Aires are Safe.

[RonB]

From time to time I read postings on the forum where contributors conclude that just because they have not fallen foul of the low life they think that motorway aires, especially service station aires, are safe. They are certainly not safe and these people have just been lucky - so far. I speak from the experience of a few years ago when we learned the lesson the hard way. We had pulled in to overnight on a French autoroute 24hr service station. Four other units had thought likewise and we parked on a dedicated caravan/motorhome parking area which was floodlight and overlooked by the lorry park. Despite all this I still awoke in the middle of the night to find an intruder in our cab. Recently, we called into the same service station for fuel and noticed that the dedicated area was now barred off by lorry loads of debris. On enquiring about this we were told that it had been like that for some time due to the high rate of robberies that had taken place. If evidence was needed that overnighting in such places is somewhat risky then surely this is it. Incidentely, the service station was on the A9/E15 near Perpignan, fondly now known as the 'bandit highway' to experienced travellers. Have fun.

[spartan3956]

Ive spoken to a few French travellers about Aires and they say dont park in the locality of Large towns/cities especially in the south. I born this in mind over the last 7 yrs and have never had problems. Yes it can happen but more likely in the UK. Pete

[robertandjean]

Hi again, Just a clarification. I am not suggesting as Ron B implies, that we think it is safe to stay on the aires, or service stations on the autoroutes. As we stated earlier we do not, nor would suggest anyone should, stay on these places. The aires we stay on are in small villages and towns and dedicated to motorhome parking. Yes it is also true that just because we have not had any problems staying on these aires does not mean that at some stage in the future others or ourselves might have . BUT we really do believe that on balance you are as safe as staying on most camp sites. This we base not just on our own experiences but on the much wider evidence base of French chat forums, magazines etc. It is also important to use common sense as to where you decide to stay. If you do not like the look of a particular aire then do not stay; we have stayed on many aires in the south, but some we would not stay on. For example we feel happy to stay on the aire at Port Carro (listed in the guide under Martigues), enjoying great sea and harbour views, but would not stay at Narbonne-Plage. Enjoy your travels in France, where ever you decide to stay

[Wingpete]

Interesting variance of thoughts/experiences. Being quite new to motorhoming travel, avidly read many posts on forums for tips etc. This thread has got my imagination though. This year found me heading for Belgium at Easter, to park in a town car park, as directed by locals. Thought it bit odd, as I was only m/van there for several hours and it was also public for car through route and pedestrians, but others soon arrived and parked up, forming a neat line that I had started. Many Nationalities arrived, Polish guy next to me, with others, including an Italian based American. Only thing was, no facilites at all, so had to be self reliant, which I was until fresh water dumped itself . Had to drive to nearby garage for refill, no problem. Also ventured to Narbonne. En-route, stopped overnight at motorway rest aire. One other unit there from Holland. Everything fine apart from lack of water in toilets. Next stop was Narbonne Plage. It was very busy, looked like some had been there for months. I was also towing a closed trailer with motorcycle, so needed extra space. One spot left, next to the bourne. Other Brits came to chat, and help obtain jetons for water. No problems at all. Left next morning, and had to wait to empty tanks, as it seemed others were coming in to do just that, top up with fresh and deposit used water. Proceeded to Les Mimosas site for few days. Very well equiped. On way home, stopped at brand new m/way service aire to overnight. Only problem there was the toilets had not been built, but the portables and the adjacent snack bar were very good. Clean and pleasant, considering it was mainly used by truckers overnighting. More recently, we took ourselves up to Denmark, and again, used the m/way aires, without being at all intimidated. The truckers seem to be from all over Europe, and acting in quite obvious friendly way. Interesting to see their cuisine in morning though ! I have many years previously been a tenter, travelling by motorcycle, and I have often felt insecure at some sites used. Noises in the night have had me often searching with a handy torch, and hand implement ready to defend myself ! And amongst fellow bikers as well. Did have accessories stolen as well, and we sometimes hear on these forums of petty thieves nicking buckets, water rolls et., so no one can say you will never have to suffer some afront to your well being. Even houses get burgularised !

[Norma]

We only have 6 years experience of aires. We have stayed on a couple of service station aires and found the biggest nuisance the refrigerated lorries. We are extra careful with security on these areas. We choose village aires first and municipal sites second. The only time we had any damage was in Adge, the old town. (med coast) We had parked the van in a public car park while visiting friends for an evening meal, who live in a impasse. I'll never nag again to park the van in a corner and avoid being an obstruction. The dog had to stay behind as our friends have cats. There was a typical thunderstorm that night as well. On our return the driver's window had been smashed but, thankfully was still intact. What prevented entry we will never know, was it the dog, the Van Bitz alarm or what? The thought that we also could have lost the dog doesn't bear thinking about. We stayed the night on the Aire in Agde where we met someone who had been robbed somewhere else on the coastline the previous day. Not an attractive place to stay. The three days it took to replace the window was a small inconvenience compared with the potential outcome.

[Brian Kirby]

Well, what does one say?  The answer to everyones points is in the string above, if only they'd read what others have posted!

Simply put, if you don't want to be robbed, do not stay overnight on motorway service areas, rest areas or pic-nic areas.  Especially do not do this on the main European holiday routes, or during the main holiday periods.

The motorway may be called an autoroute, an autostrada, or an autopista. The stopping point may be called an aire, aree di sosta, or anything else for that matter.  It is not it's name that makes it secure or risky, it is it's location.

On a European motorway, on a holiday route, in the holiday season, if you seek security, turn off and find a campsite or a designated motorhome stopover. 

As for arriving late, why?  There is always somewhere within reach at a sensible time.  It is only a matter of a bit of planning and forethought about realistic average speeds and actual distances.

[kelly58]

My son was camping at a Paraponding festival in France he lives in Chamonix and went to the festival to purchase a new wing and do some flying.During the night when he was asleep someone crept into his tent and removed his vehicle keys from his trousers pocket unlocked his vehicle stole the new wing and some other personnel belongings locked his vehicle up put the keys back in his pocket and zipped up his tent without him knowing.He was not the only person to get robbed that night so its not only motorhomes that are targets its anyone that these morons can rob. It just shows a good alarm system is a good deterent. regards kelly

[RonB]

Robertandjean I think that you are barking up the wrong tree. Nowhere did I imply that you were advocating using autoroute aires, in fact it's pretty obvious that you were not. Please try reading my posting again. Have fun.

[Brian Kirby]

[QUOTE]RonB - 2006-11-27 10:44 AM Robertandjean I think that you are barking up the wrong tree. Nowhere did I imply that you were advocating using autoroute aires, in fact it's pretty obvious that you were not. Please try reading my posting again. Have fun.[/QUOTE]

Ron

I think Robertandjean may have confused you with Coach2000, who did seem to be saying, on the basis he hadn't yet been robbed, that motorway aires were reasonably safe.

Horses to water?

[Mike Hol]

The reality, surely, is that nowhere is completely safe. We had our M/home vandalised whilst parked on our own property. We haven't had any problems yet on M/home Aires or Stellplatz, but have experienced instances on authorised campsites in the UK. Fortunately, these were not too serious, but might have been, when you read some of the horror stories that appear in the press. Regarding various camping publications reporting safety issues with Aires, I keep an open mind, because , being cynical, Aires/Cheap camping is not in the intrest of their advertisers. Having said that, even the Camping & Caravanning Club now sell guides to French Aires, through their Carefree organisation. It isn't possible to be completely safe. Life wouldn't be worth living if we worried unduly. A common sense approach, in my view, is the best way to approach when and where to camp. Happy Camping, Mike Hol.