Nature & Lodge - Camping Les Domes de Miage, Saint-Gervais-les-Bains: review

We arrived at this Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in late July. It coincided with hottest summer on record in France. Everywhere in France was roasting but here it was still wonderfully cool in evenings. The campsite was full but still charming and relaxed.

The owners were very helpful and worked tirelessly to keep everything clean and ordered. One of the best campsites we have found in six years of travelling Europe.

Highlights

• Location
• Setting
• Free shuttle bus to town
• Owners friendly and helpful 

Note: Unisex bathrooms!

9/10!

Stream runs through the middle of the campsite

Camping del Lago

This a slightly strange campsite nestled in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Camping del Lago is perfectly good campsite but has strange rules about rubbish that make it a bit intimidating. Also the facilities are newish but also a bit weird like huge washing up sinks with no draining boards. 

The lake puts me in mind of the one in the Godfather Part II. 

5/10

Onward to the Dolomites....

Sarah doing her best..

Autocamp Draga

Autocamp Draga is terraced and pleasant and has the feeling of a small camp. It is well situated close to the town and 300m from a beach. 

Their is also a good restaurant “Lasco” next door the seafood is affordable and superb. 

All the staff at Auto camp Draga are pleasant and efficient. The only downside of the campsite are the bathrooms they cramped and dated but are spotlessly clean. 

Highlights:

• Beach access 
• Close to town and good food. 

Overall 6/10

BTW: With more modern bathrooms the score will rise to 8/10. 

Reception with little shop 200 metres from town. 

Terraces

Old style bathrooms

Avenza Maps, review

Avenza Maps app is fantastic. Mostly free maps that plot your position with GPS. Highly recommend it!

8/10

Berchtesdgaden Camping Allweglehen: Review

Difficult to fault this campsite.

Highlights:

• Fantastic views
• Great restaurant 
• Near perfect bathrooms

This is  just about the best campsite we have stayed in 9/10.

Campingplatz Pilensee, Review

Campingplatz Pilensee is 40 minutes from Munich. The kids loved the lake. The bathrooms were new  and very clean.

Highlights

• The lake with large inflatable 
• The bathrooms
• The location
• Also close to Aldi!!!

7/10

Ford S-Max Review European Car of the Year 2007

We bought a 2007 Ford S-Max 2.0 litre diesel as the car for our trip.The primary reason for this was safety it ticked all the necessary safety requirements. It received a 5- Star/ 36 Point (Best in Class) rating from the Euro NCAP. The S-Max's safety features include the Intelligent Protection System (IPS) which combines a body structure optimised for strength and crashworthiness with state-of-the-art restraint equipment and driver aids that help avoid an accident and features that lessen the likelihood of injuries in an impact. It has many modern airbags, including a knee airbag and a thorax airbag. S-Max's also have an advanced neck protection system, three-point seat belts, optimised pre-tensioners, load limiters, anti-submarining seat subframes, a collapsible steering system and safety pedals. For handling it has an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), of course, along with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and standard Electronic Stability Program (ESP) system. 

The car is a 7 seater with a fold flat system. It is also an ideal tow car with 2.0 litre diesel and its heavy enough to tow our 1500kg caravan.

Verdict (so far)

S-Max Outside Harewood House

We are now 3 months into the trip and so far so good. The kids love it. Samantha used to hate driving but now she is happy. The back seats are actually higher than the front seats so you can see a lot more than in a normal station wagon. We think this is why she is so much happier. It's also a very good looking car. It was designed by David Hilton. It was named European Car of the Year 2007. David Hilton has recently been head hunted and is now head of exterior design at Bentley.

To be honest its better than anything Ford do in Australia why its not available in Australia is a mystery but I suspect its got something to do with not wanting to compete with the locally produced Ford Explorer.

BTW: Used cars in Europe are also much cheaper than in Australia probably one third of the price.

David Hilton S-Max's Designer

David Hilton
http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/designers/whos_where/display/store4/item249904/
http://www.motorcityeurope.com/#/portfolio/cars/ford_smax/