Any help with planning a trip to France gratefully received

[Hattieboo]

Hi. We're hoping to go to France in our caravan with our dd's (5 & 9) at the end of July for two weeks.
Dh says i'm asking for too much (it is a possibility ;-) )
Anyway we'd (I'd) like...

A campsite not too big or expensive but hopefully with a pool and near a beach (either sea, river or lake be great) with calmish waters for swimming. I've looked at flower campings website, which looks fab, however then I've read reviews of some of the locations and been put off. Has anyone been to any flower campings sites? I couldn't believe the difference in price with them and say euro camp ( which we couldn't afford this year!).

Within walking distance to a town/village so we can have a wander.

Somewhere WARM! Not notoriously windy either! (I've read south of Lyon on a thread to get good weather?) I can't bear to have more rain (I'm sure like every mum with the thought of six weeks of summer holidays coming!) hence the trip to france rather than Cornwall!
Don't really want to go all the way to the med as dh thinks it would be too long a drive.

I've been looking at ile de re on west coast (but been slightly put off by comments about wind and expensive toll to get off island). The dordogne looks beautiful ( but again comments of lots of rain and cold nights have made me think again!) has anyone stayed anywhere lovely near these places??? With good weather!!!! ;-)

Massive thanks in advance and apologies if you think as my dh does, that I'm asking too much! We can dream! X

In August we're going to stay at this campsite. I've not stayed there before but have visted it and gone on the "beach". I think if you go at the end of July there are some great events around that area, I seem to remember river jousting being one. Generally the weather is pretty good, I would certainly expect it to be hotter than here, but can always rain. Good luck. I'm sure wherever you pick it will be great. I love France.

We stayed in L'Ardechois at Vallon Pont d'Arc which was stunning - and best sanitary blocks Ive ever been in . It is on the Eurocamp site but lots of caravans and tents too.

On Ile de Re we stayed at Interlude, which was great for access to a beautiful beach and great bike paths - I believe August is hell for traffic.

The Alps are great too, not guaranteed sunshine but good odds and lots of good campsites

Op - we've had good weather in the vendee - apparently they have a micro climate that makes the weather like its a lot further south.

Here is the current 10 day forecast
france.lachainemeteo.com/meteo-france/ville/previsions-meteo-saint-julien-des-landes-37782-0.php

We stayed at camping guyonnierre last year with our own tent which was so nice that we are going back for 17 nights in August. It's Dutch owned and independent so no eurocamp etc on site.

May half term we spent in the eurocamp safari tents at la garangeoire which is just down the road. That was so good that I have already re-booked for may 2013. They are family owned and run and are part of the castles chain.

Both sites are a 20 minute drive from a variety of beaches for paddling, body boarding or rock pooling depending on what you want. There isn't much in the local village but you are also only 20 mins from apremont which has a lovely chateau and lake with pedaloes to hire. St Gilles croix de vieux is another nearby town and fishing harbour.

To be honest we struggles to get the dcs to leave the campsite on both holidays. They were having too much fun with the pool, bouncy castle and riding their bikes.

Baileys, I think the Houlgate site has changed hands. Trip advisor has a number of reviews suggesting that it isn't what it used to be

so Lost, I hope you manage to have a nice time there anyway (it's a few years since we were there & it still looks the same )

I can't recommend any specific sites but anywhere in the Loire Valley is beautiful! We had our honeymoon there, and i've been an awful lot with my parents as a child. Near Chinon is lovely, as is Ille Bouchard (little town, fabulous people!) Both are on a river. I had such fun fishing for crayfish!

Tbh the further you can get from the UK the better, you're less likely to be affected by our weather systems that way!

Baileys thanks for the heads up, we stayed at a site on the way home last hear that sounds very similar. We actually found the scary mad Frenchman in charge of the pool most amusing, particularly when DH ended up in a pair of DS1's trunks so we could use the pool . They had really restrictive pool hours too even though it was indoors! We are fairly self reliant campers so as long as there is a town nearby it will be fine. Better with a warning though.

The only down side to the Ardeche is that it can be a harder drive as a lot of the campsites are away from the main roads.

We are staying here this year. The weather forecast for the next few days is 31, 31, 28, 31, 35, 30, 34, 36, 38, 40. That's centigrade BTW and sunny!

We are going to fry!

Oooh, Gnome, would be very interested to hear about your experience when you're back - its a site that we looked at last year and v nearly chose. We went here instead, and liked it so much we're going again. Love the area, lots to do, and dcs loved it, but always on the look-out for other recommended sites in that region.

GnomedePlume when are you at Massereau? we will be there from the 24th July to the 9th August. We might be initially hard to spot as our tent is Dutch but the non-Dutch family living in it will give us away

btw have you seen the new Youtube video about Massereau? I think it's on their website actually - cannot wait!

Lucycat many thanks for the link. We will be arriving on August 6.

The site has been on our radar for a while. This is the last year we plan to take DD1 with us so wanted to make it memorable. It is an area we have stayed in a few times over the years and we are looking forward to visiting quite a few places.

We have looked at that campsite stringbean, glad to hear that it is good. It too has been on our watch list.

We actually booked this August's holiday last August! The problem with the Massereu site is that it seems to be quite small and gets booked out before Christmas.

another vote for the il de re and interlude - has our best ever weather there a few years ago, but DO NOT TRAVEL THERE ON A SATURDAY 'tis murder

Wow Lucycat that looks fab, how much is that per night for a family?