Ile de Re or Oleron or.... help!!

[Whatashiteshow]

Help! I have five nights to fill on our road trip of France and I'm stuck. Usually I love this job but for some reason France isn't exciting me at all and I can't work out why but I have found a couple of nice places to stay for the first bit but have run firmly out of ideas now.

DH fancies the Ile de Re but I'm worried it's going to be too touristy and am wondering whether Oleron might be better, or somewhere on the mainland as it doesn't have to be coastal. Our onward stay is around 3.5 hrs east to give an idea of area and we'll be driving from the ferry so not too much farther south ideally!

We like small boutiquey places - pool not essential although with two teens in tow might be useful although they're more up for walking, exploring and playing sport than sunbathing / beach / swimming, and def no 'teen clubs' or some such!

I'd like somewhere pretty! I've looked at hotels, gites and Glamping and think at the moment Le Phare or Cornmoran are my first choices but really would love some suggestions from people who know the area better than me.

We're going outside of UK school hols in the beginning of July so hoping not to overrun then. I have a decent budget! Can anyone help with suggestions? Or reviews of the above campsites? Or suggestions where to go / what to do? I am happy to be moved off off the islands if there is something better and more exciting out there!

Re and Oleron are nice for bike rides, beaches and pretty little towns with nice (pricey) restaurants, but not a whole lot of exploring to do. Royan area on the mainland is not as pretty but has more in the way of attractions to see and do, plus it’s a lot easier to access other areas of the mainland - traffic to get over the bridge to Re can be awful. Also cheaper than the islands I reckon.

La Rochelle is lovely and could be visited from either, or stay there (but 5 nights is too much I’d say).

If your journey takes you near Puy du Fou I would highly recommend!

Happy to help with Re as we’ve been going for quite a few years (August, with kids)
You will be fine getting over the bridge in early July, the days to avoid for traffic are Saturdays late July and August.
The prettiest towns by far are St Martin and La Flotte, but Ars en Re is also lovely (where your potential campsites are). They are all on the north side so rockier shores there. The sandy beaches are on the south coast, but nowhere is more than a couple of miles and you can cycle everywhere (mostly off the road).

Ah sorry missed early July! Agree traffic less of a problem then.

Thanks everyone - all really helpful!

We did La Rochelle last year for four nights. It is beautiful. We did two days trips to il de ray. It is lovely too. I understand most accommodation on the islands is by the week so you might struggle to get a shorter booking. Don’t miss the aquarium which is fantastic

Sorry to hijack this thread! But would really love to get some intel on Re as I am in the process of booking 8 or so days to France at the start of July with our three kids (4, 7 and 9). So far my plan is as follows -

Sat 4th July
Morning Dover - Calais Ferry
Calais - Angers - 5hrs 15 mins - Stop en route for lunch, services are meant to be fab and have playgrounds and good food?
Stay overnight in Angers

Sun 5th July
Angers - Puy du Fou - 1hrs 10min

Full Day at Puy du Fou theme park - www.puydufou.com
Stay overnight at Puy du Fou

Mon 6th July - Thurs 9th July
Morning at Puy du Fou
Puy du Fou - Ile de Re - 1hr 50 mins
Staying 3 x nights at - Huttopia Chardons Blue *But I have been reading tripadvisor reviews and not sure now about this campsite (apparently quite tired and chalets are small) and wondering if you have any better recommendations on family glamping, ideally with a pool and near the beach?? Also just been looking into either La Rochelle or d'Oléron as a possible first stop instead for a few nights, and then onto Re, any reccos?

Thurs 9th July - Sun 12th July
Check out of Huttopia Chardons Blue - La Phare - 35 mins
Staying 3 x nights at - https://www.lephare-iledere.com/en

Sun 12th July
Depart La Phare - Calais 7hrs 20 mins - stop ifor lunch and activity somewhere around Le Mans?? *Is this drive too much with small kids, should we overnight on the way back to Calais?
PM Calais - Dover

We could also add a few extra days on to this trip if the above sounds too tight?

Would love any reccos on places to visit on Re, best beaches, restaurants, things to see with kids etc.

Thank you so so much!

With teens, what about Nantes? Cool, buzzy city with an amazing attraction (les machines de l'Ile) that even teens would like. I didn't find driving to our accommodation on the edge of the centre particularly bad, and it was quite easy to find on street parking where we were.

Also, we've had an overnight in Saintes, which I would wholeheartedly recommend, but appreciate it's a bit further south.

@thirdincoming
your trip sounds great!
we have done very similar over the years.
a. Pack with care for Puy du Fou. Look at any of the many threads on Mn about water, snacks, sunhats as there is no shade etc. Buggy for the youngest perhaps. It’s amazing though.

b. I liked Huttopia Chardons Bleus more than the reviews suggested. Give it a go. Pool gets crazy in the afternoon but it is lovely generally with younger children and it is right on the off-road sections of the bike trails. Quiet at night too.
c. Your journey back to Calais is probably too long. It can take an hour in summer just to get from Le Phare to the bridge to leave. So you would only be in La Rochelle mid/late morning assuming you don’t leave crack of dawn (hardly relaxing). I would take your time and stay halfway again with your age of kids.
enjoy!

Thank you so much for your reply, super helpful!

Will def look into Puy tips and tricks, and have been thinking maybe we don't stay on site there on the Sunday evening as might be a bit too much?! Although have heard the evening 'show' is not to be missed - might look for an airbnb off site, but maybe I am overcomplicating it and kids would love being fully immersed in the madness of it all!!

That's really great to know re. Huttopia, some of the reviews said that the main road near the pool is very noisy? and generally cabins are tired. But great to hear your intel. I was thinking maybe we just do Le Phare for 5 x nights, rather than chopping and changing, and then give ourselves Saturday night somewhere en route back home. Any recommendations on where to stay on the way back to Calais, maybe with a fun activity for the children?

Also, have heard that going Portsmouth to Saint-Malo on the ferry is better than going Le Shuttle? We are Suffolk based so presumed Folkestone was a better route for us, but looking, Portsmouth would only be an extra 35 mins drive... what do you recommend?

Thank you again!

Saintes is stunning, you could do 2 days there easily.

Hi, yes saint malo is definitely a much quicker drive than Calais. I travel over there a lot and either fly into La Rochelle or ferry to Caen or Saint Malo.

its a super part of the world and won’t be too crowded at that time, come the end of July/August the island traffic is insane! Especially going on and off the bridge.

I’d agree with all of this. Parents used to have holiday home there. In a place called Jonzac which is good for kids unsure about for teens. Has an aqua park, you can horse ride, kayak, cycle there. Basically a small town. There’s a comic strip museum in Angouleme and Bordeaux nearby which is nice. We only went to Ile de Re and Oleron a few times and not in height of summer as gets busy. Forget SW France for cheese places btw, we didn’t find any! Pinot tours are fun (local SW liqueur/tipple). Cognac is also pretty but further down.

We used to stay in Bayeux overnight which is near Caen or St Malo rather than drive straight down which friends did. Calais way too far.

St Malo is indeed better than le shuttle ime.

Re: Huttopia. We were on the cycle path side of the site so can’t comment on road noise. The road is fairly fast eg 50mph but didn’t affect us at all. You can pick your pitch location for a large fee, but worth it for peace of mind maybe.

re: Le Phare. With your age of children I would check whether it has a pool? Much handier than trying to swim at some of the beaches affected by tides (although they are lovely too). Otherwise yes, 5 nights in once place is far more relaxing as ppl have said.

we don’t use Calais so can’t comment on stops I’m afraid.

Don’t forget Son et Lumiere shows. They’re on in summer. Bastille day (14th July) has fireworks and often a ticketed food event or restaurants open. The market in Jonzac (so prob others do this) is open in summer evenings, you can buy anything from frites to crepes plus market food and there’s music.

We love Ile de Re. Stayed in a small hotel on the front of St Martin. Hotel le Galion. St Martin was on of the main ports for sending criminals out to the penalty colonies, and there is a small harbour with graffiti carved by the victims before going. They also have lovely oyster bars that you can ride or walk to, very reasonably priced, and to sit in the sun with a plate of oysters and prawns, and a glass of rose, is a lasting memory. There were some expensive restaurants but also plenty of cheaper eats places too. Oddly, petrol was cheaper on the island than on the mainland when we were there. Easy to visit La Rochelle. But the tariff to cross the bridge goes up in peak months.

@thirdincoming agree with pp about hats and sun cream I would also buy the extra fast pass thing.

It's utterly wonderful and we loved staying on site !

Nantes was also fabulous but I also wanted to see la Rochelle and didn't have time