Best campsite in France. Travelling from Scotland

[maldivemoment]

So, I've had enough of typical Scottish summers (i.e. rain!) and I'm thinking ahead to next summer.

As a family (myself, husband & 2 wee folk - age 5 & 7) we've never been abroad and generally holiday in the UK. I am sooooooo desperate for some sunshine and outdoor living. When the weathers good we camp as much as we can at home so I'm thinking next summer we do a French campsite but I honestly don't even know where to begin! So many questions...

• do we book the campsite first then the ferry?
• what even is the best campsite? Prob my priorities would be good swimming pools & nice accommodation. Don't want to be millimeters from neighbours.
• what is the best company for booking a campsite?
• where's the best ferry crossing if driving from West of Scotland to France?
• How many stops should we make to break the journey? *Should we book caravan/mobile home or one of the luxury tents? *Do we take as much as our own stuff as possible - bikes, etc - or is that too much hassle / ££ on the ferry. Do we just hire when there?

You see? I really don't have a clue where to begin...

Anyone out there who can help?

Thank you in advance.

That's a lot of questions :)
Trouble is, If you want good weather you need to go further South, and you have a huge drive just to get to the Ports. We used to do a 2 drive drive to the South coast of France, but started from Berkshire.

It's not too far from a Cherbourg/Caen crossing to the Charente Maritime region, warmer than Brittany and the Vendee and amazing beaches. If you get an early crossing can be on site early afternoon. Siblu have some sites there, we did Les Charmettes when ours were young, the pools, facilities and kids clubs were amazing, Palmyre Zoo is a great nearby trip and shops etc nearby, but you do need to drive to the beaches. You may want to find a site where you can walk to beach.

Decide how much you are prepared to travel then look at sites in that region. Then look at all the companies that go there, prices vary so much!

We took scooters and bikes with us, and a roof rack. You pay a little extra for overheight with bikes on roof but much cheaper than hiring, but folding scooters are a good option.

Overnight stops in France are reasonable as you can all share one room in a Novotel, campanile or similar. Makes it part of the holiday fun.

We live in France and have recently stayed twice at camping Le Paradis in the Dordogne. Beautiful site with 4 pools, on the river for canoeing. You can pitch your own tent, rent a static caravan or safari tent or book a eurocamp tent. The Dordogne is beautiful so you can't really go wrong.

We always get the tunnel as it's quicker than the ferry and doesn't matter what the weather is! We had bike on the back of the car and it didn't cost anything more. The only thing I would suggest is to make sure they are locked if you are staying anywhere else over night. Before we moved here we would travel from Manchester to Dover and stay the night, then do the rest of the journey the next day.

Thank you both.

I know Milliways, it's far too many questions! Apologies but I just haven't got a clue! My head is telling my the journey will be hideous and questioning if it's its worth it but my heart is telling me it'll be fab. Don't know which one to listen to...

Sigh...starting to think this might be ridiculous & I should stick to rainy, midge infested Scotland!

Thank you x

Have a look at the Eurocamp or Canvas Holidays website.

I once camped next to a family from Newcastle, who had done the drive in one go, but we normally break it up. So, Eurotunnel, then a night in Calais. Or further down, and stay in Lyon etc. We Novotel on route.

We're leaving from Renfrewshire this Saturday morning. We'll leave at about 7am, and get to Portsmouth at 4ish, with normally one stop. The only overnight ferry goes from Portsmouth at 8pm. All passengers have to have a cabin, so we get great food and a decent sleep- pull into St Malo at 6am, and the west coast is so doable from that early start- you're there by lunch time.
Overnight ferries are the way to go when you have such a long British drive.
We always allow heaps of time for delays on the way down, as you can see, but we go to a seaside park near the ferry, and just give the kids a run ( think dog!)

From Scotland, we went Hull to Zeebrugge. At the start of the Scottish hols, the rates were reasonable and the DC loved the boat trip as much as the campsites. Canvas (based in Dunfermline) are very good.

What about Newcastle to Amsterdam? Not France but much less of a drive for you. Still an adventure on the overnight ferry.

We are driving from North Yorks to the north western tip of the Scottish coast in a few weeks (400 miles) and drove to Newhaven for the ferry recently (300 miles).

The thought of driving even further would make me want to stay at home.

Don't go for a Premiere Classe hotel for an overnight stop! Easily the roughest hotels I've stayed in. Makes a Travelodge look like the Hilton.

Thanks all.

DirtyNell hope your trip goes well. I'd be really grateful if you could give a little update on your return?

BarchesterFlowers I'd never even thought about Holland! Off to google...

I have found that it works well for us to think of the journey as part of the adventure rather than a means to an end. So we tend to drive for a few hours then camp and that way kids are not bored and we get to relax more.

For a 2 week holiday we would book 1 week in the middle in our main site, and then spend a few days travelling either side of that.

Portsmouth on the overnight ferry would be your best bet, and probably best to book that first. Then decide whether you want to be by the beach or more inland and start from there.

U.K. campsite is great for site reviews and travel help.

Check out the price of flights and car hire. If you book flights as soon as they come out, this can work out much cheaper. We always fly drive to Spanish campsites, as I like to be guaranteed good weather. Flights to Gerona and Barcelona are very cheap, try Ryanair, Easyjet, Jet2, or Thompson (they do flight only - to Gerona anyway). Car hire is very cheap in Spain. We got a Seat Leon for €99 for 2 weeks. 40 minute drive to our campsite from Gerona airport was quite enough with 2 young kids in the back LOL! I think car hire is a bit dearer in France, but if you got cheap flights and factor in not having to pay for fuel, overnight costs on the way to the ferry, it could be an option.

Thanks mirmc - most helpful. Any idea when flights for summer 2018 become available?

We live in France, and have just come back from a few days in the Auvergne region, which was lovely, not too busy, loads to do, and not too far south for driving. The airport at Lyon is not too far away (1.5 hours maybe).

Anyway, the campsite we stayed in was great for fixed tents and cabins (we brought our own, but it was a real mixture.). They have sites all over France, and so might be worth a look.

europe.huttopia.com/destinations/