French campsite recommendations please

[TheJen]

Hi fancy camping next summer with DS (will be 18months) and DH and family. Fancied eurocamp or similar with pre erected tents but looking at the sites they're a bit 'holiday park' for our stage. Wanted something more low key with pool (not waterpark!) or maybe lakes nearby to swim in. Basically want to drink red wine and eat cheese whilst DS toddles with cousins Any suggestions? On a budget of course! Thanks in advance!

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Thanks will order brochure. Any personal recommendations?

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Domaine de la foret in St Julienne des landes (sp???)

Keycamp go there. there is a kids club but it is v low key....only 160 pitches (iirc in total)

There are 2 small swimming pools and 2 large lake, but I wouldn't swim in those....you can fish in them. The site is in the grounds of a chateux, faded elegance is the order of the day. There is a bar and a resturant, but all v low key

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domaine de la foret

I like this site - a bit out of town so be prepared to use your car when leaving campsite. Very clean site and lovely restaurant on site

www.campsitereviews.com/english/site_000010.htm

They have there own ready erected tents. Saumur is a beautiful town with a castle and is 300 miles from Dover.

I really liked this campsite, great for chilling out and there is a french restaurant on site and lots of space for the children to play.

www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/france/basse-normandie/calvados/ch%E2teau-de-martragny-108504/

It is near bayeux and again 300 miles from Dover - but easier to get ferry to Caen as really close and so no travelling for endless miles with lo in car (half an hour from Cean to campsite) Beaches near, markets near, culture and plenty of wine.

They look a lot more like we hoped for. Thanks . Haven't actually narrowed a region down yet or decided whether to drive or fly so all advice appreciated. Like walking and eating ambling around little towns etc... nothing to commercialised or touristy but not too desolate either... any other ideas out there?

I just wrote a big post about how not all Eurocamp sites are massive water-slide extravanganzas, but then I went online to find the sites we visited with Eurocamp two years ago and neither of them are in Eurocamp's books any more, so maybe they have changed their policy! We stayed at Moulin de la Pique in the Dordogne, near Belves (which is a lovely little town) - that has pools and a couple of water slides, plus a bar/low-key restaurant, but nothing noisy or Club 18-30ish. DS2 was 18 months at the time and he absolutely loved it (there are several little playgrounds as well - just swings and slides and sandpits, including one that's incorporated into the cafe area so that the kids can play while you eat or have a coffee/verre du vin). I'd thoroughly recommend it - run in a highly efficient and friendly manner by a Dutch family and many Dutch students.

belves, dordogne

Sounds like you would like Camping Village la PLage in Le Guilvenic, Brittany. It's quite abasic site with a small toddlers pool, a bigger pool and 2 slides - nothing OTT or madly exciting! No kids clubs. But it is right on a lovely beach and you can walk/cycle into Le Guilvenic which isn't too fdar away. Lovely little fishing resort with restaurants and a market. Surrounding area is lovely. Site does do some discos etc height of season but they were only 1 a week when we were there and you can avoid them. take away and restauarant on site were good but being right on the beach was the main plus point. Where we stayed the mobiles were set round ina big rectangle so the midlle area was a huge safe place for the kids to lpay with no cars etc.

Chateau des Marais in the Loire, fab site, small, clean safe, small slides, nice pool, nice people, big ppitches. Book dorect as it is cheaper !!

Do any of these have pre-erected eurocamp style tents? Was hoping to keep it simple

Domaine de la foret does. With Keycamp

sure Le Guilvenic does - not pmuch price difference sometimes between the tents and mobiles tho!

pointe st gilles is quite low-key but they do have tumble tots and a lovely tent full of toddler play equipment in a big field. It's a stroll into the local resort of Benodet or there is a little train during the day. Quimper and Concarneu are good for wandering around.

ChipM does look lovely but was thinking even more rustic and low key...just with pre-erected tents...does such a thing exist?

If you are going to fly make sure that the site you go to will do a bedding deal for you.....otherwise you will have to take sheets etc and that might be a bit tricky if you are doing flydrive....linits the amount of other stuff you can pack etc.

the Eurotents have all the kit, but expect you to take bedding and towels. Soe site do pack ups of this sort of stuff if you go fly drive. they tend to be the bigger sites IME.

You will not find anyhing much more rustic than Domaine de la foret that offers Eurotent style stuff. You will be looking a long time before you find such a campsite that only does tents IYSWIM

try fousenant - there is an estuary - a pool with slide and fucka ll entertainment - we left early as we were bored to tears - theres only so much fishing teenagers can do.

also venue are the cheapest but don't know if they do fousenant.

LOL custardo can find a few in that region when i googled it.... did you go with venue?

fouesnant - we went with keycamp - dont know if benue do that site - bt worth checking as they are deffo the cheapest operator

Hello, I'm reviving this thread: it's almost exactly what I was going to ask. Hoping to go to France in April with dh and dd who will be 22 months and want similar sort of site. My questions:
1.Can it be done without a car, or will we feel trapped on the campsite and not be able to go river swimming/town visiting? Are there any sites you can recommend withing walking distance of towns/beaches/places of interest?

1. Is there any significant difference between Eurocamp/Key Camp/Canvas Holidays or are they all much of a muchness?

TIA

it could be done without a car but it would be much like shitty spanish holiday where you are stuck to the one town - the greatness of having a car is being able to visit everywhere

a site like les mouettes is a great site fullof activity though, there is a beach that is 15 - 20 min walk away with town that is perfectly nice and like all french towns has a market day there is a closer more rubbish beach just down the road - if you are planning to not use a car you really want something close to a ferry port - for that reason you should do a st malo crossing and consider dol de bretagne which is about an hour away from the port ther is one small town v. small close by but the site is quite large - but you wil be stuck there.

re operators,

they are all the same except for price - if you have the balls please try VENUE they only do eurotents but are far and away the cheapest.

another thing i have learned this year is a company called "selectcamp" they do acomodation pnly - something like a caravan in august is under £500 but you have to arrange your own travel - but it still beats the shit out or the prices of eurocamp, keycamp etc.
but you wont get reps or a kids club

kids club is wank anyway because you dont need it

Be careful in April if you are planning river swimming - It will be freezing!! A lot of site don't open until May.

We went to Carnac that could be done without a car - I think we used ours once. We walked or cycled everywhere - hire a bike with a childseat. Also look at Ile de Re. Fly to La Rochelle, taxi onto the island, then everything is easily accessible on bike/foot