Advice needed

[Pete-B]

The Duchess and me are in our Seventies and ashamed to say we've never driven abroad apart from a one day car hire about a million years ago in Madeira.

 

Anyhow she keeps saying we ought to spread our old wings and try a trip to perhaps France for a maiden voyage. Assuming we did, my question is,could you suggest a good, easy place and site to get too, also I guess you would also need to pre-book a chosen particular site. Being up country a bit and on the east side I suppose Calais would be a good port for a start. I appreciate there are other things like triangles, breathalysers etc but if we knew we were going I could sort these out later.

 

We would appreciate any help and suggestions.

[lennyhb]

Go for it France is so much more relaxing both to drive and camp in.

For the driving just take it easy and avoid large towns and you will wonder why you never did it before.

 

France is the Motorhome heaven of Europe you do not need to worry about booking sites there are so many of them and thousands of Aires you can stop on, the French have a much more relaxed attitude to Motorhomes than in the UK you can always find somewhere to spend the night does not need to be a site or Aire.

 

If your preference is for sites be aware outside of the main tourist areas sites often have a short season can be as short as June to August in some places.

 

If you don't want to go too far Normandy makes a good starting point and if you are into WW2 stuff loads to see and do. Very nice countryside and beaches only downside is the weather is similar to the UK. Most of us go south for the sun.

[colin]

If you go outside of french main holiday season there is no need to book. We've been to France in may, june, sept, oct, nov, and never booked.

[vindiboy]

My advice would be to get a good Sat Nav, they are invaluable in my opinion and really take the stress out of  driving as  you only have to listen to the instructions and  can concentrate on the driving rather than  looking for obscure road signs that France is good at, and for my money it would be a TOM TOM.

  You could also get an Aires book, [ Vicarious books in English ] and try the Aires ,you would then have no need to book anything except  a Ferry, 

   If you must use Campsites  you could try the french Municipal Sites, these are very good  usually close to or in towns ,well run and cheaper than Commercial sites.

[tonyg3nwl]

Hello, nice to hear that you are considering spreading your wings .

I would suggest you ensure you have insurance cover , perhaps through the likes of Caravan Club for example, and make sure you get an EHIC card, for European Health Cover roughly equivalent to basic NHS cover. Vehicle insurance must be extended to cover Continental use, check with your insurer, it may already exist.

I assume you are fully fledged motorhomes in uk, so things like hookup cables you are familiar with. However, continental hookups dont necessarily use the same connectors, you might need suitable adaptors.

Also there might be "reverse polarity" issues to be aware of, so get a "crossover cable adaptor" and a simple reverse polarity checker to carry with you..

Water connections are many and various, so a selection of adaptors for various taps would be useful.

 

 

Driving on the other side of the road is easy, but ensure your mirrors and lights are adjusted . Headlamp adaptors need to be fitted. Your passenger must be able to help you regarding forward visibility for overtaking.

Site lists such as ACSI, France passion, Aires, Camping Municipal, are all useful, and satnav downloads of these are available on internet.. Vicarious Books at Folkestone sell a variety of them.

When you stop for fuel for example, double double check you are restart your journey ON THE RIGHT.

 

Do you have any knowledge of French, it would be helpful, but not absolutely essential.

 

Go with confidence and enjoy it all.

 

 

Tony

 

[Tony Jones]

Hi Pete

Respect - for being prepared to give it a go! You won't regret it I'm sure.

France LOVES "les camping-cars." Staying overnight is ALWAYS legal, wherever a car can park. You're only classed as "camping" if you put stuff outside.

Nearly every town and village has a municipal site or an aire, or both.

Regarding driving on the right, make sure that whenever you stop for a break you find a layby on the right. Otherwise it's all too easy to move off on the left without thinking - we've all done it!

Keep coming back here (or to the PMH Forum of course!:)) with specific questions as they occur to you - we all want to help.

[HymerVan]

Driving on the right needs a high level of concentration and will be a bit daunting for the first few miles. As mentioned above watch out particularly when you rejoin roads for example coming out of a filling station and at complex roundabouts. As a reminder with a RHD vehicle you will be driving closest to the gutter. Apart from that it is not that difficult and you will probably find that you get into it quite quickly.

A good satnav which can be set to display your speed in kilometers is very useful because it will give you an accurate and easy to see indication of speed without looking down. The speed limit in French towns (usually 50kph) begins at the town sign EVEN THOUGH there is no speed limit sign and ends when you leave the town (Town name crossed through). There are more variable speed signs as well. We find driver and passenger (observer) working as a team helps spotting hazards. You could even try commentating to yourself or each other e.g. "traffic lights in 200metres presently at red" , now turning to green " etc. That is a technique which police drivers were (and possibly still are) trained to do.

So don't be put off by the above go for it and have a great holiday. You will probably wonder why you haven't done it sooner.

[bolero boy]

Can only echo all other comments, so far. Well done for having a go.

Is been mentioned before, but a good satnav with aires, sites (mumicipal and ACSI) loaded will be invaluable and make the driving more relaxing. If you are computer literate, you can download these sites via point-of-interest (POI) files and then add them to the already huge array of preloaded stuff. If not, you will need to use one of the books mentioned and then put the coordinates into the satnav. It is imperative that you are able to navigate to and input a GPS coordinate to ensure the exact location. Postcodes in a France cover far too large an area to be exact, we leart this the hard way on our first trip.

Some satnavs come with preloaded sites, aires, ACSI etc and if youmare in the market to change it might be worth considering, although the data poaded will gradually become out of date.

Give yourself plenty of time tomget to places, dont rush, enjoy the scenery, you can always stop for a cuppa far, far, far more easily than you cain the UK.

good luck.

[Pete-B]

Thanks for the responses and great answers, much appreciated, we will definitely give it a go next spring.

[malc d]

Pete-B - 2013-11-26 10:37 AM

 

Thanks for the responses and great answers, much appreciated, we will definitely give it a go next spring.

 

 

Hi Pete

 

I'm just wondering if you use a sat-nav already ?

 

I've been wandering around the continent for many years without one, so, as long as you have good maps they are not essential. Useful maybe - but not essential.

 

My advice for first timers over there is - take your time - plan to arrive on sites by 3 or 4 pm - and avoid cities for your first trips.

( I still avoid 'em ).

We generally arrive on sites mid afternoon and have never yet booked a site - certainly not required in low season

 

Generally less traffic over there ( in rural France anyway ) and driving on the right soon comes naturally - just follow everyone else for a while - no need to overtake until you feel more confident.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

;-)

[PJay]

Hi Pete (& Mrs B)

Do give it a go. we are both well into 70's and we do it We go for 3 months at a time, before July, when it gets busy. Every one has mentioned ACSI,(Order from Vicarious books) so if you don't know of it, worth getting, as I think that for a first time I would use camp sites. The ACSI are reasonable, and sometimes very good.You will need a 2 pin adaptor, and various tap fittings, other wise I am sure you have all you need. You can get a booklet, possibly from Halfords? called Driving abroad, probably worth getting , as you say you have only driven once "on the wrong side"

Good luck, and go for it!!

PJay

[Brian Kirby]

Pete-B - 2013-11-25 7:30 PM................. Assuming we did, my question is,could you suggest a good, easy place and site to get too, also I guess you would also need to pre-book a chosen particular site. ....................

Booking, and most other things, have already been dealt with by other posters. Arriving mid afternoon, and travelling before the beginning of July, or later then the end of August (possibly mid August if avoiding the coast), you will have no need to book sites.

 

Where to go, depends a bit on what it is about France that appeals to you. It is a big, and very varied, country. It has mountains, rolling countryside, moorland, lakes, rivers, and varied coasts: it has small, quaint villages, historic towns, magnificent palaces, grand cathedrals, good wine, good food, and a generally benign climate: so, all kinds of potential interests and attractions.

 

What is it you particularly want to see? Then we can begin to suggest places that are likely to appeal to you, that are not too far from the channel ports.

 

If you are apprehensive about ferry crossings, and if you shop with Tesco and have a Tesco card, you will probably have gathered quite a lot of Tesco points. Don't forget you can use these to buy vouchers for the Channel Tunnel, which can get you a return ticket at little to no additional cost.

 

My additional comments on driving, are:

 

To be especially guarded on the second and third days. The first day you know it will be different, so will be on your guard. The next two days are when most of us have found we begin to feel confident, do something on the spur of the moment, and find ourselves back on the left side of the road!

 

To watch your speed: the French authorities use radar quite extensively, and do not announce where the traps are, plus the French police tend to hide when they mount speed traps. Oncoming drivers flashing their headlamps usually signifies a trap ahead. For this reason the French are, generally, very observant, so how fast they are driving will give a good clue to the local limits. The national limit is 90kph. The great majority of the French drive to the limit, and they will overtake you if you travel below the limit. Legally, they have the right to overtake, and must not be obstructed in any way.

 

There are lots of roundabouts: they are mostly used for traffic calming! You go round anti-clockwise. Over the years, the French have been taught three different ways to indicate at roundabouts, and all four are in current use! :-) Just do as you would at home, but don't assume the car that is approaching from your left, in the left hand "lane" of the roundabout, will take the exit from which you are joining - whatever the indicators may say! The rule is, there are no rules! Consequently, they tend to be equally bewildered, so they travel quite slowly! You'll soon get the hang of it.

 

Generally, traffic is light, except on some of the main "N" roads, and free sections of autoroute. If you want to see France, and get used quickly to driving on the "wrong" side, I would suggest making your way down the "D" roads in preference to the N roads or autoroutes. You will tend to go through, rather than round, many of the smaller places, so it will be slower, but you will get a much better "feel" for the country as you go.

 

In a few towns, and especially villages, be very wary of side roads to your right. Most now have "STOP" signs on the side roads, and will have a dotted line across the junction, pretty much as in UK. However, some have no stop sign, and no road marking, and at these traffic entering from the side road takes the priority over traffic on the main road. This is not indicated on the main road, so you have to check the status of each junction as you approach, and look for any vehicles approaching from your right.

 

Just one last thing. At a French road junction, "STOP" means stop! It is a legal requirement that your wheels actually stop turning before you drive on - even if the road you are crossing/joining is empty of traffic in both directions. An inverted triangular sign with red border and white background at the junction, with the legend "CEDEZ LE PASSAGE", however, means "Give way". At these junctions, you do not have to stop, and can proceed "on the roll", if safe.

 

It takes a day or so to adjust, but thereafter, driving around France is far easier and more relaxing than doing so in England.. The roads tend to be better surfaced, as well!