Best strategy RWC 2023 - France in a Campervan (total newbie)

We did this for the euro's in France 10 years ago. We rented the camper in Germany and drove it across the border. The price in Germany was so much cheaper. I can't remember exactly where but it could be worth checking.

The camper worked incredible for the group of 5 of us. We used campsites every 3 days and camped at free parking places the rest of the time. Frances camper system is set up so well, most big shops have specific parking for campers and stuff. There's apps like park4night that show all the places but there's also a system called France passion, it's 30 euro membership for the year but you get to park for free at lots of various vineyards, farms or restaurants for free (not obliged to spend money with them). We found it incredible in our family trip last year.

We're booked at https://www.sandaya.fr/nos-campings/paris-maisons-laffitte for the Ireland Scotland Match and back there for the Quater's/Semi's & Final in October. A great campsite on the banks of the River Seine with the RER close by which will take you directly into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2telet%E2%80%93Les_Halles

Joining https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/products/pass-etapes is well worth the effort and if you upgrade to https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/faq/category/the-pack-privileges-and-reservation you can book ahead.

Bought a campervan specifically for RWC23 and going to sell it shortly after. Rental didn't seem worth it. Will resell for more or less the same price. In debt up to me oxters for now but will be worth it :)

Sailing in to Bilbao and driving up to Bordeaux, handier than driving down from Cherbourg and was cheaper at the time.

Going to get a 5G wifi dongle and a pay as you go 5g sim out there, should be grand I think.

Using park4night and campercontact for parking spots. Seems to have plenty of options....

For the Bordeaux game, just gonna park at IKEA. Will only be there 2 nights so should be grand. Will head up to Nantes then using that linked site for ideas. Have a campsite booked in Nantes, and also Paris. Going to stay out of "match cities" apart from a day or so in the lead up to each match, so should have heaps of parking options. France is properly set up for this.

This will be my first proper trip in the van but have done a lot of reading up, so happy to share whatever I've picked up along the way....

The CampingCarpark at Petit Port in Nantes is now available to book up to Sunday 17th September

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/stay/stopover-site-motorhome/pays-de-la-loire/44-loire-atlantique/nantes-petit-port#0

First question is how big is it? If its something like a VW California or similar, chances are you may be able to cover it under a normal "car" breakdown policy. If its a more traditional design, it could be too high / heavy / long for a car breakdown policy. I would guess that most of the owners of larger units just take the breakdown policy that comes with their annual camper insurance policy but that would not be an option in your case.

Repatriation could be an issue - not all breakdown policies would cover it. And another thing to bear in mind - if the van breaks down at the end of the holiday and is taken to a garage as it can be repaired, though it may take a few days and you miss your ferry, can you afford to hang around / return to bring the van back.

Finally, if the van breaks down and is delayed beyond the original return date due to an extended repair time or waiting for a suitable vehicle for moving are you liable for additional rental charge?

If it's less than 3.5T and under a certain length, a standard aa policy should cover you although I've heard they're not coving EU trips for new customers in vehicles over 10 years old

As you wouldn't be the registered owner of the vehicle you will need to have a letter of authorisation from the owner to take the vehicle out of the country of registration plus a copy of the vehicle Registration Certificate (log book in old money). You can be asked for such documents by the police at any checkpoint or if you were unfortunate enough to be involved in an incident/accident.

For the emissions sticker go here https://entreprendre.service-public.fr/vosdroits/R44284?lang=en

Driving rules in France are more or less the same as here. Speed limits are rigorously enforced and any fines will follow you home.

When entering/leaving a town/village there are no 50km/h speed limit signs. The 50km/h applies from the sign with the town/village name and continues until you see the town/village name sign with a red bar diagonally across it. However, there may be a lower limit, like 30km/h or 20km/h within the town/village and this is indicated by the type of sign we use here.

Mobile data is good, just watch out for a limit cap on data while roaming, the only company that has no limits while roaming in Europe is Vodafone.

Ensure you take the vehicle Registration Certificate, A valid Insurance Certificate, and current CVRT Certificate with you, and also, if you are not the vehicle's registered owner, a letter of authorisation from the owner permitting you to take the vehicle outside its country of registration.

Subscribe to https://www.campercontact.com/en and https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/info/how-does-it-work

Enjoy France, when God created Earth he made France a special place for motorhomes.

Two main options are

and

The latter is further out but more direct to city centre by public transport by day anyway, I'm booked in there.

CritAir 3 sticker or lower required for the first one to access or leave between 8am and 8pm, was supposed to be 2 or lower by now but that's postponed till 2025

It's probably a bit late, but you could have a look here https://airecampingcarlegrain.fr/

RER trains run, about every 15 minutes, from Stade de France to Chatelet Les Halles, 9 minutes (Line B), and from Chatelet Les Halles to Maisons-Laffitte, 22 minutes (Line A) until 12:30 am. Later in the night, there are also Bus, Metro, and Tram options, but they can all take over an hour and a half