So… Inevitably now looking at a summer holiday with the kids.

Anyone have any good insights on location, places to stay etc?

Kids will be 6 and 7 so could do with something where there is lots to do. They can both swim well and ride bikes.

Living in the south west, we were thinking of ferry across then Brittany or Loire. But open to ideas!

One word – Eurocamp.

we’ve done it the last two years and it has been excellent.

First year at Le Clarys Plage in Vendee – brilliant pool and area.

Last year at L’Atlantique in southern Brittany – park not quite as good, but cycling opportunities excellent. Weather was crap for 2/3 of the time, but there was enough to do – just.

On balance, we have found it really enjoyable and having the car as a base is much better than flying and being at the mercy of taxis, buses etc.

The Domaines Des Ormes site near Dol de Bretagne is great if you have little kids, loads to do on site and nice places to visit nearby. Canvas Holidays were always great for booking there when we used to go, and get a discount off Brittany Ferries to Pompey/Poole -Cherbourg (about 1.5 hours drive to site from there) – best ring, better deals dealing directly than trying to book online. Do haggle too, there’s lots of competition and they will knock something off after ‘talking to manager’ etc
http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/france/brittany-north/br01x/domaine-des-ormes?tab=overview

Stayed at this one too near Carnac which was good:

http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/france/brittany-south/br12b/camping-la-grande-metairie?tab=overview

And this one in the north of Brittany:

http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/france/brittany-north/br02a/camping-le-chatelet?tab=overview

We’re contemplating something similar and Eurocamp/Canvas look to be a good shout for us. What level of accommodation have you guys used previously? Looking at pre-erected tents as they look pretty good and car isn’t big enough to take our own gear..
We’re looking at the Il de Re(sp?) as its grea t cycling for young kids with lovely beaches..
Didn’t realise you could haggle with them either 🙂

Good calls. Did think of eurocamp but wasn’t sure what they were like. Keep em coming 🙂

You will find that Eurocamp and the others are not individual parks – they all have a number of pitches on each park – along with private rentals and other companies.

I can’t speak for the others, but Eurocamp have been excellent with us. Park choice is more important than ‘provider’ in my opinion.

There are pretty good youtube vids of the two parks I have mentioned. Oh and Super U biere de l’abbaye is most excellent.

Yes there are usually several operators on the sites. I wouldn’t go for the pre-erected tents, definitely worth a tad more to get a mobile home with the added creature comforts/privacy/security. Risky, but we never use to book until a week or two before as they discount massively then to fill spaces*. Okay if you are pretty flexible where you stay. We used to do 2 or 3 sites over a couple of weeks doing this every year for about 5 years when kids were small and always had a great time.
* last time I went to Domaines des Ormes we got one of their posher wooden lodges for about £150 for 5 nights there in late August, booking it a week before, was previously nearly a grand. Haggling definitely works nearer the date, but I doubt you’ll get much off booking months away obviously.

Why do you want to go to France and play with kids? 😆

Ok closing the door on my way out.

Brittany
Great site, beautiful coastline, loads for the kids…amazing if the weather is great

Or

Dordogne

Great site, better weather, loads to see and do in the region.

We had a week at Domaine Des Ormes last summer and to be honest I couldn’t fault the place although the weather was very hit and miss. A similar Eurocamp type holiday is definitely on the shortlist for this summer.

Another vote for Eurocamp and the Vendee. We’ve done it for the past 2 years and had a blast. Booked up for the Loire for this year. We did the static caravans/chalet’s.

Another for Vendee (Jard sur Mere to be exact)

Decent surf beach, and good cycling trails for families)

I’ve spent a lot of time in Brittany, holidayed with the kids in the Vendee and Dordogne. The castles of the Loire are great too. All are good choices and the quality of where you stay will be as important as anything ! As for weather the French regard Ile d’Yeu as the first island of “the South” and you do notice the architecture change from Breton block/slate to something more Mediterranean.

Jard sur Mere to be exact

I’m pretty sure you mean ‘sur Mer’. 😆

we did family beach camping on the Vendee coast as teens and it was the best family hol ever (as kids and family). La Trenche-sur-mer or something similar, near La Rochelle.

Watching the TDF this summer, there looked to be great family kayaking and camping in the ardeche, I think it was the Ardeche?.

Checkin

Watching the TDF this summer, there looked to be great family kayaking and camping in the ardeche, I think it was the Ardeche?.

Climbing club I belonged to used to swear by the Ardeche for family hols. Lots of varied outdoor activities.

+1 for the Ardeche. Theres a site – L’Ardechois at Vallon Pont D’Arc which is managed by the Castels Group. Facilities are spot on, right on the river and walking distance to town. Loads of canoeing and other activities from the site. I think Eurocamp have tents and mobiles there.

Check out Ile de Re (island off La Rochelle). Great beaches, and the whole island is set up for cycling with cycle paths everywhere.

We are lucky to have a friends house to use but there seems to be loads of campsites/chalet things. About €15 toll to cross the bridge to get on the island but there’s no need to leave once you’re on.

We took our 7 year old to Morzine a coupe of years ago, we had a great time there lots and lots of non-bikey things to do and a surprising number of kids there for them to make friends with – but I will admit it was a plan executed mostly because I had the hump about not being able to head down with my mates that year and it’s a VERY long drive for kids.

This year were going to a camp site in Brittany – it’s not Euro or Key Camp, a smaller company – it’s not cheap, but it’s only 3hrs ish from the Ferry and the lodges are much nicer than caravans or heaven forbid tents – they’ve got Wi-Fi too, I know that’s the last thing you need on holiday usually, but we’ve got a little daughter now so we’ll have to be back in the digs for 8pm so at least we can stream some TV or something.

Another about out for the Grand Meterie in Brittany. Great pools for the kids , loadsto do around d, and are the goats still there?

Don’t book via eurocamp or French life of whatever, try booking direct, you may save a bob or two and you can choose your own ferryroute. The parent company is called ” Les Castels” http://www.les-castels.com and prides itself on quality sites on historic sites. Sequoia Parc in Vendee is similarly awesome.

A bit more adventurous with kayaking and Indian rope course plus various bits of fun is Camping TyNadan in Western Britanny. The ports and villages in the area a re great, And an easy drive from St Malo.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.camping-brittany-tynadan.co.uk/&ved=0ahUKEwim9OeMmI7KAhVDLA8KHT_oByQQFgihATAT&usg=AFQjCNFiYY46mt1x0o0udKsSaNpNH_PRNg&sig2=YUEgsUdxkgIQqDpqcIPV4Q

This thread inspired me and I’ve booked a stay at la Grande Métairie 🙂

Cheap ferry crossing – Condor Ferries from Portsmouth to Cherbourg is £160 return (I’ve booked Sunday – Sunday, looks like that’s the cheapest).

Any decent independent sites in France? Priced up Eurocamp in August and the price is shocking!

How much was it Loddrik?

Lenvos Gites

£2700 for 2 weeks at La Baume in mid August, that didn’t include travel…

That is quite a lot – mine was £1400 including the ferry! Booked with canvasholidays.co.uk

Lac de Chalain in the Jura with canvas holidays for us last year with a 4 and a 6. Easy afternoons drive down from Calais.

Lots to do on site and the lake which is beautiful. Lots of trails for cycling and the local road cycling is amazing. Being the Jura there is loads of dinosaur related stuff to see and do. We spent a great afternoon looking at fossilised dino tracks and smashing rocks open for fossils – no big visitors centre or tickets, just a few info boards and a dirt car park at the side of a road. Amazing. Might even go back this year even tho repetition is not our style.

I prefer canvas in the main because that’s who we went with when I was a kid but their tent layout is better as the kitchen area is separate. Not such an issue with the age of the OPs brood but for anyone with toddlers it’s worth considering.

What time of year are you thinking of going? Reason i ask is we did the vendee in pre-erected tents at Whitsun with Keycamp and had to buy blankets as the nights were extremely cold, down to single figures but the days were mid twenties, a static caravan would’ve been better. I can recommend Keycamp sites in and around St. Jean de Mont in the vendee, great beaches, although sea is colder than cote d’azur (obviously), we took our kids there from 18 months old to 11 or 12 and always had a great time. Since then we go to frejus on the Cote d’azur, cheap flights from luton to nice and stay at Le Pin de la Legue in a static caravan, plenty to see and do round there with the kids and weather is guaranteed (virtually).

Try looking a the Gulf of Morbhain. Beautiful area either side of Vannes and easy drive from Roscoff if going from Plymouth.. North side is more expensive usually for campsites and south side a little queter but lovely beaches and doesn’t get too busy.

bookmarking

Like the look of Le Clarys Plage. Anyone else been?

We’re going here for the last two weeks in August –

Les Alicourts

It is used by Eurocamp but we’ve booked directly with the site – as suggested by the friends we’re going with who have both worked in the travel industry.
1400 Euros for 2 weeks in a 3-bed chalet/caravan thing – Eurocamp want £1700 for the same thing on the same site.

It looks awesome – and should have something for everyone (we’ll be taking 5 kids aged 4-9 between the two families)

Looks good for a bit of road biking as well… ;o)

Will also have to look into some of these suggestions.

I stayed at La Grande Métairie near Carnac Plage in a mobile last year for a few nights in August*, was fine, the entrance was right by the main avenue of stones. They had some naff entertainment in the evenings too – one night a travelling circus with caged animals inc. lions, tigers and monkeys turned up and starting setting up. Looked awful, but a few hours later they packed up and went, I assume because of the howls of protest from campers.
Great beaches nearby & plenty of Vides Greniers to fill the van with crap to bring back. The Quiberon peninsula nearby is a weird place, a bit like Portland Bill, some strange folk there.
* being a tight arse, only booked the week before with Canvas, to get it very cheap

Check out Ile de Re (island off La Rochelle). Great beaches, and the whole island is set up for cycling with cycle paths everywhere.

+1: we camped there for a week last summer with our 2 (aged 1 and 4 at the time). Perfect for leisure cycling, great beaches, lovely little villages, good food. We stayed at Les Varennes which is a great campsite near Le Bois en Plage, I think Interlude (which was just down the road) has Eurocamp pitches.

We’ve had some great times just renting a house/flat/gite/chateau in Brittany and Normandy. Brilliant way to avoid Brits and dive into French rural life for a couple of weeks, plus kids are dead easy to cater for so long as they like pancakes. They will be welcome in bars and restaurants too. Sometimes booked through Brittany Ferries, sometimes through the usual UK agencies, occasionally through owners websites direct. Places we’ve stayed: Pleuneuf-val-Andre, Perros Guirec, (both super beaches), Carnac, Ploermel, Dreux, Chartres. Not knocking eurocamp, done that too, but I love sleepy French villages in the summer.

First time we went to France with the kids we went here http://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/camping/la_plage
good site easily driveable from Roscoff, best part was the beach closest to the site is a sheltered bay, hop in the car and a 10 minute drive you are at one of the best surf beaches in France.

We used Siblu when we went, the only site I wouldn’t use again was the one South of Nantes http://www.siblu.com/france/charente_maritime/bonne_anse_plage.php
Think you can still use Clubcard vouchers for Siblu.