France - Eurocamp/Key camp - France - which parc please and some general advice on waht to expect? Also advice on weather conditions please

[lisalisa]

I want a cheap break last minute for May school holiday coming up.

I have seen the Eurocamp etc sites and seems that to go to France is cheaper than staying in the UK !

There are seemingly tons of sites and not all that much detail althouhg it seems from trawling through some old posts here that the devil is very much in the detail wiht some sites being very hilly, others very noisy with all night entertainment and otherrs dirty or badly laid out!

Also, being usually a hotel/cottage holidayer I did not appreciate that there would be no heating at night in the accomodation and picked that up from MNers recommneding duvets at night etc!!!

Could you all please tell me

1 Whcih parcs you have been to that you would recommned and which to avoid like the plague

2 Any general tips or info on what to do/bring/avoid etc

3 Whether in May I can expect reasonable weather in Brittany/Normandy or would have to go further south? I am really looking to stay as close to channel ports as I can but still guarantee reasonably sunny weather. Don't need 25C but just not cold or drving rain.

Thanks all

bumpity bump

Some companies have full heating in the vans in Brittany etc (as well as air con in the south).

Howver, heating heats the lounge so bedrooms can get cold, but they usually have plenty of blankets.

The Vendee and the Charente Maritime are driveable in a day from Cherbourg/Caen.

Siblu have apartments at their Le Bois Dormant Site at St Jean de Monts with "full heating" details here

although I much prefer their site Les Charmettes in the Charente Maritime.

Matthews holidays are offering Whit breaks for 7 nights from £170 here. They are more basic but very good value - many MNers have used them (including me)

Ooh thank you - lots to think about! i was wondering whether you would post milliways as i have seen you be very hlepful to others wiht similar questions.

Thjanks too waswondering. Coincidentally we were looking at the parc you mentioned last night as dh thinks it will be too cold to go to brittany next week and expect sun and he's probalby right as forecast doesn't look great.

So, going further south - is it just too far and too difficult to go with 5 youngish kids ( aged between 3 and 12 years) for just 5 days ( thinking of going between sunday and thursday). Is ferry fun or a pita?

We have booked to go with Keycamp for half term week - Plymouth to Roscoff crossing which is 6 hours - staying at Beg Meil site - looks good has indoor pool (this is reason for picking that particular site)

We booked accommodation with Keycamp and ferry direct with Brittany ferries - £477.00 total cost.

Have stayed at Dol Bretagne and Arzano sites before both excellent.

Ferries ok - depend on which crossing - if fastcraft there is nothing on there for kids to do except a really small shop selling newspapers and a cafe (overpriced) so take stuff for them to do.

The normal ferries are bit better - play area, tv showing film, more to walk around, restaurants, shops etc - can also walk round outside bit more but still take few things for them to do.

If you have Sat nav - take it - we cant drive around France without it or we get hopelessly lost!

As to the weather we have stayed in May and June before - sometimes weather has been fantastic sometimes absolutely terrible hence why we needed an indoor pool at least the kids can go in there if tipping it down.

If you want to go to the very South, take the Dover/Calais Ferry & Drive, but you really need an overnight stop (Orleans to Bourges area) and it depends on how good your kids are in the car.

We take a laptop so they can watch DVDs, play games etc, and DS has his PSP. I would not drive that far for a week - but we do it regularly for a fortnight (10-12 nights on site and 2 overnight stops.

Or - flydrive? But that IS expensive.

WARNING - The fastcraft Portsmouth/Cherbourg crossing is known as "The Vomit Comet" for a very good reason and has NOTHING to entertain kids on. Take a 4 hour cruise crossing, or longer night crossing.

Milliways - The Vomit Comet - not heard that before but very very true - we got on one year and they handed sick bags as you got on and then walked round exchanging them for 4 hours

If you want a cheap break it might be worth trying to book directly with the campsite and then booking the ferry separately. We were in the Loire Valley last year and had the same weather as the UK so if you need it warmer I would go at least as far down as the Vendee.

All the mobile homes I have stayed in had electric heaters so shouldn't be too bad at night.