Wild camping / Aires/ Stellplatz etc

We often have conversation with fellow motorhomers and friends about the thorny issue of wild camping. They range from those motorhomers who make it a badge of honour never to stay on a campsite through to those (usually non-motorhomers) who get very agitated by big white buses spending the night "where they're not supposed to". I guess we fall somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

3000 metres up in the Alps

Our definition of wild camping is anywhere that isn't a campsite and for us that mainly means the aires or aire equivalents in the various countries we have visited. Germany actually have a much bigger network of what they call "stellplatz", even though it is France who are much more well-known for them.

We are not averse to parking overnight (sensibly) in other places, but we only tend to that in those countries with a 'right to roam'. Scandinavia for example is a great place for wild camping, particularly as you head further north in Norway, Sweden or Finland.

Here's a quick whizz through of the pros and cons of the aires:

Pros:

• They are often free or cheap
• You can normally empty your grey and toilet and get water (at extra cost)
• They are often in perfect spots near rivers, beaches, harbours, town centres etc
• You are free to come and go as you please at any time and there is no checking in and out
• They are perfect stop-overs for those longer driving days when all you are going to do is eat, sleep and leave.

Cons:

• They can be busy, overcrowded and cramped in high season or in popular areas
• Popular ones have started charging more making them less good value compared to sites
• You don't get showers and other campsite facilities
• Security is not as good as a campsite



Stockholm - bit crowded and expensive but handy for the city

• There can be comings and goings at all time of the day and night making them noisy.

We tend to be a bit canny using aires these days. As we often travel in low season, there are many occasions where an aire might cost you 8 euros plus another 3 to use the service point, where you could stay in a fully loaded campsite on one of the schemes for about 15 euros, or a local independent campsite for about 12 euros.

On other occasions when you have been driving all day, paying for a campsite where you won't even get the chance to use the facilities can seem to be bad value for money. We've also had some noisy nights on aires (but then we've had them on campsites too!)

A free night next to a Swedish lake

In summary, you need to pick and choose. We spent a whole holiday using aires once and by the end we really just wanted to get on a site. On the other hand, we've stayed on sites and felt that we have been overpaying for very basic facilities. Unless you keep going back to the same sites and aires over and over again, it's always going to be a bit of pot luck.