To book camping or not to? And Maps.

[Deleted member 31621]

I am preparing to cycle through France/Belgium/Netherlands/Germany in September and am wondering whether it is necessary to book camping? I would like to avoid this as it obviously gives me increased flexibility about where I go and what I do whilst en route, however I am quite worried about ending up in the lurch. Am I likely to be able to find camp sites with openings on the day with relative ease? Or is it going to be necessary to book in advance at that time of year?

Also, in regards to maps. I've looked around for the suitable maps in these countries for cycling but am somewhat confused as to what to buy. Maps covering the 'Europaradweg R1' would seem to be suitable for where I want to go (as I can mostly follow this plus some short detours) but I can't find where to purchase them from? (or, additionally, all that much information about this route at all).

 

[Ticktockmy]

I never bothered to book campsites during my tours, reason being though I have a daily plan, all too often I don't keep to it, change of mind regarding route, too long a lunch stop, mechanical failures, route slower or faster then planned, Rain and wind The nice thing about cycle touring is the ability to vary your timings and routings.
Map wise if I cannot source the map locally I buy through Stanford Book shop, Long acre London. http://www.stanfords.co.uk.

 

[andym]

If you were going in mid-August I'd say 'maybe' but not September. I'd be more worried about campsites closing for the season.

 

[Amanda P]

Campsites do begin to close in September, but we usually take our chances. We did NL, DE and DK in September a couple of years ago and had no trouble, and F, DE, LUX and BE in March: same story.

We do plan, but often it's quite vague. You can often get one campsite's owner or manager to suggest the next one, and they'll often phone ahead for you (useful if you're not too handy in the local language). Camp sites often have give-away lists and maps of other camp sites affiliated to the same camping club or national camping organisation or whatever. And then there's tourist offices who'll do the same - although their hours can be hit-and-miss outside of the main holiday period. Asking random passers-by is useful too (everyone understands 'camping?'). And don't forget to ask any other touring cyclists, especially if they're heading the other way on a well-used route.

If you have a smartphone, you're laughing. Do some googling (including in French, Dutch, German and Flemish) before you go and bookmark helpful websites and likely prospects so you don't use up too much roaming data while you're away.

If all else fails there's hostels and B&Bs and hotels.

Sometimes we've arrived at a campsite that's officially closed, but someone will tell us to just use it anyway, and then can't be bothered taking any money.

Leaving a little to serendipity is part of the fun. If you wanted it all organised, you could have just bought a package holiday or gone on a CTC organised ride.

 

[psmiffy]

Leaving a little to serendipity is part of the fun. If you wanted it all organised, you could have just bought a package holiday or gone on a CTC organised ride.

Serendipity is my middle name

Ive camped on over 600 campsites in Europe - never booked one - Its more important in September (although not as important as October) to know which ones are open (or exist) - I always buy maps as I go along assuming I have not already got a suitable one in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet

 

[Deleted member 31621]

Cheers for all that, very helpful. This sounds like a slightly silly question, but what do people do with their bikes in terms of security when camping? It's not going to fit in the tent. Just lock it up to whatever is available?

 

[oldfatfool]

yup, I just locked mine with a cheap lightweight cable lock round the nearest tree.
Maps, though I relied mainly on GPS I also took the relevant pages from a ring bound edition of the Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas (1:200 000) Which I found adequate and a good value alternative to map sections.

Camping: had no issues in July in finding a camping space, and I am not expecting any problems when I go at the end of August/September either.