Eurocamp Easter Holiday Northern France - I need your advice!

[Oxfordgirl24]

My Husband, myself and two children (M3, F10 months) are thinking of booking a Eurocamp holiday this easter (dates would be 12-19 April approximately). We've never been to a Eurocamp so looking for any tips, advice or thoughts.

We are thinking of going to Northern France as we don't want to drive too far with a 10 month old and taking the Ferry.

Some of our shortlisted locations include:

Pommeraie de l'Océan
Saint Jacques
Le Ty Nadan
Le Domaine de Ker Ys

Anything we need to know about going to Eurocamps in general? We usually stay in an air b n b when we go abroad so wanted to try something a little more rustic.

Thank you so much for any advice as I keep staring at the choices and they're melding into one giant blur in my mind.

Hi, funnily enough we were talking about Ty Nadan recently. We went about 17 years ago!
Had a wonderful time there with three young children. I think there was an indoor swimming pool which was really helpful (went in May). Also I recall some offsite activities like quad biking and horse riding, which were fun.
We had some nice days out in the area. Brittany is lovely with young children.

Should add - which port are you using? I think we dove from Calais and stopped overnight in Normandy, on another campsite.
We didn't book with Euro Camp, (I think it was Canvas holidays), but I remember that the campsite had their own chalets to rent. We had lots of fun on our mobile home holidays when the kids were young.

@Pusspot What a wonderful family memory. Also great to hear that you enjoyed Ty Nadan - that's really reassuring because I was a bit apprehensive about book a week away with a baby and a toddler. The fact that there's an indoor pool will be fantastic to keep them busy.

We've never been to Brittany before so definitely appreciate the positive feedback from you on this area :)

We are just looking into which port to use. Google seems to be recommending going from Portsmouth to ?Ouistreham as the shortest route. Not sure if this is the best route - the other option it is suggesting is to go via Plymouth (and taking the Ferry from there) but I think the roads will be slower going that way!

@Oxfordgirl24 that's Caan ferry port. It's a good place to travel into Brittany. Cherbourg is another one, but it takes ages to drive down the peninsula. I'm guessing the indoor pool is still there- I don't want to mislead you after 17 years!

@Oxfordgirl24 I would avoid the Plymouth crossings, unless you live close by. Personally I'd rather have a shorter ferry journey and a longer drive in France. The roads are usually good over there.

With eurocamp you need to remember to add bedding to your order or bring your own.

In France you also need to check the pool policy to see if trunks are allowed or if DH/DS will need speedo style.

Depending on budget, would you consider a center parcs? They are much cheaper in Europe, and I would think the weather in Northern France in Easter might be a bit chilly, so the enormous warm pools in a center parcs might be warmer! They normally have excellent (free) soft plays as well.

I would avoid Eurocamp and find a Yelloh campsite and book direct.

From experience I can recommend the yelloh campsite in Luc sur Mer which is a gorgeous town with lots to do in the surrounding area. We spent a week and took a train to Paris, visited Caen, Mont St Michel, Sainte-Mere-Eglise and hired bikes.. there was a pizza truck one evening in the village and a burger one another day.

France is BIG. You are saying you don't want to drive too far - how do you define too far? Driving on French motorways is 100x easier and faster than driving in the UK.

We went to Ty Nadan a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it. The inside pool is really good, and all the slides are fab.

The only reason we are not going back is that the ferries are so expensive we use the tunnel and Ty Nadan is a very long way from Calais!

You can book Ty Nadan direct btw, or via Tohapi - might be worth comparing prices with Eurocamp.

By all means research the eurocamp website but in most cases you’ll save money by booking direct and might get a nicer cabin for the money

in recommend looking at Yelloh Village too. They are all independently operated but the standard is high in our experience

Thank you all for such amazing advice. I knew I could count on mumsnet to come to the rescue. To answer a few questions.

we would ideally like to do the drive in one day. Leave our house in oxford at 6:30 am for so and be therr by early evening so about 10 hours max driving (11 at a push). Really great to know that the French motorways are better than uk. My husband has driven in France but not for a number of years.

the suggestion to look at Yelloh villages as well is great - they look fantastic too. The reason we were thinking of using euro camp is I have a bunch of expiring Tesco club card vouchers to use up and euro camps accept them ! (2 to 1)

ferries are expensive! For our April dates they are about £360 or so. However, the convenience of having our car and we have such small children so flying is a hassle. We did Spain last summer with them and had to haul so much stuff, rent a car, rent car seats etc etc.

thank you to everyone for specific camp site recommendations. I will be checking them out tonight if I ever wrangle my children to bed. 😂

ps really appreciate all the little tips - like bring own bedding and bring speedos style trunks 😂 my Canadian husband will not be thrilled at this hahhahaha. North American are not so open to that style as our progressive European selves. 😜

Speedo style budgie-smugglers are not needed. Close-fitting trunks or jammers will be fine: it's baggy swim shorts that generally need to be avoided.

I agree that the ferries are expensive, if you book your crossing and accommodation with Brittany Ferries you receive a good discount. They have lots of parks to choose from, including Yelloh Parks. The downside is that you have to book over the telephone.

Ty Nadan has a water slide inside, and a huge pool. We were there years ago in may and it rained lots, the pool was a godsend for the kids. Outside pools great too but mine spent hours playing inside. We always get a can with a proper covered deck, as even if raining it is usually warm enough to sit outside. Enjoy!! It's a lovely site!!

Just be prepared Eurocamp at Easter is very out of season, a lot of what you seen on website and brochures wont be open, it should be made clear what is and isnt open out of peak season, but be prepared for a lot of places in local area to not be open either. Definitely choose a site which has plenty to do in bad weather. Des Ormes has good indoor pool complex

Is a good point. Not eurocamp but we went to a campsite in the alps in May and it was very off season-y. Around Easter possibly a bit busier but I’d def not expect warm pools.

I go from Plymouth using Brittany Ferries. You get a cabin to sleep in overnight and a decent evening meal and a breakfast. Brittany is lovely in the spring time. It's generally a few degrees warmer than the UK. I have no idea how close you are to Morlaix but there is a fabulous swimming pool complex about 2 miles from there with a lained swim pool for serious swimmers, a large warm fun pool with jacuzzi and basket ball hoop and little slide into the pool and a long twisty water shoot you have to go up lots of steps to get to the top. There is also a largish wading pool with kids water toys like boats, the float suit things that go around young DC, various noodle floats, other shaped floats too. It's shallow enough for kids to sit in at one end. Outside they have a water garden with large water wheels you can fill up then watch them go around, giant flower pots that once full spin upside down as Nd water comes out, showers etc. it is very cheap to go in about €6 for adults and €3 for kids. Morlaix has a train station and a large aqueduct you can climb the steps to and go down the other side and a great little market twice a week.

Where did you end up going, OP? We are staying at Saint Jacques this year after spending last at Domaine des Ormes — Saint Jacques is awful (truly!!!) but we have our eye on Ty Nadan or Orangerie de Lanniron for next May. We love Brittany!

@nonmerci99 we went to ty nadan and absolutely loved it. Thank you to all that suggested it. You must have a car and it is a bit off the beaten path but really tranquil forest location. I must say we went during Easter holiday and almost had the place to ourselves. This. Year we went to grand Métairie - an hour east of ty nadan and it may have even been even better. We sprung for the cabin with our own hot tub and was worth every single penny. Have a lovey trip and please update us here where you end up going. X