Camping in France...where to start??

[oktimetodoit]

OK so we have a trailer tent, 2 adults, 2 children and we would like to use our freshly printed passports on a holiday in France BUT I do not know where to start! I have looked several times and the mind boggles until I have to flick to something else .

We don't have a great deal of cash so I need to find the cheapest way of doing this, which will be a nightmare because he has compulsory holidays in August. I also need everything relatively close by so that we don't need to travel too far when we are there. DH would like south of France. Has anyone had any experiences of any sites there? If so where??

Thanks

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Nuggy! I was so excited when I saw you had posted, thought you were going to give me every bit of information I needed including what to pack haha

We love Berny Riviere, also know as La Croix de Vieu Point; amazing site, excellent facilities.

I could ramble on about this for ages but I've got to get back to work! There's an excellent website 'UKCampsites' that has a section for camping abroad. Loads of advice and lots of people that can share their experiences. There's a pinned post that covers 'first timer' questions.

I've been browsing the Flower Campings website this morning. You can look at an interactive map of the whole country and click on sites in areas that take your fancy. There's so much choice, though: beaches, mountains, lakes, chateaux, vineyards and more, you should probably write a list of wants and nice-to-haves before you start.

The South of France is a very long drive from the north - over 9 hours from Calais. We usually do it over a couple of days. We're going to the Alps this year and that is also a 9-hour drive. Many families prefer the Vendee region, much closer to the channel ports and good weather.

August is obviously the busiest period. According to the Bison Fute calendar, the worst days (known as Black Saturdays) will be 30th July and 6th August this year.

Campsites actually on the Med are very pricy and probably booked up by now especially for the early part of August. If you look a bit inland, there are some great sites near interesting towns with good amenities and sunshine. Have a think about what you'd like in terms of facilities, and then post here or on uk campsites (or use their map search tool) and people will offer suggestions. It is so overwhelming when you first look!

We like either the Languedoc or the area between Avignon/Sommieres as there's lots to do, from history (Roman/Cathar) to markets and great rivers for swimming, kayaking, floating and dam building! And you can drive to the coast in about an hour from Sommieres but plan for crowds and traffic! The Languedoc has great beaches but some are really busy! We're planning on Chamonix, the Ardeche and then a spell on the Med this year.

Via Michellin (website) will help you work out distances and the costs of tolls and fuel. We've towed all over Europe and I now use an average speed of 40mph to calculate how long, including stops and traffic, the journey will really take. Don't underestimate the distances involved, but the toll roads are good, knowing how long you'll be driving then setting up might help you decide on an area. The south of France probably means an overnight stop somewhere, there lots of cheap hotels, like Formule1, which are good to break the journey or if you have time, you could spend a couple of days taking a more leisurely route...

How far from the ferry/train are you, in the UK? How long can you and your DC tolerate in a hot car? What are your absolute must haves?

Good luck!