France - roughly between La Rochelle and Bordeaux

[cal79]

To cut a long story short we're looking to book somewhere between Bordeaux and La Rochelle for mid-July (yep, a little late in the day to be booking but there we go).

Never been to this area before so looking for some ideas/tips. We're fairly easy going and are just looking for somewhere near beaches (have a 2yr old and 4 yr old) and relatively close to towns with places to eat. Something like a Siblu would be good but don't want to be spending ALL of the time in a resort (hence the request for other places to eat). We'll be travelling from the Lot Valley so prefer to stick between Bordeaux and La Rochelle to keep travelling times down.

Thanks.

Try www.vendee-vacances.co.uk

Just north of la Rochelle in the Vendée. Great set up for little ones.

Interested to see what replies you get to this. We are thinking of somewhere in this area....would like nice beaches (where you can swim in the sea, I think any further south and the sea is too rough for swimming???). Would also like somwhere picturesque , with authentic places to eat etc..

To my mind the best beaches along the atlantic coast are in the Vendee, between La Tranche sur Mer and Les Sables d'Olonne. The coastal towns themselves are not particularly picturesque, but once you come inland a bit it is much nicer. Fontenay le comte is a nice market town, as is Luçon.

Between La Faute sur Mer in the Vendée, and La Rochelle there are no beaches. South of La Rochelle you have la chatelallion plage, which is a rather small beach considering the number of people there, then not much else to speak of til you get to the Royan area.

Round Royan you have alot of campsites and alot of beach, but not much else. Further south there isn't much to speak of until you get south of Bordeaux, by which time you are in the bay of biscay so the sea can be a bit frisky.

HTH

The are around Saintes, Cognac and Angouleme is beautiful but quite sleepy. There are some nice chateaux, Romanesque churches, Saintes has Roman ruins and an amphitheatre. It's lovely if you're lookign for a quiet time. Canoeing and riding as well. It's a bit of a trek to the coast but Royan is nice and there's surfing etc.

Have you thought about Ile de re or Ile D'oleron - both a bit more touristy but great scenery. The tiny island Ile d'Aix is also worth a visit.

This area is lovely. Maubuisson and the campsites around it are good, the Domaine de Bombannes is very family friendly. I am biased as with a mother from Bordeaux we spent a lot of time around there but it is just fantastic with a family. Maubuisson itself is on the lake which has nice sandy beaches, life guards and lots of shade. You can easily cycle through the forest to Carcans for the Ocean or it is a short drive with loads of parking. In Maubuisson there are loads of places to eat as well as a small supermarket, boulangerie and seriously good meals to take away from the charcuterie.

Another vote for Ile D'Oleron here. We have spent several (10+) holidays there and it would be perfect for young children. One year I took the three children (18 months, 3 and 5) that I was looking after and they loved it. Sandy sheltered beaches in the south and east of the island, rock pools on the north at and above La Cotineire. The rock pools were my favourite from about 3/4 years of age. St Trojan has an adventure village with a small train for little ones. To the north there is a fun fair over the summer. Back on the mainline Marennes is easy to reach (no charge for going over bridge - Ile de Re is expensive in summer c. ?16 return) The is La Palymer (spelling?) zoo about 20 mins off the bridge as well.

Lots of small towns/villages. La Cotineire is good for restaurants over looking the lovely working harbour. Le Chateaux has a big market on weekends and ruins of an old castle etc. Boyardaville is also around a working harbour.

Happy to provide more info via PM/on here if you would like.

Thanks for all the ideas ladies! Much more useful than trawling through a guidebook.

xx