Best Eurocamp?

[Timeturnerplease]

We’re planning our first outside of the U.K. holiday next year with our then 3 and 5yo DDs. This style of holiday is not something we’ve experienced before: DH didn’t have holidays as a child, and my family mainly skiied/used villas or AIs.

We’re tied to school summer holidays as I’m a teacher and DD will be in school as of September, and would be looking for something relatively close (3 hour drive max) from Calais since we live in the South East.

We’d be staying in one of those static caravans rather than actual camping. We’d love a toddler/small child friendly site for the daytime that isn’t too busy or noisy in the evenings, as in without loud entertainment, if possible. Noise from people talking/children playing is obviously expected!

Can anyone recommend a good parc that fits these criteria? There are so many options that I’m lost in trying to book anything! I’d be eternally grateful to anyone who could point us in the right direction…

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MNHQ update: If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the best Eurocamp sites Mumsnetters are recommending on this thread:

😎La Croix de Vieux Pont, Paris

😎Domaine des Ormes, Brittany

😎De Schatberg, Limburg, Netherlands

😎Lake Resort Beekse Bergan, North-Brabant, Netherlands

😎TerSpegelt, North-Brabant, Netherlands

For more inspo, check out our guides to the best Eurocamp sites in France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

No idea but I’m going to follow as I would also love to know the answer.

La Croix de Vieux Pont outside of Paris or La Vallee in Houlgate, Normandy.

Both have great facilities and lots to do in the local area.

If you’re willing to drive into Holland (super easy), Camping de Schatberg in Sevenum (near German border) is stunning. Not sure if still bookable through Eurocamp but you can book direct of via other camping companies.

Meant to say that the Dutch park is 3.5hrs from Calais.

I’ve driven in various countries including Holland, so that’s fine for me. Can’t be any harder than the Alps! 3.5 hours would be just about ok; long journeys with the youngest are torture, but we’re hoping she’ll have calmed down by then.

Thanks for the recommendations @PixiePirate. Any other tips for us? Are we supposed to bring bedding/towels/cutlery etc?

We went to Domaine des Ormes in Brittany with ours - it’s under an hour’s drive from St Malo (ferry from Portsmouth). We decided we’d rather the more expensive (overnight on outbound) ferry and minimise the drive on the other side. If you would consider ferries from Portsmouth or Poole, you could look for places an easy drive from Cherbourg, Caen and St Malo.

You could also look at Chateaux Lez Eaux, which is easy from St Malo or Cherbourg.

I've been to La Croix Du Vieux Pont five times and am going again in two weeks, Beekse Bergan (Dutch Park 3.5 hours from Calais with an onsite Safari Park) once, and Des Ormes once.

Des Ormes was about 5 hours from Calais. Superb pool complex, but I found it better suited to older ones (mine were 8 and 10, so good ages for it). The parc itself is out of the way so you need to drive if you want to go off parc.

Beekse Bergan having the safari park and Speelland onsite was terrific. The pool complex is basic, but the kids loved getting the boat over to Speelland and playing there (all included in the price). Getting the ferry to Dunkerque instead will shave 30 minutes off your drive time.

To be honest, though, you won't go wrong with LCdVP. Fab pool complex for all ages, with dedicated little slides in the toddler pool for your DD (but big enough that she won't feel like she's in the baby pool). An onsite man made beach and lagoon. Lakes to pedalo on,trampolines, bouncy castles, and the battery-operated quad bikes were huge hits with our DC at that age.

1km from the local town, so an easy walk-in if you want to be in France proper. And a 15-minute drive from Pierrefonds Château if you'd like to visit what looks like a real-life Disney Castle and walk around it. It's intact and immense. Well worth a visit. The village of Pierrefonds is so very pretty and there's a fantastic ice cream parlour at the foot of the château. If you've ever watched Merlin, Pierrefonds is where it was filmed.

The entertainment tends to be at the pool and beach bars in the evening. The only time I've ever heard it was when we stayed in one of the 4 bed Lodges so we were close to the pool bar, and even then, I could only hear it with the windows open. We've been going since the DC were 5 and 3 (now 12 and 10). It's an excellent parc.

Re linen. If you book a Lodge or an Aspect static, it's included. Otherwise, you book a linen package when you book (or add it later) or take your own sheets,covers, pillowcases, and towels.
All duvets and pillows are in there already.

@Timeturnerplease

Cutlery is included, but take tea towels, washing up liquid, cloths, and toiletries.

And a travel kettle if you book anything other than a Lodge or Aspect. Otherwise, you end up with a stovetop one that takes ages to boil.

I've done Domaine Des Ormes 3 times now, love it 🥰

Outdoor pool with slides, huge indoor pool with slides, lazy river, over water zip line. Plenty to do within 30 minutes drive, 10 minutes or less to supermarkets and McDs and Dominos (easy quiet roads to drive on, too)

These details are exactly what we need - thank you.

One of the parents in of a child in my class this year mentioned something about having to do a deep clean upon leaving. Is this a thing? Can you pay extra to have it done for you? It seems like ALL I do at home is clean; I’d quite like to avoid that on holiday! Last week we were in a holiday cottage in the Lakes and it was lovely to just be able to lock up and leave.

I wouldn't say I do a deep clean. We dispose of our rubbish, sweep the floors, and give the sinks and kitchen counters a wipe down. Takes about 10 minutes, and I usually do it as DH loads the car (we put all the bags on the decking so the mobile is clear).

If we've hired linen, I strip the beds and put each set inside the duvet cover and leave it on each bed so its easily checked off. This also helps me find any stray teddies that may be wrapped up in the bedding. I leave towels folded and piled on a dining chair.

You just leave the key on the table when you're done and leave it unlocked.

Not Eurocamp but we had a fab holiday here and because it’s a smaller site it was quieter/ nice with younger dc.

https://www.campingangers.com/en/

@RhubarbFairy Oh, I was thinking my level of deep clean, involving windows and skirting boards! That’s doable then.

Wherever you find campsite wise, I’d strongly recommend booking direct with the campsite own accommodation or someone other than eurocamp. They are expensive and not always the most modern, although they do have English speaking clubs for little ones. I can recommend Kelair Campotel, which is an Irish company and I think offers better value. Or like I mentioned, just book direct.

I can confirm that in the case of Croix du Vieux Pont, the accommodation is all very modern. You can book directly with the campsite if you prefer, but on that parc, Eurocamp have the widest range of accommodation options, and we don't find them to be too expensive (we went to Italy in May half term for 4 nights and got a 2 bed mobile for £178. You couldn't holiday in the UK for that accommodation price).

LCdVP is one of the more expensive parcs in the summer holidays, but a lot of their pricing is based on size of parc and facilities available. It's also conveniently situated for Disney and Paris (we did Disney for the day on our first visit when thd DC were 3 and 5), so you're also paying for location. There are cheaper Eurocamp sites, but they're often in the south, in Vendee, so you end up paying more in travel costs anyway. The smaller ones are often cheaper too, but we like a big parc with lots of options.

We’re going to TerSpegelt in the Netherlands this week. There’s a big indoor pool for the kids if the weather’s not great, which it hasn’t been for the last few weeks! We’re incorporating an overnight stay at Efteling too. So excited!

We went to Roompot Beach Resort Neiuvwliet. It was great. In Holland but just over the Dutch border so only 1hr40 drive!
we really loved it. Indoor pool, soft play, near beach and so tastefully decorated! The cabins and the communal areas. Would highly recommend.
We have found Little Clogs website so good for trips to Holland/Belgium.

I wrote a more detailed blog here if you are interested.
Think it’s allowed, don’t usually reply on here.
I was actually searching myself as I can’t decide between TerSpegelt Holiday Park or Landal Domein de Schatberg for next year!

Our favourite is Ter Spegelt in the Netherlands which is exactly 3 hours drive from Calais. I would caution against Le Croix De View Pont as we went there and it was very loud and noisy - full of drunk British people and older kids. Ds and I are autistic and like a quiet, simple but fun park and this fits the brief!
https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/netherlands/north-brabant/terspegelt-campsite

That’s our favourite (I’m Dutch) and we stay there when we visit my family. Efteling is amazing! My ds13 and ds7 both have great times there!

Hi @RhubarbFairy,

I realise this thread is a bit old now, but we’re looking at booking LCdVP for this summer and had a bit of a random question! Online it says the pool area is speedos only rather than swim shorts for men / boys - do you know if this is true? We’re travelling with three grumpy pre teens who are not on board with this at all so I just wanted to check before we book if we’d get away with shorts?
thank you!!!

@Hungrytraveller we went to LCdVP last summer. DH took close fitting trunks but they didn’t seem that bothered so then he just used his regular uk style swim shorts.

@OperationalSupport Amazing thank you! They'll be relieved (as will the dads!)