Best company to book self catering holiday in France

[bluecoconut]

I have never holidayed in France before and we are planning on doing this next year June/July by car.

We are looking at chalet camping on a site with pools, play areas etc as we feel with a very active toddler this is the best option for us.

I also know that we would want to be within easy walking distance of a beach and town/shops etc. The site and accommodation must also be clean.

DH wants to go to the South of France. I think Brittany (though a bit worried about the weather), Western Loire or Poitou Charantes would be a better option for our first time.

I don't know of anybody who has done this type of holiday in recent years and I am at a total loss as to which company to book with.

At the moment I have been looking at Brittany Ferry's and Eurocamp, but I have no idea how good or bad they are.

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi

I have been going to France for the past few summers now - and love it.

Before you start booking through the big companies for park holidays -try a bit of research for independent rentals. Some places have a collection of gites around a central pool. If there are a couple of young families there then it would be more than enough for your toddler to play with.

Have a look on Chez Nous, Owners Direct and HomeAway.

But if you do want a park then the big companies websites do give a lot of information. You can then find out more about each campsite f rom reviews on camping websites separately - to find out just how good they really are.

We have only done the sites twice. The first time was when we took our boys to France. Me, DH, my DS, his two DSs. This was 6 years ago - so they would have been umm....8-12 years old.

I chose Brittany - as it wasn't too long a drive. It was a Keycamp holiday -and the site was Le Ranolien, nr Perros Guirec. It was quite a large campsite - and there was enough for the kids to go off and do. HOwever I don't know about younger children.

The weather wasn't great. I like proper sunshine on holiday - and mid August I had to wear my rain coat a few times. also managed to sunbathe and swim outdoors, so it wasn't all bad!

The second time we tried a park we flew to Spain and stayed with Thomson Al Fresco at Vilanova Park. This was huge - and very busy. Kind of enjoyed it, but I would say that was for older children. I didn't see much on offer for young children - or in fact much organised activity at all.

So Brittany - risky weather, but beautiful scenery. A little further South to the Vendee i think the weather will be better. My favourite recent visit is to the Charente Maritime. We have just returned from a place near to La Rochelle. Lovely place - and the weather was glorious. There are lots of places to stay there- it is very touristy.

How far do you have to travel in the UK? Try not to do too much drivin at once - it is easy to underestimate the distances and how tiring it is. That would be my tip.

One year we went all the way down to the Llanguedoc region - I made sure that we took our time with that one - stopping off for two nights in different towns en route.

Have a look at this one:

cheznous

Thanks Iwantgin. Lots of info there for me to consider.

I did give some thought to a gite or an apartment with a shared pool. I think if DC was a fair bit older then that would be my preference. My concern is that if the other occupants are predominantly adults, I will spend all my time on trying to quieten DC and worrying that he is being a nuisance.

At a park I don't really mind about organised activities for DC. So long as there is a heated outdoor pool, indoor pool and play area on site that will be fine.

I have been looking at the area around La Rochelle too. I have always wondered what it was like there. I think it stems from it's overuse as a destination in the Tricolore French books at school. I thought this might be a better compromise in terms of travelling time and possibly increase our chances of better weather. Is it expensive in that area?

We are 2.5 to 3.5 hours from all ports on the South Coast and the Eurotunnel. If we go further South than Brittany, then dependent on the route we take, we will either get an overnight ferry with a cabin or break up the journey with a night in a hotel.

Even if you only go as far as Brittany I would still recommend getting a cabin. We find this helps even on a daytime crossing as it is nice to have somewhere private you can crash in for a few hours if necessary.

We have been to France self catering lots and have had good places through Chez Nous but I have no experience of sites as we always get a house or something.

Weather is more iffy in Brittany but there are lots of lovely places there. Vendee does have nice beaches too. Is Biarritz too far? That is a wonderful coast. And if you can get across to the Mediterranean then Collioure is fab. Have you thought of fly-drive? That is what we usually do if we are going somewhere a bit too far to drive all the way