Holiday - Driving to France

ocy

Thinking of driving to france this year, as have one in school so tied to Jul/Aug. Just looking for recommendations on whether to use Keycamp or Canvas or to book with campsite directly.. Planning on heading south of Britany near the coast. Anyone have any recommendations, ideally looking for 3 bedrooms with a/c if possible

January

Moved from Parenting to Travel forum.

Bicycle

Keycamp have the 3 bed 2 bathroom mobile homes. And they have the advantage that you aren't limited to a Saturday to Saturday stay unlike booking directly with the campsites.

Take a look at the keycamp site and get the knowledge there. And then look at the campsites directly and compare and contrast.

Brittany can be a bit hit and miss weather wise. You can get excellent weather there but you can also get a lot of "Irish Style" weather too.

Would you consider driving a little further down to the Vendee or Royan?

You really won't need A/C in any of these places and it generally isn't provided anyhow.

Are you planning to landbridge or get a ferry directly to Roscoff/Cherbourg?

zagmund

I would have said the opposite to Bicycle - go with the campsite directly as you aren't tied to Saturday to Saturday . . . My understanding was the the likes of Canvas & Keycamp were fixed periods only, but I may be wrong. The general advice is the same though - compare prices all round. Once you find a campsite you like then search for phrases like "reservation <name of campsite>" and dig through all the offerings. Most campsites will have a combination of their own accommodation, big swathes reserved for the big companies, and then a handful of small operators who might have 5 or 10 or 15 mobiles on the site. The prices will be different, the booking periods will be different, but it will all be the same campsite.

We booked direct and stayed in this one last year - http://www.camping-le-raguenes-plage.com/en/ - it's hard to beat in terms of beach access and being generally quiet. You can zoom in and have a good look around the area with Google here - https://maps.google.com/maps?q=camping+le+raguenes+plage&hl=en&ll=47.7924,-3.801785&spn=0.090761,0.239639&sll=47.784442,-3.79921&sspn=0.090775,0.239639&t=h&hq=camping+le+raguenes+plage&z=13

As above, I don't think air conditioning is too common towards the north. If you are concerned, email the site (or whoever you book with) and ask for a shady pitch. This should keep you from totally frying if the weather is unseasonably hot.

z

dingding

I would probably head further south as the weather can be a lot better and more reliable.

ocy

thanks for replies have looked at canvas and have looked at vendee and royan, def want a 3 bed. Don't want to head any further south with 3 small ones in the car. A five hour car journey is enough

Bicycle

zagmund wrote: »

My understanding was the the likes of Canvas & Keycamp were fixed periods only, but I may be wrong.

z

Zagmund, we've been travelling with Keycamp for many years and have never booked from a Saturday to a Saturday. We've stayed in campsites for periods of 1 night to 12 nights. That is the joy of going with a company like that. You can arrive into France on a Tuesday and leave on a Sunday or whatever suits.

I've seen people on campsites who have booked directly with the campsites and who travel with Brittany Ferries having to pay for 14 nights and only staying for 12, because Brittany Ferries arrives in on a Sunday and departs on a Friday.

Also when booking directly you have to leave the mobile home spotless and have to have it inspected before you leave.

Whereas with Keycamp - although you are asked to leave the mobile home clean, and most people leave them spotless, they are not checked on leaving.

Decoda

Hi Ocy,

We travelled to Fance last year and stayed with Keycamp (our first time with Keycamp). We weren't really sure what to expect. We stayed in Chateau des Ormes, approximately 200 kilometres from both Roscoff and Cherbourg, so travelling time wise, no more than 2 1/2 hrs.

http://www.keycamp.ie/sites/france-brittany/bn013-chateau-des-ormes.html

The campsite was amazing. Archery, soccer, tennis, horse riding, indoor pool area, outdoor wave machine, pool slides, the list went on and on. The kids clubs, which were free were fantastic. Our 6 yr old really enjoyed her time with the clubs making friends with kids from all over Europe (Denmark, UK etc). A lot of Irish families were also staying. There was a small shop on site, pizza restaurant, laundry etc.

We stayed in a 3 bed Villa Grand deluxe with deck and gas barbecue. Everything you need is supplied. Can't really fault keycamp (I am have no association with Keycamp or the campsite, just a very satisfied customer)


We signed our eldest boy 12 up for the soccer camp (approx €15 for 5 no. 2 hr sessions) and he had a fantastic time. The coaches are fully trained soccer coaches so it was much more than a kick around.

Chateau Des Ormes is really close to Mont St Michel (arrive early in the morning!!!!) and St Malo is definitely worth a trip. The kids really enjoyed the Grand Acquarium in St Malo, particularly the ride on the "submarine" at the end.

Weather wise, Brittany can be quite like home, but on days where the weather isn't the best you either use the indoor pool or have places to vist like the Aquarium.

Hope this helps and that you enjoy your hols

D

zagmund

Fair enough. My understanding was the opposite. I know we booked the place linked above last year for 10 days first, then for 12 days, then we moved the start date back - no issue at all with all the changes or it being mid week to a different mid-week. I looked at the Keycamp site now and I see they do indeed provide different periods. I think we can regard ourselves as duly educated and informed.

You don't have to leave the place spotless, but it is expected to be mostly clean. Someone's going to be coming in after you to clean up *properly* anyway. They just don't want you to leave it as a total kip.

z

Bicycle wrote: »

Zagmund, we've been travelling with Keycamp for many years and have never booked from a Saturday to a Saturday. We've stayed in campsites for periods of 1 night to 12 nights. That is the joy of going with a company like that. You can arrive into France on a Tuesday and leave on a Sunday or whatever suits.

I've seen people on campsites who have booked directly with the campsites and who travel with Brittany Ferries having to pay for 14 nights and only staying for 12, because Brittany Ferries arrives in on a Sunday and departs on a Friday.

Also when booking directly you have to leave the mobile home spotless and have to have it inspected before you leave.

Whereas with Keycamp - although you are asked to leave the mobile home clean, and most people leave them spotless, they are not checked on leaving.

BailMeOut

We use Eurocamp (http://www.eurocamp.com/) and they are really good. Advantages of using these companies is that they also provide activities for your kids at the camps that can be quite good. I would highly recommend booking a home with a deck as this makes a big difference in the evening if you want to cook, eat and hang out outside (which you will). We had a place one year that had no deck and it was just not very comfortable when sitting out.

We usually head to the island Ile de Re or La Trenche-sur-Mer although Ile de Re would be our favourite spot.

You will not need A/C if you stay coastal as it does get cool in evenings in July/Aug.

Are you landing at Roscoff?

veetwin

OP have a look at hellofrance.ie. It was recommended to me by a mate and we booked 2 weeks in July at Sol a Gogo, near Saint Jean de Monts much cheaper than keycamp. Reviews on tripadvisor are broadly excellent esp for the hellofrance accomodation. I should preface this by saying we haven't done this type of holiday before so I'm completely in the hands of others!

ocy

thanks for all the replies, and have another quick question.some of the sites state that they have water slides but have restrictions of over 7 and some even as high as 12. My oldest fella is only 5 but loves water.. are there any water slides for younger kids