France for summer.

[wezstar]

Hi there,

Me and the Mrs are planning to take our camper (Wes) over to France in August for 3 weeks. We've booked our ferry Dover / Dunkirk. It'll be our first 'long haul' / cross channel trip in Wes and although Wes has never really let us down wondered if anyone had any top tips for our trip? Also whether anyone has any places as a must see and those that are a steer clear of?

Cheers

[jed the spread]

Use french Aries thay rock and are really cheap too.

jed

[wezstar]

Cheers Jed - we'll be sure to check it out, just had a quick peek at your web page - good times!

Chris and Aimes

[Doctor Foster]

Up the road (about 20 miles) just over the Belgium border is Adinkerke and De Panne. Right next to each other. Very picturesque, pretty and De Panne has a nice beach.

Worth a google earth.

[b1llyf1sh]

My advice would be to make sure you have a Visa card and your bank know you are going. The French love those self service petrol pumps

[dearjohn]

Bring an adaptor to allow you hook up your van to both 3 pin and 2 pin power outlets. Type can vary between sites. Polarity checker usefull to have. Bring a Phase tester/ screwdriver in case you have to change a plug end etc. If you have a sat-nav make sure it has french maps installed. Bring basic spare parts, water hoses etc. have fun, Nigel.
Most important,,, if you like curry or korma dishes etc, bring them with you, you cannot get them in many French shops. !

[Ian Hulley]

http://www.vicarious-shop.co.uk/view_pr ... d=&p_id=39

and

http://www.vicarious-shop.co.uk/view_pr ... id=&p_id=8

Would be my advice. We went with Jed,Louise,Isaac plus a load more last year had a blast. Do a search in General Chat on 'Wessies Abroad' or similar

A good satnav (TomTom One we have) will help and means you can cruise round on the free roads (unless you need to blast from A to B) We did 2,000 miles there and paid not a cent in tolls

Norfolkline charged us £44.88 return Dover>Dunkerque for this August ... although we paid for that in November so I can't tell you how much it is now.

Buy tinned food from E l'Clerk or Champion, fresh bread and croissants every day from ya local boulangerie and almond croissants from the patisserie

Enjoy. Ian.

[Red Westie]

Hiya
We pretty much did the same last year and are also going for three weeks in August this year..
Definates: European break down cover, SatNav with European maps was a godsend, we bought a similar travel book for Campers which was Europe wide not just France, it included the French Aires sites which are anything from free to around 10 euro's (like I say just camper vans). Bulb Kit, fuses,Triangle, Luminous safety vest, First aid kit, light benders for your headlamps, general hand tools and a good selection of screws, jubilee clips, wire, hose, cable ties, nuts and bolts, insulating tape....just in case.
Martin

[wezstar]

Up the road (about 20 miles) just over the Belgium border is Adinkerke and De Panne. Right next to each other. Very picturesque, pretty and De Panne has a nice beach.

Worth a google earth.

Cheers for that - we'll def have to have a look into taking a trip there

Cheers

[wezstar]

Hiya
We pretty much did the same last year and are also going for three weeks in August this year..
Definates: European break down cover, SatNav with European maps was a godsend, we bought a similar travel book for Campers which was Europe wide not just France, it included the French Aires sites which are anything from free to around 10 euro's (like I say just camper vans). Bulb Kit, fuses,Triangle, Luminous safety vest, First aid kit, light benders for your headlamps, general hand tools and a good selection of screws, jubilee clips, wire, hose, cable ties, nuts and bolts, insulating tape....just in case.
Martin

Thanks Martin - what dat are you going this summer? We sail from dover on 23rd Aug return 14th sept and can't wait to get out there - just hope the van gets us round with no serious breakdown

[wezstar]

http://www.vicarious-shop.co.uk/view_pr ... d=&p_id=39

and

http://www.vicarious-shop.co.uk/view_pr ... id=&p_id=8

Would be my advice. We went with Jed,Louise,Isaac plus a load more last year had a blast. Do a search in General Chat on 'Wessies Abroad' or similar

A good satnav (TomTom One we have) will help and means you can cruise round on the free roads (unless you need to blast from A to B) We did 2,000 miles there and paid not a cent in tolls

Norfolkline charged us £44.88 return Dover>Dunkerque for this August ... although we paid for that in November so I can't tell you how much it is now.

Cheers Ian - we had looked at getting the ferry to Bilbao to cut out the petrol costs etc on Wes but it was around £600!!!! so got Dover Dunkirk return for £38 Norfolkline!!!! Great value we thought - definately gonna stick to the toll free roads - more scenery and places to get lost hopefully the tom tom will see us right, as Amy's map reading skills are not the best in England let alone France
Buy tinned food from E l'Clerk or Champion, fresh bread and croissants every day from ya local boulangerie and almond croissants from the patisserie

Enjoy. Ian.

[Red Westie]

Hiya
Yes it was the Camper Stop Europe that we bought....you can pay extra for a software download that installs satalite positions in your SatNav unit (they have a whole range to suit various makes) this enables you to see and navigate to the exact locations of the Camper Stops....very useful although we managed without.

We are travelling over the weekend of the 8th/9th August