Camping in a mobile home in france - where to start! (first family holiday)

[Chattyhan]

So we started looking at keycamp and have now noticed there are several other companies doing the same thing! Me and DP will be travelling with ds1 who's 3 and ds2 who will be approx 8 months. Never done this before or driven to france! How do we get there and where should we go? region and campsite? Don't want nightmare journey and neither of us have driven abroad before so what do we need to know about that? Home for us is fleet, hampshire and we need it as cheap as possible! I'm sure by the time we figure it out it'll be next year!

I disagree about Bois Masson/Dormant at least from the Dormant perspective. The kids club for the under 5's is great as big as an indoor play are ie Wacky warehouse and the pools are just set up for under 5s with mini slides etc. The main road isn't a problem from Dormant since there are very few mobiles that close to the road and those that are are staff ones. there is also a barrier up now at Dormant. Masson has an indoor pool with kids fountains and a ball pit besit the pool.

We stayed at St Hilaire a couple of years ago with Canvas and the mobiles looked and were dated, handles falling off, windows mildewed etc but it may have changed now. There was loads of shade there but so much it felt cold at times.

You should get a good deal going off season but I would say St Jean de Monts is fab for little ones. The first time we discovered the beach mine were 4 and 2.

Do a westerb channel crossing and its 4.5 hours from Caen to St jean

we went 5n 4ne and the weather was great!!! in pool or on beachevery day and sittng out every evening having BBQ and drinkies till late! It's not southof Greece/Turkey Hot hot hot but it is lovely - perfect for kids! Does depend on the summer you're having tho like anywhere!! The Vendee is usually described as sunsoaked!

Sorry the laptop keybaord was playing up - we went in Junea nd weather was fab! Pool and beach every day. Vendee is usually described as being sun soaked. Would go back!

Agree with Slalomsuki that Le bois Dormant is much nicer than le Bois masson, but I still prefer the location of Acapulco! Le bois Dormant was lovely - we tended to go over there than stay on site at le bois masson!

With the clubcard vouchers you go online to their website www.tesco.com/clubcard and click on deals then airmiles. It'll give you a number you call to find out how many airmiles you'll need to pay for your ferry. Don't think £30 will be enough- sorry!!! But you can combine airmiles from other places too. Good luck - the overnight ferry from Portsmaouth to St malo is a dream start to your holiday!

YOu can use Tesco vouchers with Siblu as well.

I've been to France and stayed at various campsites for the last 4 years. The first year I went I booked through Eurocamp, and after that I booked ,quite easily, direct through the campsite, which I found it to be a cheaper option.
Most of the sites have their own website, and give you the option to book direct.
It's worth looking into before you commit yourself if you want to save some money.

if no one's mentioned it, try Matthews Holidays. Same sites, good vans, quite a bit cheaper

I've been to France for the last 4 years now, 3 times in the South and once in the Vendee. The first time I booked through Eurocamp, and after that I booked direct with the campsite and saved myself a lot of money.
Most of the campsites have their own website you can book direct through. I would suggest having a good old browse, and compare costs if you want to save some money.

Sorry, looks as though I've already posted this info - It's Friday...... my brain needs to recharge!

I wouldn't worry about driving in France. I HATE driving and I was fine. The roads are much quieter than in Britain and people generally behave better on French roads than in the UK (outside Paris that is). Just remember to drive on the right!

We went to the Siblu parc in the Vendee 'La Pignade' and liked it. Not too huge, nice clean pools, surprisingly good food in the restaurant/pizzeria. The camp was v. near a good long sandy beach and pleasant small town that had good creperies. It was a long drive so we did an overnight stop: Novotel family room - good - kids menu, pool, play area etc. (Note: restaurant tables for dinner at Novotel had to be booked in advance). The portable DVD player in the back of the car was an ESSENTIAL.