France (Has Gone So Expensive)

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jack1
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Joined: 30 Dec 2010, 10:45pm

France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by jack1 »

Very Disappointed with (Prices) in France. :cry: average accommodation has gone through the “ROOF” Ranging 80/125 euros.Many camp sites either (Closed or Not Reopening) I aimed to go for 5weeks,but after 3 Days,I decided to turn round after struggling to get accommodation. I went through many towns and was told a lot off accommodation had closed down,due to COVID.??? It also seems that since Brexit.Prices have gone crazy. Has anyone come across the same situation. I’ve done several tours in France.( And never had any problems price wise) ????
Nearholmer
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Joined: 26 Mar 2022, 7:13am

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by Nearholmer »

It also seems that since Brexit.Prices have gone crazy
Since France didn’t Frexit, any Brexit-related affect must be from the reduction in value of the pound against the Euro.

Interesting warning overall though, so thank you.
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MrsHJ
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Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by MrsHJ »

I toured there last September and found it similar to when I last toured there in September 2018 for non camping.

I used b and bs and small hotels via booking. It wasn’t cheap but tbh a lot less than you are quoting. I didn’t camp this time round. I’d head south by train- lots more things will be open in say Provence and it would be a shame to stop after such a short time.
ossie
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Joined: 15 Apr 2011, 7:52pm

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by ossie »

That's interesting. I'm just planning my next tour to France.

Can you expand on the area you visited ? I presumed for some reason that camping may have made a resurgence in France during covid when they had their bans on International travel but clearly not. I guess many closed during the initial lockdowns and didn't reopen. Prior to Covid things were changing, many municipals were closing and a lot of private sites were converting to static caravan or motorhome use.

There's been a minor change in currency values but its been steady since 2016. Could it be inflation ?
Jdsk
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Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by Jdsk »

ossie wrote: 15 May 2022, 7:32pmThere's been a minor change in currency values but I doubt that's the reason. Inflation and people attempting to claw something back from the sites that are still open ?
Yes, the general French rate of inflation and the changes in the exchange rate are known and don't seem large enough.

ossie wrote: 15 May 2022, 7:32pm Can you expand on the area you visited ? I presumed for some reason that camping may have made a resurgence in France during covid when they had their bans on International travel but clearly not. I guess many closed during the initial lockdowns and didn't reopen. Prior to Covid things were changing, many municipals were closing and a lot of private sites were converting to static caravan or motorhome use.
And the types of place that were charging €80 to 125.

Thanks

Jonathan
simonhill
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Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by simonhill »

I just did a quick sweep on the booking com map from Dieppe to Le Harve. I agree that lots of places were "unavailable for your dates" when I put in weekend and midweek dates, implying that they are either closed, or closed down. However, I did find plenty under €60 and a few under €45.

In contrast, on my winter trips to Portugal and Spain I stayed in plenty of places that were €35, which seemed to be the standard price for a one star hotel.
wirral_cyclist
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Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by wirral_cyclist »

Nearholmer wrote: 15 May 2022, 6:06pm
It also seems that since Brexit.Prices have gone crazy
Since France didn’t Frexit, any Brexit-related affect must be from the reduction in value of the pound against the Euro.

Interesting warning overall though, so thank you.
Euro - GBP rate has been much better recently so probably not that at all, currently sitting at around 1.17 and been up to the heady heights of 1.20 just recently.
beeb
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Joined: 13 Aug 2014, 6:39pm

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by beeb »

We have just been planning our tour from Amsterdam to Amsterdam via the coast down to Nantes then up the Loire and back. French campsites almost all cheaper than Dutch and especially Belgian ones. Tourist and environmental tax quite high in Belgium.

Has the vino become expensive??
Steve X
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Joined: 14 Apr 2021, 7:47am

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by Steve X »

jack1 wrote: 15 May 2022, 5:44pm I went through many towns and was told a lot off accommodation had closed down,due to COVID.??? It also seems that since Brexit.
Not really very surprising really, a year or two of lost turnover will have made some businesses less viable, and the remaining ones may increase prices to try and recoup losses and take advantage of Staycationers, and with less competition, prices will go up, and there is world wide inflation. In fact I would be surprised if prices had not gone up.

Why have you mentioned Brexit when discussing French accommodation, it seems odd.
mattheus
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Location: Western Europe

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by mattheus »

It seems a very difficult period to predict.

As well as the effects other posters have listed, demand will have two pressures:
- downwards due to Co*id caution, and general economic distress
- upwards due to post-Co*id bounceback i.e. people who have stayed at home for 2 years, desperate for a holiday.
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Audax67
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Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by Audax67 »

- Brexit £ dropping
- Pandemic loss recovery
- Putain's war putting gas/grain/etc prices up.

Inflation last year was ~5% at end of March and is expected to rise until Vlady pulls his horns in.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
gbnz
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Joined: 13 Sep 2008, 10:38am

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by gbnz »

jack1 wrote: 15 May 2022, 5:44pm I aimed to go for 5weeks,but after 3 Days,I decided to turn round after struggling
Commiserations, it feels %^*^%$$. I had the same experience on a short Dales & Lakes tour last week - I did a runner, but it left me fuming/about to burst into tears :?
Angstrom
Posts: 179
Joined: 21 Nov 2018, 6:57am
Location: Montpellier, France

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by Angstrom »

Hi. I'm French and what I can say is that there are big variations in prices depending on regions. In some regions, the good ol' municipals have more or less disappeared. There is a tendency for municipalities to get out of running camp grounds themselves in favor of turning them out to investors or entrepreneurs because market demand is not for small an inexpensive but for more upscale with better amenities and higher prices. More and more space for cabins, less for pitching tents. In many of those, the price for pitching a tent has often gone up quite a bit.
However there are still many places away from main tourist destinations in rural France where municipals still exist and where one can pitch a tent for 15€ or less, which I find much cheaper than most countries at the same latitude or higher (I don't know Portugal or Spain, sadly).
As for B&B, I never pay more than 55€ for a night, breakfast and dinner. For just B&B, not more than 45€ and just night w/o breakfast, 35€.
Last edited by Angstrom on 18 May 2022, 5:35pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A cycle tourist doesn't have a track record. Just memories". Jean Taboureau
simonhill
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Location: Essex

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by simonhill »

It's sometimes worth going to the local tourist office in a French town.

I couldn't find any accommodation in a medium sized town on a Wednesday in June. Couldn't understand it. Went to tourist office and they said it was due to Le Mans 24 HR even though that was over 50 Kms away. So I was stuffed.

They got out their list and started to ring around. Eventually got me a room in a house 2km out of town. Phew!

Tourist offices often have accommodation lists so worth a look. You can sometimes find local lists via the web, but ringing round is a pain, so full marks to that tourist office.
leftpoole
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Location: Account closing 31st July '22

Re: France (Has Gone So Expensive)

Post by leftpoole »

https://bikersarewelcome.com/search-res ... rt=&guest=

The link above is actually advertised for motorcyclists. But obviously a bike is a bike?
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