Holidays near Nantes/La Rochelle with children 3-6

[123Outnumbered]

Planning on flying into Nantes or La Rochelle for a long weekend with our 2 young children, the last weekend of June. We will hire a car. Initially I’d thought of the Ile de Re but I imagine there are plenty of other, less well known, lovely coastal places.

We would like to stay in a self catered house/apartment, children enjoy the beach. I enjoy small, pretty villages with nice places for lunch. Would be fun to cycle, but only on car free cycle paths.

Any suggestions?

You are actually describing the Ile de Re.

Royan is amazing with that age.

Ile d’yeu is perfect but you will need to stay on the island. It is like a quieter Ile de Re

We had a lovely holiday in the area with children that age. The beach and village at Batz sur mer are pretty, and easy. Le Croisic is worth a little trip and certainly has cafes and beach shops etc. We stayed self catering in Guerande and it was all very Breton and low key. Have fun!

Yes, just wondering if there are any other places worth exploring. Maybe that we do go to the Ile De re

Thanks for that. It looks beautiful. Will have to see whether ferry times coincide with the flight times since we’re only going for a few days, want to make the most of it. Thanks for the suggestion- looks great

Thanks. It looks nice but probably too much of a big busy town- think we’re after somewhere a bit quieter

Can't imagine being near the Ile de Re and not going as I love it so much! If a flight to Bordeaux is an option then Ile d'Oleron is very nice. Ile d'Yeu is also nice but I prefer Ile de Re overall as I thought Yeu was a bit too quiet.

But, as I say, I am totally in love with Ile de Re as I spent 7 summers there as a teen and now visit with my own family and for me it is the perfect stereotypical French holiday!

I know the area quite well and if you are only going for a long weekend I would do Ile de Re and La Rochelle itself. Both are lovely.

This area is also great. I would add Piriac-sur-Mer which is a bit further round the coast.

We did exactly this with DC the same age and went to Oleron. Not as chichi full of twats as Re - car free cycle paths galore and seafood to die for! Many years later my DC still remember the weeny crabs inside the cooked mussels 😊

We drove and stayed in a cottage.

Thanks so much. Just looked up flights to Bordeaux- they days actually suit us better so this could be a good option. Do you know the Ile d'Oleron well? Any top tips?

Sounds like I should keep Ile de Re in the running- any advice for going there with young children?

Thanks so much for your really helpful post

Carnac area in South Brittany is lovely. Lovely beach at St Columban.

Thanks. Is it better for cycling for young children than Ile de Re?
Any suggestions on where to start my search in terms of location- nice beaches and villages?

Also Noirmoutier.

There’s a great Canvas site in Carnac set in a pine forest. Great with our chn . Zip lines and great pools. Not sure what accommodation you’re after but they had all sorts.

https://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/campsites/france/brittany/la-grande-metairie-campsite

Ile de Re is much quainter than Ile d'Oleron - lots of beautiful villages etc. We personally thought Ile d'Oleron was a bit boring (only visited a couple of short trips so havent seen it all), but it did look easy and safe for cycling. Be careful of beaches there - very strong currents.