Camping in France....already set up?

[KCSIE]

Kids are asking to go camping. We don't have a tent so looking for somewhere with pre-set up tents. Have settled on France but looking for not too far to drive from a ferry port, and a short ish ferry ride too, from UK. It'll be kids first time on a ferry, first time camping, they are 2 and 4.

It must be family friendly like having a kids play area. Must also have kid friendly swimming!

Am I looking for a unicorn or does a place exist to fit the bill?

Have a look at Yelloh villages. We stay in their wooden lodges, which have kitchen and bathrooms etc, but some have furnished tents. They have splash parks and are great for kids. It’s an easy way to introduce the concept of a campsite without having;g to lug all the equipment etc.

Eurocamp have everything you need and lots of sites all over France/Europe. Sites in Normandy/Brittany are easy to get to and minimal driving. Tents pre-erected with fridges, cooking areas, beds etc. Huge pools, waterslides etc. Some with indoor/outdoor pool areas if the weather isn't great on the odd day! One campsite years ago had a free mini cinema in a converted barn - again, easy entertainment if it rains. also playparks, kids club and just playing with children from neighbouring tents. Great stress-free holidays!

I looked at one near St Malo, does ormes I think it is called. But the long ferry put me off and entirely overnight - a couple of hours on the ferry would be fine. There aren't any eurocamps near or nearish to Calais are there?

https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/france/picardy/la-bien-assise-campsite?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=17989244871&cq_con=143764777190&cq_term=&cq_med=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADrGI_FiWYEytZMM8tABFmtB3QnGF&gclid=Cj0KCQjww-HABhCGARIsALLO6XxsIh9fzOS9zPBpkUky5iP1Ay5Kg7G0PX7alaSxPjix130P18_xcA8aAqzdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Have a look here, it's just outside Calais.

Eurocamp have others around this region but this is the closest to Calais

There are loads of campsites in Northern France.

I'd recommend driving to the Normandy beaches, it's not far round the coast from Calais and they're lovely.

If you Google camping France you'll get loads of results - Yelloh, Eurocamp, Capfun, Tohapi - there are loads to choose from. If you'd rather have a tent as opposed to a mobile home that will narrow the choice a bit, just be careful to read the accommodation description.

There are Eurocamp sites within easy reach of Calais, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg, all of which have much shorter crossing times.

The overnight ferry is the best - my DC love it. It's a lot more expensive though. It's much better to arrive in St Malo for a beach holiday than Calais. If you want to go to Calais then I would drove over to Normandy. The Bayeux area is nice and would be about a 4.5 hour drive from Calais.

The over night ferry is epic!!! Disco for kiddos, bed then wake up in France!

Pre set up tents don’t come in much cheaper than their rental units (like cabins/static caravan type things/chalets) so I would personally go for one of them.
Eurocamp is a flaming rip off. Use their page to find a site you like and then search google for the campsite’s own page. Most sites are independently owned and then rent out a proportion of cabins to the big companies like Eurocamp.

We’ve found Yelloh Village to have better quality cabins and sites, and the price point lower than Eurocamp. There’s a company called Sandaya which I’ve read good things about although never tried them-might be worth a look?

Handy website that we’ve used is www.familycampingeurope.co.uk/camping-holiday-providers/

Huttopia sites are good in France. Should you ever feel up to a longer drive then the one on Beaulieu sur Dordogne is heaven. So quiet but the lodges on site face the river and you have direct access to go swim, we took our paddle board. Also has a pool and activities for the kids.

As others have pointed out, the kids will probably love the overnight ferry. We enjoy it, too, there’s live entertainment, the food is decent enough and the bar prices are probably lower than in UK pubs these days. Then you go to bed and wake up in France! The return journey (daytime) is not as much fun, but there are onboard cinemas and play areas for kids. I usually get stuck into a nice long book.

St Malo is a beautiful city, especially the old town (Intra-Muros). It’s great to wander the streets of the old town on summer nights, there’s usually plenty going on. We have stayed at Camping Des Ormes, it’s a well-equipped site with evening entertainment. On the other hand, there’s a lot be said for the simplicity of doing the quick Shuttle crossing to Calais and finding somewhere nearby. I hope it goes well!

I looked and could only find a handful of Eurocamps with rentals in northern France, the des ormes one being the closest?

This was using the filters on the eurocamps website, what am I missing?

For everyone saying there are loads of Eurocamps in Northern France, where? This map is what I am presented with on Eurocamps when I search.

Kids are 2 and 4, a bit young to make the most of this maybe?

I'm not sure there's loads compared to south or west France but I've posted one just outside Calais further up in the thread . Maybe it's a filter or the dates you have put in.

Can also recommend La Bien Assise as someone has posted above. Near to the channel tunnel or ferry port. Has a pool with a slide, kids play area, bar with nice food and an onsite shop. I've used it regularly for at least 30 years. But there are plenty of campsites in the Pas-de-Calais or northern Normandy area.

Hopefully the picture appears but these are the sites for vacance select in northern France.

Most campsites are in the more touristy areas. You could try the bigger campsite chain websites. Les Castels has a site called Bien Assise near Calais. Yelloh has two sites in the Baie de Somme, which is not a bad drive from Calais. Castels, Yelloh, Sandaya and Huttopia all have sites in Normandy.

Personally I prefer to arrive in St Malo and have a shortish drive to Brittany (nicer than the North Coast) or Vendee. Or there are ferries to Caen or Cherbourg. The ferries are more expensive but with young kids I found it easier to be longer on the ferry and shorter in the car.

Or google search by the region you want to stay in, eg camping Pas de Calais.

This is what I get just typing camping near Calais into Google. A lot of campsites (not the municipal ones) will have some kind of bookable accommodation.

These are the Eurocamp sites

From Eurocamp:

You are leaving it late for this summer, if you're looking in school holidays. And if you're looking for September, a lot of the campsites might close earlier than you expect. We caught the final Saturday night entertainment last year and it was only the Aug bank holiday weekend.

The ferry to Cherbourg is expensive but it means it is only a 4 hour drive to the Vendee where the weather is lovely and the campsites plentiful!

No choice as had to wait for passport renewal before booking anything. And our passports got lost in the system (despite paying the Postoffice to do it for us to avoid delays). Ridiculous.