Overnight in French Autoroute aires

[Ch1pbutty]

Interesting, thanks all - some good points there. Was thinking of somewhere on a peage section - main reason is that it saves driving time.....especially when arriving about 1am and planning to depart early. When a student I would camp out in the aires (bivi bag) and I do remember it being distinctly unpleasant (noisy and rainy) but that was somewhere near calais in the winter....

I just wonder whether France is really that different to the UK -- I wouldn't think twice about staying in a motorway service station if necessary ... just about acceptable with earplugs, no hassle.... and don'thave to put up with stupid UK campsite rules (perhaps that's the difference)

Due to cheaper ferry timing we normally end up passing thru Le Mans on the toll road at around 1am. So easier for us to stop when tired, sleep, quick breakfast & then head off in the morning for final destination.

Although last trip we couldn't sleep in the van on the way down as there were 4 of us and roof was fully laden, so paid total Euro 90 total for 4 of us including breakfast at below, arrived at 1am but they left a key out for us :

Hotel Le Mans centre ville - Hôtel La Pommeraie Le Mans (72)

Réservez votre séjour à l'hôtel de La Pommeraie au Mans, cet hôtel situé au milieu d'un parc de 3 hectares vous offre une parenthèse verte entre ville et nature à 5 min du centre du Mans. Proposant d'autres services de qualité l'hôtel la pommeraie est le lieu idéal pour votre séjour.

www.hotel-de-la-pommeraie.com

 

[kp64zl]

France is way easier to just pull up and stay in your camper they pretty much welcome it in most places.
I would just look for a little village just off the toll.
Don’t pop roof and just use internal windscreen covers.

Alas with 3 in the van we need to pop the roof up.

 

[calibusje]

Interesting, thanks all - some good points there. Was thinking of somewhere on a peage section - main reason is that it saves driving time.....especially when arriving about 1am and planning to depart early. When a student I would camp out in the aires (bivi bag) and I do remember it being distinctly unpleasant (noisy and rainy) but that was somewhere near calais in the winter....

I just wonder whether France is really that different to the UK -- I wouldn't think twice about staying in a motorway service station if necessary ... just about acceptable with earplugs, no hassle.... and don'thave to put up with stupid UK campsite rules (perhaps that's the difference)

Maybe this is something you can use if you want: https://www.park4night.com/?langage=en
or/and https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/
I don't want to scare anyone here or anything and everyone is mature enough to decide for themselves what's safe. Let me put it this way: at least as safe and cleaner, but also in a nicer location is a camperplace and you can find them with the above apps that you can download on your mobile phone.
And then this -and this is of course personal- we think France is far too beautiful to drive through it via autostrades and péages.
Have a great holliday!

 

[westfalia]

I've seen reports of people being gassed whilst sleeping
at the services in France.
One couple had a load of gold stolen and about 6k in cash, gone.
From their 30yr old Ducato shed on wheels.
They woke up with a strange headache.

 

[calibusje]

I've seen reports of people being gassed whilst sleeping
at the services in France.
One couple had a load of gold stolen and about 6k in cash, gone.
From their 30yr old Ducato shed on wheels.
They woke up with a strange headache.

You can come across these messages, that is correct, but I wonder: are they real? I don't know. The thieves really quickly open your front doors and grab what's there (preferably a handbag, wallet). They don't need gas for that. That's why we don't leave anything valuable up front. When my father was robbed, they had stolen a lot (handbag, cash, telephones, and had actually been inside (ducato camper, not so likey in a california, certainly not if you sleep downstairs). This is a bad feeling; they also had a bad feeling physically and also thought about gas that was used to numb them. The police told them that no gas is used in such robberies, the thieves just 'have guts' and be very fast. Also quickly getaway through, for example, a hole in the fence to a vehicle parked on a small road. They don't come from the motorway itself.. There is not more to it actually.

 

[kp64zl]

What gas would they use?

 

[calibusje]

What gas would they use?

None.

 

[calibusje]

What gas would they use?

Everyone has their own idea about this, but this is an urban tale or what you want to call it; they don’t use gas to intoxicate you. A camper is also not airtight enough to keep some kind of sleeping gas inside. Real sleeping gas is too expensive and this would not be ok for the thieves' cost/benefit ratio. People imagine too much of it: they're just mean burglar thieves, break open quickly, grab and quickly leave (but not via the highway). They don’t care about Surveillance cameras: does nothing for them, at most these show what happened. Sorry but that's the way it is. See for yourself how you experience a place to stay for the night: not ok, find another. I think a camperplace is still safer than a parking lot along a motorway or péage.

 

[Ting Tong]

What gas would they use?

Campingaz

 

[altvic]

Campingaz

Welsh

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Everyone has their own idea about this, but this is an urban tale or what you want to call it; they don’t use gas to intoxicate you. A camper is also not airtight enough to keep some kind of sleeping gas inside. Real sleeping gas is too expensive and this would not be ok for the thieves' cost/benefit ratio. People imagine too much of it: they're just mean burglar thieves, break open quickly, grab and quickly leave (but not via the highway). They don’t care about Surveillance cameras: does nothing for them, at most these show what happened. Sorry but that's the way it is. See for yourself how you experience a place to stay for the night: not ok, find another. I think a camperplace is still safer than a parking lot along a motorway or péage.

Correct in saying it’s a myth. Unless you are a qualified anaesthetist there is a strong chance you will kill everyone in the van. That’s why Dentists don’t use Gas as an anaesthetic any longer, it’s just too dangerous. There’s very little chance of someone breaking into your van if you have locked it from the inside.

 

[WelshGas]

Jenson Button robbery: Are French burglars really using gas?

Reports suggest that Jenson Button is the latest in a spate of robberies in France using anaesthetic gas - but is it all just hot air?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I've seen reports of people being gassed whilst sleeping
at the services in France.
One couple had a load of gold stolen and about 6k in cash, gone.
From their 30yr old Ducato shed on wheels.
They woke up with a strange headache.

That’s a good one to try and explain to your Insurance company...A load of gold and 6k in cash. They probably forgot to claim for the diamonds and not tell the police about the 6 bottles of wine they drank the night before.

 

[Eber123]

Hello,

During our travels we used several times motorway stops in various countries to get a few our sleep.

As mentioned before that the best way is to look at the place you want to stay. Stop, look around and see how you feel. If it feels not "right" just move on and find a different place.

With the Grand California we won't need to put up the roof and so can move away, if needs be, within minutes. Also we lock the camper and use the alarm, which will go off when any door or windows is opened.

But just a short story about this:

In November 2021 we stayed for 2x nights in an aire in Donegal. We did know the place quite well. This time when we arrived there was a small wooden fence to portioned off a quarter of the car park. We were puzzled, but we stayed.
The next morning the entire fence was cut off (about 40 meters long, with about 12x wood pillars to cut). Our camper was about 30 meters away from it. We haven't noticed anything, nothing. Not even the dog!
In the morning the entire village came to have a look, so we spoke to a local to ask what is going on. They said that one person, living abroad, claimed that half of the car park belongs to him and ask a builder to put up the wooden fence. That didn't go down well with the locals and it seems that a few young lads, after the pubs closed, came and cut of the fence using a chainsaw.
How we managed not to hear all this, is still a mystery to me. But maybe it shows how good the bed is in the Grand California.

Tyred Grand California,
Eberhard

 

[calibusje]

Jenson Button robbery: Are French burglars really using gas?

Reports suggest that Jenson Button is the latest in a spate of robberies in France using anaesthetic gas - but is it all just hot air?

www.bbc.co.uk

For me -and probably many people- is the first part pure nonsense; a full house with sleeping gas, where do they get it. And a security firm that confirms it…
In the middle some people who are sadly robbed and make a story out of it, sometimes to hide the fact that they didn't put their values out of sight and they were easy to grab or make the robbery more interesting/exciting than it actually was or they genuine believe they were gassed or whatever their reason is to tell the gas story. People forget that most of them wouldn't wake up if someone stood next to them while asleep... The last part is important: urban myth, too expensive, rather impossible to do. So the story is hot air.
Anyway, everyone believes what they want and paying attention and assessing the safety of your sleeping place is more important than just being scared anyway.

 

[GrannyJen]

What gas would they use?

Laughing gas judging by most of the reports

 

[Amarillo]

We have slept in Aires.

Peage aires might be marginally safer.

We prefer non service station aires as they tend to be quieter. The biggest annoyance are refrigerator trucks.

Depart London after school at 3.30. In France by 7pm. Drive with the boys in pyjamas until 1am. Sleep in aire until 8am then on the road again by 8.30.

It is an excellent way to make very rapid progress south. We are hoping to get to the south of Spain this Easter - but that will depend on getting Jack’s passport renewal in time.

 

[Perfectos]

What gas would they use?

Laughing !

((just seen GJ’s comment, great minds! )

 

[Juicy]

Absolutely fine.

You will find broadly two types of Aires - the ones attached to petrol stations and independent Aires only. At ones attached to petrol stations, we popup the roof and sleep up top

In the other standalone aires, we tend to sleep downstairs with the popup closed, with the option to move away quickly if needed to. Have not needed so far and nothing to be afraid of, but usually makes your sleep that much more quieter.

Enjoy!

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

My Advice is don’t stay on the Autoroute services as you will be a target for thieves. I know a French couple who were gassed whilst asleep and woke to find their cash & passports stolen. Similarly Aires are more suitable for fully sufficient motor homes with on board facilities. We’ve travelled down through France many times en route to the ferry at Marseilles and there’s lots of excellent sites not far from the motorway. Many are in a quiet location, have excellent facilities and allow you a good night sleep without having to sleep with one eye open. Enjoy your trip.

 

[66tim99]

My Advice is don’t stay on the Autoroute services as you will be a target for thieves. I know a French couple who were gassed whilst asleep and woke to find their cash & passports stolen. Similarly Aires are more suitable for fully sufficient motor homes with on board facilities. We’ve travelled down through France many times en route to the ferry at Marseilles and there’s lots of excellent sites not far from the motorway. Many are in a quiet location, have excellent facilities and allow you a good night sleep without having to sleep with one eye open. Enjoy your trip.

How do you find your sites Juicy? Park4night?

 

[calibusje]

How do you find your sites Juicy? Park4night?

If I may: https://www.park4night.com/?langage=en
or/and https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/
The first is French and really good for France. Always better to choose a camperplace instead of a parking along an autoroute, weather it’s a stand alone or at a gas station. My idea based on experiences of -this year the 10th year- touring France for our holidays. Previously in the 80s and 90s with the parents and their campervan but then there were none so easy to find and equipped camperplaces.
I don't want to know any better and each does its thing but I certainly don't recommend those parkings along autoroutes.
Btw: people don’t get gassed, they get robbed.

 

[Elly Swanson]

Campingaz

Only cuz they’re on the Continent. It could never happen in the UK as a costs/benefits analysis would show it wouldn’t be worth it. Camping at is just too bloody expensive over here!

 

[Elly Swanson]

If I may: https://www.park4night.com/?langage=en
or/and https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/
The first is French and really good for France. Always better to choose a camperplace instead of a parking along an autoroute, weather it’s a stand alone or at a gas station. My idea based on experiences of -this year the 10th year- touring France for our holidays. Previously in the 80s and 90s with the parents and their campervan but then there were none so easy to find and equipped camperplaces.
I don't want to know any better and each does its thing but I certainly don't recommend those parkings along autoroutes.
Btw: people don’t get gassed, they get robbed.

Hi calibusje. How flexible are campsites in France? For most of them do you need to book in advance or can you just turn up. Also, do they have strict booking in times?

 

[calibusje]

Hi calibusje. How flexible are campsites in France? For most of them do you need to book in advance or can you just turn up. Also, do they have strict booking in times?

I'm not sure what you mean by strict bookings in time, sorry. For the rest: after the COVID period I suppose that booking in advance may be recommended in very touristic places. We do this when we go to a campsite with a swimming pool for the children, just to be sure; a few days at most because we are hardly anywhere longer than one night. We use camperplaces via the apps (free standing but still somewhat arranged by the apps) and the few times we stay overnight at a campsite, we just turn up; there is usually a place (sometimes a smaller pitch) for the ones passing by for one night. So rather flexible I guess. What it will be like when everyone is back on track I can't know. For us it will also be a surprise this summer.
Have a great holiday!
Greetings

 

[bob_summers]

Also, do they have strict booking in times?

Just before pandemic, we booked a site just up the coast from us in pays Basque, leaving work on Friday, meeting some friends en route and checking in together. We arrived around 8pm, barrier down, reception shut.
The only option was to nip in after another car left lol but luckily there was space on the campsite next door. Admittedly it's only happened once - we often pull onto sites after dark with no problems.