Are Eurocamp holidays worth the school holiday prices?

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I think eurocamp holiday would be great for my family but have never been before. However the costs are really offputting. The good places are over £2000 a week, which seems mental for a campsite, and even the smaller campsites are around £1000. Of course I'm talking school holidays.

Are these places really great (i.e. better than cheaper AI hotels, better than nice self catering villa)? Or is the hugely inflated school holiday cost going to make it feel like a campsite that I've paid too much for?

Thanks!

We’re trying Eurocamp this year in the last week of the summer holidays as it’s quite a bit cheaper then (most European kids have gone back to school). Think we’re paying about £400 for the week at Les Menirs in Carnac.

Its a caravan rather than tent camping, on site facilities including pools & we can drive so take what we want/need without worrying about luggage weights.
Im hoping it’ll be really good.

Center parcs eu especially if you’re happy to self cater. We’ve done a few!

Well if you’re used to camping it would (in my opinion) be an upgrade - aircon, nice swimming pool, activities for the kids, bar & shop on site. I don’t think you need to go to Chateau des Ormes or Bella Italia to get a decent site.

We also like Huttopia & I think that might be a bit cheaper. We’re not fussed about entertainment - they have some but it’s low key.

Center Parcs Europe are supposed to be good & we also enjoyed a Landal site we went to.

I don’t fancy AI but I can see why people like it. I just don’t like the concept of being stuck on site & not getting to see much of the local area. But we’re all different!

Eurocamp really isn’t camping, certainly not like the uk anyway! We camp in the uk and have been to several sites where Eurocamp operate, although never actually with Eurocamp, other providers or booking direct are usually better. The campsites can be fantastic, amazing pools, bowling alleys, pump tracks, play areas, lakes and loads of other stuff going on.
DH and my kids would be bored at an AI hotel (I’d love it) so this suits us better, we do a mix of eating out and cooking, we all have our own space, the kids have freedom to play, it’s allowed us to have some amazing holidays and see great places.

There's also Siblu, who are similar to Eurocamp and a bit cheaper.

Eurocamp are fantastic holidays, we used to go as kids in the 90's and loved every minute! We were in a massive canvas tent but used communal showers and toilets, my parents did this as it was the only way to afford a summer holiday. Shame they are now really expensive, but a lot of the accommodation is way better I guess.

I haven't been able to afford Eurocamp with my kids but the Siblu we went to in the Loire Valley when mine were 11 and 9 was totally worth it!

Also, a top tip that my friend uses (but I never have). Apparently if you book through the Polish version of the website, the prices are much cheaper.

there is nothing in the UK that compares to what you find in France.

not strictly eurocamp but we have stayed in a few (Yelloh Village), we get a great 3 bed cabin, we pay extra for air con- this is WAY better than all of us in a tiny hotel room. Yes, self catering but lots of options on site.

brilliant facilities, real freedom for the kids, great cycling infrastructure.

you Don’t have to take your own car but doing so makes bringing all your stuff, and getting about locally, loads easier. We have sometimes flown and got a hire car

Definitely not 'just camping'.

We've had loads of Eurocamp type holidays but have rarely gone with Eurocamp. We usually book directly with the campsite as it'soften chraper. When we've used Eurocamp the advantage has been that you didn't have to book Friday to Friday if they had for example nine nights available we could opt for that. They do have kids clubs but we didn't necessarily use those and where we've gone directly with the campsite our children have always gone to kids club sessions. Language isn't generally an issue and the staff often default to English as there are children attending from all nationalities.

The advantage of this type of holiday for us is the space and the privacy. Our children can have their own rooms, we know we're all contained as one unit. We have a decking area/patio so that we can eat outside for meals, aircon, often a dishwasher.

I've never once cooked on a holiday like this - freshly made pastries ordered from the campsite shop with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, we eat out for lunch wherever we are exploring and for dinner we either get food from the hypermarket or there's very often a takeaway food van that visits the campsites.

We drive and take the ferry so we're not limited by the amount we can bring. We take our bikes so that we can cycle around and enjoy it in a way that we can't in the UK. We do take our own towels but that's because we're usually away for a few weeks and visit a few different sites so towel hire can add up.

I'm so looking forward to our holiday this summer.

We prefer self catering, so I’m not even going to try to compare with an AI resort flying holiday.

we drive, which we prefer to flying.

French campsites are not like uk ones. Where a eurocamp style holiday beats a SC villa is in having all the benefits of the campsite.

the onsite shops and bars and restaurants and take away. You can sit on your caravan decking and send the kids (8+ maybe, or younger ones with the older ones) to go and get dinner from the takeaway. You can’t often do that from a gite or villa. We usually bbq and send the kids to get chips to go with it. For breakfast we send them to the shop to get pastries and bread.

the children have so much freedom in the campsite to roam around. Find the playground. Find other kids to play with.

the pools have slides. At least the sites we pick always do. We don’t go to sites that don’t 😂

we usually go with Yelloh or Sandaya, and the last couple of weeks of August are cheaper.

We’ve been to France every summer for the last 8 years or so. Our DCs are now 14 and 16. We have always done a combination of actual camping and staying in cabins as we like to visit a few sites when we’re away.
Obviously cabins are much more expensive than camping, but they are prefect for a family. We either book directly through the site or with Eurocamp depending on which works out cheaper. Look up Yelloh Village, Sandaya, Les Castells for other companies. Yes it is self catering but we make the cooking etc part of the fun of the holiday. French supermarkets are unbelievable. I hate washing up but it doesn’t feel as much of a chore on holiday!

Your DC are the perfect age for French campsites as there is loads to do and lots of other kids too to knock about with. They’ll love it.

We are not a sit on the beach, eat in the same AI resturant type of family. We like to explore and eat out at local places etc. We also do a lot of UK camping!

Eurocamp always worked for us as we have 3 kids so the traditional hotels never accommodated us and meant costs were ££££.

Some eurocamps are better than others. The best one we stayed at was Pra dell torri in north italy. It had lots of parks, a massive swimming pool with slides, huge pirate ship splash zone etc, pirvate access to the beach, plenty of snack bars and resturants, onsite supermarket, post office and other shops. We had a great time and did a boat triup to Venice and also into the local town for dinner etc.

Food wise we did some meals out but then also had a couple of BBQs

We're a family of 5 and go on this type of holiday every year! Ours are currently 5, 10 and 13 and still all love it.

As others have said look at Yelloh and Sandaya sites, we go to the Vendee region so not too far in the car if you sail from Plymouth or Portsmouth.

They tend to be close to beaches, small towns, amazing waterparcs/pools on site (never had a poor one), forests, cycle trails, kids clubs, evenings entertainment. At the more elaborate ones there are so many activities.

https://www.sandaya.fr/nos-campings/le-littoral

https://www.amiaux.fr/

https://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/camping/le_chaponnet

https://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/camping/le_jard were going here in August £1400 for a 3 bed cabin.

The place we usually go has air conditioned fully equipped chalets with bathrooms and dishwashers and you can book a breakfast buffet. There are no Eurocamp tents at all. The campsite facilities are excellent, but aside from the people camping nearby, it doesn't bear any relation to camping nor to Eurocamp in the 80s.

The accommodation is usually more compact versions of static caravans, but you get aircon and decking at the front as standard (in my experience of a couple of sites anyway) sort of like a European version of Haven or similar. Definitely more comfortable than proper camping!

As others have said, it’s just a very different type of holiday, so it’s hard to compare, but they can be lovely.

Its always going to be cheaper than hotels / AI….bit likewise, it is always going to be hugely inflated prices in the summer. They charge what people are willing to pay.

its been a few years since I’ve been but used to do a lot when my kids were young, but generally never in the summer.

we used to do to two holidays in Europe at a eurocamp in april and October for less than we would pay for a week in school summer holidays.

there are some great deals at those times.

in the summer we would stay with family near Norfolk which was just beautiful.

Third the suggestion for going right at the end of August. We love them but are quite outdoorsy anyway and usually go near a lake or the sea and use it as a base.

If you have any of those workplace discount schemes or AA membership you can usually get a discount. And also check other operators on the same site (and also who will do the combination of days you want).

Try campsites in Spain where you can go half board with a buffet breakfast and dinner.

We do a week at a Yelloh ‘camping’ in SW France. We share a wooden cabin with another family; two bathrooms and a lovely outside eating area. The kids have so much freedom to roam around on their bikes, and they love the water slides.

i find it a very relaxing week. We go beginning of July, when our schools have just broken up. Mostly French and Irish families.

French schools go back 2nd September this year, so definitely the last week of August is cheaper.

I’ve never been but liked the idea so was looking to book and was shocked by the prices even right at the end of August. It’s been cheaper for our family to do a package holiday to a 4/5 star hotel instead.

We stayed in yelloh village in Spain it was really good tbf.

I’d love to see which holiday please?

there are sites that are expensive, but these are the big sites with all the best facilities, better than any hotel I’ve stayed at. The smaller sites with less going on can be picked up very cheap. Also cheaper if you drive and use the ferry, once you add flights in that usually doubles the price

Didn’t meant to suggest they only exist in France- rather that the concept of fantastic campsites seems to be a French thing. I know there are some in Spain (and Italy and other countries) but not yet in the numbers that they exist in France

Oh sorry I was just agreeing that yelloh village is good . We did bothFrench and Spanish campsites when our kids were younger ( always a chalet or mobile home)and both were really good.

Yes, we looked for May half term (Portugal) and ended up booking a package with jet2 to a five star resort (self-catering) for the same money as eurocamp sites in the area.

We’ve previously done eurocamp in lake Garda and that did seem like a cheaper option compared to hotels etc nearby so maybe it depends on the location. That was in term time though..

We love this type of holiday, yes they aren't cheap but the quality and facilities of 5 star resorts like Serginan Plage, La Brasilia, El Defin Verde, Playa Montroig etc you can't compare to a 3/4 star hotel with minimal facilities.

Lots have direct beach access, are large spacious resorts with lots going on, it's safe for kids to freely wonder around go sport pitches etc.

Yes there is the cooking and cleaning aspect but often sites have own butchers, bakery, shop etc or your not far from local hypermarket or local markets for fresh produce.

We prefer the relaxed style of holiday, cooking bbq on evening, no pressure to dress up to go anywhere.