Is it possible to have a camping trip to France from England for more or less the same price as one in England?

[Numberfour]

We are looking to go from 23 July to about 4 August or so?

We are not looking for a bells and whistles camp site! We have our own tent and equipment.

Anyone have any ideas?

Yes, but not with Keycamp, etc. Pick an area that you want to go to and google for a local campsite. No more expensive than a UK campsite. Well slightly more expensive as their campsites tend to be a bit more upmarket, so expect to pay Camping and Caravan club prices, plus the pound is crap against the euro. And then ferry crossing/toll charges.

But loads cheaper than the big companies.

Thanks, Viva. We went 3 summers ago to Cap Ferret but that was expensive having to travel so far. We chose an independent campsite and it was brilliant. I am hoping that we can find somewhere closer to England, though.

i think it is definitely possible BUT you need to factor in petrol costs and the fact that food prices have gone through the ceiling in france.

We have gone for years and years to normandy/brittany/vendee/west coast and have always had reasonably inexpensive holidays (last year's venue holiday with their tent was £399 for a week in august and then we went to stay in a house for £400 for a week - we are a family of 5 plus boyfriend of eldest). At the campsite we met lovely family of 5 who had spent the same amount for their week's camping using all their own stuff but hiring a fridge for a week. They simply preferred using their own things. We preferred having more room in the car!

This year because i'm out of work we simply can't afford huge petrol costs so looking for similar but nearer to home.

We have stayed in domaine d'oleron (my absolute fave ever site basic and brilliant), jard du mer la tranche, les falaises foret fouesnant, all great with good facilities and close to beach/walks/naturey things to do and with benefit of being good for all ages. we also use tesco's vouchers for eurotunnel which saves us around £80 - £120.

I hope you find somewhere fab, come back and tell us!

Thanks, Overthemill. I think realistically we are not going to be able to afford it taking into account petrol, any possible toll roads and the increase in food prices... I was just hoping for a miracle!!

Seems we may have to postpone it for another year.

I would rather NOT go and be able to afford it, than just through caution to the wind and be caught short.

numberfour have you thought about somewhere close to a channel port in france? depends on what you want weather wise but there are some truly lovely places in normandy and northern brittany that may be similar distance to where you plan to go in UK. Then you find as cheap as possible ferry crossing? (can you tell i'm hoping to persuade dh that this is possible for us too )

If you don't go far from the ferry port then you can limit your petrol/toll road charges.

Take as much as possible with you. Shop in Aldi or Lidl. or here. There is a Dia supermarket in the next town, and they are really cheap.

oooooh!!!! I am 100% going to try!!

Er... "through" caution to the wind??? Well, hopefully everyone knew what I meant!

DH is keen, too.

Yay!! Going to keep costs low, probably go to Brittany or Normandy - we are in Surrey.

Thanks for the info! If you have any other tips for me, I would be very appreciative.

Most towns in France have a "municiple" campsite, I've just found one, for example near Angouleme which is ?10 per night for the four of us on 7th August. This website has all the campsites in France listed and if you have basic French you should be able to make yourself understood. We make the travel to the final destination part of the trip and limit using the autoroute (and therefore the tolls).

Last time we went to France we got a ferry with LD Lines to Bologne instead of Calais. WAS cheaper. We've also gone Dover to Dunkirk before with Norfolk Line which again was cheaper than P&O or SeaFrance.

Thank you, PeskyPiskie and VivaLeBeaver.

pesky - great link, thanks. found a sample campsite near where we like to go for 414 E for 10 nights for us 5, with our dog!

Yes, I think you can so long as you don't spend any money on going out while you're there which hopefully you won't have to as the weather will probably be better.

I disagree that the campsites are more expensive. Also, last year for the first time as money was tight we didn't go on the toll roads. It did take longer, but saved us about £250 so was very worth it. Also, the fuel was cheaper as we didn't have to buy on the motorway.

If you don't want all bells and whistles you can try the municipal sites. We always camp near water as then there's always something to do.

We do find some food much more expensive, so always take own tinned toms, baked beans for a couple of breakfasts, pasta and rice. We find meat more expensive than here, but on the whole tastier.