How we find our stopovers

We try to wild camp or use dedicated motorhome parking and aires wherever possible unless we are visiting a city. When we visit a city we always stay on a secure campsite as we tend to leave the dogs while we head out. We can then make sure we park in the shade with the windows on vent / rooflights open and with an electric hook up we can leave fans on etc to make sure the dogs are comfortable.

We use a number of ways to find stop overs as there currently isn’t one place that lists all that are available.

We have got a couple of books with us that cost quite a lot of money in comparison to an annual app subscription but we find the books have dated information and lack of detail. Whereas the apps are current with recent reviews so you can really make an informed decision on where to stay.

We subscribe to the app which costs £5.00 per year. The app is really useful and you can download it on several devices. It is very easy to use and in our view one of the best apps out there to find motorhome stopovers. There is also a website http://www.searchforsites.co.uk we try to always leave a helpful review afterwards to help others to make informed decisions.

We also use this app a lot too, subscription also costs about £5.00 per year and you can also upload this onto multiple devices. We have found this has had more stopovers in Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia than search for sites. The app is easy to use and the information is accurate.

This app has lots of information and is very popular but we don’t tend to use it that much. We paid for the subscription last year but this year we are just using the free version. The app is a little clunky and very basic which we find a little off putting. We tend to use it if we cannot find anywhere on Search for Sites or Camper Contact.

If you are planning on using campsites this discount card pays for itself after a couple of nights. We paid around £15.00 last year for an annual subscription. You tend to find as an ACSI customer the price is for a smaller pitch, includes electric hook up, 2 adults and one dog. We then have to pay a separate fee for our 2nd dog which has ranged from 50p per night to £4.00 per night. Some sites state they are ACSI inspected and offer a small discount of around 10% rather than the fixed prices stated in the scheme. There are normally restrictions in high season when you cannot use the discount card and each site varies.

Pintrip is a new initiative. You basically purchase an annual subscription for 30 euros which can be bought on their website https://pintrip.eu/en/ The annual subscription runs from March 31st for one year. There are currently 184 hosts/scenic stopovers where you can stay for 24 hours and a complete variety of stopovers from a fishing lake to a micro brewery. if you are going to visit Denmark this guide really gets you staying at different stops to the norm.

There are currently 160 Camping Car Parks in France and more being added every month. You find where they are located on their website https://campingcarpark.com/en/ You purchase a card for 4 euros which you then top up. This card gives you access through the security barrier. Each site has WiFi on some sites it is better than others, electric hook, grey waste, fresh water and Chemical toilet disposal. Some of the parking’s have showers but they tend to be the minority. You can pay an annual subscription which then allows you to reserve a pitch, which would be great in high season.

We have joined lots of groups on Facebook and follow other peoples blogs. If we see a good stopover we keep a note of it, just in case we are in the area. You cant beat a personal recommendation! We also post into the groups asking for recommendations and other motor homers are always keen to help.