Self drive eurocamp holidays...am I mad?

[MooMa83]

....with a toddler and 7 year old with ADHD?? We've just returned from a miserable and expensive weeks holiday in UK and I'm considering options for next summer that won't cost a gazillion pounds. I like the idea of self drive with overnight ferry but my husband thinks I'm mad. Has anyone else done this? What's the easiest route? I don't mind where we go, but I would like heat, nice accommodation, activities for the 7 year old and nice places to eat/visit. TIA

Not at all - we did this most years from when dd was small. It depends how well they travel, but if you go overnight and don't travel too far the otherside, it should be entirely doable.

We live in the north west of England. Can see Scotland on sunny days and drove down to the south of France last year. Right down to the border with Spain. Loved it. We do have a spacious car with Charging points in the back so the kids can watch movies etc. we stopped off outside Paris on the way down for two nights so a day in Paris and in Reims on the way back for 1 night. We all loved it but we travel long distances to visit family routinely so the kids are used to it.

How wedded to the idea of driving are you? You can filter on Eurocamp's website to those you don't need a car to access. Most are near airports where you can get cheapish flights to from the UK (granted we live within an hour of 2 big regional airports and which gives us lots of choice). We went to Cambrils Park which was only 15 minutes from Reus.

Yes we have done these holidays before and we drive from Scotland. It’s been fine. One of ours has ASD

It's a great holiday- we used to do South of France or northern Spain but with an overnight stop if south of F or ferry to northern Spain - that was part of the holiday. If you do the vendee (la Rochelle is nice) you can do it without an overnight as others have said some sites you can fly into and then just hire a car if needed- which can work out just as cost effective if you get cheapish flights

We have driven from Liverpool at 2am to get to Dover to sail at 7-8am. The kids always settled back down and slept in the car. Then we're awake for the crossing and dozed for the 2-5 hour drive on the other side.

Time it right with stops and so the kids can sleep in the car and I'll be fine. I don't think it's that cheap, though.
We go to France every year but we camp. I've looked at Eurocamp / cabin prices and it would add a huge amount to the cost of the holiday.
That said, I know holiday cottages in the UK are expensive so it's probably comparable. So completely worth it for the weather and the facilities.

Thanks all....definitely food for thought for next year. The amount of money we've spent for this week makes me want to weep...I wish we had stayed at home. Can anyone recommend any particular crossings where the site is not such a long drive on the other side? We're in the Midlands. Thanks 😊

If you wanted to go to Brittany, you can get an overnight ferry to St Malo. It is not the warmest part of France but usually weather is T-shirt and shorts down in Carnac area. Or else the catamaran is the quickest way. Takes you halfway between Calais and St Malo.

We did Hull > Rotterdam and stayed at Duinrell, which I think was around an hour from the ferry port. The overnight ferry was part of the adventure. Our kids loved it. Duinrell is a theme park with a campsite attached so you have free access to theme park whenever you like. The weather was nice when we were there but not the searing heat of southern Europe.

Overnight ferry to st Malo, then it’s two hours to Carnac. We went to la grande metairie a few times when children were little, didn’t even use a tank of fuel.

for guaranteed heat you’d need to go further south though.

There’s a campsite just outside paris which we’ve been to a few times as a stop over and then gone onto other places such as the Alps or Brittany.
there are some big campsites or some really nice small ones so depends what you are looking for but we’ve always had a great time!

you can go Portsmouth to Caen in 3hrs on the faster ferry (catarmaran), then there is a park in Brittany like a Water Park which is really good, a large pool inside with a big flume, then outside pools and slides too. About 2-3hr drive from the port so no need for overnight anywhere.

We've done Plymouth or Portsmouth overnight to roscoff. It's an adventure on the ferry and you arrive early morning.

Loved it last year, and only short drive to lovely places in brittany. However, this year the weather was patchy/ poor, so not enjoyed as much. I could cope with bad weather in the UK, but in France I just feel cheated! Self catering adds up there too - prices in supermarkets we're as high as in the UK, and a lot spent on ice creams, eating out etc.

We used Tescos vouchers to cross on the Eurotunnel in July this year - with the money knocked off for the vouchers it cost only around £50! Much cheaper than the ferry and takes about 30 minutes it’s wonderful. I’ve stayed in Eurocamp type places on the west coast, and not too far down which were wonderful.

I think it’s a great idea. When I was small we drove overnight from Yorkshire (lying in the back of the car - those were the days…) and got the ferry from new haven.
We did Eurocamp and I loved it. We did 2 weeks and 2 camps. Still remember the locations 40 years on. Argelès and Rouffinac (Dordogne), and the next year Fréjus and Briancon.

I suggest not pushing it if kids not used to long journeys, but weather isn’t guaranteed in northern France.

we did this every year when i was a child and i loved it. parents would put us in the car asleep at 1 or 2am then drive us down to Dover. I'd usually wake up in the car queue for the hovercraft. Waking up to the sound of seagulls and the noise from the docks just sounded like holiday and excitement. We drove as far as Spain once. I think my parents found that too much as we didn't do it again but I have no memories of difficult journeys. Just weird service station toilets in France (hole in the floor) and mum giving us activity packs for the car to keep us entertained (in an era well before internet, tablets and smartphones). It was all I knew and I absolutely loved it. So if you can cope I am sure your children will have the best time and amazing memories.

I think you need to go further south than Brittany to guarantee good weather. The Loire is about a 4-5 hour drive from Calais and has several Eurocamp places. Duinrell also great but the weather won't be so hot and not guaranteed sunny. There are also holiday hotels like Pierre et Vacances that sometimes have deals.

You could fly/drive - budget airlines to Southern France - one of the smaller airports then hire a car.

Overnight ferry to St Malo. It's then a 3 hour drive to the Vendée which gets much better weather than Brittany.

Cabins are bloody uncomfortable!
We tried it once with our adhd kid. If you have sleep issues already the likelihood of them getting any sleep on a cabin bed are nil!
last year we drove down to Portsmouth (we’re Yorkshire) and got the ferry across to Caen (I think) it took 4/5hrs which was more than enough time on a ferry with nothing to do.
we then stayed in a cheap hotel near the ferry port before continuing the journey the next morning.
we had a lovely week in Carnac at the euro camp there and then did the same return journey staying in a premier inn in Portsmouth.
it was also much cheaper than a cabin

Not sure, that sounds exhausting to me. Could you not find somewhere you can pick up cheap flights to and then take local transport? Stay somewhere self catered with a pool? We’ve holidayed in Ile de Ré and you can fly cheaply to La Rochelle and then v good public transport to the island, where you can also hire bikes to get around and good buses too. However weather can be a bit unpredictable. Budget wise our 1-bed apartment which slept 4 with (shared) heated pool was £675 for a week peak-time in August. The equivalent in a similarly nice area of Cornwall would have been 2-3 times the price.

We did Eurocamp in Brittany for many years when the children were young. We stayed in a caravan, rather than a tent which meant we had a loo. The problem with the caravan was that my husband is tall and the beds were quite short. He also banged his head a lot on doorways. The weather in Brittany isn’t always great but we both don’t want to drive for hours. Our kids were a bit older and we stayed on resorts with kids clubs, water slides etc and they loved it. We usually took an overnight crossing with a cabin.

Not sure where you are based but we’ve fine the euro tunnel for years now rather than a ferry, faster and if you get there early you can often get an earlier crossing. If needed you could have a night either side of the tunnel before continuing to campsite. We’ve done from Scotland to Paris is s day though without an overnight if that’s an option but my children are used to being in the car

We've done it lots of times.. it's fantastic . Ferry is exciting , driving much easier in France.. campsites are great for kids ! Do need to go at least vendee for warmer weather.. can be more expensive to travel to st malo etc on ferry but much less driving time the other side

A friend has done it where her DH left earlier in car, and then picked her and kids up from a airport in south of france. I think they all drove back together, just wanted to miss one of the journeys.