| In Europe, hotel charges bite far deeper into | | | | -- most have restaurants, bars and either a |
| budgets than you would sometimes expect. In | | | | swimming pool, lake or beach. All campsites have |
| Britain there is the inexpensive alternative of bed | | | | running hot and cold water, modern washing |
| and breakfast. This does not exist to such an | | | | facilities and fresh water taps close to the tents. |
| extent in the rest of Europe. | | | | For some this will be paradise. For others, |
| One way of getting around this, particularly for | | | | perhaps, a form of hell. |
| friends planning to travel together around the | | | | Many of the sites are in France, in the Loire |
| Continent, is hiring a car and, in summer, staying | | | | Valley, Dordogne, Riviera, Provence, Pyrenees, |
| at camp sites. | | | | Brittany, Normandy and Picardy. Free child care is |
| Europeans are fond of the outdoors and there | | | | provided at about half the camp sites. |
| are camp sites wherever people holiday. There | | | | Mid-level comfort |
| are, perhaps, three types of camping: luxury, | | | | Self-Drive motoring holidays in Europe ( for the |
| pretty snazzy and bring your own tent. Which | | | | independent motorist. These are camping and |
| you select is up to your budget and style. But | | | | mobile homes in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, |
| note most carefully that if you are taking your | | | | the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The minimum |
| own tent you MUST camp in a proper listed camp | | | | stay is three nights. The cost of your camping is |
| site. You cannot pull into a field and hope for the | | | | included in the package price. |
| best. It is illegal and strongly discouraged. | | | | To check out prices I invented a family, parents |
| The three classes | | | | and two kids, with a saloon car coming from |
| Eurocamp is primarily intended for motoring | | | | Britain in May and spending five nights camping. |
| holidays and is particularly suited to a group | | | | The answer came back: The price of your holiday |
| travelling around Europe by car. Eurocamp | | | | is EUR404 ($US508) including accommodation and |
| provides a choice of six-berth tents or six-berth | | | | crossing, but excluding insurance and maps. |
| caravillas, which appear to be of a very high | | | | Bring your own tent in true camping style |
| standard. | | | | Interhike, covers UK, Ireland, Spain including the |
| Luxury first: Eurocamp, a subsidiary of the Next | | | | Canary Islands, Germany, France, Portugal, Czech |
| group of clothing stores, has well over 100 sites in | | | | Republic, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Norway, |
| France, West Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia, | | | | Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Holland, |
| Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and Austria. Many are | | | | Luxembourg which is pretty well most of Europe. |
| away from the population centres in the Swiss | | | | Note that this is both a listing of camping sites and |
| Alps, the French Riviera, Tuscany, Innsbruck and | | | | a booking centre. It does not guarantee the |
| the German Black Forest, but Eurocamp also has | | | | quality of the sites although, from experience, |
| sites in Florence, Paris and Munich. | | | | outside of the annual European holiday in August |
| The caravillas - 9.5 m long by 2.5 m wide -- and | | | | they are generally quite splendid and civilised. In |
| tents -- 5.2 m by 4.9 m - come with cooking | | | | almost every case you have to take your own |
| facilities, pots, pans, crockery and cutlery. The | | | | tent and gear. |
| caravillas have showers and toilets. Both forms of | | | | This is just a brief sampling. You can explore the |
| accommodation include a double bed and four | | | | Internet until your eyes grow dim. Use a Google |
| single beds. | | | | search and just type in camping Europe. Then pick |
| The campsites come with a variety of amenities | | | | and chose. |