Campervan Stays in France With Prices Tips and Free Stopovers - Our 3 week Itinerary
Updated: Aug 29
France is such an easy country to explore by campervan, if you mix the big campsites with simple aires, farm stops and the odd free night. On our three week road trip, we stayed everywhere from a five star campsite with waterslides to a tiny fruit farm by a sunflower field.
This is the full list of where we slept, what we paid and what each stop was actually like.
Our known campervan stop costs came to £372.72, not including our Airbnb stay in Antibes or any wine and extras we bought along the way!! I say not too shabby for a summer in France!
Our full France campervan route and stopover costs
Here is the quick version first. Some places were proper campsites with pools and entertainment. Others were basic aires or free stopovers where we were fully self-sufficient.
The campsite stays with pools, activities and easy facilities
These were the stays where we had more facilities, more space to properly reset, and usually something extra for the children.
NATES CAMPING - Brilliant for reaching the city
Price paid - £56.72 for one night
Nantes Camping was one of those sites that felt easy from the start. It is a five star campsite with a pool, activities and entertainment, so there was plenty going on without having to leave the site.
The best bit for us was the location. The tram to Nantes centre is right outside, which made it so simple to get into the city without moving the van. It is also a great base if you want to visit Les Machines de l’île and see the famous mechanical elephant.
For a city stop, this worked really well. We got the comfort of a proper campsite, but still had quick access to Nantes.
CAMPING LE RELAX - had a laidback countryside feel
Price paid - £40 for one night (www.Pitchup.com find!)
Camping Le Relax was in the middle of the countryside and had a totally different feel to Nantes. It was quieter, more relaxed, and had that slow summer evening atmosphere that makes French campsites feel special.
There was a pool, a bar, outdoor fairy lights and a nice evening buzz without it feeling too busy. This was a good one for slowing down after a few busier travel days.
It was not fancy in a big resort way, but that was the charm. Easy, friendly and chilled.
CAMPING SANDAYA BLUE - was our biggest campsite splurge
Price paid - £97 for one night
Camping Sandaya Blue was our most expensive night of the whole campervan part of the trip. At £97 for one night, it definitely made us wince a little!!
Was it worth it for one night? I am not completely sure.
The kids absolutely loved it, especially the waterslides. There was evening entertainment and all the facilities you would expect from a big Sandaya five star style campsite. If you are using the pools, slides and entertainment from arrival to departure, then it makes more sense.
For us, it was fun, but expensive. I would probably only book this kind of stop again if we knew we had enough time to properly use the facilities.
CAMPING DE SAULIEU is one we would go back to again - and have!
Price paid - £60 for two nights
Camping de Saulieu is not the first time we have stayed here, which says a lot. It has a pool, a really chilled feel, and it never seems to feel too full.
You can walk into town from the site, which we always like. Depending on when you visit, there can sometimes be a night market with local people selling food and bits from the area.
This was a good reset after the vineyard stop. Two nights gave us time to swim, walk, tidy the van and slow the pace down a bit.
The best value Aires and simple campervan stops
Aires are a huge part of travelling through France by campervan. Some are very basic. Some have toilets, showers and waste points. Some are in amazing locations for very little money.
This is where the budget really balances out.
Puy du Fou Camping Car Aire was excellent value
Price paid - £27 for two nights
This was one of the best value stops of the trip. The first 12 hours of parking were free, and we paid £27 for two nights.
The aire had toilets, showers, bins and a boulangerie for morning pastries, which is always a win. It was practical, easy and ideal if you are visiting Puy du Fou.
For the price, it gave us everything we needed. Not luxury, but very useful and much cheaper than many campsites.
Carcassonne Castle Aire was a bargain
Price paid - £9 for one night
We stayed at the Carcassonne Castle Aire, linked with Camping de la Cité. This was another really good value stop.
The pricing worked well because you do not pay between 8pm and 8am. You only pay for the time you use around that overnight window, so our stay came to £9.
For visiting Carcassonne, this was simple and affordable. It is the kind of stop that makes campervan travel so much easier than trying to find hotels or city parking.
Port de Pêche in Martigues was a practical port stop
Price paid - £11 for one night
Port de Pêche, Martigues, was a simple aire stop and cost £11. This was not one of the big memorable campsite-style stays, but it did the job.
Sometimes that is exactly what you need on a road trip. A safe, straightforward place to park up, sleep, sort the van and move on the next day.
Not every stop needs to be a highlight. The practical ones help the whole trip work.
Disneyland Paris Aire could not be closer
Price paid - £72 for two nights
The Disneyland Paris Aire is in the Disney grounds, in a special section for campers next to the coach park. You really could not get much closer to Disney in a campervan if you tried.
It cost us £72 for two nights. For the location, that felt worth it.
The facilities are basic, so go prepared. There are toilets around a five-minute walk away, but they close overnight. There are bins, but this is still an aire, not a campsite.
Be self-sufficient here. Have water, use your own toilet if you have one, and do not expect campsite facilities. The big reason to stay is the location.
The free stopovers were some of our favourites
The free nights were not just about saving money. A couple of them ended up being among our most memorable stays.
Our first free stopover near Rouen worked perfectly
Price paid - Free
Day 1 was a free stopover near Rouen. It was a simple one, but perfect for the first night.
On a long road trip, that first stop is often about getting settled. You cross into France, get used to driving, work out where everything is in the van, and just need somewhere easy to sleep.
This did exactly that.
Ferme Roques Fruit Farm and Shop was a dream free stop
Price paid - Free
Ferme Roques Fruit Farm and Shop in Montesquieu was one of those stopovers that reminds you why campervan travel is so good.
There was space for three campervans, so it felt small and peaceful. There was a BBQ hut, picnic benches, a lake and a sunflower field nearby. You could also order fresh bread and croissants for the morning from the fruit farm shop on site.
It felt personal and different from a campsite. No pool, no entertainment, no fuss. Just a lovely rural stop with proper character.
This is exactly the kind of place we love finding.
Domaine de Champ-Fleury was a free vineyard stop with wine tasting
Price paid
Free, although we bought wine
On day 18, we stayed at Domaine de Champ-Fleury vineyard in Marcy. We had read reviews saying it was €10 if you did not purchase wine, but this was not stated to us when we arrived.
We did have a tour of the wine cellar and bought wine, so it worked out as a lovely experience as well as a stopover.
Vineyard stays are a brilliant way to break up a journey. They feel much more memorable than a basic car park, and it is nice to support the place you are staying at by buying something if you can.
Parc du Bois Magnier in Berck-sur-Mer was a useful final free stop
Price paid - Free
Our final night was at Parc du Bois Magnier car park in Berck-sur-Mer. It was free, which helped after a long trip.
There is a height barrier listed at 1.9m. In reality, it seemed closer to 2.1m because we fitted under it once we took the bikes off the back. That said, do not rely on that without checking your own van height carefully.
This was a practical last stop rather than a pretty campsite stay. Still, free is free, and it worked for what we needed.
What we learnt about mixing campsites, aires and free stays
This trip worked because we did not try to do the same type of stop every night.
The paid campsites gave us:
Pools for the kids
Showers and laundry time
Space to reset
Entertainment on some evenings
A break from being fully self-sufficient
The aires gave us:
Easy overnight parking
Better value near big attractions
Simple access to places like Carcassonne, Puy du Fou and Disney
Less planning and fewer extras
The free stopovers gave us:
More interesting locations
A lower overall trip cost
Memorable stays at farms and vineyards
A slower, more local feel
If we had stayed at big campsites every night, the trip would have cost a lot more. If we had only stayed on free stops and aires, we would have missed the pool days and easy facility resets. The balance made it work.
Our simple Park4Night tip for better stopovers
Our best tip is to use the filter facility on Park4Night properly.
For us, the tractor sign is always worth looking for. Those stops often lead to more interesting places, like farms, vineyards and off-grid rural stays. They are not always polished or full of facilities, but they usually have more character.
A few things that helped us:
Check recent reviews before turning up
Look at arrival instructions carefully
Check height barriers if you have bikes or a roof box
Carry cash for smaller aires
Arrive earlier for tiny farm stops with limited spaces
Be self-sufficient, especially at aires
Buy something if you stay for free at a farm or vineyard
The best stays were not always the expensive ones. Sometimes it was the free farm stop with morning croissants, the vineyard tour after a long drive, or the aire that put us right where we needed to be.
Happy camping!
Follow along with us on Instagram at @toffee_the_vw
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