I'm Def a newbie to camping in europe.

I have tons of questions about travelling from ireland to other parts in europe .italy.spain.etc..best routes.dos and donts. Best times etc..it would be nice to tag along a convoy just to learn the ropes...maybe that's not feasable... my motorhome is a 99 ducato..and it's all new to me..marty

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Much thanks to you all.... I'm going to stay around ireland next year then maybe venture east a bit..I've travelled all over the USA and Canada I suppose it's much the same..thanks again. Marty

We did our first trip last August/September, four weeks. We spent a week in France, then into Spain, Portugal, and back up to France. While all the sites were good, the French have the edge in availability of sites, but in August you really needed to book, and they could be up to €40 a night. The ACSI card kicked in on 1st September on most sites, so that was a well worthwhile time to be there. The Aires are also good in our experience, some practically full campsites.

Don't be afraid of heading to France in the van, as others here have said, it will be a fantastic experience!

With Motorhoming - as with everything in life - we were all newbies once

And it is great fun learning the ropes and discovering how the whole thing works

My general advice is something like this

Learn about how all the habitation area of the motorhome works - water supply, gas supply, where the habitation battery is, how the heater works, how the water heater works, how the toilet system works - all that kind of stuff. If you do not have the manuals that came with it when new ask someone to go over it with you. There is lots of info on the internet

Make sure your vehicle is mechanically sound and safe and make sure all the habitation bits are serviceable too.

For camping it is best to start with local and short trips. So just go off for a weekend every opportunity you get. These trips get you out using and testing all the functions of the motorhome. If something is not working right well at least you are only 50 miles from home. There is nothing like using a motorhome out camping to check that everything works.

You could then try a week long trip here in Ireland before venturing abroad if you have time. This will give you and your motorhome a good test on how everything is working. Making sure you can fit in the equipment you need and leaving out all the equipment that you do not need. It might be a good idea to weigh your motorhome - front axel only, both axels and rear axel only, to make sure you are not over the weight limits for your motorhome.

Before you go abroad - a service and general checkup would be good unless you have done one recently

For a first trip abroad a trip down the western side of France to the Loire would be a great start. (The Loire is about 300 miles from Cherbourg) From there you could go inward and explore some of the Loire Valley or if you prefer the beach you could go down as far as La Tranch sur mer and that coastline. On the way down or back up you could visit the Military Cemeteries in Normandy

A trip like that would get you used to driving on French roads and gain a knowledge of French way of life. And it will whet your appetite for more longer and more adventurous trips in the future

Happy Camping

Agreed.

If you take on the advice from team rienza and drifter you will not go far wrong.

Great advise..great caring bunch of people