Heading up from Spain to the UK on Thursday (and back a couple of weeks later) in a van, and will need to stop overnight at least once – but where? Aire, camping municipal..? 3yo in tow so nothing dodgy. The van’s got a bed but nothing else. Some of our local campsites let you park up outside for a fiver or so and you can use the bathrooms etc., do you get this in France?

All I have to go on is my trusty 1998 Michelin Camping Guide. Any tips?

ps. also if anyone knows if a T5 Caravelle will go through the Chunnel as a “high car”…

Aire is fine. Done it lots. No bother
Further from population centres are probably the safest bet

BoardinBob, motorway aires or the ones in town (afaik can’t stay in those without a proper motorhome)?

I’ve camped in motorway Aires without any problems – other than the time I woke up to the sound of walkie-talkies and found a tank squadron parked up…..

Motorway for me with no issues. Unlike UK ones where you get a parking ticket after 2 hours!

Camped in loads. Mainly motorway Aires, you can get better ones off the motorway but on a long drive I’d just stick to the motorway ones. Even pitched a tent in a couple but don’t feel as safe, and you’re not really supposed to.

Do a bit of googling for areas to avoid, mainly try and keep an hour away from the ferry ports. Try and find a decent one with a camping area where the lorries can’t go, normally these are on the way out of the aire. Your fine with the lorries but you normally find refrigerated ones leave the engines on and it can be noisy.

Cant advise on the aires, but i have a t5 caravelle and its classed as a high car on the ferries and tunnel

http://www.airetoday.co.uk/

http://www.gonetomorrow.co.uk

Ta for the link, will have a read. Looking to be somewhere north of Le Mans on the a28 by the end of tomorrow.

Quick update, indeed the van did go on the chunnel as a car (sadly not so on the m6 toll), and in the end I had to leave stuff outside when sleeping so couldn’t risk Aires, thought they would be fine otherwise. Used a couple of municipal campsites for 10eur a night, and a pub in Ashford to break up the 22h drive.
Forgot to pay the Dartford bridge though, let’s see if they contract Spanist debt collectors to come after me.

🙂 @ Scotroutes