Any Vendee fans out there?

[TheSconeOfStone]

We've camped in Brittany a few times. It is beautiful and there are lots of fab beaches, nice towns and gorgeous countryside. Weather isn't so great though.

Thinking of heading further south and the Vendee is very popular and handy for us coming on the Plymouth - Roscoff route. Having looked at travel guides and the internet I can't see much in the way of specific places to visit. I do love beaches but wouldn't spend a week just doing that.

Can any fans of the area sell it to me?

no....south brittany is much prettier and the weather isnt that much different if you look at the stats. vendee it full of bungalows and towns with no character. it would be ok if you hadn't visited brittany first....but u r spoilt now by memories of brittany and lovely coutryside, interesting beaches and old towns with character

or go a bit further south around la rochelle and the islands.
amazing beaches, amazing weather and interesting towns.

Big fan of vendee here! Spent many years in campsites asking the coast ... St Jon de Mont and further south. Loved it, great sites and less wet days.

Do bear in mind that it is warmer, if
using your own tent... We have seen some families swelter during their holiday.

It also feels a lot less like the UK ... Green fields cloud cold and rain!

spent years going to the Vendee - specifically La Garangeoire

It's a fantastic site, especially with younger children. 15 min drive to the beach. Grab your food on the way back. Sit onsite and chill / play in the evening.

there are some things to see and do - Puy de Fou for example, La Rochelle.

But generally the Vendee is dull and boring from a landscape / places to visit perspective

second what twitter says. garangeoire probably best site we've stayed in during 10+ years of french holidays. Puy de fou fantastic - they all moaned about going but was a holiday highlight. And vendee is dull.

At night we found it very cold. even had heating on one morning (we went in august). plus side, didnt see 1 mossi whole holiday

Thank you all for confirming what I thought about Vendee. I'm planning a few nights in La Rochelle/Isle de Re then a week in S Brittany. Just wondering what I was missing as Vendee is so popular for holidays. We live by the coast so going to the beach in itself isn't a novelty for us. We like to do that plus pretty towns etc.

I don't think you're necessarily 'missing anything'. For us (living in S England), it was the convenience of catching the 7am ferry and then being onsite by around 4pm, with gin and tonic in hand, thanks to the French motorways.

And then it was just the easiness of it all. DCs couldn't care less about pretty towns and villages. Just body-boarding, digging holes on the beach and then having a safe place to play with other English children in the evenings.

Each to their own!

And yes, it was frigging cold in the evenings!

The prettier towns in the Vendee are towards the south. Fontenay le Comte is a lovely old town and nearby Vouvant is voted one of the prettiest villages in France. The weather in the south is MUCH better than Brittany, but the north not so much. The microclimate spreads about 50km around La Rochelle.

I spent a couple of weeks in the Vendee last spring.

No young DC and no campsites on beaches though. We stayed near to Fontenay Le Comte in the southern Vendee. there are towns of interest to visit and the Marais Poitevin area too. We did drive over to the cost one day but we chose the wrong day was a little wet and chilly (April).

We have been to the Charente a few times. I liked both areas - the benefit of Vendee is an hour or so shorter drive time from Calais.

Brittany is more scenic perhaps but the one time we took the DC it was disappointing weather for an August holiday.