French Municipal Campsites -costs

Posted on 03/04/2024 14:33 by eurortraveller

Some of the municipal sites we liked have closed and some have been privatised,  but of the ones which remain the going rate for car, caravan, EHU and two adults is not likely to be less than €20 a night this year at many sites.
It will vary of course depending on the popularity of the location, so look at websites for a few municipal sites you know and check out what they are charging this year - but electricity  will always be an add on to the published list price.

Posted on 04/04/2024 10:49 by Ray55

Thanks for that. I take CCP are Camping Car Parks and they accommodate caravans.

Ray

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I really wouldn't bother buying the new CAMC book as it will most definitely be out of date.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 09:54 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of campsites with co-ordinates although sadly he has been unable to continue updating this so it will increasingly be out of date.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.

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 05/04/2024 16:21 by Ray55

Hello,  I looked up and read about the PASS'ETAPES Card which said it is sent out and requires possibly 14 days delivery outside of France.  However, I note you say that they can be obtained at the entry. 

Posted on 05/04/2024 19:29 by Tammygirl

Hi, yes you can get a card for CCP from the bollard at the first site you use, however as mentioned only the Mon Village sites allow caravans and only at given times of the year. You can check it out online first to see if it suits.

Re Acsi, we prefer the books as I look at them while other half drives. He does have the app which he uses and likes.

Acsi now have a digital membership( no books) which is valid for 12 mths from the date you register with them. This is handy as the books run from Jan to Dec so it can be a bit of a pain if you travel over the winter.

There has been issues however with some sites not accepting the digital version. I think Acsi are working hard with sites to overcome this.

Searchforsites is really the only App I use on a daily basis when we are away. 

 

Posted on 05/04/2024 20:12 by eurortraveller

I never got round to using the new breed of Mon Village sites and personally wouldn’t go out of my way to seek them out.

Why?  There are only about 300 of them which accept caravans and that’s for very limited dates too. But there are 8200 camp sites in France which do accept caravans so the choice is immense. I love choice and would never want to be limited.

I can think of a number of French campsites which we really liked. All were family owned and run by a family couple. They cooked food when we arrived hungry. They took orders for fresh bread and croissants and brought them to our awning before we were up. They helped us make the Wi-Fi work. They kept the swimming pool in order. They made appointments tor doctor and dentist when we were in trouble. And more besides. Their customer service was really top class. 

Sure we paid a bit more at sites like that, but automated card entry to an unstaffed site wouldn’t appeal - even if they are cheap.  Family owned, family run sites in France were the ones which hit the button for us.