Will I end up sleeping on a bench ?

Alex C

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Hi All,
First post in here so go easy !
First week in August I intend to ride from the Northeast down to Dover for the ferry / tunnel for a trip over to France for about a week. (Seems like it’s the only half sensibly priced route)
Intention is to then wing it a bit with no more of a plan that head maybe towards the Voseges and Black Forest or Normandy / Brittany depending where the weather is best.
I don’t intend to book campsites but just google the night before and work out where I want to be the next day and see what’s available.
Question is, am I being a bit daft and will I end up sleeping in a bus stop ? Are smaller camp sites likely to have availability or will everywhere be chokka ?
Thanks for any input
 
Alex C said:
Hi All,
First post in here so go easy !
First week in August I intend to ride from the Northeast down to Dover for the ferry / tunnel for a trip over to France for about a week. (Seems like it’s the only half sensibly priced route)
Intention is to then wing it a bit with no more of a plan that head maybe towards the Voseges and Black Forest or Normandy / Brittany depending where the weather is best.
I don’t intend to book campsites but just google the night before and work out where I want to be the next day and see what’s available.
Question is, am I being a bit daft and will I end up sleeping in a bus stop ? Are smaller camp sites likely to have availability or will everywhere be chokka ?
Thanks for any input
Click to expand...
Nah ,,, there is ALWAYS a wee space for a bike n tent somewhere 👍
Do you have an iPhone or I pad ? - if so open map of are type in campsites ,, select near area on map , and that usually IMG_1839.jpgIMG_1840.jpgbrings up lots 👍
 
You will be fine.
That's how I've done my trips.

Just be sensible, dont stop at 7pm and try and find somewhere.

If you end your riding between 3-4pm and just look for something in the area you will find somewhere.
Only a handful of times have i ever gone anywhere and been told no room, even then i am recommended somewhere.

Campsite owners like bikers as we don't take up any room, there usually very accommodating
 
Beware: France as is much of European continent officially shut their factories, etc with reduced capacity operations from late June through to end of August. This does mean that you might find yourself struggling to find a campsite, as most occupants will be with their family possibly for a duration of a week. Especially if campsite is near a lake/river/swimming pool and within stone throwing distance of local restaurants, etc. where kids can self entertain whilst parents can just chill-out. I am not saying you wont get a pitch, but your choices might be limited down to least favourite or darn expensive campsites miles away from anywhere.

Last August (we did prebook months in advance) we stayed in a number of campsites in France. All but one from memory were very busy and almost at capacity. Loads of Dutch, French and German families with kids.
 
Nearly every town has a municipal campsite. I look for them rather than the bigger, busier sites.

The best thing you can do is keep an eye on the weather forecast for a couple of days ahead and aim away from any rain.
 
If you are looking for somewhere to camp just as you get into France you could do much worse than The Parrot campsite its great and the staff are brilliant.
its proper name is French obviously ... <opens google to look>

Camping du Perroquet 🤣​

Its on the French Belgian border at Dunkirk.

Last time i went there a sexy French women said we could have a huge pitch for the 2 of us for 10 Euros a night
the pitch was huge, we parked our bikes and pitched our tents and still had shit loads of room.

Get all that travel through England and the passport shite out of the way, get there for the night and in the morning your away already in France and fresh to travel 💪
 
Been doing exactly that for over 30 years and off next week for another 3 week, totally unbooked, trip to France.

only once did we come unstuck and that was due to the total eclipse - we simply knocked on a farmers door and asked if we could pitch in his field - not only did he say yes but he also had an outside loo we could use and his wife made us breakfast in the morning for £2 each.

BTW - nothing wrong with sleeping in a bus stop.
 
Alex C said:
First week in August I intend to ride from the Northeast down to Dover for the ferry / tunnel for a trip over to France for about a week. (Seems like it’s the only half sensibly priced route)
Intention is to then wing it a bit with no more of a plan that head maybe towards the Voseges and Black Forest or Normandy / Brittany depending where the weather is best.
Click to expand...

You should be ok, but limited options. Peak season is the week of the 15th of August.
I also travel and normally book same day (around 3/4pm), but I'd anticipate things a smidge in August in certain areas.
I wouldn't venture south. I slept on someone's floor many a year ago because I forgot it was Ferragosto (15th) and we didn't have anything booked. :D

Another thing to check: the French transmutate from North to South on a fairly specific date.
I found myself in that flow, again years ago, and had difficulties finding a place to sleep along the Reims/Lyon route. Just double check the migration patterns.

I'l be traveling similar dates to Italy.
Haven't decided if car or bike yet.
 
Thanks for the reply’s. You’ve given me the confidence to just wing it and see what happens. Just need to find a couple of nice options for routes depending which way I end up going
 
You`ll be right, it is part of the journey, improvise, adapt and overcome, it makes for a memorable trip....Everything organised, you may as well just go shopping.
Challenge yourself, go outside of your comfort zone, just fucking do it. :beerjug:
I have written off a bike in Portugal, before I lived here, hit a pack of wild boars in France, been knocked off the bike in Belgium and still carried on to Pompei....Much more stuff, but it was all part of a more interesting life.

Enjoy, you only come by here once, make it count.(y)
 
I'm planning to do the same thing. Except go via Holland. France I've no interest in 😆
 
ATT said:
You`ll be right, it is part of the journey, improvise, adapt and overcome, it makes for a memorable trip....Everything organised, you may as well just go shopping.
Challenge yourself, go outside of your comfort zone, just fucking do it. :beerjug:
I have written off a bike in Portugal, before I lived here, hit a pack of wild boars in France, been knocked off the bike in Belgium and still carried on to Pompei....Much more stuff, but it was all part of a more interesting life.

Enjoy, you only come by here once, make it count.(y)
Click to expand...
I can remember arriving in Beaune, in early August 1990 (French hols) about 7pm one night

No hotels available or campsites

So found a quiet corner in a vineyard and pitched the tent between the vine rows

Fine for a night and away early in the morning
 
Just thought i would tell you the negatives of booking your stops in advance.

You book your destination accommodation the day before or even first thing the same day.
As the day goes on your not making the progress you thought you would, and that famous castle tour you wanted to do will have to be missed, cos you need to make up time and keep going.
(even worse and a possibility is you hit a detour or get lost adding to your day)

Your roadside breaks are much shorter and you see things as you travel that you really wanted to go and investigate but cant.
You arrive at your destination late and the owner asks where you have been while looking at his watch.
You set your tent up and are so tired you get straight in it.

Do this for several days and you will be miserable., especially if the weather is adding to the problem (too hot or wet)

Take your time and if you end up 50 miles short of where you initially planned, don't worry about it just stay there instead.
Even if you have had enough riding by 2pm, just stop and check out the local area.

We all do these tours because we love riding our bikes, but trust me when i say, a year later the good memories will be the stuff you did OFF the bike.
 
We (me plus SWMBO) normally book the first night and then make it up as we go along, often based on the weather forecast. In all the years "we have never slept in a ditch or had to drink our own urine" ...... Life's good 👍.
Don't fear the uncertainty, embrace the freedom 😉
 
Most ‘campsites’, if they take tents at all, will find space for you but it’ll be in full sun and/or next to the toilets
 
We decided to wild camp just outside Monaco (in August) because everything was either full or stupid expensive. We spent hours riding around but just couldn’t find anywhere vaguely flat. Eventually headed down the motorway towards Nice and came across a huge campsite which was still very much in full swing at midnight (discos etc.). We were directed to a field beyond all the chalets. When we woke up in the morning we could see we were the only tent in a huge field - this was before the days of motorhomes.
 
Except for the first night if we are getting off a ferry late, or for the very few occasions when we really wanted to be at a particular place at a particular time we’ve never booked anything much more than about 2-3 hours ahead, and for campsites almost never. Having said that I’ve only been to France once in August. Never again.

I can’t get my head round people setting off on a motorbike, with all the freedom and devil may care attitude that motorcycles are supposed to represent and proceed to ride a fixed route with everything preplanned sometimes down to fuel stops, coffee breaks and meals. The best of times are always impromptu and unplanned.

France has campsites all over the place, although there are ‘deserts’ or at least we’ve found areas apparently with no campsites, but these days a modicum of research on Google maps, or a campsite app mid afternoon should mean you have a few options of known campsites to target. That’s what we do anyway. Mrs AW is very fussy about loos and showers on campsites, if it fails her sniff test we aren’t staying there. She doesn’t mind rustic, actually she likes rustic, open showers, forest showers, shared showers even. But loos have to be clean. Squat loos are fine too, if clean.
 
Costa Azzurra is a dangerous bet :D


What I mentioned above was 15 of August of about 12/15 years ago I think. We stayed in Provence for a few days and then inland near Cassis.
Stupidly I didn't book in advance for the 15th. In the morning we set to find something.
We ended up driving along the entire coast until the evening, nothing available within a 2/300km radius. o_O
The receptionist of the last hotel we visited offered us to sleep in the spare room at her house. It was already almost midnight and we accepted.
We had to wait until 1am when she finished her shift and follow her up to her place (her family was surprised). 80 euros :D

Had my girlfriend on the back. I wanted to avoid her the bench sleeping experience I've had a couple of times in the past on my own :D :D :D

After this, just in August, I tend to pre-book near the sea or other hotspots. Alpine arc is generally way easier though.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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