Eurocamp/Keycamp type of thing - top tips and things to take?

[AncientCrone]

We're off to Brittany in a couple of weeks, staying in a mobile home type thing. We've never done this sort of holiday before so was wondering if anyone has any top tips or suggestions of things to take with us. Thanks in advance :)

Omg portofino have done these style of holidays since i was 4 and your tip re ikea style bags is amazing! Really am so pleased I read that! >

Sorry to say OP it was eurocamp. My honest advice is to cancel it and beg steal or borrow a quinny or other small fold up pram.

The first one they gave us had sick stains on it and had been put together wrong so the breaks didn't work. The second one was just 'left outside' filthy but didn't fold up well at all so barely fit in the boot of a Volvo.

The brochure had pictures of microlites so I was when we got a cheap hunk of utter crap.

I can definitely second the toll doodah. We have had one for years. Speeding though the express lane whilst your compatriots queue up is a wonderful feeling. If you google sanef uk toll you should get the link. It is well worth the administration fee.

Ooh, have just made a great list of holiday essentials all required for next week!
Definitely going to pack in ikea bags! I used to do that for going back to uni! It's amazing how much you can fit in

We've just got back from a Keycamp holiday in Holland.

We found that with the exchange rate, even using the supermarkets off site, everything was pretty expensive. I'd take salt, pepper, tin foil, clingfilm, sandwich bags, oil, coffee, tea, sugar, oil, washing up liquid, soap, anti-bacterial spray, hand washing liquid if you're going to wash, ketchup, salad dressing etc, cordial, cereal, fun size chocolate treats (depending on your children), other snacks / cereal bars etc for out and about, kebab sticks if you'd use them for BBQ, charcoal, matches. Its obviously nice to have the local fresh produce, but if you can save having to buy things that you'll only use a little of, its worth taking them if you can fit them in.

Equipment wise ? the "mobile home" was surprisingly well equipped. I wouldn't bother with pans but did take a sharp bread knife, a chopping board, a veggie peeler and a corkscrew with bottle opener. Also took scourers, cloths, tea towels, pegs, the children each had a drinks bottle, took Tupperware for picnics, picnic rug. We took our own bedding ? I "double sheeted" ? 2 fitted sheets on each bed because I'm just a bit funny about it ? singles for the children with sleeping bags and pillow cases, doubles for us and our own double duvet and pillows. It did get a bit chilly in the evenings in the caravan so although blankets were provided, if you're wary of how clean they might be, I'd take extra bedding too just in case.

oh just remembered. they didnt habe a baking tray and could have donevwith one for pizza

you should be able to get hold of a list of whats in the mobile from the company. is there not one on the website - i'm pretty sure there used to be one in the brochures. we used to have baking trays in ours. I'm amazed at how much some of you take....i thought we were ladened down. will you have enough room for alcohol on the way back?

I'm going too in a couple of weeks time. This is my list, having had a few years experience of this kind of holiday, having an overnight stop in England on the way as we have eight hours driving and a 3 hour ferry journey just to get that length!

HOLIDAY LIST

Passports
EHIC cards
Tickets
Insurance
Car reg and insurance
Driving licences
Hotel booking refs
Gb car sticker
Headlamp converters
First aid kit, sticking plasters and tablets
Breathylsers

Sauces
Salt, pepper, vinegar
Beans
Biscuits
Tea bags
Sugar

Fairy liquid
Matches
Kitchen roll
Toilet roll
Foil
Dishcloths
Tea towels
Pillowcases
Sheets
Towels
Sleeping bags
Cool bag and ice packs
Potato peeler
Flash wipes or antibacterial spray

Clothes
Swimsuits and goggles
Pyjamas
Underwear
Socks
Coats
Sandals
Jumpers or fleeces
Jeans
Shorts
Tshirt s

Camera
Phones
Sat nav
Chargers
Adaptors
Ipad and kindles

Miscellaneous
Torch
Sunglasses
Multitool
Spare bulbs
Sun lotion
Soap
Shampoo
Deodorant
Toothpaste and brushes
Facecloths
Shaver
Nail clippers
Shopping bags
Bin bags
Wipes
Hairbrush and comb
Hair dryer

Whereabouts in Brittany? We have been to des Ormes near Dol de Bretagne and discovered that there's a laundrette at the nearest big supermarket which was cheaper and faster than the campsite one. Especially the dryers. One of us did the laundry while the other got the groceries.

Last time we went, scooters were popular with the kids, they don't take much room in the car if they're the fold up type.

i don't understand why some of you are takiing so much stuff (and i say this as someone who always argued with her husband as the boot was full). French supermarkets are actually very good and stock all the things we do at home. except for baked beans and gravy powder

dreamingofsun I think its because there are things that you only need a little of - say salt - no point in buying a large packet in France, using a tiny bit so having to either throw nearly a whole packet away or bring it home. For us personally, it was also because even though supermarkets were well stocked, the exchange rate meant that we were getting virtually £1 : 1 Euro so everything was v expensive.

Tell your credit card company you are going on hols.
Definitely pack a torch.
We take really old towels that we can use on the floor , and then bin them before setting off for home.

I wouldnt have needed half of that stuff. you can make do without every single thing you have at home believe it or not

Agree with taking sleeping bags for kids. The caravans can be cold at night even when day temp is 30+. Also swimming trunks not surf shorts ( French swimming pool rules!).
Have a BIG bag of snacks in the car for the journey.
If you are stopping overnight on the way or getting there very late, make sure you pack an overnight bag with the families essentials in, to save a big unpack when you're tired.

Utilise the excellent French motorway services - nothing like ours and almost every other one has green areas to 'exercise' the dcs.

Thank you all so much for feeding my excitement and sharing your lists and tips, they're fantastic

We're going to Les Mouettes in Carantec (and actually have the opposite problem to arriving late at night - we're arriving first thing in the morning and presumably can't book in until 2-3 pm).

I'm taking a lot of stuff partly because I can - as I mentioned above, this is the first year we've driven rather than doing hand-luggage only flights, so can definitely pack light (particularly as that included cloth nappies!). I want to have a few things that I know (picky) DC will definitely eat. Plus last time (s/c, flying with hand luggage only) we ended up buying eg salt, wu liquid, binbags etc and only using a couple and it was expensive and annoying feeling as though we were stocking the apartment for the rest of the season. Plus I'd rather take a few bags of value pasta if we have space and spend my holiday pennies on wine and cheese

I 2nd that Brittany was very expensive due to the exchange rate in the supermarkets so take what you can!

oh but i

obv dont get your bread from the supermarket though, get it from a boulanger

i like banette best

tea towel

its a fucker drying the pots with a beach towel :)

Why all these breathalysers? I have never heard of this?

The law changed in July 2012 so that when driving in France you must always have two, French government-approved, disposable breathalysers in your car at all times (along with high-vis jackets, first aid kit, warning triangle etc). If you get pulled over and don't have them you can get a big fine.

Oh, I didn't know they had to be gov-approved, I was going to get them off ebay :( Not sure where we're going to get high-vis jackets for the DC either

The law regarding breathalysers in France has changed again -breathalysers
Theoretically, you are still required to carry them, but if you get stopped by the police, they will not fine you if you don't have one . You don't need high-viz jackets for your DC either - you just need one per car.
We're off to Berny Riviere Eurocamp in 2 weeks time - I can't wait

We've just returned from Vias Plage with Thomson Alfresco- 3 bed static and the travel cot fitted fine in place of one of the twins in the second bedroom. It was a travel cot we gored as part of the baby pack ( bath and high chair also included) but it was a pretty standard sized one, same as the graco one we have at home.