France Van Camping in August - Your Experiences?

Van Doozy

Looking at taking the van to France in August this year. August def wouldn't have been my first choice but its the only time that works. I went camping in France years ago in June and it was lovely and quiet - I know August has a rep for being silly season when it comes to camping.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done French campsites in August. Are they absolutely rammed? Is advance booking absolutely essential?

I've no kids so am flexible... the idea of just moseying around without a plan and winging it appeals to me rather than having a the whole thing planned out in advance, but I'll probably only do that if there's a good shot of a chance I'll get into places!

Mefistofelino

It all depends on what you want from a campsite. If you are after swimming pools, toilet blocks and showers than yes, the big sites will be very busy and there is no guarantee of a place. If you are happy with basic municipal sites or Aires de services, you have a better change. Apps like CampingCarPark let you see if Aires are busy and to reserve a slot ( for a fee).

Oh, and a camper can be a very warm place in France in August.

Van Doozy

@Mefistofelino Thanks, yea not fussy, I'd be happy in a municipal place with basic facilities, most of the time. Good shout re that app, I hadn't heard of it.

IBrows89

We were in France a couple of years ago and signed up for France Passion, you get to stay in some nice vineyards, farms or outside restaurants. You're not obligated to purchase anything from them either, we stayed next to some beautiful vineyards, and its good because they're scattered around placed that there may not be big campsites so usually quiet. It was €30 for the annual membership 3 years ago but no sure of the price now, we went in April and everywhere we stayed was so quiet but may be slightly busier in August.

Van Doozy

Thanks @IBrows89 great suggestion! I had never heard of France Passion but I will definitely look into it. The idea of farms / vineyards / sleepy villages is a lot more appealing than waterslides.

Itineoman

Spent July and August in France nearly every year since 2006. As mentioned above there’s plenty of places to stay once you aren’t following the herd. Depending on the region it can vary a lot as well. We’ve tried France passion as well in the past and it’s grand. Nowadays we use the Park4Night app to plan a day or two ahead. It covers anywhere you’re ever likely to visit worldwide. Aires are the way to go with an occasional campsite if you need a washing machine. That’s all assuming you have a MH with services onboard. Where are you planning on going?

Edit: Should add Camping CarPark mentioned is a network of private Aires that we use regularly. You need to set up an account (easily done at the pay machine at the Aire) which gives you a card that you can use to access (they’re barriered) any of the aires on the network. You can pay/book online or pay by card at the machine on leaving. Very good service. A lot of the municipal Aires are being bought out by and upgraded by them.

Hope this helps

Van Doozy

Very helpful thanks @Itineoman Good to know that it's not all jammed in July / August! 

Yea the plan is to mainly use park4night. I use it all the time in Ireland. From reading a little bit more about France Passion it seems that a lot of those places are on park4night anyway, under the 'tractor' symbol. Another new feature I saw on park4night is GeoSpot which is a really cool idea but unfortunately doesn't seem to have taken off but i hope to give that a go as well.

Re your 'where I am going?' question - - not sure yet and not overly committed to an itinerary. happy to just mosey along. Probably a combination of coast and inland _ i expect along the western side of France - we're finishing in Bilbao with the ferry back from there direct. Both myself and Herself like a more laid back vineyard sleepy village type vibe.. museums and churches as opposed to waterslides and kids entertainment so I'm thinking probably a more inland route would tick that box. We do like the sea though, and we do like cycling. I was looking at Ile de Oleron - an island south of La Rochelle which seems to have loads of cycle tracks around it. Something like that would be cool if not mental busy in August.

I'd say I'll be combining aires (camping car park etc) with regular campsites, because I'm in a small camper (rather than a fully self contained MH as I'm guessing you have) I will definitely need facilities every other day anyway!! But a basic municipal campsite would be fine.

Mefistofelino

BTW - you don't even need to go to a campsite to do the laundry. A lot of the small-town supermarkets have the washing machine stations outside. Park up, stick on a wash, go in to do the shopping, come out, shove the washing in the dryer, have lunch in the van, job done!

Itineoman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121809532#Comment_121809532

Spot on there - forgot all about those. Same as the ones at home.

Itineoman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121796107#Comment_121796107

If you make your way down the coast, Oleron is nice enough, La Rochelle is a good lively town, Biscarosse Plage has a very good Aire in a forest setting near the beach and cycling but it is likely to be dusty in August and the forest fires have done a fair bit of damage to the Landes forest. If you’re looking for sleepy medieval Vilages and pretty scenery look at the Dordogne and Lot regions. The lot in particular is a bit less touristy and unspoilt. If you are crossing into Spain, I’d avoid Bayonne unless taking the Autoroute as it is a hellhole of suburban rush-hour traffic all day long. Instead, consider going inland, crossing the Pyrenees at Somport and visiting Jaca ( you might hit on a fiesta if lucky) and then travel west along the N240 towards San Sebastián.

thehairygrape

All good suggestions here. As mentioned above though, don’t underestimate the heat in a van. We always try to get back around Bastille Day and don’t venture out until September again. Some of the France Passion spots can be very exposed (great scheme though). The coastal spots because of the heat are usually jammed, so a bit of planning needed. There are some great FB groups that offer very practical advise.

originally we never planned our trips and just took pot luck (we’re at this for over 20 years). Last couple of years we’ve found the number of vans to have increased massively (same in Ireland). So, a bit of forward planning is needed, especially around festival times and school holidays.