accept that this is a positive and not a negative. Basically you bought the wrong panel van. Each to their own I suppose but the fact you have made a mistake does not mean that everyone thinks the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 rupert123 - 2013-05-01 9:42 AM rudders - 2013-04-30 7:22 PM JudgeMental - 2013-04-30 10:16 AM Yes Mike the sliding door is a real advantage in tight parking spots! Can you imagine being stuck in a stuffy CB on a lovely day :DOK so you love your pvc i think us cbs have got your message by now. everyone to their own as a newby I must admit you certainly know how to upset people, I thought this was a forum for everyone, but apparently not, I rest my case. Its ok Mike, their are a handfull on here who made the mistake of buying PVC's and spend most of their time trying to convince themselves they have done the right thing. Made the same mistake myself once but rather than suffer sold the thing. I've been on this forum for a few years now, and I'm getting bored with the constant repetition of the same old PVC/CB arguments and the same Aires/Campsites prejudices. And the biggest problem is that every well intentioned thread that refers to PVC/CB/Aire gets hijacked and turned into a ping-pong match between the usual suspects. Please…GIVE IT A REST! Maybe we should all be chilled about each others preferences. I haven't been convinced that wildcamping is the only way to use my van, but I'm looking more closely at Aires, and am definitely interested in sampling some of the gems that we hear about. But I'm not going to try to convince anyone that my way is best (fat chance anyway). We hear a lot of complaints about CC and C&CC sites and the clubs generally, but we don't hear too many recommendations for commercial sites; there must be some worth sharing? alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambukashot Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Little off putting how quick these threads go off topic very quickly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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