France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

dzer2

Lac du 3 Valees 1 hour from toulouse you can get a bus transfer. They rent bikes and the town is 15 minutes away on bike with a good supermarket also you can get a taxi to town. Great entertainment for the older lads and club for the 9 Yr old.

Baybay

Have a look at Vias plage. It’s been a few years since we were there but there are a few campsites, it’s beside the sea & there’s off site bars, shops, restaurants in the village. Depending on where in ireland you live, the Shannon Beziers flight could work well for this area. Also for Valras or Portiragnes plages.

BlazingSaddler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121555338#Comment_121555338

This is so annoying!, some great prices from Stansted to Perpignan and Carcasonne and Birmingham to Perpignan. It’s almost as expensive thought to get from Dublin to Birmingham / Stansted 😡

webpal

Has anyone ever successfully used a VPN to secure cheaper flights or accommodation?

jon1981

Anyone got recommendations for campsites in the Vendee region (or at least not much further north) which are walking distance into the town?

woodstocklive

Apologies if slightly of topic but just want to give a huge shout out to STENA LINE. Anyway as we were going to France for three months last summer we brought our pet cat. It seems like she had the time of her life because just before heading to the ferry to come back home, cat went missing. 😿

Thanks to the power of social media, the amazing support of family friends in France, and the kind people at Les Chats d'Hebec (the local equivalent of ISPCA), cat was located just a month ago. 🙌

Then thanks to the wonderful generosity of Stena Line Ferries @stenalineukie, our cat made a solo trip home to Ireland, arriving on Christmas Eve from Cherbourg. 🛳️❤️.

Not sure if cat will be making any further trips to France 😊, but we will definitely be taking every opportunity to use Stena Line for any future trips.

THANKS STENA LINE

Baybay

Amazing, @woodstocklive! What a Christmas present for the family.

It is our nightmare as we travel every summer with our fellow who will be fourteen later in the year. So far though, all fingers crossed, the worst he’s managed was one year just before loading the car for the trip home, he decided to have a bit of a last minute sunbathe on the roof of the house. Much coaxing with tuna finally convinced him to come down.

yiddo59

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560824#Comment_121560824

Never used one to book in the eurozone but did use one a few years back to book train travel in New Zealand. Saved about 15%

BlazingSaddler

Hi again! Has anyone stayed in Le Ruisseau or Le Vieux Port in Landes. Le Ruisseau is only 7km from Biarritz airport and the flight prices are reasonable

Heroditas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121561243#Comment_121561243

Bel which is about 10mins walk to La Tranche Sur Mer. Very small campsite but ideal for the smallies

BullBauld

Any recommendations for a campsite around Saint Jean de Monts other than Clary's Plage? Perhaps closer to the town itself.

We have a 7 year old.

Thanks.

CheerLouth

Booked our sites today - yay! We booked Brittany back when they first released the 2024 sailings but accommodation is locked in now! 5 nights in Les Menhirs & a week in Des Ormes.

Anyone looking for Des Ormes, maybe try Kelair. I've booked with them, never used them before but friends were happy enough with them last year. They were a good 300euro cheaper than Canvas & Eurocamp. Price increase in Des Ormes alone is crazy this year - we paid 900 for 5 of us last year, it's nearly twice that with some of the operators.

spuddy

Please delete, thanks

Fr Tod Umptious

What's people's opinions about bringing the car rather than flying?

We are doing this for the first time, two adults, four kids aged 17 to 10.

Any flights from airports to most French or Spanish destinations are coming in at €1,200+ including bags etc.

Then we have the cost of airport parking, transfers on the far side etc

I checked the ferry prices and they are coming in at around €1500 with cabins booked etc from Ireland to Cherbourg or Roscoff.

Obviously the trip is longer going and coming but we will have cabins as I said.

My thinking is that by having the car the sites in Brittany will become a lot more accessible and also that we will have our own transport in case it's wet or want to get off the site for a day for something different.

josip

Before the kids were 5 we nearly always flew and hired. Since the youngest has turned 5, we've never flown. But we're in the lucky situation of being able to work remotely and can spend more than 2 weeks out of Ireland. I love flying but hate airports. Depends on how well the 4 get on, when you spend a lot of hours confined in a small space together you need to have clear separation of roles. ie, who's counting the red volkswagens, who's counting tunnels/bridges, car of the day, etc. I suspect that with 4, they'll have have their own entertainment. If you've got Spotify, you could take turns deciding what song gets played. Bringing your own car makes packing easier, there aren't so many will I bring it/won't I bring it decisions. Having a car on the far side also gives you access to decent cheaper supermarkets instead of the more expensive onsite ones with less choice. For us it's more of a quality of holiday decision than a financial decision.

Peckham

Most people posting here bring their car, and for the reasons you outline (plus the wine factor - you can bring back multiple cases of it in your car!).

Your kids are a good age that you could consider driving further south to improve your chances of good weather. Plenty of suggestions throughout this forum.

lee_baby_simms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121569099#Comment_121569099

For us the ferry + car is far less stressful and provides way more flexibility than flying.

My kids are younger than yours so the boat is very exciting for them plus you can bring a lot more of their stuff with you and/or bring home things you’ve bought.

You make a very good point about weather though. One year we went to Des Ormes and it pissed rain for a full day. We hopped in the car and went into the Aquarium in St Malo which was excellent. Having that option is great especially towards the north where the weather isn’t always great.

And yeah the wine haul is always a satisfying part of unpacking the car back home.

Skyrimaddict

First time looking at camping in France, ideally going in June.

Any good recommendations for a family of 3 with a 13 year old boy?

As asked before, is it better to fly or drive? I remember when I was a younger man, we drove and it took like 2 days or more out of a 3 week holiday,

lee_baby_simms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121569164#Comment_121569164

..

Baybay

I think if you’re taking the ferry & car, you need to make the journey part of the holiday. On the ferry, that’s a bit easier as you have shop, restaurant & bar options not to mention cinema & going out on deck.

In the car, it depends on the age of your children. We used to play games for them to earn extra holiday coins like after a certain point in the journey spotting an Irish car reg, closer to port maybe a designated county reg or the first signpost for Mont St Michel, something along those lines. As they got older their phones played a bigger part in their entertainment but there’d nearly always have been a round or two of a couple of the old games!

Sometimes, we’d have stops of interest like Arras or Mont St Michel or even occasionally a McDonalds, places that might be too far to drive to from our holiday destination.

The best thing about the car though is that there are no weight or liquids limits. Last minute things fit easily & bicycles, books & bits are good to go. And there are always goodies to bring home.

BlazingSaddler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121569164#Comment_121569164

You won’t go far wrong with Domaine Des Ormes. Ferry to Cherbourg then 2 hour drive.

BullBauld

Bit the bullet and booked Clarys Plage for the end of July. Looking forward to checking out another new site for us. Saint Jean de Monts close by looks nice too.

MattressRick

Hi

I'm thinking of driving 3 kids under 6 to France to a holiday camp, am I crazy?

Just thinking center parcs here, and also sone very good family friendly hotels, are very expensive. 1600 for 4 days is just too much. We're limited to just peak summer holiday months due to work.

I think the kids would love a night on the ferry. But I had a quick look at eurocamps and they don't seem as stacked with activities as center parcs. Also kids club was french only. That the same across the board in northern France?

Any advice very welcome.

Doug Stamper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121572559#Comment_121572559

No, not crazy at all!

I've been past two years with young children under 6.

2022 Le Clarys Plage & Des Menhirs in Carnac.

2023 Escalles Saint Gilles, Benodet.

Kids clubs are all bilingual with a morning & afternoon session. Night time entertainment for kids also. Throw in trips to beach/pool everyday with the odd day trip and definitely better value than centre parcs (stayed there for hols in 2021).

Siblu had very good prices pre Christmas when I was booking for next summer.

Treat the ferry as part of the holiday (like staying in hotel for the kids), plan your trip to the campsite with a stop at a nice play area, even a McDonald's as they all have play areas and take your time on the roads.

Having the car is a major bonus with young kids as you can pack everything you need and leave room for purchases and wine for the ferry home.

Ask away if you have any questions 👍🏻

MattressRick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121572673#Comment_121572673

Thanks that's great to know I'm not mad to think this could be an option! And thanks for the resort recommendations.

I had a quick look from rosslare. Ferry for 5 of us was 1700. I thought it'd be a fee hundred! Not sure it's an option at that price

webpal

Anyone been to La Pinede in Les Mathes? Not to be confused with Siblu’s nearby La Pignade. Wondering what it’s like for teenagers. Water park looks good. Don’t really want to go to nearby Siblu sites

beggars_bush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121572967#Comment_121572967

Look at prices end of august

munchkin_utd

I travelled on Stena Horizon at the weekend and can report that there’s some long overdue upgrades .

The biggest change may be that there’s now tvs in all cabins! The channel selection is similar to Irish ferries, some of the main channels + sky/ bbc news + Dave. + some film channels but they also have the bbc radio channels which are very good for just something in the background or to keep a track on sports events (bbc 5 live)

there’s now a couple of coffee machines beside the shop along with the vending machines - so less of a trek than going to the bar.

the reception seems to be spruced up and more modern looking . There’s no massive structural changes but the menu at the restaurant is now standardised in line with the other stena ships, so gains Swedish meatballs among other things !

theres digital displays all over the ship now , for instance the cinema times clearly displayed at reception and outside the cinema/ menus at the bar or restaurants

my cabin had an Irish double socket and usb at the desk but that didn’t look too fresh so possibly there a while?

maybe some of the changes were already implemented last year but it’s been over a year since I last travelled stena so it’s new to me- and nobody mentioned anything here or the half dozen ship enthusiast groups I am subscribed to on Facebook (although there they are OBSESSED with external photos whereas as a passenger I care far more on internal details)

Citizenpain

Trying to decide between Des Menhirs & La Grande Metairie in Carnac - Anyone been to both ? Or any other recommendations within 3-4 hours of Roscoff? First time in that part of France. Kids 11,9 &5

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121586291#Comment_121586291

We were at La Grande Metairie last year & we really enjoyed it. Staff were lovely, pool was nice. Kids enjoyed the activities. Bar was very dear though. We didn't eat in the restaurant except a takeaway from the pizza place which you need to preorder earlier in the day. We are going to Des Menhirs this year, purely for location purposes. We really liked Carnac and would like to park up the car for a few days & be able to go walk through the town & go to the beach more often.