Aires in France

[marley]

We are taking our camper to France for the first time and would love to hear your experiences of french aires & campsites etc... Is there anything that you wished you had brought with you ! All tips or experiences welcome

[MCLOUIS]

We have just come back from travelling through France to Spain. On our way back from Spain we decided to stay at a service Aires which is supposed to be safe??? we parked right in front of the main entrance which was well lite and tried to sleep. I couldnt get into a deep sleep because I was not 100% sure we were safe. About 2 hours after we arrived I thought I heard our alarm went off but hubby said it was someone who had same as us!! we didnt put our silver screen over windscreen but put up a sheet across front seats to give us some privacy so wouldnt see much anyway. When hubby went outside to have his morning cigarette he noticed someone had tried to open his drivers door with a screwdriver and left door open when obviously alarm went off. We were always told to make sure we parked in service aires because it was more secure but after our experience I will never ever try and stay at one of these again!

Also wouldnt travel to spain again by road in motorhome so expensive with tolls and diesel, cost us just over £500 return!!! before we paid for campsite, food and drink!!!

[hjacksonb34]

Hi,
I always use Aires when passing to and from Spain thro' France. Done the trip twice, without any bover, for 6 months winter migration. Uz poor pensioners have to migrate cuz we dont get any holidays .
I always try to park near another Motorhome or caravan, no matter what nationality, cause we are all in the same boat and look after each other.

I did get pick pocketed at Alicante so be very careful and only carry just the things you need when you are out and about.
Mr Dopey, me, lost everything in my wallet incl. cash, driving licence, bank and credit cards, bus pass and pride. The place is full of scammers so only trust those people you know.

Going back again at beginning of October.

Take care, happy camping.

[Europe]

Originally Posted by MCLOUIS

.. to stay at a service Aires which is supposed to be safe??? we parked right in front of the main entrance which was well lite and tried to sleep. but after our experience I will never ever try and stay at one of these again! wouldnt travel to spain again by road in motorhome so expensive

Perhaps I am cynical in my old(er) age but one of the first posts on a new forum of a campsite orientated company talks about aires being unsafe. Sounds suspicious to me. If I am wrong I apologise.
The accepted wisdom seems to be that you NEVER overnight on service stations. However the aires provided in the towns and villages of France are safe. We have used aires in France and their equivalent in Italy (sostas) for over five years with no problems at all.
Happy travelling. Europe

[keitht]

We have used a few Aires but would be very careful in doing so, and only use those in towns/villages which are of a decent size.We would never stop on motorway Aires, even where there are full service stations - we have heard too many horror stories. We have used the Aire at Calais a number of times,also Le Touquet, and are going back to France at the end of this week, and shall have a look at a few others.
We tend to use the UK printed Guide, and at least that gives an idea in advance of whetherr it is suitable.

[suntorfan]

We are motorhome virgins having just purchased our Suntor in March this year. Wouldn't stay on any Aires on the autoroutes - too risky! but have had successful stays this year at the Aire in Arques (near Calais) and Kayserberg in the Alsace. Stayed on one in Baccarat in the town square on a Sat night which was a strange experience! A wedding Reception at one end of the square where they kept us awake until 3 pm - nice if you like glass items and jewellry and open on Sunday morning but felt a bit vunerable, probably unwarranted but hey we are new to this!!, but loving it!

[megladon]

It goes against all advice from the CC, CCC, to sleep at the aires, from many years of experience travelling through France I can only agree fully with this. From french police reports on the crime in Aires ninety percent of crime happens in the summer months and on the southern carriage ways of the Autoroutes, To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

[nellierich]

We have been travelling down through France to Spain for the last 3 winters and stay on all the Aires down and coming back, we have never had a problem , you can get broken into on a campsite, or anywhere at all, As for the people saying they got gassed well that is a joke, they are just after an insurance claim. it cannot be done ,

[traveller 2]

Hi
I am new to this forum but have found a lot of interesting information.

I recently purchased a book called All The Aires in France this book gives aires that are designated Motorhomes only and they are NOT on the Autoroutes. Some of the aires have all the service points on them

I purchased this from vicarious books at Motorhome &amp caravan books, guides and maps, Go Motorhoming Europe, Camperstop Europe, France Passion, campsite guides, full-timing the facts, Aires and stopovers guides £14-99 inc.postage

[Trooper]

Originally Posted by megladon

It goes against all advice from the CC, CCC, to sleep at the aires, from many years of experience travelling through France I can only agree fully with this. From french police reports on the crime in Aires ninety percent of crime happens in the summer months and on the southern carriage ways of the Autoroutes, To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The problem is, there are different types of 'Aires' in France.
The Motorway ones can either have Services (like our Motorway services) or they can just be picnic areas (usually with a toilet and Phone).
The other type is like an unmanned campsite (usualy in the town centre), there is usually a Motorhome service point for emptying and filling the water tanks (coin operated) and an Electric point again coin operated.
Some people say the Motorway service area types are safe, others say not. The Picnic area ones are the most dangerous ones (Personaly I would'nt use one for overnighting). The Proper Motorhome Aires should be as safe as any campsite.