France with 3 kids (family of 5)

[lafranceestbelle]

Hello,

I've been to a few French cities as a solo traveller. I now have 3 kids with the eldest being 7.

We've previously done package holidays in Spain (pool,sea, evening entertainment) for the convenience of not having to food shop but I'd like to try something new.

I'm open to eurocamp style/renting a house.

What's been your favourite holidays to France with 3 young children? Any tips/things to avoid, all welcome.

Merci.

https://loire-gites.com/

Two we’ve stayed at which were lovely.

@Riverlee thank you, will look!

I spent last night obsessively looking at gîtes and then had a look at some sandaya/yelloh village and can't decide!

At the big camping ones I feel like it could get very chaotic with the kids potentially not agreeing on what we're doing/trying to keep track of them.

I was wondering with gîtes how much you see the owner etc? Like if their house is right next door I'd be a bit on edge that we might be too noisy etc.

The Dolphin gites were a small collection of cottages with a field and pool adjacent to it . The owners had a ‘welcome drinks’ for everyone and then I don’t recall we saw them, or maybe in passing.

The Chant D’ouseaux was a camping site with some cottages. The owners were lovely, an English couple. They held a couple of events which you could attend if you wanted to -pizza night etc. but you could be independent as well. It was a lovely place to stay and we have fond memories of it.

Basically gites are just ‘country cottages’ or ‘air bnbs’.

@Riverlee thanks! They both look lovely. Ah, decisions!

I've hired a number of houses in France over the years, and I haven't met the owners more than once. Usually they just send instructions for how to get in and the lock up procedure. The one owner I did meet who lived close to the house we rented, we also ended up meeting her adult children who were about the same age as us and we are now rather good friends with some of them and try to meet up every year when we are in France.

We've booked a French eurocamps in August and I'm now kicking myself that it starts on a Black Saturday. It looks like we will travel early in the morning and try to avoid the hotspots. (At lease we skipped the Olympics)

OP, narrow it down to three favourites and check the online reviews. Mine are a bit older, so we're happy to embrace the chaos of the larger campsites. The kids clubs can be brilliant for younger kids and there's quieter parcs for toddlers.

Where are you going @TheABC? It’s generally just the autoroutes that are chocka on black days - travel on the N roads instead and you’ll often sail through. I once mapped a route back on N roads from the Vendée on a black Saturday and we hardly saw any traffic (as much as they like travelling on the same day, the French also like travelling on the same roads!) It’s always more scenic as well. It won’t always save you time, but it’s much less stressful.

Dover to Berney Riviere. It looked like a straight route. 🙀

As well as gîtes de France there's a site www.amivac.com which is often cheaper.

We go to the southern French alps frequently. Kids love it… lakes to swim in and lots of fun activities et Aqua Parks, Go Ape etc. ski resorts are very different in the summer, but recommend you stay in the valley not up in a ski place.

Look on here for the Brittany Ferries codes. I have one but I have shared it the full amount of times.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/4986009-brittany-ferries-code?reply=134855057

Apologies for jumping on your thread OP, but I’m also trying to book my first family holiday in France this year and looking for tips!
Ive had a look on Airbnb, VrBO and Gîtes de France but all the different options are confusing!

For instance, some say end of stay cleaning is not included or optional, so does that mean I need to fully clean the house (as in cleaning the kitchen and bathroom as well as wiping down and sweeping/vacuuming which is all I do in UK holiday lets? I don’t fancy this at the end of my holiday, but I also don’t want to have a massive bill for not doing a full clean!

Just on gites / air bnbs etc most of them do not have fenced pools in France. I am admittedly anxious but I wouldn't have done that type of holiday wit non swimmers.

Actually apologies, I may be out date with that!

@Radiatorvalves I actually worked in one for a summer and I should consider it as an option, more travel though! I thought I'd stick as close to ports as possible for first go.

@idontlikealdi I did notice this actually and it would worry me. But so does trying to keep track of 3 in a bigger pool with lots of other children around.

@edwardcullensotherwoman yeah some have cleaning fees listed and some are all inclusive!

While they don't have to have a fence, they do have to have a decent security standard. If there isn't a fence, there should be an alarm, a safety cover or a shelter that prevents children from falling in. The penalty is €45,000 and there are minimum standards for all these things.

I don't think you'll have any problem with that journey - the worst jams tend to be further south and going south out of Paris or around the rocade de Rennes. You can breath easy!

@BonjourCrisette that's good to know!

Right, after questioning whether to get a gîte or just do a eurocamp style holiday, I've settled on a gîte. What I can't decide now is whether to go for a shared pool or private!

Also going for a ferry crossing from Plymouth. Either to Roscoff or St Malo depending on which gîte I settle on...

Our best family holidays when the children were young were definitely eurocamp style. The children loved the freedom, the play areas and pools. They made friends of all nationalities. I can't emphasise enough how brilliant they are.
We have been all over France and tended to stay in ones with decent pool areas but also a lake on site for swimming, inflatables nd boats of some sort.
Usually we get the ferry and stops over on northern France then head further down. Combining a theme park is always a popular option !

@NCTDN oh don't change my mind again! From what age did you do eurocamp? Recommend any sites?

We went from children being toddlers up until GCSE age.
They're used to be a thread on here just for camping which was great and everybody raced about Les Valades in the Dordogne. I think there were about five mnetters there when we went but it was great ! That was the smallest site we've ever been to.
My children would say that was one of the best ever holidays. Another they would day was a sandaya site in the auvergne region of France. It was lovely being not in the tourist hotspot. Even though we were miles from the beach for both of them, the lake meant we had the best of both worlds.
I'll try and find links for them.

I can't find the official website for this one

www.eurocampings.co.uk/france/aquitaine/dordogne/coux-et-bigaroque/camping-les-valades-109329/

@NCTDN thank you so much! I think that's what I'm looking for - somewhere that isn't too big and too much!