Do you want freedom and wide open spaces? Do you want to go on vacation with your family, as a couple or with friends? Do you want to change from the traditional holiday home you have been renting for years? So why not think about camping quite simply ! Here are some tips for having a wonderful camping holiday, even if you've never done one.
For your camping holiday to be a success, you must prepare a minimum for your trip . First, you need to define what mode of camping you envision as:
Once you have defined the mode of camping you want, you will need to know if you are staying in France or if you want to go abroad. Depending on your destination and your type of camping, you will then have to plan to rent or buy the equipment . It's up to you to see if you want to be sedentary at a campsite or being itinerant . Everything seems simple at first, but you realize that there is a multitude of things to see, book, rent or buy.
If you decide to go camping while traveling and with a tent in a backpack , we advise you to buy all the equipment, either:
If you go camping and family tent , you can also buy all the necessary equipment for camping while adding:
The family tent is transported in the trunk of the car or in the roof box provided for this purpose. You can therefore choose it with separate bedrooms if you are going with children or several people. For a pitch for two, a tent and a vehicle, count 20 € to 50 € per day in a campsite in the middle of summer depending on the geographical area in France.
You can always buy one, but its price remains high and if it is your first vacation in this structure, it is better to rent it to see if you like it. The contemporary mobile home is a real little house including:
In a camping mobile home rental, everything is included. You will find:
The rental of sheets and towels is often extra. For a mobile home for 4 people, count on average €500 to €1,000 per week in high season and depending on the geographical area.
The caravan is an excellent way to travel with your car . You can find some for rent in campsites, but in general, you have to buy this equipment, which tends to gradually disappear in favor of the motorhome. Its main advantage is to stay on a plot of land while you can walk around without it during the day with your car. If you opt for this solution, be careful, find out well in advance from the campsite(s) where you want to go, because not all of them accept them. The caravan is a good camping alternative to a tent, because you can bring everything you want and need with you while having excellent sleeping comfort. For a pitch for two people, add to the price of the campsite, the people and the vehicle, that of the caravan which varies extremely from one structure to another. This mode of vacation is nice, but you can only consider stopping at traditional campsites or farm campsites , because it is strictly forbidden to stop in certain places allowed for motorhomes, for example.
The motorhome is the most fashionable mode of camping right now. If you have never experienced it, we advise you to rent it before buying one , because new prices are as high as those of a small apartment. Used, they remain more affordable, but if they are recent, you will still have to count a price of around €40,000 for a mid-range CC and for four people. So, if you rent it, know that the average price per day varies from 120 € to 150 € for a CC of 4 people. You will have to add to this price, that of a motorhome area varying between 10 and 20 € on average or that of a motorhome pitch varying from 20 € to 50 € on average depending on the season and the geographical area. .
If you have chosen your type of accommodation and your campsite, you must reserve your pitch for a given period, especially in high season if you have chosen a seaside location. Before booking the campsite, you must check:
Once all these elements have been verified, you will be able to choose your destination and draw your route .
Before going on a camping holiday, you may not know it, but you may be entitled to aid . So, find out about:
If you are traveling abroad, you must know and obey the traffic rules , infrastructure and security . Indeed, towing a caravan is totally different from driving a motorhome. Check that you have a GPS taking your size into consideration. Remember to add road tolls to your holiday budget. In a motorhome, you can stop in authorized public car parks, but in a caravan or with a tent, you will have to go to a campsite.
Whether you are camping in a tent, mobile home, caravan or motorhome, you must always respect the environment . You must empty your waste water in appropriate places and not in the middle of nature. Also plan to put all the papers you no longer need in the trash. Also use selective sorting and behave with other campers as a civilized person. When camping, avoid being too noisy after 10 p.m. and do not spread out beyond your pitch.
If you know your vacation dates, book between January and March, because the earlier you rent a place, the more you will have the choice of retaining one of the best plots especially if you have to leave between July 14 and August 15. Ask for a quote at each campsite that interests you. You will thus have no surprises, and even better, you will be able to choose those, offering you the best rates in the geographical areas that attract you. If you pay early enough, you will be able to save money for a better vacation and allow yourself more restaurants, visits and outings. In April, go to the camping stores to buy the accessories you need, but if you wait a bit, you will also find sales interesting. Finally, in garage sales, you can find a lot of camping accessories at unbeatable prices.
By following these few tips, you will certainly have a successful camping holiday. If you want to opt for the unusual, you can still rent a cabin in the trees, a trailer and its horse, a yurt or even a tepee . It's up to you now that you have all the elements and happy holidays!
