Talk to me about Calais

[eyebrowsstillfurrowed]

My DD, myself, my Best Friend and her DS have all booked a long weekend away camping in couple of weeks with EuroCamp and are all SO excited to get away on a road trip together.

We are staying at La Bien Assise camp site in Calais and are slightly concerned by the fact Eurocamp refer to it as a 'gateway' destination...

Originally I had planned to book a static caravan type affair in the Dordogne, but after reviewing the finances realised it wasn't quite what was on the table right now.

Just for peace of mind, have you stayed there before? Have you had a fun time on days out with toddlers in Calais? Have you had any experiences of Eurocamp tent camping that might give us some clues?

Sorry no, and love camping and camping in France. Calais is huge port, it does have a beach and a kinda cute town but it's mainly a port in an industrial district of France, lots of passing traffic and booze cruisers.
Dont despair though, there is fun to be had anywhere, esp if weather is on your side.

Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that for obvious reasons! I do have a bit of experience of Picardy as have family in Amiens though which perhaps I should have said about.

I am confident that the kids will enjoy Nautica and Le Touquet so that's a day or 2 covered atleast. But is there anywhere anyone knows of along the coast with rock pools or any nice parks in the area? Also, and importanly, is there a modus operandi with toddlers, tents and friends who want to enjoy a glass of wine? Are the tents good at keeping out noise and sunlight?

The tents are usually all in a line / in rows and noise carries at night. Havent been to that campsite though. You might want ear plugs or is it just bad luck that we always camp near snorers and ways of settling a toddler fairly quickly!! I think if you go with an open mind and low expectations you may be pleasantly surprised.

Should have said are there beaches in driving distance or nearby town parks that are worth noting (taking auras advice about it being an industrial port). That's why we are driving not flying so are willing to travel after all.

Please help!

Go to wimmile wimereaux, it's got a long sandy beach and is lovely.

We stayed there last year!

It was lovely and much more relaxing than a 'gateway' destination suggests. Lots of trees/hedges separating the caravans and tents so you could relax in relative privacy.

Can't comment on tents as we were in a caravan.

The campsite has a bar with snacks and a quite posh restaurant (lovely food, quite pricey). We mainly barbequed then went for drinks at the bar while the children (then 7 and 4) played. It was fab.

The pool was fine and the water slide terrifying in a Gallic-unsupervised kind of way (DCs loved it, of course). There was mini-golf and tennis. DH hates camping and holidaying away from Blighty, but he was astonished to find himself having fun!

We didn't go out in Calais much - we drove to the woods and the beach, mainly.

Hope you have a good time.

Oh thank you both.

That sounds absolutely spot on cat.

Relaxing in gorgeous site with pool and tennis and golf. YES PLEASE.

I think driving to woods and beach is definitely on the roster too. If any of you knows of a zoo or something that would entertain a 2 and a 3 year old please do let me know.

Happy camping the Summer one and all.

I've been a lot to this part of France - there's lots to see and do. I second Wimereux and I'd also go for the Vallee de la Course, which is just inland. It's very pretty, with rivers and good for picnics. Montreuil is lovely too.

While Calais isn't that nice, if you like shopping the Cite Europe centre is good, has the best children's toilet facilities I've ever seen. It's got a massive hypermarket, so we stock up there with French goodies on the way home.

We've been loads of times we use it to stop off either on the way out or on the way home

It is a lovely site and you really could be anywhere, I have a 13 YO so slightly different.

If your dc like trains, there is a really good spot on a bridge with the eurostar going underneath. - ask if you want proper directions although the reception will tell you, we walk there but you can go in the car - only about 5 mins.

Buy cheapo table tennis bats/balls from Argos or whatever as there are tables there for a knockabout.

There's a really good Carrefour just through the village if you drive as well if you need to do a food shop.

We stayed at the Bien Assise last year and really enjoyed it. The local town is probably the most boring place I've ever come across - always seemed to be closed - bit the campsite was lovely.

We only stayed for 5 days which was probably enough. We had a day in Bruges which was great. The rest of the time we just stayed on site. The kids all made friends with children if various nationalities. They couldn't really understand each other much but managed to organise games of table tennis and tig. They enjoyed the pool. The restaurant was very good, as was the bar. I'd go again - it was a nice, chilled out break.

We always stay here on the outward journey…admittedly only for two nights but always loads of people who look like they're there for longer.
Pool is quite small but it's a quite area and the site is nice. Loads of Dutch visitors which I always find is a good indication of a site ….the Dutch are good campers!
You really don't feel like you're ten minutes from the Tunnel…it's surrounded by fields and the very quiet town it's on the outskirts of.