Where near La Rochelle?

[marlene4boycie]

We were thinking of Iles de Re or Oleron, but think we'll need a bit of life! Where nearby to those places and La Rochelle have you been to and loved - close to beaches and restaurants? We're going end of July / start of August. Thanks in advance.

There is plenty of life on the Il de Ré at that time of year. It is very popular with the French and everywhere will be busy.

Same with Oleron although not as overcrowded with Parisiens! Spent almost all my childhood oil days there and loved it.

Ile de Re is fabulous but NOTHING goes on there - great for a flop on the beach / by the pool type holiday but apart from bike riding and eating at nice restaurants there really isn't anything else. If the weather isn't kind I think it would be a struggle. Depends really on what you class as "life" and the age of DC's

We had a great holiday in Oleron when the DC were 6 & 4. Cycling was fab, beaches excellent, great restaurants and markets/concerts when we were there too. Plenty to do and not esp quiet.

Main tip is if you do a cottage rental Sat to Sat like we did, the bridge to the mainland is rammed in the summer on Sats after about 6am.

Oh and another year we stayed nr St Hilaire de Villefranche on the mainland but much preferred Oleron.

Thanks for the messages - we eventually booked a place near Pons, so a bit inland. We would have opted for one of the islands if OH wouldn't have minded shifting after the first week, but he wanted a fortnight in the same place, so we have chosen somewhere we can drive to places from.