Hi - We are hiring a motorhome/vampervan and will be in France and the UK for just over a month from late June to late July 2013. We are going to see at least a couple of stages of Tour de France, but we haven't planned the itinerary or booked any particular camp grounds yet. Just starting to do that now. Basically we only have one other obligation for the month - the British Open in Scotland on 19th - 21st July. We have been to Europe before, and we have no burning desire to see the cities (such as London or Paris) but we do want to see the countryside.
My husband & I and 7 yr old son are travelling. We are pretty good at long distance driving, and we don't mind the trip (or detours) when the destination is worth it.
The question is about the start of the Tour, this year in Corsica! Has anyone any experience of taking a motor home over to Corsica on a ferry? I understand at that time of year that ferries leave from Nice, but also from Livorno in Italy (shorter trip). Any tips or advice? Also, have we left it too late for planning this? All comments, particularly about Corsica, would be gratefully received.
We are also planning on visiting Disneyland (Paris) - as voted by our son.
Corsica - Campervan/Motor home on Ferry - any advice?
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Hi Linda99.
First-time forum post so bear with me. I work for MMM (Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly) magazine and we are just putting together an article on taking a motorhome to see the Tour de France, which will be in our April 2013 issue. The article essentially focuses on stages 4 onwards for various reasons: high cost of ferry, very narrow island roads and the sheer number of other vehicles swamping the island at this time, making it crowded and congested. For general info on Corsica see this forum post http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Corsica/28859/
If you're motorhoming in France for the first time, make sure to hunt out a guide to Aires de Service de Camping Car - these are low cost parking places for motorhomes across the entire country of France - free or very low cost. Do not mistake these for motorway service areas which are not suitable for overnight stops except in extreme circumstances.
There's also a scheme called France Passion, by which you pay for a year's subscription and get a book and map to thousands of farms, and vineyards etc that will put a limited number of motorhomes up for free, but there are no facilities available. they do this in the hope that you may buy something from the farm shop, but there's no obligation to buy.
Hope this helps...
Rachel
Thanks so much for the response! I have read the comments on the forum that you referred to - all very helpful. It tends to confirm my suspicion that Corsica for the start of the Tour may be a bit too hard. Thanks for the reference to the magazine - I will check it out when it comes out (I assume that the April edition will be published sometime in March?). I had found the France Passion site on the web, but good to have someone else mention it. I am checking out the All the Aires book that you mention - We hadfriends mention that overnight stops were possible without a full camping ground, but this will give us a lot more information. Thanks again for the help.