# france camping 1st timer



## karly (29 Mar 2010)

Hi All,
I am thinking of going to France this summer with herself(who wants sun)and three kids 2,7,and 9.I believe the parks are superb and plenty for kids to do.Problem is I know nothing about France or areas or facilities etc.
Would appreciate any suggestions or hints and of course would like to get best value for money.


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## pjmn (29 Mar 2010)

Get yourself a Keycamp (or similar) brochure, they will give you a good feel for what the areas/campsites have to offer...

Have gone to France for years with Keycamp (hence why I'm naming them, but I'd suspect their isn't a huge difference between those type of operators)...

if it's your first trip, think carefully about your journey/distance, e.g.

a) car/ferry versus plane and hire a car
b) region of France - are you sun worshippers or willing to take a bit of a chance with good but perhaps not always as sunny west coast...
c) are you beach lovers or would you prefer an inland resort
d) relaxing holidays versus close to say Paris for day trips in there...
e) Just a tip - if a brochure says 'lively site' it's probably more geared for teenagers than those of your ages...

No right answers, just things for you to consider...

Best of luck with it - I think it's a great family holiday and yes, the campsites are great for the kids.

You probably could do it a little cheaper, organising the various elements seperately, but given it's your first trip, I'd suggest a Keycamp or similar, just so that it runs smoothly for your first year, thereafter you may decide to organise yourself...

enjoy....

pjmn


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## karly (29 Mar 2010)

thanks for info.Do you need a car at campsite or will you be ripped off if you buy food,drinks ect on site?Or am i too used to the irish way of doing things?


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## pjmn (29 Mar 2010)

Campsite shops do tend to be dearer (as they have a captive audience) and depending on the campsite the range of product might be limited - having said that you have to weigh up the the bit extra you'll pay there as against hiring a car (assuming you are going to fly to destination) - if you don't hire a car, you'll probably need to organise taxi's to/from airport/campsite.

If the budget can stretch to it, I'd hire a car, just gives you a bit of flexibility, whether it be for shopping or maybe going on a day trip or two - also note that some campsites may be a few miles from a beach (which may of may not be important to you) - other campsites may be located adjacent to the beach...

hope that helps...


pjmn


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## Eithneangela (29 Mar 2010)

If at all possible, I'd drive.  With three young kiddies, there's loads of stuff you'll need for them (clothes, toys, books etc..) and while the campsites in France (I'd recommend the Vendee area, loadsa campsites, fantastic facilities) you'll still need to do a supermarket shop for your family for the usual toiletries, heavy food stuff, treat stuff for kiddies, drinks (soft and otherwise) and especially washing powders etc.  So, research the ferry companies and go for a campsite with lots of facilities - even though you might like to be near a beach, if the kiddies find lotsa activities in the campsite, which they are bound to, you really don't need to be near a sandy beach (reduce the need to sweep out the floors, baths, showers etc. every day!).  We've done this camping stuff in France and it's great, once you have transport for the basics, and the site has all the facilities for kiddies.  Also, once the kiddies are happy, you'll need transport to get to the supermarkets to buy all that lovely French wine which will help the adults to enjoy the holiday as well!!!


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## karly (29 Mar 2010)

Sounds good advice and ticks the boxes.Bit worried about lack of english speaking staff and others on site.Heard of one irish couple who left early due to being only Irish/English on site as the place was full of French on hols who would not speak english.


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## steve1234 (30 Mar 2010)

If your going to book a holiday with keycamp try the uk, dutch or german version of there website for cheaper prices as they have special prices for us  


e.g.
Fréjus, La Baume France, Cote d'Azur
05/06/10 7 Grand 3 Bedroom 29 €483.00 irish price
05/06/10 7 Grand 3 Bedroom 29 £ 399.00 uk price


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## Odea (30 Mar 2010)

http://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/

Just to get you started.


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## Yorrick (30 Mar 2010)

A lot of the campsites are near towns in any case. The campsite shop can be a bit dearer and also lacking in choice. Local village markets can be very good.  
If you are travelling by Ferry rather than Landbridge you will probably land in France in the morning. What we normally do then is call into a local town and top up with water, buy rolls, salad etc for lunch on the road.
Don't take a big journmey on your first visit. There should be plenty options within 150/200 miles of the campsite. Four hours in the car will cover most of this. Take a few breaks. I would advise that you leave the motorway and call into local village when having your breaks. There often is football pitches/parks where the kids can have a good run around.

The advantage of having the car is that you can leave the campsite and explore the country side. You could compare the cost of flights and car hire against the ferry. If the flight option is any bit near the ferry price I would fly as it remove the hassle of travel on ferry etc


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## Magpie (30 Mar 2010)

karly said:


> Sounds good advice and ticks the boxes.Bit worried about lack of english speaking staff and others on site.Heard of one irish couple who left early due to being only Irish/English on site as the place was full of French on hols who would not speak english.



yeah, those french people insisting on speaking french, in france!


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## huskerdu (30 Mar 2010)

Here is my advice, based on three great holidays in France, driving to Brittany and staying in a camp site. 

Keycamp or Eurocamp will charge a lot more for the same mobile home on the same park as booking direct with the camp site
If you want to pay extra for it,  you will have English speaking staff and lots of other English / Irish families and kids around, if that is what you are looking for. 

Personally, I book directly . I also recommend yellohvillage.co.uk as above. 

My experience is that the campsite shops are very small and expensive, but it depends on what you are looking for.  
I love cooking real food and French food is so fab, I would not be happy with 
the limited range in the campsite shops.

I also would recommend a car, l think that two weeks not being able to leave the campsite  would be a bit boring after a while. No point in visiting a country and not seeing any of it. 

If you do not bring your own, you have to rent towels and sheets, and it adds to the
price and the quality and size might not be great.


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## TLC (30 Mar 2010)

We stayed at les bois masson in the vendee - St Jean de Mont (years ago but it still gets good reviews) most relaxing holiday we ever had with the kids


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## safety1st.co (30 Mar 2010)

I am thinking of the same holdiday this year as Karly, but i am unsure of what are the best campsites to go to and so on...
has anyone tried Canvas? i hear they are good. I will be travelling with wife and two children (5yrs & 2yrs), we all like the sun and were thinking of travelling mid June. i was thinking of the "Languedoc Roussillon" region/district, has anyone been? what are top travel tips recommended by seasoned travellers.


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## tosullivan (30 Mar 2010)

did the France thing and would never go back...my opinions, they are too rude, too expensive & too strict on their curfews on the sites.

Went to Sanguli site in Spain last year in Salou and going back again this year.
Much nicer people, no arrogance, food better & cheaper, much more relaxed and altogether a better experience.

Book direct aswell and save a bit.  I fly every year with Ryanair and book a car for the duration


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## notagardener (30 Mar 2010)

We stayed in St Jean De Monts too and in La Rochelle. Enjoyed ourselves in both locations. One thing to be aware of, in Brittany and the Vendee regions sunny weather isn't guaranteed. We holidayed in June both years and had mixed weather - was good but not great. Further south the better the weather, I'd look to see what's available in the Bordeaux region. Longer drive, but motorways are great.


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## VOR (30 Mar 2010)

notagardener said:


> We stayed in St Jean De Monts too and in La Rochelle. Enjoyed ourselves in both locations. One thing to be aware of, in Brittany and the Vendee regions sunny weather isn't guaranteed. We holidayed in June both years and had mixed weather - was good but not great. Further south the better the weather, I'd look to see what's available in the Bordeaux region. Longer drive, but motorways are great.




+1. Brittany weather can be so-so.


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## missdaisy (30 Mar 2010)

I would also recommend St Jean de Monts.


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## tosullivan (30 Mar 2010)

Stayed near La Rochelle...lovely place

La Sirene south of Carcassonne is one of the best camp sites in all of France and you are almost guaranteed good weather there.

Also stayed in Holiday Green in Cote D'azur.  The site is not as good as La Sirene but there is a lot more to do in the area


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## tom3 (30 Mar 2010)

This will be our 5th year on camping hols in France, and am really looking forward to it again. Going back to a campsite this year (mid june) near Montpellier. Kids clubs are fantastic, we have 2 boys 7 and 9. We fly drive as we like to do some sight seeing, Montpellier is a beautiful city and has some lovely beaches within a 15-20 minute drive. Guaranteed sunshine on the med, where the weather can be a bit iffy along the west coast. We went to a camp near Royan a few years ago and  we saw too much rain!!!


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## Daddy (30 Mar 2010)

Tom

What's the name of the campsite near Montprlier

Thanks,

Daddy


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## karly (31 Mar 2010)

Hi Tom3,
Your kids same age as mine so would love to get name of that site from you and any other info would be appreciated.

Many Thanks


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## tom3 (31 Mar 2010)

Daddy- Karly.

Le Lac Des Reves is the name of the campsite.It is on the outskirts of a town called Lattes, about 15 mins drive from Montpellier. If you google Le Lac Des Reves you should be able to access the website. We found the staff to be friendly, most of them speak some english. The kids clubs are run by english and french speaking staff. Our two kids totally loved the club, did not want to come home! Clubs are very safe as well, kids have to be signed in and out. Generally i find it helps if you make an effort to speak a little French, merci, bonjour etc, you dont have to be fluent, after all its their country. This year  we are flying Dublin to Rodez, will hire a car and its about 2 hour drive to camp. Last year we flew to Gerona and drove across the Pyrenees, beautiful scenery.The camp itself is a mixture of tourists and French residents, so their is a relaxed atmosphere. The weather was beautiful, around 30 degrees.


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## michaelm (1 Apr 2010)

karly said:


> Would appreciate any suggestions or hints and of course would like to get best value for money.


I would suggest that you get a Keycamp brochure or similar to help you decide (plus read online reviews of sites you like the look of).  Book it yourself, direct.  Drive your own car.


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## Daddy (1 Apr 2010)

Thanks Tom3 - will check it out.


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## babaduck (1 Apr 2010)

We're heading back to France for our 6th year in a row.  We always take the car - Brittany Ferries is better than Irish Ferries for food on board, but Rosslare is much closer.  And we used our Tesco Clubcard vouchers to pay for the ferry, so that was a pretty easy choice this year!

We normally stay in apartments - Pierre et Vacances or Belambra would be our chosen operators, but this year are using the rest of the Tesco vouchers to pay for a stay in Le Bois Masson in St. Jean de Monts.  This park is owned by Siblu & is about a 5 hour drive from Roscoff or Cherbourg.

My parents stay in La Pointe St. Gilles campsite in Benodet every year & absolutely love it.  It's a short drive from Roscoff and close to Quimper, Carnac, Concarneau, Lorient etc.


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## safety1st.co (2 Apr 2010)

i've priced up some different campsites around the sth of France and in Spain... for 2 + 2 with flights for 14 nights...it's coming in at around E2100, does this seem OK for canvas/keycamps??


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## Slim (2 Apr 2010)

safety1st.co said:


> i've priced up some different campsites around the sth of France and in Spain... for 2 + 2 with flights for 14 nights...it's coming in at around E2100, does this seem OK for canvas/keycamps??


The date you are planning to go makes a huge difference. Price the accommodation direct with the campsite and ferries/flts direct with companies and you will save at any time of year. Slim


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## karly (3 Apr 2010)

Hi,
Going to give the site suggested a go in June.The thing is i can get mobile for under 1k for 2 weeks but flights to Nimes,Montpellier and Casserone are very expensive.I have tried going via uk and they still catch you.Any suggest another route to Languedoc region(driving just too far with ferry)


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## tom3 (3 Apr 2010)

Did you try Dublin-Rodez?


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## karly (6 Apr 2010)

Tried Rodez aswell.I have managed to get good price flight dublin-Gerona via uk.So a site around Languedoc seems to be the shot to play.The thing is that every time i find what seems a good site for Kids there are great reviews on tripadvisor but then there are really crap ones aswell.I know you will always get whingers etc. but makes me nervous as its our first time going to France.
Has anyone first hand experience of a site(kids club very important)or any other hints or advice appreciated?


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## Betsy Og (6 Apr 2010)

Went twice, first time fly-drive, into Carcasonne and a capsite near Valras Plage (forget the exact name), just below Beziers. Lovely site, went Keycamp so a bit dearer. Best to book direct. Found the Ryanair luggage weight thing a pain.

With kids I definitely think you need a car (muesli & sandals in the bin ).

2nd time went with caravan via UK to St. Jean de Monts. went in June so was a bit quiet (smallies not in school), would go July or later anymore (especially if bringing own accomodation the rate increase is nothing much). Great holiday, but a long haul driving. This year Cornwall !

Have gone off the idea of flying as now 2 small kids, so much hassle & when you add in car hire & accomodation the road option starts to get competitive.

Would love to get a reasoable ferry with caravan from Cork or Rosslare to France but consistently get quotes of about €1,800 which I think is OTT.

If I was you I'd bring your car on the ferry, book your own campsite, do 1 hard day's driving and get down a bit south for the sun. & last tip, stock up on food before you get on the motorway, selection is apalling in the motorway shops.


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## Daddy (7 Apr 2010)

Celtic Link Ferries - just booked return €930.00 in July out and back - window cabin for 
six people.   Rosslare to Cherbourg.   Travelling out mid week and returning on a Friday.


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