UKC

Hi all,

I'm trying to head to the south of france next month to do some sport climbing... Hoping to bounce around every 1.5-2 weeks to a new destination(verdon, les calanques, buox, gorge du tarn, etc...) but I'm finding that accommodation is quite expensive(40-50 euros a night). It seems like most people just have their vans but that wont really be an option for me since I'll be on my own and renting a van is quite expensive.

Any advice from people who have done a trip out to france before?

Being on your own makes things difficult and leaves you with the option of camping mainly. In some places, you will be able to rent a bed in a gite d'etape (puyloubier for ste victoire, orpierre for example) which should be slightly cheaper. Otherwise, some campings have fixed vans which tend to be the cheapest options but usually only if shared. Leaves you to camping proper which can be a breeze that time of the year. 

If you were to stay in one place for the whole month you can get some really big discounts (40-50%) on airbnb, if you want to move every week it will be hard to find cheap accommodation. 

If cost is an issue France is the wrong country, outside of Scandinavia and Switzerland France must be the most expensive in Europe, everything their from driving to buying groceries to buying a pint to finding a place to stay is so expensive, much more expensive than Germany for instance. 

Go to Spain, has tonnes of choice of airbnb rooms for 15 euroish a night? probably can do a Spanish trip for 50% the price of France.

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Costa-blanca/homes?refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fhomes...

Sadly there is no Verdon Gorge in Spain though

In the days before environmentally aware climbers took to driving everywhere in ancient filthy 10 mpg diesel buses, we used to have these things called „tents“

Many of us can remember long trips for little money to the Alps & elsewhere, saving money by hitch hiking & camping on often free campsites. In the 70s & early 80s I had a few trips of 2 months or more for around a hundred pounds, maybe the equivalent of £500 today ?  And this was quite common, at least among the climbers I knew

hitchhike and just bring a tent.

Or hire an estate car and sleep in the back.

In Scotland I'd solidly recommend the latter for reasons of inclemency but obviously in Spain/South France you could do either.

thanks for all the advice... it sounds like the way to do this is to camp... unfortunately i'm already in greece and didn't bring any of my camping gear. I don't really want to be wasteful and buy a bunch of gear at decathlon just to ditch it at the end of my trip.

An estate car sounds like a good option... would still need to invest in some heavy sleeping bags since it'll be cold but at least I've got a way to make the trip happen... otherwise Turkey is likely the backup.

Have a 5 week whirlwind romance with a Spanish woman and then fake your own passing and disappear. Plant the seed that you're going to solo something dangerous and hire actors to play medical staff and climbers to make it seem genuine alongside fictitious RIP threads on here.

You can repay the favour by unknowingly getting your heart broken 10 years down the line. The only woman you ever cared about was just in it for the money and was using you. Your heart, soul and mind will be destroyed but you and karma will be one all.

Just an idea ¯_(ツ)_/¯ 

In France they have something which is called recupacteurs.  I'm not sure if that is the usual name or just for this one which is near C'eou where there is some climbing.  

http://www.recupacteurs.org

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=169383619117&ref=content_filter

They are a reuse and recycle kind of place.  They also help people with employment skills etc.   Social enterprise.  

You may be able to buy a tent at one.  If not you could donate your decathlon stuff to one when you leave.  I've been to France and got a tent from there and left it there a few weeks later.  

There is an English fluent manager at this one so if you can't speak French that's OK.  

Prices for campgrounds are only a little more in France as opposed to Spain.The main difference imo is a lot in France might not be open until a day or so befor easter.C limbing tourism and climbers hubs are very few and far between in france except when the season starts (at the beginning of french holidays)

Dunno what the UK have done, but our health authority have put France on the 'Group B' Covid 19 list as of yesterday:-

"If travelling to or through any Group B countries (see list below) and you feel unwell on your return (or have any concerns that you may have been exposed to the virus) then you should self-isolate and contact your local Health Service (not in person)"

List of Group B Countries (in addition to China, South Korea, Iran or lockdown areas of Italy):

Thailand

Japan

South Korea

Hong Kong

Taiwan

Singapore

Malaysia

Macau

Northern Italy (defined by a line above, and not including, Pisa, Florence and Rimini)

Vietnam

Cambodia

Laos

Myanmar

Indonesia

France

Egypt

Tenerife