Looking for a website to book tent pitches in France

[StewartJ]

Hi,
Is there a website where I can search and book tent pitches in France, please?

I'm currently making my way through England towards north France and I am mainly camping. I have found pitchup.com to be really useful in England and a similar website in France would be ideal. My lack of French and the fact that I am hard of hearing deters me from phoning around.

I tried searching the forum but obviously to no avail.

Many thanks

 

[Kitsambler]

Try this: https://campingqualite.com/emplacement/tente-camping-france/

 

[StewartJ]

Thank you Kitsambler. Unfortunately, these are out of my price range and similar to my own search results.

Maybe I am looking for something that doesn't exist in France. All I want is a small patch of ground to sleep on and, perhaps, access to water and/or a toilet. I have slept on farms in the UK so far paying around 12 euros/dollars per night.

 

[goldie from aus]

Stewart, try this one. https://campspace.com/ type in France, bypass dates and just hit search. G

 

[StewartJ]

That's way better than I have found so far, thank you Goldie!

I could still do with more so keep them coming please

I'm about to start walking for the day now so don't expect a swift response to further posts

 

[roving_rufus]

While not campsites I did find this useful
https://www.homecamper.com/
(I used it twice in places without campsites and worked well).

But having walked through western France on caminos I found most camping websites were more set up for week long stays. Anything I did book was on the individual camping website. I tended to search on Google maps for campings. If you are walking through resort areas then campings can be very expensive (Hourtin Plage campsite was €25 off season and €56 in July, August) and busy. Otherwise I just walked in and asked.
Other advice is go into the tourism office and ask for help - I do speak some French but telephoning is trickier- and they will help.

 

[Jesnat]

Try this. Just put in the country and region

https://www.eurocampings.co.uk.


Look for simple pitch with small tent arriving on foot or by bike

 

[good_old_shoes]

I've usually simply researched via google maps (zoom into the area where you try to find a campsite, then search for "camping". Not everything shown as a camping really is one, sometimes it's a parking area for camper vans only, or a vacation resort with small huts. But that's easy to find out. Simple google search will mainly show you the big expensive vacation resorts. Via google maps you find more of the smaller campsites.

What is also sometimes helpful is to have a look at the websites of the mairie of the towns. The municipal campgrounds are often tiny, with little luxury, and don't always have their own website - so in a simple google search you might not find info about it. Since they're run by the town, info can be found on the town's website, usually in the "tourism" section. The municipal campings is what I prefer. More quiet and less expensive than the resort-like luxury ones.

For that kind of campsites booking is usually not needed, at least not for a small tent. If there's no check-in, someone will come and collect the money in the evening.

I've got a long list of campsites through France, but I guess you'll stay much further north? (I entered France from Cologne-Trier-Luxemburg and then went via Cluny and Le Puy).

Happy planning and buen Camino!

 

[Judith Bush]

I tried unsuccessfully to copy and paste Robs Guide. It’s great and shows tenting sites and prices. !

 

[CarolynFord]

Hi we are in the middle of a six week stint in France and have done the Camino from Sarria
We have used pitchup whilst here as lots of French campsites are on there. We have also used Google to find the municipal campsites. Hope this helps

 

[StewartJ]

Wow! Many thanks @roving_rufus , @Jesnat, @good_old_shoes , @Judith Bush , @CarolynFord for your responses. I feel very comfortable about this now.

@Judith Bush , I'll search for Robs Guide as I've not heard of this before.

Fyi, I'm getting the ferry to St Malo and pretty much following @roving_rufus route through west France (I think I've read every post) but my UK experience has taught me that you have to adapt as you go.

Many thanks again all

 

[LdnWalker]

The municipal campgrounds are generally quite cheap although some aren’t open all year. As summer winds down it might start getting harder to find open ones. I’ve been walking in north eastern France this year and lots of towns have them.
Last year when walking in Benelux, other walkers mentioned Welcome to my Garden and Warm Showers. Not sure how popular they are in France but there’s definitely some places to stay.

 

[StewartJ]

I'm five nights in to France and the municipal campsites are exactly what I needed. Many thanks to everyone for your help