The campsite where your large motorhome or caravan really fits
A motorhome over 8 metres, an outfit over 10 metres, a twin-axle caravan: all too often you are told “caravan pitches” without being told up to what size. Here, we tell you what we know, from the campsites and from the Nesters who have stayed there.
How to tell whether your vehicle will fit
Three sources, brought together on each listing in the “Access by caravan and motorhome” block.
- 1
The campsite's website
Maximum length accepted, pitch size, twin-axle caravans accepted or refused: we note what each campsite publishes, with the date and a link to the page.
- 2
The manager
Campsites that claim their listing correct their own dimensions and pitches. Their information comes before everything else.
- 3
The Nesters
“My vehicle got in”: the length of your outfit, the pitch, and whether access was easy or difficult. It is this mutual help that tells you, before you set off, whether you will fit.
What really stops you on arrival
The size of the pitch
In France, the classification sets a minimum per pitch (70 m² up to 2 stars, 80 m² from 3 to 5 stars) and an average of 80 to 114 m²: an 80 m² pitch is still small for a long outfit.
Site roads and bends
No minimum width is required. One bend between two hedges, and a long outfit no longer gets through.
Slopes and ground
An uphill entrance or waterlogged grass can stop a heavy vehicle, especially a front-wheel-drive one.
The site rules
It is the manager who allows you in: some limit the length or refuse twin axles.
Have you stayed somewhere with a large outfit?
Choose the campsite, then tell the other Nesters, on its listing, the length of your outfit and whether access was easy. Every stay you share earns XP and helps the next traveller avoid having to turn round.
For an outfit over 10 metres, always phone the campsite before you set off: rules and pitches change from one season to the next.
Frequently asked questions
From what length does a vehicle count as large?
There is no official definition. In practice, trouble starts at around 8 metres for a motorhome and 10 metres for a car and caravan. A 4.5 metre car and a caravan with a 6 metre body, A-frame included, already come to more than 11 metres.
What is the maximum length allowed on French roads?
The French Code de la route allows 12 metres for a motorhome and 18.75 metres for a car and caravan outfit, with a width of 2.55 metres. Campsites, for their part, have no obligation to take vehicles of that size.
How can I tell whether a campsite accepts twin-axle caravans?
On Campernest, the listing says “twin-axle caravans accepted” or “refused” when the campsite's website says so. Otherwise, ask the campsite before you book, and get it confirmed by email.
What pitch size for a large motorhome?
Allow for the length of your vehicle plus room to manoeuvre and to put out the awning. In France, the classification sets a minimum of 70 m² per pitch up to 2 stars and 80 m² from 3 to 5 stars, and an average area of 80 m² up to 2 stars, 89 m² for 3 stars, 100 m² for 4 stars and 114 m² for 5 stars: ask for the dimensions of your pitch.
How do the Nesters help you know whether you will fit?
On each listing, a Nester can say they got in: type of vehicle, overall length, pitch, and whether access was easy, difficult or impossible. The listing then shows the largest outfit that got in and any difficult access.
