Finding the perfect French Campsite in a sea of campsites

[Flappergirl86]

Hi everyone.
So I grew up only ever holidaying in a tent in Wales in the pouring rain but would like to take the family to one of those holiday camps you get in France. It would be our second holiday abroad, the first was with two other families in a big shared house with its own pool so there was a lot of people around to share childcare. This time it would be me, my partner, and our 2 kids aged 7 & 4.
An ideal holiday would:

Be in a caravan or cabin, or enormous tent
Have a pool or lake to swim in on site
Have a kids club where we could put the kids and enjoy some time to ourselves for a day or two
Be near enough 'other stuff' so we didn't have to spend the whole time on site
Be a nice place to wind down with a glass of wine and watch the sun set.
Be £1500 or less including travel from Yorkshire (we can hire a vehicle also).

Is this a reasonable vision? Does such a place exist? Would really appreciate any recommendations.

Have a look at Brittany Ferries holidays as ferry is more or less included. For example there is one in Normandy so a short drive from the port (to save on petrol) called Domaine des Ormes) which has indoor and outdoor pools. Have a look at Sandaya and Canvas sites too. And follow them plus Eurocamp on Instagram for ideas.

One I remember in France that has a lake for swimming is Les Viviers but it’s down past Bordeaux so a lot further to drive.

Actually Chateaux des Eaux was the one I was thinking of in Normandy but Domaine des Ormes also looks good!

We’ve found Yelloh Villages and Sunelia really good for French campsites. They are also a lot cheaper than Eurocamp with much nicer accommodation.

That said I think you’d struggle to find anything for a week in the school holidays for under £1500 all in, with the travel costs being the main issue.

Good recommendations above but just to echo that I don’t think you’ll manage £1500 all in during the school holidays unless you go at the very very end of August perhaps tipping into September as the French schools are back by then and the prices drop off a bit. Best way to save money is to take your own tent and book with the campsite directly instead of via Eurocamp etc. We have done that this year with Chateaux des Eaux and we’re paying about 35Euro a night. Ferry was approx. £450 return. So well under £1k before spending money added.

My favorite campsite in France ( and we have been to quite a few) is Camping Panorama near Archachon. It's situated at the end of the Dune Du Pyla, so direct access to the beach. Been 13 wonderful times . It was effected by the fires two years ago but from what I see the rebuilding is nearly complete and they are open. Definitely worth a visit as so much to do in the area or do nothing 😎

Chateaux des eaux may be just about affordable in the last week of August but you may have to go on tunnel and drive (ferry to Cherbourg is more expensive (>£500). Any other week in summer hols just the accommodation will be at your budget or above. They only have caravans/lodges. The bar is a lovely place for a sunset drink; cafe lovely and live bands twice a week in summer, indoor pool complex is also great.

generally the further south and outside of France you go the more resort like the campsites are. There are some brilliant ones in Spain and Italy but you need to fly or have you own caravan/motorhome really.

Ferry to Caen from Portsmouth is pretty affordable and not far to CdE. And yes the availability is now limited but if you bring your own tent then it’s much more flexible.

Mmm I was with you until I saw your budget I'm afraid as school holidays are expensive.

Play around with different ferry crossing first - there's some less well known ones that can be good eg Newhaven to Dieppe gets your further south.

Then you'll know what you've got left for campsite - use the Eurocamp site to search / as a guide but compare prices and maybe book direct with the campsite

We've used Huttopia, Canvas, Yelloh & Marvilla in the past as they're so much cheaper than Eurocamp but this year we've got a 3 bed caravan in the Dordogne (St Avit de Loisirs de Bugue) with Eurocamp for £900.
Last year we did Le Pin Parasol in August & that was a 2 bed with Yelloh for £895. Huttopia was great value the year before & we had 6 days in a trapper tent with a loo & shower in Holland for £540!

All of the above was excluding travel & the Huttopia one only had a pool, no slide.

Domaine de la Breche near Saumur in the Loire Valley is lovely. It's a Marvilla site.
The cheapest way to cross to France is Dover to Calais but of course means you have further to drive.

How long do you want to go for? Assuming one week, if you go the last week in August you can have a mobile home at our favorite site in Brittany. A 2 bedroom one is €677 for the week.
The site is right by a beautiful beach, very family friendly, nice restaurant/boulangerie, 20 mins walk along the coast path to La Trinitie sur Mer (harbour, yachts, ect).

Sail Brittany Ferries to Roscoff or St Malo (overnight is easiest) then it's not too far to drive the next day.
We've been there lots of times😁

https://en.campingdelabaie.com/?ga=2.218321049.1431915977.1717946413-386475915.1717946413&&gl=1vj4hmiigaaMzg2NDc1OTE1LjE3MTc5NDY0MTM.M.ga8SZZEF067D*MTcxNzk0NjQxMy4xLjEuMTcxNzk0Njk4OC4wLjAuMA..

Thanks so much for all the replies and recommendations. The only time we're able to go is 20-27 July this year (peak of the expensive season) but defo adding these to a portfolio for next year if we can't find something in our budget for this one. Cheers ladies!! X

@Flappergirl86 french campsites become cheaper and cheaper after the 15th August.
Depending on kids term and inset days, it's worth looking at the very end of August / first few days in sept for next year.

I can't remember the name of the site but it was a Eurocamp one in the Vendee area. Really lovely site with a beautiful beach just through a gate. There was a market town just a shirt drive away which was lovely too.

It was the Sol A Gogo that we went to

We tend to use Les castels camping, flower camping, and ciela village (although these tend to be further south) which have a range of big and small sites. We do always take our tent so it's cheaper and I haven't looked at prices for accomodation recently. Also does it have to be France? Have you considered using the hull-rotterdam route? We're in the north and it's a lot more convenient than driving to the south coast. The Dutch love holiday parks and you're within easy driving distance to Germany and Belgium as well. Hull-rotterdam crossing and camping (albeit in our own tent) is costing us just under £1500 for a fortnight abroad this summer.

That is pretty much one of the most expensive weeks to go! Plus the Olympics are on this summer so travel to France is much pricier this year.

Maybe have a look at some of the inland campsites and some of the quieter ones without huge waterslides etc. I generally find sites near the beach and further south more expensive.

I read about La Garangeoire in the Vendee on here a few years ago and we had about 3 lovely holidays there, it’s a fantastic site with everything you described.
you can book with eurocamp and get the eurocamp kids clubs or they do their own - we always booked direct