Campsites in France

jay0109

Going to book this weekend in St Jean De Monts for 2 weeks in June/July (family of 5 with 3 kids under 5). 1st timers

I've read through this and other threads and am still unsure over which campsite to go for but have narrowed it down (I think) to Le Clarys Plage, Le Pomme de Pin or Bois Masson.

Le Clarys looks like it has more facilities and but has mixed good reviews with issues around noise, busy road through the site. Bois Masson has some mixed reviews also incl the accomm all being too close together.
I can find very few review for Pomme but it's just beside the sand dunnes and thus on the beach.
Bois Masson is 220e cheaper than Le Clarys! Pomme comes in between the 2

All require driving to get to town from what I can see, with Masson needing the car to go to the beach.
I'd like good clubs for the kids, but also somewhere where I could have a beer at night without the place being dead. Good accomm also, thats quiet and clean.

Anyone on here that has stayed on both or all at some stage?

ECO_Mental

I wouldnt go st Jean de Monts, try and go a bit further south better weather etc and it would only be an extra couple of hours drive you will still be there early afternoon.

Try around La Palmyre about an hour south of La Rochelle its a lot nicer and loads of things more to do. There are loads of campsites, a zoo in the town, miles and miles of off road cycle tracks etc etc. Try Bonne Anse Plage from Siblu its very close to the town and directly situated on one of the main cycle track. We have stayed there twice and there is nice feel to the campsite. Les Charmettes is massive and a good cycle from the town compared to Bonne Anse

http://www.siblu.ie/france/charente_maritime/bonne_anse_plage.php

_Brian

After 11 years of campsite holidays in France the two best campsites we found were Le Littoral and Sequoia Parc.
Clean, spacious, well run, good kids facilities and wonderful cycling and beaches near by. It's nice to be close to LaPalmyre but not right in it either.
Les SableD'Olonne is my favourite tourist town in that region, promo made closes to traffic in the evenings and the street performers are great fun.


The Jean De Monts area was the most disappointing we ever visited.

All that said, Brittany on a good summer is a stunning region and is a good bet for anyone avoiding scorching sun with small babas. We plan to be back in Brittany area this year.

Wyldwood

Have to agree with Eco_Mental avoid The Vendée region, it's very flat and uninteresting. Stay in south Brittany, maybe around Carnac rather than the Vendée. The weather can be unpredictable around St Jean de Montes, they get a lot more rain. Anywhere south of La Rochelle is a better bet.
It's a long time since I stayed on a campsite, although I've holidayed in France more times than I care to remember. I've stayed on Les Charmettes and it's great for kids. You do need to use the car to go anywhere though.

Satts

Obviously the further south you go you have a better chance of good weather.

From what I can remember St. Jean de Monts is a 5 hour drive from Roscoff.
With 3 small kids under 5 this is enough distance to drive, unless you fly/drive.

Brittany is lovely, old towns/buildings, very green.
Siblu's Domaine de Kerlann in Brittany is lovely, great indoor pool for the bad
days.

Vendee looks more like Spain, scorched grass, orange roof tiles, definitely gets better weather than Brittany.
St. Jean de Monts is a smallish seaside town with a lovely promenade, I doubt there are too many nightclubs, but with 3 small kids I doubt you are looking for it to be too busy.
Across the road from Le Bois Masson is it's sister park, Le Bois Dormant, a little quieter, but more room between plots.
As with any campsite, the higher grade of mobile you pay for, the bigger the plot that goes with it.

In my opinion La Rochelle is just too far to drive with 3 small kids.

jay0109

Thanks all.

We're going into Cherbourg so to go any further south of Vendee would be too hard a slog I reckon with 3 very young kids. I do like the sound of La Palyrme but it will have to wait for a few years from now.

Vendee, on average, seems to get better weather than Birttany so thats the reason I've concentrated on there.

I've looked at Dormant also but it seems very quiet, esp for entertainment and kids activities. So thats why I had opted more for Masson in my shortlist.

Yeah, St Jean be Monts does seem to have a tacky, touristy reputation but I don't plan on going into town every day/night.

I'll look at Littoral and Sequoia later and get a handle on where they are/reviews etc

MorganIRL

This yr we went to Les Eccureils which is 20 mins from st Jean de monts. We had 2 kids under 3 and the 5 hr journey from cherbourg was far enough. Nice place. Stayed with eurocamps. Went in early June last wk before high season. St Jean de monts seems to be a very package holiday location. Lovely and clean with a huge beach but what we were going away from.
The site we chose was great for kids cause of kids club for babies and young kids. Mobile homes were lovely. With young kids ur hols revolve around them anyways so we found the vendee region was lovely.
We went portirange in the south of France the yr before which was a crazy 10 hr drive with 2 young kids. Hence the 'shorter' 5 hrs this time 😄.
Hope this helps.

jay0109 wrote: »

Thanks all.

We're going into Cherbourg so to go any further south of Vendee would be too hard a slog I reckon with 3 very young kids. I do like the sound of La Palyrme but it will have to wait for a few years from now.

Vendee, on average, seems to get better weather than Birttany so thats the reason I've concentrated on there.

I've looked at Dormant also but it seems very quiet, esp for entertainment and kids activities. So thats why I had opted more for Masson in my shortlist.

Yeah, St Jean be Monts does seem to have a tacky, touristy reputation but I don't plan on going into town every day/night.

I'll look at Littoral and Sequoia later and get a handle on where they are/reviews etc

jay0109

Les Eccureils is just down the road from 2 of the campsites I mentioned above, Clarys and Pomme. Will have a look
So St Hilaire is a different town but is practically adjacent to St Jean du Monts?

juneg

try to pick somewhere with an indoor heated pool. If the weather is bad you can still take children to the pool and have a good day. If the weather is poor when you are there though it will probably be poor even further south too. If you are going in July as we do you cant guarantee hot weather.

Satts

Le Bois Dormant and Le Bois Masson are both owned by Siblu and you are free to use the facilities of both, 5 min walk between the two.
Facilities are adequate but a little dated.

Dub13

I also stayed in Les Eccureils a couple of years ago with 4 young kids, was a grand spot and had a small indoor pool for the odd bad day.

MorganIRL

Les eccureils has a heated indoor pool. Only drawback 'maybe' WiFi in bar area only 😄😄. Great climbing frame in bar area for kids. Was handy for watching world cup this yr. Great cycle routes around area and beach across rd. 2 bikes with 1 trailer for kids for day cost us €30.

trolley

Thinking of going to Atlantique Parc near La Palmyre for two weeks around the 27th June . Bringing two kids, a 6 year old and a 4 year old .
I read that there are good cycle paths and the beach lagoon looks good
I am wondering what are your thoughts on this campsite, good and bad. Another one we are looking at is Parc de la Cote Sauvage, also near La Palmyre. So would welcome any thoughts on that also.

ShaunC

Time to wake up this thread again.
I've a feeling we may do the same trip this year, last June we stayed in Les Eccureles and were blessed with the weather (26-32c) the only wet day we had we were in Futuroscope ( not as good as I hoped, but then again I'm a Disneyland Paris fan). This year we will go at the end of June and probably to the Vendeé region again. We enjoyed our campsite, but we will probably try a different one this year, maybe closer to La Rochelle. I would like to find one with a gym, and free wi-fi. The kids cost me a fortune on wi-fi access last year:(
Looking to share tips and advice.

MorganIRL

Stayed in the same spot at the end of June. Last yr. The cost of WiFi was a bummer. But were hoping to head more in land this yr and at the beginning of june. WiFi still seems to be an issue. Trying to bring my own mifi dongle and just buy a data SIM out there might work for ur kids. The mifi will be used for radio and spotify and if it works for Sat nav in car while were out.

April 73

Hoping to pick your brains...

Im looking for a campsite in the Vendee - currently looking at Le Littoral. Ideally I'd like a site within walking distance of a nearby town. Anyone know how far Le Littoral is from Sables D'Olonne? Are there shops/restaurants within walking distance? Thanks.