Worth flying/shipping costs to camp Europe for Yanks?
Replies: 25 - Last Post: Dec 10, 2012 5:41 PM Last Post By: goinmyway
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Worth flying/shipping costs to camp Europe for Yanks?
I'll be in France and UK for 2 weeks with my family this summer first, but then my UK based friend wants to camp for our last 10 days. Do you think it's worth the cost to fly with our camp gear (or ship it)or should we just try big Eurocamps with trailers?1
What on earth is a Eurocamp?If you mean a campsite, there are tons of them, many with mobile homes/trailers for rent. Different countries have different facilities. You will probably need a car since most are in the countryside although a few are within reach of public transport. It all depends on where your friend wants to go.
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Eurocamp is this: http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/3
Does your UK based friend want to tour France? If so then its worth spending money to ship camping gear. However you can buy this stuff relatively cheaply in the UK so it might be better to buy it over here. If he/she wants to camp in the UK the same applies.Eurocamp is great for families and great if you want to base yourself in one or two places. Its not that great if you aren't a family, with children, or if you are hoping to travel around a country. This kind of camping doesn't really exist in the UK so wouldn't recommend it if you are planning to stay in the UK.
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Best way to me take the overnight boat from Hull to the Netherlands drive from there, Manchester to Calais is horrendous fro traffic.9
No it isn't Richiavo.........it can be busy at peak times and if there are problems but generally it's perfectly doable. I live in Manchester and have done this journey pretty much once a year for the last 30 years.......This year we did the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry for the first time and that was because we were driving to Norway not the Loire. It was expensive £300 or so for one-way; something like 12 hours on an overnight crossing and a nice relaxing way to get to Northern Europe but coming back we did Calais-Dover. It cost about £50 and we were back in Manchester 6 or 7 hours later.
Avoid travelling at rush hour; avoid Monday mornings and Friday nights and the Manchester - Loire via Dover/Calais is definitely the better of the two routes for getting to this part of France.
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I beg to differ, much more relaxing taking the overnight from Hull, i much prefer doing more of my driving away from Britain. OP didn't ask for the cheapest route. M6 and M25 are pretty much always busy unless you manage to get the perfect window. 6 0r 7 hours to do 200 miles is not my idea of quiet driving.11
Richiavo - the timing included the hour or so on the ferry...........and I've travelled on the busiest section of the M6 every working day for the last 25 years! Yes it can be busy at peak times, as can the M25......but its really not that hard to avoid the busy periods. Its something like a 20 hour window and more at weekends. Hull was fine for Northern Europe - expensive, meals ok but pricey and I didn't get much sleep on our night crossing - but it was fine all the same. But I can't imagine why anyone would choose this if travelling to the France, the Loire or anywhere in Southern Europe.12
Both of those routes have their appeal. We could spend our 4 days around Amsterdam or Brittany. The cost does play a little into our decision since there are 4 of us and we're paying with the dollar. Must say, however, both regions scare me as far as weather and camping and 2 young kids who are used to warm not-so-rainy weather. Ahh! So many decisions!!13
Ooo decisions decisions - I love Amsterdam but found it frighteningly expensive when we visited in January this year. Now then it really was cold (-11 I think) but you should be fine in summer. However its not ideal if you are set on camping.How old are the children? Brittany is great for children and given that you are with a young family it makes Eurocamp/Keycamp a very viable alternative. Brings back so many memories of trips to France when our children were small. Usually it would be Paris, the Loire and finishing up at Brittainly/Normandy. Paris (imho) is a better city for children than Amsterdam.
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Well, Wigstan, my kids are 7 and 10. I'm flying to Paris for a week with my friend and our two daughters (10), then my friend and her daughter are flying home. After that, we're going to my friend's in London for 2 days, then my husband and son are flying into Manchester where we will stay with other friends for a few days. The four of us will then have four days until we have to meet friends in Loire Valley for a few days the we have 3 days until we fly out of somewhere all together. Any ideas to fill in the gaps?
