Ile de Re - self catering

[legoqueen]

Wondered if anyone has stayed in self catering acommodation on the Ile de Res - we are considering this but will be without a car so which is the best village to stay in? Any other tips/thoughts appreciated.

Had a lovely holiday there pre-kids! You def don't need/want a car, but I think you'll want to be near a town to get everything you need easily. We stayed in St Martin which is totally gorgeous but quite expensive, had loads of restaurants and shops. Le Bois Plage was the other side (about 2 miles!) of the island from St Martin and had a nice beach and probably more child friendly but not as South-of-France-ish! Mum and dad were there in September and reckoned next time they'd stay in La Flotte, nice mixture of bars/restaurant/beach.

Can't recommend accomodation as ours wouldn't be suitable! We did find it through the island's tourist website though and were v happy. Top tip is that the Intermarche outside of st Martin do deliveries where you pay on delivery, we set one up to come the night we arrived with all the stuff you can't really lug back on a bike!

Thanks for the info - we have ended up booking a gorgeous house in Ste. Marie...so the delivery tip is spot on. Now counting the days until August!

Sorry this is an old discussion, but do you have the name of the house you stayed in Ste. Marie? Am looking for a self-catering cottage in Il de Re too. Many thanks.

We have just booked a house in Ile de Re through Bon Sejours en France website they have loads of villas and houses around the Island and so far their customer service has been great

We have been looking at the Bon Sejours en France website too. Houses look lovely but every one seems to have a very large, at least 1000euro security deposit. Homebythesea, is it right? Do you really have to put down such a large deposit? We can afford the holiday but not to be out of pocket by that much money for any length of time!

Yes we paid that but actually thus is quite standard IME of using villas and houses in various countries- I suppose the choice is to pay early to secure the right property or risk leaving it till later. One US home owner wanted 50% upfront PLUS $1000 cash for security

Oooooh! We honeymooned on il de re and have been pondering self catering villa for a holiday when I go back to work. Cheapo flight to La Rochelle then taxi to the island. Could get the bus but taxi easier. Came back on the TGV via Paris.

Totally agree a car would be wasted. We did get hopelessly lost on bikes.

Just a bit worried about such a large security deposit. We really got stung last year by a villa owner who retained a large chunk of cash and totally ripped us off. We rent houses both here in the UK and abroad, never ever had a problem before with getting the security deposit back in full, very nervous after what happened last year. I understand the need for a security deposit, have found one house that requires a £350 deposit which seems a bit more realistic. When I'm looking on owners direct etc, quite often the houses with lots of availability want ridiculously high deposits eg 50% to book and then a refundable security deposit of maybe £1000 or so. The search continues for a house on Ile de Re....!

I think 1000€ deposit is way too high. I've never paid more than 250€ and I prefer places that don't ask for one.

Il de re is lovely but I prefer the mainland with a day trip to the island. There isn't that much to actually do on the island.