Eurocamp/etc/ Europe camping without a car

[Jamie1981]

Hi all,

My car is not very reliable and budget is tight.
I'd like to take my 3 kids away next summer, somewhere in Europe. It will be their first foreign holiday. They will be 16, 16 (girls) and 15 (boy) respectively. As i say i don't have a big budget but we do have tents and sleeping bags.
I'm wondering if there is a camp site with reasonable facilities that is accessible from the eurostar/tgv etc? Ideally, one that will just allow us to pitch our own tents rather than renting theirs.

Jamie.

France is really geared up for camping and each largish town has a campsite. Google Municiple Campsite at any town near the end of the tunnel and see what it throws up. I always go to the S of France every year so don't know the North but I do know that every town has a campsite.
However the French book their spots each year. They will book spots in the shade, so you could do with booking your pitch before you go.
Hope this helps.

Try having a look at this French list of campsites www.campingfrance.com/uk/looking-for-a-camping/nord-pas-de-calais/pas-de-calais.
For teenagers (if my dd is typical) you will need good facilities on site if you don't have a car e.g. wifi (sometimes included but often extra charge), sports facilities and swimming pool. French sites charge adult prices from the age of 12 (and sometimes younger) so you will be paying adult prices for the teenagers. are you looking for a beach or rural location? (If the latter and your budget extends to 40 euros per night I could recommend somewhere if you pm me).
Some sites may charge extra if you have more than one tent (may still work out less than mobile home though).
Also bear in mind the distance away from the nearest supermarket as many rural sites are in the middle of nowhere. Site shops may be limited.
Some sites may have bike hire which would help.
From Calais there are other rail lines along the coast (local stations e.g. Boulogne and Rue are close to some campsites) and towards Lille.
HTH

We stayed at eurocamp near Venice, booked cheap flights through Ryanair and taxi from airport to campsite, However, you would need to book a mobile home or a ready-tent (cheaper), no way you could carry camping equipment on ryanair

The Eurocamp site near Venice has a supermarket on site, plus you can take the ferry to Venice, so there is no need for a car. Great swimming pools and evening entertainment that should keep teenagers amused

Have a look at Chamonix campsites? Large town with lots of stuff to do and plenty of outdoors stuff and activites. You should be able to get a train there.

Hi there. I would highly recommend Eurocamping in Switzerland. We spent a week at Camping Jungfrau in August in a Classic Tent. It's a spectacular location in the heart of the Alps. We have 4 kids (7, 10, 10 and 12) and we did it all by public transport as we didn't think our ancient car would make it. We flew via Easyjet (into Geneva and out of Zurich) and took the train to Lauterbrunnen which is about 20 mins from the campsite. We bought Swiss Flexi Passes for myself and my husband which covered unlimited travel(on selected days) on most trains, trams, boats and some cable cars and the kids travelled for free. The passes were quite expensive but definitely worth it. The pass also covered lots of museums. We did it all on quite a tight budget and it was the first time the kids had flown on a plane and their second time abroad. Switzerland is a magical country and it wasn't as expensive as we'd feared - supermarket prices are comparable to here. The campsite didn't have a swimming pool but there was one in the village which we used. To be honest we were out and about most days as there's so much to see and do in that area. You can only reach some of the high mountain villages by train so we really didn't miss having a car at all. Best of luck with your planning.

Meant to say that Camping Jungfrau does have loads of independent campers if Eurocamping's not your thing. We didn't want to lug any camping equipment on the trains and planes so a ready set-up tent was ideal for us but it does add to the costs....

Camping in Paris?? I can't remember if Eurostar have baggage restrictions? If they do, they're certainly more generous than the budget airlines....

www.camping-indigo.com/en/paris-indigo-campsite?gclid=CjwKEAiAnLGjBRCk_I-y_4iAmB0SJADGjWWzujVO63UCaE5Cte0nMV69RdKUrEs3oDZ1o__CiPVRIxoCWHjw_wcB

This one in the Bois de Boulogne does a "pedestrian package", meaning it costs you a lot less if you come without a car....looks v. reasonable to me.

Or I've always liked the idea of basing myself in Versailles for a Paris holiday (lovely little town, seemingly nothing much has changed since 1789 ). This one looks nice - it's 1km to the RER train station.

www.responsibletravel.com/accommodation/1080/versailles-campsite-accommodation-near-paris-france

You can get the RER from Gare du Nord (where the Eurostar terminates) to Versailles with one change. Oh God. I actually looked it up for you. Please forgive me, I have an irresistible compulsion to plan other peoples' holidays. It's like an illness.....