First-timers guide to camping abroad?

[AChickenCalledKorma]

We have been camping for years but never outside the UK. Our daughters will be 10 and 13 this summer and are nagging us to go "properly" to a different country (i.e. we can't fob them off with Wales and Scotland any more )

DH and I have never driven in Europe ... let alone with a fully laden car and trailer. It's years since either of us went abroad and we are generally rubbish at languages. I can contribute extremely rusty GCSE standard French or and German and DD1 can contribute year 8 German (so she'll be fine discussing what TV programmes she likes to watch, but not so great in an emergency .)

I quite fancy Holland or Scandinavia. DH is a keen cyclist and we are not huge beach-lovers. Ideally, we love small, ultra-quiet campsites where you can light a fire ... but I have no idea how you would even begin looking for one of them in another country.

Any hints and tips to help us take the plunge?

[Artandco]

Go to Germany to the Black Forest. Some lovely lakes around.
Trailer? I wouldn't take a trailer as narrow roads once off motorways to most camp sites abroad and to get to places. Pack lighter. Lighter will be faster in car to drive, safer on foreign motorways without trailer, cheaper on ferry/ tunnel, petrol and toll roads ( they will charge you van/ truck prices)

[mumnosbest]

Can't contribut much towards the camping side but we drove accross Europe 2 years ago. The roads and motorways in France were easy, much easier than in the UK. Italy was scary and Switzerland was fab but £££. Make sure you have a good satnav and price up toll roads. Also leave plenty of time to meet ferries.

[profpoopsnagle]

Driving abroad isn't too bad. For us it takes about 20-30 mins to get used to the signs and 'feel' of it then it's generally ok. Overtaking is the hardest bit, but the passenger can help a bit. Most of Scandinavia (aside from cities) has less traffic per se so you've plenty of time to map read, sign read, pull over etc. Holland is less so, that's quite urban and busy but you could plan to arrive on a Sunday when roads are quieter to give yourself a day to acclimatise. As well as a Sat Nav I would also recommend a good road map from Amazon/WHSmiths as it can be easier to plan an itinerary and to 'foresee' where you are heading. Use the RAC/AA site to check out rules/regulations- be aware that some are law and other recommended (there are many 'pack's to buy and you may not need everything).

We have camped extensively in Denmark, less so Sweden and we've also done a trip to Holland so can help with areas/sites for those. Language shouldn't be a problem- the written languages are reasonably easy to decode (especially if you've got some German background). Because Dutch and Scandinavian languages are not as internationally spoken as French or German most people are happy to use English. My best efforts in Danish were often replied to in English....

In both Denmark and Holland they are set up for cycling as a way of life- to get to shops etc but I feel the cycling is better in Denmark, as there are a few more touristy and long distance trails.

Denmark has a good mixture of activities- there are beaches (though not your Med sort), lots of history, much of which is free such as Viking burial grounds, outdoor activities, museums, legoland, water parks- whatever you fancy. We found The Netherlands to be a bit more expensive to do things- they often charge per child for museums.

Google is your friend to find places- try terms such as camp grounds, camp places as well as camp sites (the literal translation). Then use google translate if needed for websites, or for sending enquiries.

Holland can be a bit of a pain regarding money- credit cards are not as widely accepted and we had to arrange a bank transfer to do 2 deposits for sites. We used transferwise which was way cheaper than going through the bank.

How would you go about getting there? The ferry to Holland from Harwich worked well for us, but there are now no longer direct sevrices to Denmark. A new company- Regina Line is supposed to be starting in April but I have never used that.

For sites in Denmark, we had an individual fire at Mons Klint but can't recall any others having individual fire, many have communal ones. There are a few camp grounds organisations www.danishcampsites.dk/ and www.dk-camp.dk/?lanGuid=3. Another great thing is that many Danish sites have free kitchen facilities- we just take a box of plates/pans/cutlery and a small gas for those times we fancy a brew at the tent. Saves a lot of space! Our fav places are Skagen, Ebeltoft, Aero, Bornholm, Ribe, Faaborg and of course Copenhagen, is THE best camp site for the capital If you do spend any time in the capital, consider getting a copenhagen card as it covers travel and entrance fees and we loved it here

For The Netherlands, look at the nature camp grounds. We found it harder to find smaller sites as many google searches link to places like Duinrell etc. We loved it www.campingschoonenberg.nl/here and this was a good base for Haarlem, Enkhuizen and Amsterdam, as well as the north Holland touristy places. We also stayed here and whilst it was a lovely site to rest on, there wasn't as many things in the area to do.

HTH but let me know if there's any more info you'd like.

[profpoopsnagle]

Forgot to say schoolchildren in Denmark head back about the second week of August, and it's similar in the Netherlands (although they have 3 areas which stagger holidays and I think one of them is a bit later). So campsites can be a bit quieter then and booking is less so needed, yet most things are still going. However, there will also be less other children on site for friend making purposes- depends on what you prefer, and of course what you can do holiday wise.

[paneer]

Driving is quite easy. I went with DD in the Summer and it was a doddle. I was worried as it's just the 2 of us, but it was so easy.

I do stick post-it notes with big arrows on the dashboard reminding me where to drive, but I don't really need them.

[AChickenCalledKorma]

This is great stuff - thanks for all advice so far. Think we are stuck with the trailer - we have a polycotton tent in a mahoosive bag and we can't fit everything in without it. We managed across the Welsh mountains and I'm guessing that a tiny single-track road brings pretty much the same issues everywhere

Hadn't thought about checking for school holidays being different elsewhere - good tip. Going to scrutinise Danish campsites now ...