It is the time of year to start thinking about holidays. For the last couple of years we have had a gite in Brittany (we love the space, beaches and outdoor living). This year we would like something similar but warmer so that the kids spend more time in the sea (therefore the med seems obvious). Camping has not been too successful and so what other “reasonably priced” options are there? Inspire me with your tales of holiday bliss – recommendations welcome. Thanks

Go on holiday in a double decker bus?

Further south, and think about the rives that are warm for substitute for beach! We are off to Auvergne area to climb extinct volcanoes, paddle a warmer river and use the uplift at Superbesse…. Someone on here described it as mid Wales but Warmer….

I’d look at the Atlantic coast of SW France between Royan and Biarritz

Biscarrosse Plage is nice

A similar type house in northern Spain. You can get an overnight ferry to Santander and Bilbao from South england if you want to take your car.

Goto the Naadam festival in Mongolia. Then do some exploring

Naadam does sound good but unfortunately fails on the warm sea requirement and does not sound very small children compatible. One to remember though.

Arcachon on the French Atlantic coast. Like huge Poole Harbour thing. Very flat bottomed and shallow so the water vanishes twice a day but it does get warm very quickly when the tide comes in.

I like the look of Arcachon. My little boy wants to go to a jungle and there is a place there called the “little Amazon”. Does anyone have any Italian hideaways.

We went to Kos last year in the height of summer and the place was empty. We stayed in Tigaki and there were some lovely beaches around the island. Car hire is essential though.
I’m not one for beach holidays usually but it was alright.

Arcachon has a lot going for it but it’s almost a suburb of Bordeaux. Don’t plan on using the car much unless you wish to spend your holiday sitting in traffic jams. It won’t be cheap.

The lakes along the coast are warmer and safer for kids when the Atlantic gets angry. A mobile home on Les Ormes is a step up from camping. We hired one once and were envious of the campers because there’s no air-con and tents cool faster at night. The next time we camped. A lake, the ocean via a cycle path (hire bikes), the Medoc vineyards by bike or car, Bordeaux for a day trip, Royan by the BAC. There’s my suggestion.

As for the Med, the sea west of Montpellier is often no warmer than on the Atlantic coast, around 20°C thanks to an off-shore breeze blowing away warm surface water and bringing up colder water. However, east of Cassis it’s warmer and around St Tropez often over 26°C in August. Out of season I like the area but between the 21 of July and 21 of August it’s very busy. If you like crowds and all the noise, pollution and traffic that comes with them, fine.

Northern Spain can be a bit humid and the sea rarely gets much above 20°C, but on the plus side it never gets too hot and it’s not as manic as the Med. Comillas, Castro Urdiales and Zarautz are pleasant resorts near the towns of Santander, Bilbao and Donista.

Any of the spanish med holidays spots will hit what you want, with things getting progressively warmer the further south you go.

We have a place in majorca (we dont rent it out so this isnt a plug for it), Sea temperature is typically about 19C in early May, rising steadily by about a degree a week to about 28C in august.

The lakes along the coast are warmer and safer for kids when the Atlantic gets angry. A mobile home on Les Ormes is a step up from camping. We hired one once and were envious of the campers because there’s no air-con and tents cool faster at night. The next time we camped. A lake, the ocean via a cycle path (hire bikes), the Medoc vineyards by bike or car, Bordeaux for a day trip, Royan by the BAC. There’s my suggestion.

I think this is the spot to go for. The lakes are great for kids and loads of space and good cycle network

The towns we stayed near are Lacanua, Carcans a Hourtin

This campsite really as good as it looks. They appear to rent mobile homes. We took our own tent. A friend on Facebook described it as the second best campsite in the world, not knowing that we’d been. The trees mean that I can imagine a mobile home being OK as it will be in the shade

Link

The traffic isn’t bad in this area

There are very few British families in this area

+1 for the above. When we holidayed in the Arcachon area we always visited Lacanau several times.