French beach holiday with young children

[Spainintherain]

I have a 2yo and 4yo and am looking for a beach holiday in France. Can anyone recommend anywhere that is nice for young children? So a Sandy beach and things to do. Thank you

Like this www.sunelia.com/en/atlantic/france/poitou-charentes/charente-maritime/interlude/hebergements.html#toggleSearchMobileHosting

Cross posts! Great minds

Ooh @AnotherEmma, tell me more about Villages de Gîtes. Have you ever been?

Nope but it's been on my wish list for ages!

A few people have mentioned Arcachon which I agree is lovely. My family is from bordeaux so much of my childhood has been spent on the beaches in that area.

I would suggest looking at Maubuisson in the same area, it is a huge lake with sandy beach and supervised bathing in a nice little town. The advantage is that there is shade from trees on the beach so it is great for small children. You will also find the finest ice cream in the world there. The queues for the maitre glacier are always long but very much worth it!

It is close to the ocean, plenty to visit and do. You can go climb the huge sand dive the Pyla, you are an hour from bordeaux and the area is covered with pine forest with a network of cycle paths. If you hire bikes you can cycle easily from maubuisson to carcan beach which is a vast expanse. The ocean is amazing but the waves are often strong and there is no shelter so you have to really stay on top of suncream!

My advice in that area with little ones would be go to the beach in the morning or late afternoon/ evening and do things in the forest our on the lake beach in the heat of the day.

There are lots of rentals in maubuisson or if looking at camping then I would go to the Huttopia Lac de Carcan which is in a protected forest area on the lake edge. It has static tents etc.

Alternatively, a short drive from Calais we have been to Le Crotoy on the Baie de Somme. Brilliant little place, lots to do, steam train etc for the kids. The bay completely empties with the tide and you can walk out and see all sorts of marine life in the pools of water left behind. Just up the coast are plenty of sandy beaches too. We had a brilliant time there when ours were little.

@bertdynamite

We stayed in a campsite near Paris when our children were younger that had a lake with a beach (and life guard) as well as a fishing lake, swimming pools and a few play parks dotted around. Although the weather wasn't really hot there was lots to do.

La Croix du Vieux Pont. We've been a couple of times, great campsite. Day trips to Disneyland Paris and in to Paris are really easy.

A mobile home holiday on a French campsite compares very favourably with a gite holiday. You have your own space but won't necessarily need a car at all during your stay. Campsite shops normally have a range of supplies and many will also have fresh fruit and veg. Almost always there will be a bakery onsite or visiting bakers van on small sites for the morning croissants.

I found gite holidays stressful when DCs were young, especially if it was a group of gites with owners on site. Give me an anonymous campsite any day!

Went to Arcachon for the day when in Bordeaux a couple of years ago (not with small children though) and would second the suggestion made .

The advantage of campsites when you have kids is the presence of other families and facilities such as a pool where they can play. Several years ago we deliberately decided not to do the gitte just for this purpose. A lot of the sites are very upmarket, have amazing facilities and one we used had restaurant a d bar on site with free childcare whist you were eating in the restaurant. Was brilliant with other things like kids sporting and creative activities, 3 pools, water games, horse riding. We did a couple of years there

Ile de re and that whole part of the coast is fantastic, several different beaches and loads of other child friendly activities. Best to have a car to explore the area. Ferry and drive, or fly to La Rochelle.

To echo previous comments - it’s not like camping. Properly equipped (multiple bathrooms even) statics make holidaying with young children really easy. And taking your own car is fab - no worrying about luggage, no hanging about in airports, etc...

Carnac is beautiful - also La Trinite nearby. A bit further north we stayed near St Malo and went to the Plage de Pen Guen near St Cast (also nice) with a baby, 2 and 6 year old. Brilliant for bucket and spare adventures (lots of lovely sand which was just the right consistency) and a hugely lovely safe sea to paddle in.

If you sail to St Malo you could have a multi base holiday with these two points and not use a tank of fuel.

Armour Plages, and the whole Morbihan area around southern Brittany, down to Quiberon is delightful, usually about 25C so good for beaches and swimming without being too hot. And there are the islands, like Belle Isle, for day trips. The waves are not too powerful for little people, and it's nicely laid back sophisticated for adults too.

We love the Vendee, if you get the ferry to St Malo or Cherbourg it's only a 4-5 hour drive (depending how far south you go)

Lots of Eurocamp sites, lovely beaches, sunny microclimate, lots to do.

Ile de Re (which I adore) is too frantic in summer as all of Paris seems to go there, but if your kids are pre-school, go in May June and have the island to yourself as it opens for summer. In July and August, the road around the island (there's one) is gridlocked from 9.30 to 6.00pm. Stay in Bois Plages.

Thank you for so many replies!