French Municipal Campsites -costs

Posted on 03/04/2024 16:29 by SteveL

Our tour included 5 municipals last September / October and they ranged in cost from £14 to £22 a night, inclusive of electric. They still represent extremely good value.

Posted on 04/04/2024 08:12 by peedee

I made two trips over there last year and used a mix of sites ranging from motorhome aires to full facility sites, none were free. The average price I paid was just over 22 Euros a night. Whereever you decide to stay, as long as it is not in peak season on the coast, you will still find sites much cheaper than here. Books like the Clubs guide are good country guides but for information on sites have been superceded by some very good Apps full of all types of site information which is not from just Club members. Like TG I consider £5 well spent on the Search4Sites App or you can access the web site for free. There are others but I have found this one to be one of the more useful ones.

peedee

Posted on 03/04/2024 16:39 by Tammygirl

I really wouldn't bother buying the new CAMC book as it will most definitely be out of date.

We go to France twice a year and the number of municipal sites that close each year is getting worse. Some become Aires own by the Camping Car Parks group, some are taken over and run privately, some are in the Acsi scheme and some sadly closed for ever.

The Acsi book is all you really need but if you are happy to use an App then the Searchforsites one is excellent, it's about £5 a year for lots of very good reviews, suggestions etc and is very easy to use. It's our go to when away. 

As to price you can still get the odd site at 14€ but 18€ is more the average these days. Some of the more popular and 'posh' sites are 21€ still excellent value for money given what you get on a French site. 

We sometimes book the first and last night sites depending on what time we travel and from which port. 

Ferries, at the moment the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry is excellent value for money, if you are over a certain age do the booking direct with them as you get 20% discount. 

Hope this helps.

Posted on 04/04/2024 09:55 by SteveL

CCP have a very good website in english and their sites are also listed by Search4Sites.

They also have a very good call centre with English speakers. On one site the barrier wasn’t working using the card and they were able to sort it out remotely. They also quickly refunded the overpayment as the malfunction meant we continued being charged after leaving. 

Posted on 04/04/2024 09:16 by JimE

As mentioned earlier, a lot of municipal sites in France have been transferred to the stewardship of Camping-Car Park under the banner of "Camping de mon Village".

Prices vary but are usually 14€-17€ a night including electric.  During the summer season these sites have a facilities block and accept caravans as well as motorhomes and campervans.

Last summer we stayed at the site in Chablis and had a great stay - site details here.

If you don't already have one, you will need to pay a one-off fee of 5€ for a PASS'ETAPES Card to gain entry/exit which can be obtained on-line or at the entry bollard to the site and is valid for life.

CCP have a very good website in english and their sites are also listed by Search4Sites.

Happy travels

Posted on 04/04/2024 09:54 by iansoady

We're still using the invaluable Archie's camping list of campsites with co-ordinates although sadly he has been unable to continue updating this so it will increasingly be out of date. I load it into my own Access database and can then use it to search within a specific radius of a named town, selecting only those whose name includes "municipal" if I choose. I also have lists of museums, markets, tourist offices etc en the same database so can find local destinations easily, with the co-ordinates of each ready to load into the satnav.

We try to use municipals almost exclusively but as said many have been transferred to private companies.