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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Original poster

What’s it like to camp in France in the summer?

37 replies

MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 19:26

We’ve done loads of British camping but very little hot weather camping.

Please can I have your tips?!

Me, Dh, 12yr & 8yr olds. 6 man tent.

Thanks

OP posts:
Justalittlebitfurther · 26/03/2022 19:28

I have nothing to add but following with interest. Where are you planning on going, not all parts of France are super hot.

Wartywart · 26/03/2022 19:30

Depending on where you are, it might be colder than you think at night. We made this mistake once, thinking we'd only need thin sleeping bags, but we ended up using towels and a picnic rug as extra blankets!

Justkeeppedaling · 26/03/2022 19:37

Camping is big in France. Their campsites are far superior to ours.
Where in France are you thinking of going?

Festivalpartygirl · 26/03/2022 19:38

Depends where you go in France, we’ve been several times, starting in the North and headed further South each time we went to get the good weather.

BlackboardMonitorVimes · 26/03/2022 19:44

I agree that the French campsites are broadly better than British. This is mostly as they invest more in landscaping and have better facilities. The bare minimum is freshly made bread in the mornings on site.

I would start in the north or Brittany as it's more similar weather to UK but warmer. South can get sweltering and unpleasant in a tent.

...or just hire a caravan when you get there. Canvas or Eurocamp are good choices.

Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 20:16

Thanks 😊

We’re thinking the north first… just south of Paris. Then the alps, then the south coast. Whole of summer hols

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Bobbybobbins · 26/03/2022 20:23

We hired a little chalet on a campsite and I was super impressed with the facilities - little shop selling fresh bread, pastries, coffee, cider etc, laundrette, great showers, kids' activities.

stodgystollen · 26/03/2022 20:29

Île de France round Paris can get quite hot and stuffy in the summer because it's a long way in land. Nothing in the city is open because everyone's by the sea!

Down the Atlantic coast is nice, like the UK but a bit warmer. The south could be very hot in a tent but if you're happy to take it easy, spend a lot of time napping in the shade and not going to bed until late it's good!

Popuptent · 26/03/2022 20:33

You will have a great time. The campsites are better, the roads are better and the food is better and the weather will be better as you get further south. There are loads of swimming lakes and many campsites have fabulous pools with flumes, lazy rivers, etc. There are dry luge runs in the Alps and many towns on rivers have canoes for hire.

Climbingthelaundrymountain · 26/03/2022 20:33

We went to Normandy in August 2019. Brilliant site, lovely place. Shit weather.

Ylvamoon · 26/03/2022 20:34

🤔 I think you need at least a 2 season sleeping bag & blanket each ... the alps will be cold at night and can also be rainy if you are unlucky... while the south will be hot. Maybe some thermals as night wear might be worth looking into ...

ivykaty44 · 26/03/2022 20:36

France is good for camping and even when it gets hot in the day, it’s cooler at night for sleeping in tents

Many campsites have pizza night or some type of food one or two evenings a week

Chartres is a great city to explore and the surrounding area

Vendee is very popular but I prefer Brittany

Rouen is a nightmare on a Friday to drive through

Neuf chateau on bray is a great stopping point Campsite Sainte Claire camping is a good camp site for overnight if travelling from Calais or to Calais - you’d need to book peak season. They do food, there is a supermarket in walking distance and the town. Right beside the campsite is great traffic free cycle Lane to Diepe and inland in the opposite direction.

A580Hojas · 26/03/2022 20:36

Camping in France is absolutely lovely but the weather can be incredibly variable depending where you are. It is an absolutely huge country. Brittany and Normandy are gorgeous but there's a reason for that ... lots of rain!

Malteser71 · 26/03/2022 20:36

We camped in the Dordogne in august. The daytime was sweltering, so it was actually quite hard to spend any time inside the tent, I’d go inside to change into my swimming costume and come out baking hot.

At night I was freezing and ended up sleeping underneath a coat as well as inside my sleeping bag.

In general it was dry, however on our last night it poured with rain and we had to decamp to a hotel to avoid transporting a wet tent - we had another five days before we got home, all in hotels, so a damp tent wasn’t an option

Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 20:44

@stodgystollen

Île de France round Paris can get quite hot and stuffy in the summer because it's a long way in land. Nothing in the city is open because everyone's by the sea!

Down the Atlantic coast is nice, like the UK but a bit warmer. The south could be very hot in a tent but if you're happy to take it easy, spend a lot of time napping in the shade and not going to bed until late it's good!

This is useful to know! About the conditions. Thanks x
OP posts:
Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 20:45

@Ylvamoon

🤔 I think you need at least a 2 season sleeping bag & blanket each ... the alps will be cold at night and can also be rainy if you are unlucky... while the south will be hot. Maybe some thermals as night wear might be worth looking into ...
Thanks!… We’re used to wild camping in the Uk… my sleeping bag is worth more than our family tent 🤣… It might be too warm!

Thanks for the info on alps temps x

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Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 20:48

@Malteser71

We camped in the Dordogne in august. The daytime was sweltering, so it was actually quite hard to spend any time inside the tent, I’d go inside to change into my swimming costume and come out baking hot.

At night I was freezing and ended up sleeping underneath a coat as well as inside my sleeping bag.

In general it was dry, however on our last night it poured with rain and we had to decamp to a hotel to avoid transporting a wet tent - we had another five days before we got home, all in hotels, so a damp tent wasn’t an option

Ooh this is worth remembering, about the wet tent! Thanks
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DrMadelineMaxwell · 26/03/2022 20:52

When I was younger we stayed on one of those sites where you could hire a static, or a pre-erected tent. There were fields of them, row on row.

I remember it being very hot. Enjoying the pool and the lovely fresh croissants from the shop.

And disliking the large flying insects that appeared every dusk, which would swarm and fly at you. Possibly a cockchafer bug. Harmless but noisy and annoying.

winesolveseverything · 26/03/2022 20:53

We've camped in Brittany and the Vendee region - both times in July/August.

We were very lucky with the weather- always hot in the day but it did cool down at night. At one point in the Vendee it reached 35 degrees.

The sites are fab- great facilities, lovely pools, waterslides, parks, activities, the Brittany site was by the beach and we could hear the waves at night. And the pitches are huge- our Vendee pitches have been 10m by 10m. And enclosed by hedges so nice and private.

We take 3 season sleeping bags, with a fleece blanket each, and long sleeved pjs. We also have a small fan heater that goes on for 10 mins or so just before bed and again first thing in the morning to take the chill off.

The tent got hot if we were out during the day and it was closed up, but whenever we were there, the doors were all open and it was fine.

We have an event shelter which goes over the outside table and chairs so we can eat in the shade. And solar fairy lights!

Definitely recommend, we have always had a brilliant time.

Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 20:59

@winesolveseverything

We've camped in Brittany and the Vendee region - both times in July/August.

We were very lucky with the weather- always hot in the day but it did cool down at night. At one point in the Vendee it reached 35 degrees.

The sites are fab- great facilities, lovely pools, waterslides, parks, activities, the Brittany site was by the beach and we could hear the waves at night. And the pitches are huge- our Vendee pitches have been 10m by 10m. And enclosed by hedges so nice and private.

We take 3 season sleeping bags, with a fleece blanket each, and long sleeved pjs. We also have a small fan heater that goes on for 10 mins or so just before bed and again first thing in the morning to take the chill off.

The tent got hot if we were out during the day and it was closed up, but whenever we were there, the doors were all open and it was fine.

We have an event shelter which goes over the outside table and chairs so we can eat in the shade. And solar fairy lights!

Definitely recommend, we have always had a brilliant time.

Thank you! The shelter is a great idea!
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SwimBike007 · 26/03/2022 21:04

We didn’t camp but there was a site on the outskirts of Morzine great town in the summer or winter in the Alps. Fantastic pool complex in town outdoor/indoor pools & big indoor ice rink, plus swimming lakes.
Also had a lovely week in Brittany at camping-ninian.fr/?lang=en they did amazing paella nights around a fire. Mostly spoke French but we were made to feel welcome if we made an effort. We’d picked it as it had good cycle routes around the area to explore. This was 7yrs ago but from the website it looks like it has the same owners.

SwimBike007 · 26/03/2022 21:12

Lake Annecy had some fab looking campsites around the edge of it when we drove past definitely worth exploring some. You can swim in the lake but it can get pretty hot if a heat wave hits. We had days it got to 40c then a thunderstorm & hail storm rolled in and it dropped to 20c in an hour in July!

bowchicawowwow · 26/03/2022 21:13

I've done lots of camping in France! It doesn't get that cold in my experience.

Compared to UK camping it's generally a lot quieter even on the big campsites with the focus on sitting around as a family in the evenings rather than everyone and their dog heading for the camp clubhouse for cheesy entertainment.

Fizbosshoes · 26/03/2022 21:21

We've done this several times. Our favourite holiday ever (our DC were v similar age as yours) was in Brittany at this campsite, although admittedly we stayed in a mobile home
www.camping-bretagne-atlantique.com/en/
It was a lovely campsite, they loved the pool, and it was 10 min walk/5 min bike ride to the beach. There were several other beautiful beaches within a short drive/bike ride and nowhere near as crowded as UK beaches.

Would agree with pp that it can be cold at night we ended up buying a blanket at a hypermarket one year as we were so cold.

Original poster
MsWalterMitty · 26/03/2022 21:27

@bowchicawowwow

I've done lots of camping in France! It doesn't get that cold in my experience.

Compared to UK camping it's generally a lot quieter even on the big campsites with the focus on sitting around as a family in the evenings rather than everyone and their dog heading for the camp clubhouse for cheesy entertainment.

Thankfully I’ve never stayed in a campsite with cheesy entertainment 😀

A swimming pool is all I want!

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