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

Just booked the ferry into bilbao and back from there. Any recommendations for 2 campsites within 3/4 hours of here. Kids will be 8 and under

Looking for nice campsites near or around Carcassone…my plan is to get the ferry to Bilbao in late May take a week or so to get to Carcassone where my kids (22 and 20!!)might fly out for a few days and join us. Looking for a good campsite (big pool area) about an hour maybe from Carcassone, so just on the coast near Narbonne maybe but open to campsites inland as well.

Any suggestions, thanks

Irish Ferries Dublin to Cherbourg €2150 for my dates.

Rosslare-Fishguard drive to Poole and ferry to Cherbourg €1400.

Would I be mad?

Into Dublin yesterday on the WB. For anyone travelling between now & March, the Lady Gregory restaurant is closed. It is now mentioned on the website but we booked months ago when it was expected to close at the end of October. Apparently a number of people on one of the wine sailings over the past week or so hadn’t been informed of the closure & were quite disappointed not to have the option included in their wine cruise.

2026 booked for July. Ferry prices are naturally up after Stena pulling out.

Ended up doing a split ferry, going out with BF on the Santona from Rosslare and back on the WB Yeats with IF. Largely this was to avoid the Commodore Clipper, as I have been on a bigger canoe.. (and also the acommodation on the return BF sailings is filling up fast even on the Cotentin) Coming in at just under 2 grand all told - which is 500 more than July 2024.

Multi stop for us this year, taking in Disneyland so Paris for a few days, then Brittany - Mané Guernehué in Morbihan - somewhere different for us, as we have been doing Vendée trips, but have seen and done a lot of what's on offer. Finishing off with a couple of nights in Des Ormes, which is now a tradition on the way home.

Prices for everything are definitely up, but the age our kids are at, the value is still there for us. Fly drive with 3 kids under 6 is not for us.

Only stumbling across this thread now having done research elsewhere but excited to have booked our first ever 'camping in France' holiday next June/July.

Decided to go from Cork to Roscoff return on the Pont-Aven (from Dublin) working out at about €1800.
Went for Les Menhirs in Carnac then which looks nice and settled on a 3-bed "Comfort" mobile home.

My mrs was a regular on these trips as a kid so maybe a new tradition beginning (or not 😬) with what will be our 1, 4 and 5 yr old. Hoping to see a good return in investment on our Octavia Combi boot space (+ roof box!).

Will have a proper look through the thread now but happy to hear of any top tips for newbies! 😁

Pick your sites and dates and ring them up. Staff in Ireland are great to deal with. Don't forget to get them to add on all the discounts IE, loyalty bonuses, 10/8 or 14 for 11 days etc

How do you find the Skoda Combi? I'm looking at one of them or the Corolla Tourer for mid 2026.

Anyone with any recommendations for Dordogne? Two active boys aged 10 and 8.

I'm literally just back since September. We stayed at Saint Avit Loisirs, approx 5 hours drive from Bilbao. Although it was just my wife and I, I'd definitely recommend it for families and have promoted it positively to my own family and grandkids.

Now admittedly it's not Dol de Bretagne, however it does have a great waterpark with lots of slides etc, plus there is the usual playground, football pitches etc. Even though it was September when we got there, there was still children's entertainment onsite with discos, games and karaoke etc for them. There's also a good bar, dedicated restaurant, a pizza and fast food snack bar and a small shop for the essentials.

Around Le Bugue, which is a nice town, there is a large children's entertainment park and the actual whole district itself is beautiful. Head into Sarlat and nearby you and your family can rent out a canoe and meander down the Dordogne River at a leisurely pace. There are plenty of Chateaux which will keep all of you occupied and as this area was at the forefront of the 100 years war, many of these castles have old antiquities and weapons relating back to that time.

Myself and the wife took off every day and visited the towns of Bergerac of Cyrano fame, Perigueux, which is the region's capital, Bordeaux, Limoges and a village I always wanted to visit which is Oradour sur Glane. A village which was surrounded by SS troops shortly after D Day, where men, women & children were separated and where all were killed except for 3 people. The Nazis then burnt everything and the village has stayed as is since that day in 1944.

We love the Dordogne. Our favourites are Camping Maisonneuve and Camping Seveilles (Slow Village). They are both laid back, very French campsites. Lay out very spacious on both. V different vibe to typical Eurocamp sites.

Maisonneuve is the more lively of the two. Has a river with a jumping in spot. I cannot being to tell you how much fun this is. Super popular with our kids. Very Enid Blyton vibe, kids cycling everywhere and exploring the river. Does tend to have some British too. Has a show once a week, but no daily entertainment. Lovely bar area. Has a simple games room. Nice pool, but no slides. Site is a little bit isolated. Only 10 mobiles on this site btw. Area is spectacular, think castles on mountains, wide rivers, flowery meadows etc. https://campingmaisonneuve.com/en/

The other was mostly other Europeans. Highest standard of accommodation I've ever personally had. Has a man-made lake with canoes etc left out for use (free!) and our teens love that. Pool is fine, but again no slides. Has a petting farm. Has a show once a week. No daily animations. Has a small kids' club but it is French. This site is more central, easier to get groceries etc. Steep though, not suitable if you have mobility difficulties. https://www.slow-village.com/destinations/nouvelle-aquitaine/seveilles/

We will be going back to the Seveilles one this year…I think. Or Maisonneuve. One of them anyway! Our kids love both and we've been going since they were around 10. We tend to spend a week in one of these and then go to the beach for another week. I'd be inclined to say Maisonneuve for an 8 and 10 yo. I think they would enjoy the river more than the lake.