my mum and dad are off camper vanning this summer around europe. now they have heard some horror stories about people breaking into your cabs and these fancy locks on the lorry doors and are abit curious about danger zones.
now they plan on going of for about 6 weeks but will sometimes stay in " aires " sometimes camping sites and maybe " lay bys " on route to somewhere.
so can you lot help with possible danger zones. thanks. 
Belgium seems to be the worst country, but to be honest all that is needed is common sense, parking alone in unlit Aire’s probably isn’t a good idea, motorway service area’s should be ok, or where there are other campers parked, but don’t let it spoil their holidays, it is only a small amount of incidents among thousands of vehicles, the uk is rated as the worst country in w Europe for truck related crime and I am sure they are not worried about driving here
cheers, i thought there was a problem with some area called " the forest " in spain.
the Forest road is the road between Bordeaux and Irun in France heading to Spain, there have been some incidents long there, but mainly trucks in the truck stop, if you put up a rough route of where they are going someone will know good places to park I would think
First thing is, it gets very hot in spain in a camper van in summer. Most people come down here in spring, autumn or for the winter. The forest road is reckoned to be dodgy, but in a camper you wouldn’t stay on it overnight you would go a couple of miles off it. You can go right into the forest or down on the beach near Biaritz. The strech i would avoid is from Perpignan right down to Valencia. That is bandit country, most of the tea leafs think camper vans are goodie boxes. I wouldn’t go either of those ways in a camper but cross into Spain at the Tunnel de Somport. That means you can go down the middle of France, a much nicer route. You then cross into Spain and go Jaca, Zaragoza, Teruel and down to the coast at Valencia. If you have the time the area to go with a camper is the Costa de la Luz. It runs from Gibraltar up to the Portugese border. Much less built up and loads of places to get the van right down on the beach, but again probably too hot in high summer. I have seen temperatures of 50 degs C around Seville.
thanks for the advice and keep it coming cos im going to print these page’s off for them.
Basically if they follow Jimti’s advice they should be alright so long as they use their common sense
JD no one will break into ur old fellas camper van not if he sleeps at the window and leaves the curtians open and people can see how ugly he his, he will scare of the most harden criminal so ur mam will be safe as she has been all these years,
Some good advice above JD mate.
My own rule when I was learning the ropes (yes, yes a few years ago!) & which still holds good today is - look for the place with alot of trucks parked outside & always stop at the second sevices/fuel stop on a new road, it’s better & quieter!
When they’re travelling down through France, just about every little village away from the main roads will have a ‘Routier’ which are safe and good for food, rest, washing etc.
Once into Spain (go the route above - it’s spectacular) just use a bit of common sense, get away from the ‘tourist’ areas & see some of the ‘Spanish’ Spain, it can be amazing as can the people!
a local taxi owner near me went to Spain Via France last yr, did a bit of touring before heading to Spain, he stopped at an Aires, near Marseilles, for a bite to eat an a drink,he stayed by his Van, next min hes sourrounded by a gang, who robbed him, attacked his wife and then ran off, he put up a decent fight but they came back and took what they couldnt get first time. He lost all his money, passports, credit cards the lot!!!. This was in broad day light.
Tell ye folks not to stop at any Aires. Best places to stop would be the actual towns or designated sites. Tell them to always carry a couple of tins of cheap an nasty hair spray, hurts like hell once in the eyes!!!
Hope the enjoy, if they keep their wits about them and ensure their camper is locked at all times even when stopped they should be OK. Almeria last summer was in the 50s also!!!
Bordeaux, St Emilion, Mimizan, Toulouse are a Must!!
routier:
Almeria last summer was in the 50s also!!!
record temperature in Spain last year was 48 in Badajoz
official figure was that ? the place I have near Huercal Overa measured ova 50, sorry! may not be official but it was definitely ova 50, there were fires not far from me in Mojacar.
Get off the motorways, follow the route departmentale and route nationales visiting places on the way down, take in some local wine and restaurants and there are dozens of safe parking areas. once the old man works out which is a caravan site and which is a ■■■■■ site, he will have it sussed.
Ignore the advice about gangs and mass warfare. keep your wits about you around big conurbations near busy ports. I would be wary of walking round Hull, Liverpool Glasgow and Avonmouth docks just as I would be of walking around Calais, Le Havre, Marseilles or The Ramblas.
It is safer than stopping for a newspaper on Gipton Estate mate 
thanks for all the advice, my dad did do europe for years but never spain. il print this page off for him now. thank you.
anywhere on the AP7 from la jonquera to murcia is considered risky even the services.
use the national road the N340 plenty of restaurants with “parking vigilado”
on the forest road from bordeaux to irun stay in the routiers like castets no problems i’ve ever encountered
park with plenty of others is a good rule after all they can’t rob 50 trucks but they can rob 1 in a night!!
don’t be put off cos it’s very rare anyway just use common sense
any good parking areas are posted on here i think somewhere but i would recommend vivonne on the N10 
Cheers for this post JD. I might be driving down to Puerto Banus from Scotland later this year by car to visit family.
Never done it before so was going to ask the best route for safety and scenery, and roughly how long it would take.
Will look up this post nearer the time for more info.
depending on ferry but calais route would be’
boulogne abbeville rouen evreux dreux tours poitiers angouleme bordeaux irun sunbilla pamplona almazan medinacelli guadalajara madrid bailen jaen granada malaga marbella
any questions on parking feel free to ask
welshboyinspain:
depending on ferry but calais route would be’
boulogne abbeville rouen evreux dreux tours poitiers angouleme bordeaux irun sunbilla pamplona almazan medinacelli guadalajara madrid bailen jaen granada malaga marbella
any questions on parking feel free to ask
Nice one, cheers for the info mate.
Trip not confirmed as yet, but will give you a shout if and when it is.
Would like to return via the Millau viaduct. Trip pencilled in for September.
Thanks,
Andy.
Andy smg:
welshboyinspain:
depending on ferry but calais route would be’
boulogne abbeville rouen evreux dreux tours poitiers angouleme bordeaux irun sunbilla pamplona almazan medinacelli guadalajara madrid bailen jaen granada malaga marbella
any questions on parking feel free to askNice one, cheers for the info mate.
Trip not confirmed as yet, but will give you a shout if and when it is.
Would like to return via the Millau viaduct. Trip pencilled in for September.Thanks,
Andy.
the route i’ve put is generally the cheapest and best for parking and meals rather than motorway all day but to go via the millau is a nice experience just be prepared as that route is expensive along the coast from south of spain
Better save the pennies for the journey back then.
Just out of curiosity, how long does it take you in the truck from Malaga to Calais ?