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.

We’ve done sandaya, yelloh and huttopia. All great, just chose a location further back from the entertainment for a quieter evening. If you have more than a week personally I’d do some time in the camping places as they really are great for the kids, they have a blast and consequently you can relax a bit and then some time a bit quieter in a gite where you slow down a bit and explore around.

Plymouth to roscoff. 22:00 - 06:00 ish. Shouldn't need to eat I suppose.

It's quite a big supermarket shop for family of 5. I suppose mainly we will want fresh fruit to snack on and drinks. Hopefully will eat out!

Camping la Sirene

@Dayfurrrrit I didn't pay extra to choose location. We'll also be arriving super early so need to kill a few hours before check-in. I emailed asking about early check-in which I'd happily pay for but they basically said book another night! Rather not for sake of a few hours.

have just seen you’ve booked. Have a great time, come back and let us know what it was like! My kids still talk about our sandaya stay last year, and are very excited to go back!

ive turned up hours early before and if the place is ready theyve given it to me, or they’ve given us the wrist bands to get in and you can just head to the pool. Although this isn’t the same sandaya but it’s worth going when you arrive to try. Maybe keep the swim stuff easily accessible.

Just to say, 15th August is a Bank Holiday in France and everything will be closed e.g. car hire, lots of public transport, boulangeries, supermarkets, shops, swimming pools, museums, tourist offices, non urgent pharmacies, plus many restaurants and bars. So I wouldn't arrive late on the 14th or on the 15th as it could be tricky to get supplies, etc.

Remember it's the Olympic Games and Paralympics this summer too.

@Jeannne92 excellent points!!

Luckily not going in Aug, phew!

@Dayfurrrrit thanks will try it! They could have told me that in an email but I suppose they don't want to encourage early arrivals.

Honestly you will have a blast regardless! The worst part will be the kids going home singing the ‘chocolata’ song and you won’t be able to get it out of your head.

Anyone know whether the on-site shops in Sandaya are generally open on a Sunday? I know the local supermarket is open until 12 but we may not have a fridge for a few hours and we arrive on a Sunday!

Perfect ferry timing - no need to eat on board! Nothing nicer than getting on board, snuggling down then waking up at your destination.

French campsites are great with small kids

I’d get the overnight Portsmouth to Saint Malo ferry (fun!) then look at the campsites on the south side of Britanny near Carnac so within 2 hour drive

Yelloh Village chain are good

Why don’t you take a cold box with some essentials. Some french supermarkets will be open on a Sunday morning but it might be hit and miss. We normally take a chilled pint of milk, EG teabags and picnic stuff for the journey. Maybe marmite or kids favourites. Suggest early breakfast day f arrival in a cafe and get croissants etc from a boulangerie.

have fun!

Oh sorry you’ve booked sounds ace!

Thanks to Brexit it is now illegal to take any dairy, meat or fresh fruit and veg into the EU.

A minor point, but if it's rural you should only use two ply loo roll! It's cheap in France as well.

We did Gites de France in Brittany getting the car ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff for a few years when the children were little.

@snoopyfanaccountant yes that’s true. Utterly painful. I have to say that despite initial concerns, we’ve not been checked or challenged. I didn’t take a turkey over at Christmas (risk of expensive confiscation) but do risk a pint of milk and cheese/ham sandwiches to munch in the small hours. We take Chunnel/ferry about 5x a year for context.

@Radiatorvalves we've got quite a long trip as doing Plymouth to Roscoff, not sure anything would stay cold for that long anyway!

Many supermarkets open til 12 on Sundays, take a cool box maybe. Hours are usually accurate on the internet. Camp shops may be open Sunday evening

Usually the campsite shops are open every day, though some close for a few hours in the middle of the day. Is there a Sandaya app? Usually you can look up all those kind of details for your campsite on the app (we usually use Yelloh).

@HiGunny why didn't I think of downloading the app?!
Thank you!!

Happy memories of the chocolata song 😆

If your kids are fussy about what they drink take the squash they like. It's the only thing we ever had issues with.
"Camp chicken" was always a favourite meal. Pre cooked chicken from the supermarket and a bowl of chips from the on site takeaway. Serve with salad and carrottes rappées for an easy meal.