Hello!

[LucyMaryMatthews]

Hi there
I am a Cali Ocean owner! Have been for a year now but not come onto the forum before! About to go on my first LONG trip in my wonderful van to France/Spain and Portugal in September. For a month. Any tips?? Wondering about getting a solar panel? Any thoughts/feedback/tips etc? Hope you're all having a good day!

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Hello and welcome to the forum. We are doing the same trip in September for 3 weeks. Are you crossing by ferry or channel tunnel? We are going from Portsmouth to Caen then down south towards Andorra (Where we stock upon various products)
Then down into Spain towards Aragon for the MotoGP. Spend some time in various campsites on the coast then back up towards Santander for the ferry home. One thing I might suggest is you join ACSI camping card. It costs about 18€ and gives discounts in the off season which September is. You also get as well as books you get a terrific app which gives all the info about every ACSI campsite. Prices vary from 12€ up to a maximum of 22€ .
As everyone is different is difficult to actually suggest particular campsites but in France and Spain the country is awash with every type you could ever need.
Good luck and have a lovely holiday.

 

[Hawthorn37]

Tip on the channel crossing, get a quote from Caravan Club. As a member you get a decent discount, and in our case using the Dieppe crossing, the saving was more than the annual membership fee.

Also, Newhaven - Dieppe is a stress free route.

 

[Graham T]

 

[kurienp]

@LucyMaryMatthews , welcome on board. Always so good to visit those countries - France, Spain and Portugal. Earlier today someone on here was asking on trip to Portugal and did redirect them to my travel report on Portugal in 2020 - https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/portugal-2020.37198/

Lots of wonderful places to visit and enjoy nature.

On your question on Solar - only required depending on the type of travelling that you plan to do.
- if you are mostly wild camping or using Aires without electric sockets for a long stay (>4 to 5 days), then yes, a solar will help.
- if like us, you move every 2 to 3 days, then the batteries will charge up with the driving and you should be fine.

Carry a 10 + 15 m cable with you, with the European socket type, and you should be good to plug in and charge the batteries if need be. Once in a while, we too check into a camping areas to ensure that we are able to clean ourselves up, plug the van in and also make use of other facilities.

Before you go, do check to ensure that the batteries are healthy - which they will be, if your van is just a year old and has been used regularly.

Remember that the continent is built better on catering to campervans and motorhomes so you should not have any trouble.

As long as you have breakdown cover and travel insurance, you will be fine.

Enjoy the adventures!

PS: good to have a link to the forum on your phone. Just in case you get stuck with something, post on here and there will be many who will be ready to suggest solutions