Last night we stayed at the great little campsite in Ascain, near St Jean de Luz, France. It cost €8.
Tonight we are staying at the motorhome aire in Biarritz. It costs €10. But you get a whole lot more for the €8 campsite. So why do people stay at aires instead of cheaper campsites?
We spent a bit of time choosing tonight. Do we stay at the aire here in Biarritz, or drive back to Ascain? We decided to stay in the Aire, even though you get less, it’s got traffic noise and costs more.
I’ll explain. The campsite in Ascain has:
lovely views
fairly clean toilet and shower facilities
a lovely Basque town down the road
ancient trees providing canopy above
it’s quiet
and it’s run by a lovely French couple.
The Aire in Biarritz has a place to park, and that’s about it. It’s got some traffic noise, a few facilities, such as electricity if you want to pay extra for it. It costs €10 per night, which is collected by the Municipal Police at around 8pm.
So at the aire, you get less and pay more. So why do it?
Well, the campsite is only €8 because it is in a little town, away from the beaches, in an area famed for it’s beaches. Most campsites in this area cost €20+ per night.
The aire is also about location. It is very close to the edge of Biarritz town. A 10 minute walk and you’re in the town. A 3 minutes walk and you’re overlooking some of the finest beaches in Biarritz. A 3 minute walk and you’re at a supermarket.
Just like with property, location is an important factor. We stayed at this aire to be near the town for visiting it. We also did not want to go back on ourselves and drive back to the other town.
€10 is a bit steep. €5 seems like a fair price. We’ll be staying at more aires on the way to Paris.
