Best French 'eurocamp' holiday

[Turkeycondundrum]

We go to France every year in the summer. We usually spend two weeks in a gite. But we have two lively DS's (4 and 18 months) and so last summer we tried a Eurocamp holiday. It was FAB. We went to Domaine Des Ormes. The kids loved the pools, the playground and all the freedom to cycle and run. There were lots of other kids around for them to play with too which was a bonus.

This year we want to do it again! But the number of campsites out there is overwhelming. So we are after recommendations!

We want somewhere a bit quieter than Des Ormes (big is fine so long as there are quiet corners).
Good pools and playground are a must.
Ideally, around 3-4 hours maximum from either Cherbourg, St Malo or Calais.
Doesn't need to be near the coast, though this would be a bit of a bonus.
Good for cycling would also be great!

Any thoughts?

St Avit Loisirs is absolutely terrific and ideal for your children's ages-their splash park is fab!

However, it is a solid 8 hour drive from Calais so we did an overnight stop. Worth it though and I'd go again

Fly to Nice and go to Esterel.

St Avit des Louisirs is great. Has a lake with a beach and a bar opening onto it. Books up fast!

We really enjoyed Berry Riviere as well but haven’t been for a few years so it may have become a bit shabby. Even then the pool area was quite tired looking.
We stayed in the mobile homes so can’t comment on the loos but the DC loved the kids clubs, activities and the lake / beach. Lovely holiday and we also went to Disney for the day one year and the year before did a day trip to Paris.

So want to do this! There are an overwhelming amount of sites though.

How much are people TYPICALLY paying for a week?

We loved Sol agogo when the dc were small. It tended to have more toddlers than teens, no roads to cross for the beach. We booked straight from the site which was quite a bit cheaper than through the operators. Only drawback was having to bring our own kettle as this is not a French essential.

*berny rivière that should have said

@Whatabloodymessthisis if you want a summer deal then figure out which site you fancy and then book using the Sun holiday codes (can be gathered from the myholidayguru website)
You'll be able to book from Monday of next week for a max of 4 nights; you can then top up the nights directly with Eurocamp

We found by doing it this way it saved us several hundred pounds

Was just coming in to recommend domaine des ormes then saw you've already been, we love it there 6 times so far, going to Florida this year and a bit gutted 😁 , for a slightly smaller quieter park le clarys plage was lovely.

@Greedycushionhoarder2
What age are your children? We have just booked Des Orme and I'm hoping it is perfect for DCs 9 & 12.

They are now 12, 14 and 19 but as I said we've been 6 times so at all different ages, we love it there, there is so much to do, or love the par cours (tree top climbing), we all love the zip wire Over the lake and at 6 euros for 2 goes it's affordable, the segways are fun if a bit scary, or maybe that's just me 😁, the kids also love wakeboarding and we all do horse riding all on site.

They've already requested that we go back next year 😁

Probably too far away but my favourites are Les Ranchisses in the Ardeche and Les Peneyrals in the Dordogne.

Also, it’s cheaper to book direct with the campsites than go through the booking agencies and eurcamp type places. Their own mobile homes are nicer, bigger and closer to the centre too.

We loved Le Clarys Plage in the Vendee - really nice site with lovely pools, excellent playground and a short stroll to a great sandy beach. It's a lovely region to explore, too.

We loved Chateau Les-Eaux (near Granville in Normandy) last year - smallish, very pretty, great pool, playgrounds, bouncy castles. Our kids are young, I'm not sure if there'd be enough to entertain older ones, but I'd definitely recommend it overall. 1-2 hours from Cherbourg.

@Whatshouldonedo

Wow thanks so much for this tip! I wasn’t aware you could use the Sun holidays abroad. You learn something new every day.

We had 2 holidays at Camping la Vallee in Houlgate when our kids were small - the campsite itself is great, & Houlgate is a lovely town, about a mile from the site, with a beautiful beach.

The baby we took last time is 25 now & I imagine the site is even better these days.

www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/normandy/nr014-la-vallee/ataglance.html

Nearest ferries are actually Caen & Le Havre, but it’s not a bad drive from Calais for a cheaper crossing. And Normandy is beautiful with lots of interesting towns (eg Dives, Bayeux, Honfleur)

I went there as a kid and would love to take mine. A bit shocked by the prices in August. How do I get the best deal?

La vallee does cycle hire too