Eurocamp in France - any recommendations?

[OrangeLane]

Hello! I know there have been lots of these threads, but can't see a recent one that quite fits what I need.

Looking at Eurocamp for next summer. Probably has to be in France as the kids have never been (will be aged 10, 8, 4) and are dying to go. (Will need to convince DH as he'd rather go to Germany....). We would be getting a lodge/gite rather than camping.

We're reasonably active and like stuff to do, but it doesn't need to be heaving. We've done Duinrell before, which the kids adored, but part of what they really liked was things like hiring bikes and cycling to the supermarket, or the beach. The pool was also really good, but I don't know if we needed all the rides.

Any recommendations for Camps people have really liked? We like things like: cycling, beach (or good rivers that act like beaches), local market towns with family-friendly restaurants, getting croissants in the morning, etc.

We'd probably drive, and would prefer to do it in one go rather than adding another stop, as we'd be going for two weeks. So happy to make it a far way down the country, but not sure if we could do the south coast (?).

Thank you to anyone who can recommend anywhere!

Les Mouettes would be my first choice, closely followed by Mané Guernehué. Both are an easy drive from the ferry ports,

La Garangeoire is really lovely

Thanks both! Investigating those ones now!

Two ideas for Eurocamp L’Ideal on lake Annecy, or possibly the Yelloh! site at the southern end of the lake. The drive from SE UK is ok with a cheap motel overnight stop near Reims, and on the way back stop a few nights in a gite near the Nigloland theme park (if kids love roller coasters).

Can I also recommend if you don’t mind a long drive and have a bit more budget, spend several nights at the Silvertown campsite in EuropaPark? You’re right on the border of France and Germany. You could stay for a week - There’s a lake to swim in, usually stuff like table tennis etc, adventure playgrounds , and lovely evening entertainment (in the Wild West camping area; or you can wander freely into the main hotels and watch the light/acrobatic show or go to one of the hotel bars and have a drink listening to live music.

You could take a day trip to Freiburg.

And then as part of your week you would have to a day at EuropaPark and then a day at Rulantica (££££ but worth it)! As both are fabulous.

Then you could move to a different campsite as a base for a longer stay. In fact we didn’t; we had a cabin at EuropaPark and just rented a gorgeous little gite for a low price in a town called Ribeauvillé which is on the Wine Route and super pretty - the town has a lovely kids playground so we spent time mooching the town and we did some day trips - Colmar (30 mins drive); Haut Konigsberg castle which the kids loved; also there’s a monkey wildlife park which is very popular if your kids don’t mind being in amongst free roaming animals, and an open air municipal pool nearby. So it’s not the organised entertainment you might get at a Eurocamp but it was really lovely and felt like good value.

We have also stayed at the Centerparc in this part of France - we liked it, although ratings on Tripadvisor are a bit savage; it’s overall a large site and most complaints are about that. So you would want to pay extra to book a cabin near the main site centre, that’s my strong advice!

Ps the weather for us was pretty great - we went in August and had only one afternoon of heavy rain; two days were 32 degrees, and the rest was a lovely high 20s temperature .

There’s a Facebook group called Eurocamp Unofficial Supporters group which is very good for advice

The Loire Valley is beautiful with lots of beautiful little towns, activities on the river and chateaux to visit. We’ve been to quite a few sites in the area:
Chateau De Marais - close to the Chateau de Chambord which is spectacular. Lovely site, very green. Nice pools and has stuff going on for kids but not too much. Very relaxing.
Les Allicourts - nice site set in a lake that you can swim in.
Parc de Valle de Loire - good pools, nice location.
The Castells sites are good. Our absolute favourite place is the Chateau de Chanteloup just outside Le Mans. Stunning site with options of wooden cabins, safari tents, glamping tents and some gites / apartments. It’s pretty low key and so relaxing but also very sociable and lots of fun.

I don’t think the above sites have Eurocamp cabins but it’s the sand thing, just run by different companies.

Another vote for Le Garengeoire perfect for those ages

edit to add that we did overnight ferry to St Malo which cuts driving significantly and is a big adventure!!

I was also going to add La Garangeoire! As well as what is on site you’ve got a beach 20 mins away, high ropes like Go Ape but way more fun/danger 5 mins drive away and this is well worth a day trip https://www.puydufou.com/france/fr you can book direct with La Garangeoire too

Does it have to be Eurocamp? There are loads of independent campsites in France that are great, and also offer lodges etc. I'd recommend the Ardeche region, although it may be further than you want to drive. We used to overnight at the Novotel in Dijon that has a pool. Stayed at two campsites that are actually next to each other right on the river, Mondial Camping and L'Ardechois, both great. Walking distance to the town of Vallon for meals out and the night market, and lots of lovely villages and river beaches in the surrounding area.