Anyone booked for France yet?

Vivienne23

Just booked our first trip to france in our motorhome , im a bit nervous about it but its on the bucket list so time to bite the bullet !

We have had a camper/motorhome for a number of years but kept our trips to weekends and headed off on a plane for sun searching ,

Booked from Rosslare - Cherbourg outward and roscoff to rosslare on the way back , we wont venture too far on our first trip , we are heading for 2 weeks late aug/early sept ,

I have to commend irish ferries on
1, Prices
2, the 100 euro deposit and being able pay the balance in installments is a great way to operate

Total return including cabins was 482 , hopefully we will get a trip to the UK free too ,

If anyone has any info ( dont worry i have a few threads bookmarked to read through ) especially maybe newbie mistakes they made etc id love to hear them because that will be me

SeamusG97

Vivienne23 wrote: »

Just booked our first trip to france in our motorhome , im a bit nervous about it but its on the bucket list so time to bite the bullet !

We have had a camper/motorhome for a number of years but kept our trips to weekends and headed off on a plane for sun searching ,

Booked from Rosslare - Cherbourg outward and roscoff to rosslare on the way back , we wont venture too far on our first trip , we are heading for 2 weeks late aug/early sept ,

I have to commend irish ferries on
1, Prices
2, the 100 euro deposit and being able pay the balance in installments is a great way to operate

Total return including cabins was 482 , hopefully we will get a trip to the UK free too ,

If anyone has any info ( dont worry i have a few threads bookmarked to read through ) especially maybe newbie mistakes they made etc id love to hear them because that will be me

Don't be nervous at all - you'll love it. There's tons of advice on this forum if you search back over the past few years. One newbie mistake is to try to see it all on one trip. Take it handy and don't try to cover too much ground and you'll be grand. There's so much to see and do that you don't need to travel all that much once you've got to where you want to be.

Vivienne23

SeamusG97 wrote: »

Don't be nervous at all - you'll love it. There's tons of advice on this forum if you search back over the past few years. One newbie mistake is to try to see it all on one trip. Take it handy and don't try to cover too much ground and you'll be grand. There's so much to see and do that you don't need to travel all that much once you've got to where you want to be.

Thanks for that! i think its driving on the wrong side of the road will be the most daunting,i drive a left hand drive here all the time and get on the finest , we had originally discussed going cork to santander and then coming back by roscoff to rosslare but we said for our first trip it might be too much ,

We will probably head south for a few days hugging the coastline ,book in somewhere we like for a couple of nights and then head back towards the ferry again , as you can see its very vague ! Looking forward to the planning , i wont ask any more questions until i have read a few threads !

PS we are two adults (girls) , no kids , there are a lot of recommendations for family camping so if anyone knows of suitable campsites that wouldnt have the "mosney" feel to them id love to hear them

SeamusG97

Vivienne23 wrote: »

Thanks for that! i think its driving on the wrong side of the road will be the most daunting,i drive a left hand drive here all the time and get on the finest , we had originally discussed going cork to santander and then coming back by roscoff to rosslare but we said for our first trip it might be too much ,

We will probably head south for a few days hugging the coastline ,book in somewhere we like for a couple of nights and then head back towards the ferry again , as you can see its very vague ! Looking forward to the planning , i wont ask any more questions until i have read a few threads !

PS we are two adults (girls) , no kids , there are a lot of recommendations for family camping so if anyone knows of suitable campsites that wouldnt have the "mosney" feel to them id love to hear them

Half an hour and driving on the 'other' side of the road becomes second nature. Road markings and signs provide a lot of subliminal cues and your van was designed to be driven there so visibility etc. will be even better than at home.
Regarding where to stay - Aires, Aires, Aires - its what the natives do and very good value for money and usually located somewhere pretty, convenient or useful. Just rock up and park for the most of them - pay the person who comes to collect the €10 or so in the evening and fill / empty to your heart's content. I always found the best plan was to have no plan and take each day as it comes. If you prefer campsites (we always used a mix of Aires and the odd campsite when we needed a washing machine), at the end of August there won't really be any need to book ahead as the French all take their holidays at the same time and most will be back at work when you're there. Only once in twelve years did I come across a campsite that was full. If you have a good guidebook or online equivalent you'll never be stuck.

Vivienne23

SeamusG97 wrote: »

Regarding where to stay - Aires, Aires, Aires - its what the natives do and very good value for money and usually located somewhere pretty, convenient or useful. Just rock up and park for the most of them - pay the person who comes to collect the €10 or so in the evening and fill / empty to your heart's content.

Aires would suit us perfect we like to go out in the evening to restaurants and visit the local establishments for a few beers !

I recall a few years back there was a spaight of gassing and robberies happening in aires and thats why we were leaning towards campsites just for safety reasons , we always wild camped in ireland until we had a bad experience one night in clare with a few undesirables and since then its been strictly parked behind a barrier with a crowd around , safety is very important to us as if we dont sleep right you might as well book into a hotel , but campsites are often outside of towns, villages so we would much prefer aires ill be doing a lot of research !

SeamusG97

Vivienne23 wrote: »

Aires would suit us perfect we like to go out in the evening to restaurants and visit the local establishments for a few beers !

I recall a few years back there was a spaight of gassing and robberies happening in aires and thats why we were leaning towards campsites just for safety reasons , we always wild camped in ireland until we had a bad experience one night in clare with a few undesirables and since then its been strictly parked behind a barrier with a crowd around , safety is very important to us as if we dont sleep right you might as well book into a hotel , but campsites are often outside of towns, villages so we would much prefer aires ill be doing a lot of research !

The gassings are an urban myth - there's a fairly comprehensive debunk of that posted on here a few years ago. Aires are as safe as a campsite and more often than not full of vans - it's all very laid back and pleasant. France is safe, motorhome friendly and a great place to travel and stay in. The usual common sense applies - once you don't park somewhere completely silly you'll be fine.
edit: here's a link to the gassing thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=95575181
I'm dragging this thread off topic so I'll bow out for the moment.

Freedive Ireland

I'd second the advice above. Wild camped mostly and did a few aires where needed. Follow back roads as much you can, it's interesting. Mont saint-michael is like so much worth visiting but get in early, as in first thing. Found the French to be very helpful if you make any attempt at all at French. We bought a big map book as decided we'd try and keep the phones off as much as possible. Almost every village has a boulangerie and a major part of my day was buying food and wondering about by van and by foot.

jamesbil

Booked Stena Line Rosslare - Cherbourg 5 June.
It will be a mix of wild camping, aires and campsites. Got a ACSI card.
Just need to get some breakdown cover, who do you use?

Vivienne23

what do people use for wifi while in france?

I have seen people suggesting a mifi dongle with a 3 sim card but on there website a prepaid card is 5 euros per day , any cheaper way of doing it ?

CJhaughey

Have a look at this site, no affiliation but they are purpose made and have some good deals on 3 data sims as well.
https://www.motorhomewifi.com/

Vivienne23

just been looking at some campsites ,

I see some have 10 amp and some have 16 amp electricity connections ,

Do i have to check if my motorhome is suitable for each one or do you just plug in and work away as normal ? and that is just the power you can use i.e the 10 amp wont boil as domestic kettle etc?

If anyone could give me a simple explanation i would be very grateful,

PS i hope there isnt too many of you caught up in the irish ferries disaster , fingers crossed it will get sorted !

Jaden

Vivienne23 wrote: »

PS i hope there isnt too many of you caught up in the irish ferries disaster , fingers crossed it will get sorted !

What?

Vivienne23

Jaden wrote: »

What?

The new ship wont be ready for july , sailings are affected , anyone affected should have got an email

autumnalcore

Vivienne23 wrote: »

do you just plug in and work away as normal ? and that is just the power you can use i.e the 10 amp wont boil as domestic kettle etc?

If you exceed the available current you just need to reset the trip switch although the very odd site the trip box may be locked and you need to ask a staff member. A fast boil kettle probably would trip it but you can get a 2.2kw kettle in tesco for about €8.50 should be ok in 10 amp supply. In reality a 10A trip might not trip until 11-15A.

LeChienMefiant

Vivienne23 wrote: »

The new ship wont be ready for july , sailings are affected , anyone affected should have got an email

Called them saturday and rebooked to the day prior ex Rosslare. Took 4 minutes total. A lot of people complaining vociferously in the hopes of getting extra compensation.

Vivienne23

Vivienne23 wrote: »

what do people use for wifi while in france?

Dual sim phone with three.UK sim PAYG & £20 feel at home bundle.
3G only. Slow but worked.

Tethering worked too until I got my 'puter kicked off all the networks for torrenting misdemeanors.

autumnalcore

autumnalcore wrote: »

In reality a 10A trip might not trip until 11-15A.

I fit selectable MCBs on the vehicle incomer so you can trip locally before the supply.
Fancy inverter-charger combo units have input limit thresholds and can supplement the rest from the battery.

Nivekork

Just been on to Irish Ferries site looking to book a trip to France from Rosslare round 26 May and there is no availability for campers over 2.25m high from the 18 May right through to 15 June. Irish Ferries say every sailing is fully booked ........... has everyone left the country already or is it Irish Ferries just being awkward.

Never remember things being so busy before and I wonder if anyone's heard anything.

The Epsilon still has availability though.

Nekarsulm

They must have everyone from the WB Lates accommodated on the Oscar Wilde by now (those who could avail of different sailing dates)
Unless they are holding a number of spaces in case the boat is an extra week late.....

Benbecul97

Irish Ferries cancels all summer sailings on new WB Yeats ferry

https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/irish-ferries-cancels-all-summer-sailings-on-new-wb-yeats-ferry-37002317.html

_Brian

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Irish Ferries cancels all summer sailings on new WB Yeats ferry

https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/irish-ferries-cancels-all-summer-sailings-on-new-wb-yeats-ferry-37002317.html

That’s just a nightmare for everyone.
Hardly be enough capacity on the OW to compensate??

Maybe they willl charter something on or could that be an option ??