Advice for Clients from South Africa

• “Visiting cheese and wine makers and tasting/buying directly from them is encouraged in France and it will give you some very fine experiences.”

• “Download apps on your Smart phone before you travel that provide translations, phrase books, maps and route planning.”

• “The Dolomites and Lake Como in Italy are beautiful and well worth a visit if you have the time to get there and back.”

• “Summer travel is great but be prepared for extremely long queues at the most popular attractions such as The Mont Saint Michel or Notre dame in Paris, for example.”

• “Bring an adaptor that you can plug into a French power socket so you can charge laptops, cell phones etc.”

• “Pick up town maps, local driving route maps and details of walking/cycling routes from the tourism office in any town. They were also helpful in finding vegetarian dining options for my wife and even found us an English-speaking hairdresser.”

• “Budget extra money for tolls on motorways in France and Italy… some are pretty steep.”

• “Most shops are closed on Sunday (except bakeries) so buy what you will need the day before.”

• “In France, people have lunch quite early (generally around midday) so it can be too late to get a table in a restaurant anytime from about 1:30pm. Outside of big cities and touristy areas restaurants are also routinely closed on Sunday nights and all day Mondays.”

• “During the high summer months, try to reach a campsite before 4 pm or 5 pm latest to get a good pitch. Booking in season in popular areas is recommended.”

• “Be aware some campsites don’t provide toilet paper so keep stocks with you and at others you may have to pay for a hot shower.”

• “If you avoid motorways, and the accompanying (very expensive) tolls, in France allow extra time as there are frequent roundabouts/traffic circles and traffic lights.”

• “Be cautious on narrow roads, particularly in Italy where the local motorists drive very fast and fairly aggressively.”

• “Campers are higher than cars so watch out for booms that only allow vehicles of up to 2 or 2.1 m to drive in. This includes many supermarket and shopping centre parking lots.”

• “Some campsites in France have lovely swimming pools but men are required to wear speedos and all other swimming gear such as trunks is forbidden (no idea why!).”

• “During hotter months a small electric fan can be a very useful addition to your equipment. They are readily available and inexpensive in supermarkets.”

• “If you are on a long European trip, towns not to miss, in addition to the more obvious ones, include Verona in Italy, Heidelberg in Germany, Carcasonne and Vezelay in France.”

If you are a FranceMotorhomeHire customer from South Africa and would like to share some tips or advice, send us an email with your recommendations!