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

loyatemu

Decathlon opening here next year - one less reason to take the ferry (or, more space in the car coming back for wine!)

SusanC10

loyatemu wrote: »

Decathlon opening here next year - one less reason to take the ferry (or, more space in the car coming back for wine!)

Would be of the "more space for Wine" view 😀 Really like bringing our own car !
Great that Decathlon will be in Ireland though.

oinkely

A trip to France is not complete without at least two visits to decathlon, stocking up on shoes/boots for ever growing kids feet and enough sports clothes and wetsuits to see us through until they are adults! Luckily i drive a crew cab van so there's plenty of room for wine and Decathlon!

crunchie1

Hi has anyone stayed in the vista accommodation with Eurocamp..is it very small?

Anatom

We're looking at car hire for the first two and a half weeks July, landing in Toulouse airport.

Has anyone got any tips for the cheapest / best deals out there?

We need a four-door at least, but after that I'm not too worried about how large the car needs to be - as long as its safe enough at 130km/h on the autoroutes...!!

Stone Deaf 4evr

crunchie1 wrote: »

Hi has anyone stayed in the vista accommodation with Eurocamp..is it very small?

vista 2 bed or vista 3 bed?

3 bed is noticeably more roomy than the 2 bed. the cooking area in the 3 bed has more storage also.

wall

Anatom wrote: »

We're looking at car hire for the first two and a half weeks July, landing in Toulouse airport.

Has anyone got any tips for the cheapest / best deals out there?

We need a four-door at least, but after that I'm not too worried about how large the car needs to be - as long as its safe enough at 130km/h on the autoroutes...!!

We're in quiet a similar situation. Last week in June, & first week and half of July from Toulouse airport. Having a bit of a look online, i see through Aer Lingus and Ryanair, theres a Fiat Tipo for 18 days for 493euro, or a C-Max tru Ryanair with Thrfty car hire for 487.
I dont know if these are good or standard prices for that time of year.

Anatom

wall wrote: »

We're in quiet a similar situation. Last week in June, & first week and half of July from Toulouse airport. Having a bit of a look online, i see through Aer Lingus and Ryanair, theres a Fiat Tipo for 18 days for 493euro, or a C-Max tru Ryanair with Thrfty car hire for 487.
I dont know if these are good or standard prices for that time of year.

Ta

Seems pricey to me. Herself has been looking at around the 400 mark so far. I hadn't considered booking with either airline - we're flying AL this year I think - but I'll look now!

sillysocks

wall wrote: »

We're in quiet a similar situation. Last week in June, & first week and half of July from Toulouse airport. Having a bit of a look online, i see through Aer Lingus and Ryanair, theres a Fiat Tipo for 18 days for 493euro, or a C-Max tru Ryanair with Thrfty car hire for 487.
I dont know if these are good or standard prices for that time of year.

Haven’t hired in France, only Spain but just make sure all things are equal when you are comparing-price of child seats if needed, whether petrol is included, insurance extras etc etc. So many variables that can add on a lot when you arrive.

Mountainsandh

sillysocks wrote: »

Haven’t hired in France, only Spain but just make sure all things are equal when you are comparing-price of child seats if needed, whether petrol is included, insurance extras etc etc. So many variables that can add on a lot when you arrive.

And take the extra insurance for punctures ! I had a puncture once, the repair itself wasn't too bad price wise, but they held the liability money (huge !) As a matter of fact for 4 months, and that was with me hounding them on the phone to just process the file ! Puncture had long been repaired of course so it was just them holding back a large sum of my money for no particular reason.

feedthegoat

Any campsites out there with no mosquito's, many reviews of sites in southern France mention them, my better half seems to attract them despite all sprays etc. Any ideas?

fdevine

feedthegoat wrote: »

Any campsites out there with no mosquito's, many reviews of sites in southern France mention them, my better half seems to attract them despite all sprays etc. Any ideas?

You are going to encounter mosquitos pretty much anywhere along the Med coast.

Some areas will be worse than others. Italy was the worst we've ever experienced. My OH seems more prone to "attack" than the rest of us but none of us escaped while in Italy.

Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) are also becoming more prevalent.

Anatom

feedthegoat wrote: »

Any campsites out there with no mosquito's, many reviews of sites in southern France mention them, my better half seems to attract them despite all sprays etc. Any ideas?

As has been said, there's nowhere really you won't have to deal with mosquitos or flies - even here in Ireland when its hot. We've been going to Les Sablons in the far south on the Med for the past seven years now, and haven't really had too much trouble with them. Insect spray is a necessary item to be brought with you, and the scented candle on the deck in the evenings are handy but, other than a few bites here and there, they haven't really been anything to put us off.

Seth Brundle

feedthegoat wrote: »

Any campsites out there with no mosquito's, many reviews of sites in southern France mention them, my better half seems to attract them despite all sprays etc. Any ideas?

Unlikely. We usually stay in Chateau des Marais near Chambord as a stopover point. Usually it's fine. Three years ago I was eaten alive. You can never tell.
Best bet might be to stay away from places near rivers or etangs!

Juggler101

kbannon wrote: »

Unlikely. We usually stay in Chateau des Marais near Chambord as a stopover point. Usually it's fine. Three years ago I was eaten alive. You can never tell.
Best bet might be to stay away from places near rivers or etangs!

As far as I'm aware, there was a specific problem with Chateau de Marais that year. They sprayed all the campsite to kill the mosquito larvae. Then there was major rain/floods and it washed away all the spray... Hence all the adult mosquitos emerging in the summer! It really turned me off that campsite though

feedthegoat

Thanks for all your replies, will have to make a decision soon, bit of a leap of faith. Les Sablons looks good, best place to book?

josip

feedthegoat wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, will have to make a decision soon, bit of a leap of faith. Les Sablons looks good, best place to book?

Been there a couple times. Always had fun.

Seth Brundle

Juggler101 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, there was a specific problem with Chateau de Marais that year. They sprayed all the campsite to kill the mosquito larvae. Then there was major rain/floods and it washed away all the spray... Hence all the adult mosquitos emerging in the summer! It really turned me off that campsite though

Thanks.
We stayed there for a few nights en route to the Dordogne (http://www.lapalombiere.fr near Sarlat) and on our way back home. It was nice again with more Irish than in previous years.
It's a lot better than some campsites I stayed in over the years.

Mountainsandh

feedthegoat wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, will have to make a decision soon, bit of a leap of faith. Les Sablons looks good, best place to book?

Les Sablons is brilliant.

Many places in France spray on a local scale, like if they have a lake/pond and tourism nearby.
I was in Les Sablons twice and both times expected mosquitoes but they didn't really materialize, so what with the pond being right beside it, I guess they keep it well sprayed on a regular basis.

Hope you don't get caught the one year you go !

SusanC10

Juggler101 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, there was a specific problem with Chateau de Marais that year. They sprayed all the campsite to kill the mosquito larvae. Then there was major rain/floods and it washed away all the spray... Hence all the adult mosquitos emerging in the summer! It really turned me off that campsite though

We stayed there last Summer and had no issue at all with Mozzies - and I tend to attract them !

darragh o meara

Heading to Le Littoral in June, Is this one of the campsites that insist on the men wearing the budgie smugglers in the pool?
Any other info on the place? Is there much in the surrounding areas for day trips for kids?

treascon

Yes that’s the way it was when we were there in 2011 anyway. There’s an acquarium close by that we spent a few hours in on a rainy day. Worth a look. Didn’t notice much else in the immediate area

McSween

I haven’t done this in ten years. Can you pre-order and pick up from the likes of E.Leclerc supermarkets these days?

Usually the Roscoff trip is fine timewise but there will be a certain amount of stuff I would pre-add to the basket if I could.

Anatom

feedthegoat wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, will have to make a decision soon, bit of a leap of faith. Les Sablons looks good, best place to book?

We go via Eurocamp but I know of people who go directly via the campsite itself or even via Roan. You won't regret it!

micks_address

Hi folks,
Any recommendations for car hire from nantes Airport 7th July? When would be optimum time to book?
Thanks,
Mick

CelticRambler

Was there a particular scheme for Irish ferry travellers, or was it a service offered by the supermarket? If it was a supermarket thing, then I'd say it'll have been replaced by their "click and collect" service that's available all over the country, called le Drive - https://www.leclercdrive.fr/ Order and pay online, drive to the collection point, someone will load everything into your boot. That said, I'm not sure how they handle registrations from overseas customers ...

oinkely

Question re campsites in July - do we need to book in advance? We will be towing our own caravan. Went in June and April in the last few years so July is new to us. Heading on the 7th and back at the end of the month.

Anatom

oinkely wrote: »

Question re campsites in July - do we need to book in advance? We will be towing our own caravan. Went in June and April in the last few years so July is new to us. Heading on the 7th and back at the end of the month.

I would definitely book ahead. It completely depends on where you're going to, but the first weekend in July every year (from the Sunday onwards) sees a lot of Germans and Austrians arriving in campsites in the south, as that's the real start of the European holiday season. I'd book a spot or two just in case...

oinkely

Thanks Anatom

Not going too far south, first stop will be around Crozon so booking that one cause a lot of the campsites there don't have a pool, and orders are for a pool! Then hoping to head towards St Jean de monts and meet up with some friends in a campsite there but they dont take advance bookings so will have to wing that one.

Ill look into the rest of the stops too and see what i can find.

Anatom

oinkely wrote: »

... orders are for a pool!.

The real bosses always demand a pool!!