Brittany or poss Vendee for summer next year

[misshardbroom]

I'm determined that next summer (yes, I'm looking that far ahead) we will go to France for a proper summer holiday.

DH is sceptical about the whole thing, so I'd welcome any suggestions of websites with family friendly, affordable gites / cottages / villas, preferably with the option to pay for the ferry crossing as part of the whole deal.

Alternatively, if you know of any independently owned, standalone holiday properties in Brittany or possibly the Vendee which are ideal for families, please share. We're not very good with shared gardens and shared terraces, not that sociable!

Price range as you would expect for a family of 5 who haven't been able to afford to go abroad for the last 5 years.

May I be the first to msay that I thought this was a baby name thread. I prefer Vendee - bit like Wendy with an accent, innit .

Hello

We went to the Vendee a couple of years ago, or the Charente Maritime.
Near Saintes anyway.

WE used Owners Direct to find a house to rent, I htink.

Got ferry from Poole to Saint Malo, then stayed there the night and drove down the next day, baout 5 hours I think.

We did the same on the way back.

WE didn't do ferry with the booking, but did get a discount code from the owner.

Am happy to send you the links if you like.

It was very nice there, though I thought we were too far from the coast (30 min drive) but well situated for local area.

lol @ MaMight. My mum has taught several Brittanies over the years!

If you could send me the links I would be very grateful.

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Have emailed you

The Brittany Ferries crossing v expensive though, far cheaper Dover to Calais then drive down.

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Went to Vendee a few years ago. I didn't really like it. Found it a bit boring. Think I prefered Brittany.

Depends what you want - brittany is more like Cornwall and lovely little villages but vendee apparently gets the best weather!! Anyway I can recommend loads of campsites in both places if you are up for 'camping' - I mean mobile homes not tents!!

PS I agree with getting a cabin on the long slow overnight routes - portsmouth to St malo is the best and we always got a cheap cabin for the daytime sail on the way back - mean t you could dumo stuff/kids could get a nap etc. Alternatively if you drive from calais the Novotel Rouen Sud is fab for an overnight break!

I have posted this link already but I'll do it again very affordable and she offered me a reduced rate and very low deposit when I asked!! The campsite gets good reviews online and looks really nice- you can also get a tent direct from the campsite even cheaper!!!

Another one I found was this gite with shared pool but very good prices.

And these campsites www.camping-abricotier.fr/
www.camping-leboisjoli.com/pages/angl/index.htm
www.camping-val-de-vie.com/location.html

I know you didn't say camping but you can get a pretty low cost holiday and most have mobile homes or chalets for rent. Worth a look anyway!

I run a gite here in South Brittany - we're full this year anyway so I'm not pushing it! But if you want info on the area/ferries etc etc I've pretty much done it all - you can cat me or e-mail though our website
Hope you get something sorted....

Thanks for all your advice, some good links there. I would definitely consider camping but I don't know whether I could convince DH, we normally limit ourselves to 2 nights under canvas max!

jenpet, your place looks lovely. I've sent the link to another friend of mine who is also looking for something in Brittany.

We always go to the Poitiou Charente/Charente Maritime region - and find gites thro ownersdirect. Last year we had a week there and then a week in the Vendee - was v disappointed with the Vendee. Whilst it was v beautiful, it seemed to take forever to get anywhere - but gite was a good 1hr 20mins from the coast (despite owners saying on website it was 45mins which may have coloured our view of the area - that and the 40 degree heat we had!!!) Love the beaches in Charente Maritime and the mix of countryside and towns (love La Rochelle, Ile re Re, Saintes, a good zoo, chateaus etc etc). Def seemed more to do than the Vendee. HTH!

Ollie... we are off to Charente Maritime for the first two wks of August. First time holidaying in France and staying in a small gite complex nr St Jean D'Angely.

Would appreciate recommendations for days out, restaurants etc. My boys are aged 6 and 4. What is the best nearest beach?

Thanks in advance.

Lucky you Ruthiebabes - sure you will love it. This is the third year we will have been back - we have 2 weeks booked for June (last holiday before we have to go in the school holidays as DSs are 4 and 3) We are in that location too (ie nr St Jean D'Angely)

Can't really help re restaurants as we just tended to stop and eat when and where we could! As for days out, here are some off the top of my head!
Zoodysse is a nature reserve/zoo where you can safely see roe deer,wild boar, wolves and many other European animals in their natural habitat in a forest setting. Great on a hot day to walk around and always been lovely and quiet when we have been there - www.zoodyssee.org

Surgères is a market town with a beautiful Château in parkland. Market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

La Rochelle - Good for eating ? and shopping! The Aquarium is great but go early esp if its a rainy day!

Royan ? DH loves all the maritime stuff here including old rope making buildings, restored boats etc etc.

Good beaches include Chatelaillon- Plage, Fouras & Royan.

Cognac ? lovely town to look around. Do one of the Cognac Houses tours - included in the Hennessey tour is a boat trip across the river and Remy Martin includes a train ride for children.

Marais Poitevin is an area crisscrossed by an system of canals - quite nice to see. Boat trip available from Coulon.

Saintes ? nice town with lots of museums, amphitheatre and abbey.

Ile de Ré is one of our favourite places to visit. We like St. Martin for pottering/shopping/eating! Nice little harbour for the kids to watch boats too. Lots of places to hire bikes from.
Ile d'Oleron also has nice beaches.

La Palmyre Zoo - even if you don?t normally like zoos, this one is great.

This is a really good guide book that has helped us find out things to do:
here

HTH a little bit! Happy holidays!

Thanks so much for replying OllieWollieWoo, some great advice. Can't wait. The prices of the gites in the summer holidays are v reasonable, we are paying £600 pw. Always dreaded the cost of holidays in school hols but think that is good value.

Hopefully the gites will be nice, they look great in the website (www.bestfrenchgites.co.uk).

Enjoy your holiday too.

Thanks again.