Shocked that Eurocamp coming out same price as All Inclusive?!

[Orangeinmybluelightcup]

I have been looking into going somewhere in Europe with DH and x2 primary aged kids next summer. I have always fancied Eurocamp. But the prices when you add it all up are a shock!

The cheapest looks like ferry and drive to Brittany, which adds up to £2000 for the most basic accommodation but goes higher as soon as you want a bit more. Anywhere further south (hoping for some sun) it easily comes to £3500, for accommodation with AC, flights and car hire. And then food is on top of that.

It just seems a bit unreasonable when £3500 would get us something all inclusive e.g. TUI / Jet2... Just a bit surprised as I would have expected Eurocamp to be cheaper as more basic.

I may well do it anyway, as I am not keen on being in a high rise hotel and don't want to be contained in a resort. I'd like to stay somewhere greener and see the local area. But it's a lot of money for a caravan hol...

For those who take the ferry - how do you all find driving on the right in a left hand drive?

I've driven on the right plenty of times, but I've always hired cars and my head easily adapts to it being on the other side because I'm sat on the other side of the car - so drivers seat is still next to the central reservation etc.

I feel like I wouldn't be able to adjust in this way if I was in my own car - the idea terrifies me!

Was this some sort of luxury yacht?!

I go to France regularly, including during the summer holidays, and have never paid anything like this for the ferry. That’s insanity.

Book it separately, look and P&O Ferry crossings from Dover (to Calais and then drive down), they run almost every hour and the basic/value booking starts at about £34 each way.

@Orangeinmybluelightcup

i would get your own kit and go camping in France!

It was Brittany ferry, Portsmouth to St Malo overnight with a 4 berth cabin. I randomly picked a Saturday. So can play around with things. I'm not set on where we're going yet or when.

Brittany Ferries are super expensive because the crossings are so much longer than Dover to Calais. We tow a trailer tent and our return crossings this year were almost £1000 (we also do one way overnight with a cabin). We always take them because we holiday mostly on the West Coast and it would be such a long drive. Also because we are camping we don't pay much in accommodation costs.

Generally it would be quite a bit cheaper to go Dover to Calais and drive but there will be fuel costs and likely stopover costs too

The May half term is super good value with Eurocamp type places because much of Europe is not on holiday then. If you go south you can get as good weather then as during the summer 6 week holiday. Sites are much less busy too.

We're on a Castel site at the moment and there's an area that's branded Eurocamp but the rest is independent. It's great and may work out a bit cheaper. Campsites in France in the summer are all pretty expensive though. Looking at the people around us I think it's a lifestyle choice rather than an economic one.

<looks out at pouring rain and starts googling hotels!>

I agree it's a lot of money, but if this summer was anything to go by, Brittany and the north west generally was much nicer than the south. Still hot but not suffocating. DP (French) took his DD to an Eden Villages campsite/ mobile home park in La Palmyre and they loved it (I'm still temping and don't get paid holiday leave so I didn't go). It looks like Haven but cleaner. They split the cost with his DB and family, so if this is an option it would work out cheaper. Plenty of Brits there too, so I assume some English would be spoken.

Eurocamp isn’t good value for money IMO. Also, why do you think AI are all high rise hotels & in remote places. I’ve been to plenty that are neither of those things. You just have to choose carefully.

The tunnel was about £50 this summer. We camped for €35 per night, family of 4 so €240 for the week. The site had a swimming pool and decent facilities. We drove well into France though and it wasn’t a Eurocamp.

I am following this thread with interest!

It's not even the end of August but I'm thinking ahead to next summer already

DH thinks I'm bonkers but I'm fed up of all the bloody dithering, waiting for friends to give their potential dates or make their minds up about coming

We're at a Dutch Eurocamp place this week. £500 cheaper than last week!

It's actually a huge holiday park with a mix of tents, caravans and cabins, and a mix of privately owned caravans/cabins and those let out the the site, and though various holiday companies - Eurocamp, Estivio, Roan and O' Hara. Great holiday, but I'll check out alternative providers next year. I felt that Eurocamp is a bit of a "name" to pay for.

Ouch. It would definitely cost less to do the shorter ferry and drive down, even with petrol and tolls.

If it’s your first time it can take some getting used to, but it’s fine once you’re on the road!

Eurocamp/Canvas etc isn't cheap, as you've found. But it does have a lot to offer and is a world away from caravan park type holodays in the UK. Similarly, Brittany Ferries is one of the more expensive options for travel, particularly the overnight ones with cabins, as you're paying for extra nights' accommodation and a big convenience factor. Tunnel or Dover/Calais is cheaper, but a longer drive once in France to the more scenic/popular bits.
On the upside, you're not stuck in an AI with rubbish food, you can pack the car up and take what you like, and there's no airport stress. You have your own car while there and can explore, and then load it up with wine on the way home.

was this La Croix du Vieux Pont?
I’ve just got back from there - my kids loved the outside ‘beach’ pool so much that we only went into the bigger pool/slides complex bit once but I thought it was nice. It’s obviously a few years old but looked well kept. We didn’t use the kids club so I can’t comment on that.
Our accommodation was very clean, and they were all inside their own little area separated by hedges, and the deck had a gate so very family friendly and felt a bit more secure and private than at other holiday parks I’ve been to.

We're in a mainly Roan campsite in the south of France at the moment and, as a pp said, this week is much cheaper. We have been with Eurocamp before but I prefer our Roan mobile home. With three teenagers (one already 18) it works out a lot cheaper than a hotel. We could not afford 3 bedrooms in a hotel for a start. I don't think there are actually any British mobile homes on our site as everyone speaks to us in Dutch. 😁

I find it’s sometimes cheaper to look at Eurocamp and then book direct with campsites I like the look of. I also like Vacansoleil too as an alternative to Eurocamp.

Cheapest way is Chunnel and drive down. You don’t need to go to the far south to get good weather, from about Loire Valley the weather gets a lot better and more reliably sunny/warm. It’s not a bad drive, I’ve done it from Manchester area many times including a stopover in a budget hotel.

If you don't mind leaving the car at home (or hiring) there are some lovely Eurocamp sites that are easily reached from the airport. Vilanova near Barcelona is brilliant, the weather in May half term is excellent, and it was about £400 for a caravan for the week. If you look at AllCamps it gives you much better deals too, as it shows all the different companies that are based in a particular site. (Lifestyle Holidays is UK based and much cheaper than Eurocamp for instance!) There are a few sites around Perpignan airport too, if you prefer South of France. We love this type of holiday with kids, so much freedom and possibilities to explore the local area etc! (May half term is quiet too, as the rest of Europe doesn't have a school holiday then as far as I can tell!)

As has been said, identify where you would want to book with Eurocamp and then see if you can book directly instead or what other operators are onsite.

We used to go to Duinrell in the Netherlands - booking directly was much cheaper than with Eurocamp, their own accommodation was superior and through memory you got unlimited access to the waterpark whereas it was restricted to 2 hours a day I think with EC.

We also stayed at a place in Lake Garda through Canvas that was cheaper than Eurocamp on the same location- I think that because they're a Scottish company their prices drop at the end of August as the kids are back at school.

I've been looking at Capfun as an alternative to Eurocamp too.... prices look good, large choice of sites, most seem to have water slides and play areas for kids etc and lots of nice semi-rural locations or on lake beaches.
We've picked out so many suitable options we no longer have a short list, and we've already booked Eurocamp for Aug 2024 so I'm sneakily thinking about May half term now!

We went to La Baume in Frejus near Nice years ago and booked a caravan from a different company which was far cheaper than Eurocamp. We flew to nice and hired a car, fabulous holiday.

this week. £500 cheaper than last week!

The Dutch/Germans/Scandinavians mostly go back to school at this point. I did the last 2 weeks of August with Canvas a couple of times and they all packed up and went home on the middle weekend leaving only the Brits and a few Italians. And yes the 2nd week was much cheaper.

Shop around and make your own package. if you see a campsite that suits then book directly with them. Eurotunnel never seems to be less than £120 each direction but that’s for the carload. Any budget hotel chain for a stop over in France will probably cost you less than the longer crossing with cabin.

I’ve only done this type of holiday twice and managed to get some good deals.

Try and travel midweek also - it’s a lot cheaper .