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

ShamoBuc

manshay wrote: »

There is an Irish company called Campotel who are streets ahead of the larger companies. The staff that we met were mostly Irish school teachers, so their kids clubs were excellent. They had the cleanest accommodation, we cleaned our accommodation very well but they then spent up to 1 hour cleaning it too.

(Last summer we went with Eurocamp in Bella Italia, Lake Garda. We checked out, without intensively cleaning the accommodation as per instructions, 20 minutes later we walked past the mobile and a dutch family were moving in; it had not been touched)

I have no links to Campotel apart from the fact I am a happy customer.
We are not using them again this year as they don't offer accommodation where we want to go

I had the pleasure of working for Campotel many, many moons ago in the Vendee. 6 great months on Le Bois Dormant. The fact that all the clients were Irish meant I literally couldn't walk past without being invited over for a drink and a chat, best time ever.
I do find that they are more expensive than other operators but they have a great reputation.

average_runner

McSween wrote: »

Does the Oscar Wilde pick up a roaming signal from UK from Rosslare to Roscoff. I havent been on the route in ten years and the last time I picked up a ship cellular signal (which was then reflected on my next bill). And is the wifi any good in cabins?

If your in the premium cabins you get good free wifi

mirrorwall14

Just discovered this thread and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the internet and the myriad of campsites and reviews out there. We are two adults and a three year old looking at a week in France, taking the car on the ferry (we've done ferry to England then Edinburgh so have done long days driving and have a big car).

Can anyone recommend a campsite? I literally don't know where to start!

Staplor

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Just discovered this thread and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the internet and the myriad of campsites and reviews out there. We are two adults and a three year old looking at a week in France, taking the car on the ferry (we've done ferry to England then Edinburgh so have done long days driving and have a big car).

Can anyone recommend a campsite? I literally don't know where to start!

I've been to 2 and I'd recommend both, Le Clarys Plage and Le Littoral, both in the Vendee, both about 4 or 5 hour drive from ferries. Both are nice. Clarys Plage is beside a supermarket and a few shops/small bars, sandy beach. Nice place. Le Littoral is smaller, in the countryside, a drive to anything other than the on site shop, bar, restaurant, bakery. Swimming pools seem better for smaller kids in Le Littoral. I'm going back to Le Littoral this year for that, and it just seemed nicer, prettier. (Last year I took a spin from Clarys Plage to Le Littoral to compare, and decided there and then where I'd holiday in 2018).

juneg

Sol a go go. Nice for smallies and direct access to the beach. La garangeoire if you fancy going 5 miles inland they have ponies and a lake onsite

GeneralSherman

Domaine Les Ormes is great for a week. About and hour and a half from Cherbourg. Very clean and good indoor pool for a 3 year old. Definately won't be too hot, if anything you could get some rain. Very rural.

Also Le Pointe St Gilles in Benodet is good for young families. In a good location with a walking path along the coast to a nice seaside resort/town. Campsite is much more compact. About an hour and a half from Roscoff seeing as you are going for a week only.

Gavlor

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Just discovered this thread and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the internet and the myriad of campsites and reviews out there. We are two adults and a three year old looking at a week in France, taking the car on the ferry (we've done ferry to England then Edinburgh so have done long days driving and have a big car).

Can anyone recommend a campsite? I literally don't know where to start!

Another thumbs up for clarys plage. If kids club isn’t important the have look at hello France for booking. We used them for a late booking two years ago and got a great deal https://www.hellofrance.ie/le_clarys_plage-s2.html

flangemeistro

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Just discovered this thread and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the internet and the myriad of campsites and reviews out there. We are two adults and a three year old looking at a week in France, taking the car on the ferry (we've done ferry to England then Edinburgh so have done long days driving and have a big car).

Can anyone recommend a campsite? I literally don't know where to start!

Domaine Des Ormes in Dol De Bretange only 2.5 hours from the Ferry.

Les Mouettes in Carantec only 15 minutes from the ferry in Roscoff.

La Pointe St- Gilles in Benodet only 1 hr 45 from the ferries.

All fantastic sites with top notch facilities which we're going back to this year bar the one in Benodet because we're trying Domaine De Kerlann in Pont Avon which is the same distance from the ferry but has fantastic reviews and we try to do a new site every year.

Some people travel 6-8 hours in a car for 30° plus temperatures but I'm going for the scenery and dry weather which we've been blessed with on our last four trips in late May early June.

First Up

I can't comment on the various camping options (not my thing) but if you are only going for a week, do you really want to pick somewhere that requires a five hour drive each way?

mirrorwall14

First Up wrote: »

I can't comment on the various camping options (not my thing) but if you are only going for a week, do you really want to pick somewhere that requires a five hour drive each way?

Actually we were just discussing this. Does anyone know what the mobile networks are like in France? My husband works from home now so for the first time ever its possible we could actually go abroad for an extended period provided he can get some level of internet access 3G or 4G to work

josip

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Actually we were just discussing this. Does anyone know what the mobile networks are like in France? My husband works from home now so for the first time ever its possible we could actually go abroad for an extended period provided he can get some level of internet access 3G or 4G to work

I've worked many nights from the tent in French, Italian, Swiss and German campsites since 2014.
Only once was mobile internet not adequate for what I was doing (mainly low volume remote login ascii text) with occasional 5Mb transfers.
That time I just headed off to the reception area.
Being able to work on holidays can be great as long as it doesn't affect the daytime family activities.

First Up

josip wrote: »

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Actually we were just discussing this. Does anyone know what the mobile networks are like in France? My husband works from home now so for the first time ever its possible we could actually go abroad for an extended period provided he can get some level of internet access 3G or 4G to work

I've worked many nights from the tent in French, Italian, Swiss and German campsites since 2014.
Only once was mobile internet not adequate for what I was doing (mainly low volume remote login ascii text) with occasional 5Mb transfers.
That time I just headed off to the reception area.
Being able to work on holidays can be great as long as it doesn't affect the daytime family activities.

Do campsites have wifi?

mirrorwall14

josip wrote: »

I've worked many nights from the tent in French, Italian, Swiss and German campsites since 2014.
Only once was mobile internet not adequate for what I was doing (mainly low volume remote login ascii text) with occasional 5Mb transfers.
That time I just headed off to the reception area.
Being able to work on holidays can be great as long as it doesn't affect the daytime family activities.

Now thats definitely interesting. I'll chat the husband and see. If we are heading across it would be nice to make a fortnight of it and if we had some internet access that would definitely be possible I think!

54and56

First Up wrote: »

Do campsites have wifi?

Generally yes for the sort of family oriented holiday sites most people here use and generally you pay per day/week and access is limited to one or two devices per "licence" but g generally the WiFi around the bar/restaurant area is free.

Be aware though that the quality is closer to dial up from the 90's than what you are used to here. It's designed to facilitate checking email and reading news websites etc. Forget about streaming, Netflix or downloading/sending large files.

3G/4G is ok in built up areas but my roaming experience to date in France has generally been poor. The days of being able to gouge roaming customers are over so with capped income we now seem to be limited to 3G at best and often Edge/HSPA.

ShamoBuc

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Now thats definitely interesting. I'll chat the husband and see. If we are heading across it would be nice to make a fortnight of it and if we had some internet access that would definitely be possible I think!

I've found the Wi-Fi on sites generally to be ok. But I've had the need to spend an hour or two online a few times for work and logged on around 6am, Wi-Fi was brilliant. It starts getting slower as people wake up.

webpal

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Now thats definitely interesting. I'll chat the husband and see. If we are heading across it would be nice to make a fortnight of it and if we had some internet access that would definitely be possible I think!

I was able to watch tv using mobile data last summer, it wasn't consistent (picture break every now and then) but neither is my satellite broadband here!

mirrorwall14

webpal wrote: »

I was able to watch tv using mobile data last summer, it wasn't consistent (picture break every now and then) but neither is my satellite broadband here!

Do you mind asking where you were?

webpal

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Do you mind asking where you were?

Solagogo in St Hilaire de Riez. Are you after wifi or data coverage? Wifi can be hit and miss but if you get lucky with with a good data spot there are plenty of ways you can avail of the new roaming laws. I never had any problems with data coverage around there.

webpal

Also don't forget mcdonalds, always the last resort for free wifi on this forum!

mirrorwall14

webpal wrote: »

Solagogo in St Hilaire de Riez. Are you after wifi or data coverage? Wifi can be hit and miss but if you get lucky with with a good data spot there are plenty of ways you can avail of the new roaming laws. I never had any problems with data coverage around there.

Either really. We have bought sim cards on most of our foreign holidays lately for our own use in a spare phone. We're looking at 8-10 days now (kinda splitting the difference a bit) which would make it a little more of a luxury and less of an absolute necessity

webpal

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Either really. We have bought sim cards on most of our foreign holidays lately for our own use in a spare phone. We're looking at 8-10 days now (kinda splitting the difference a bit) which would make it a little more of a luxury and less of an absolute necessity

Ok, I guess you are familiar with the data side of things so. Wifi is free in some campsites but I wouldn't depend on it. It's usually in the bar or reception so can attract a lot of use. Personally I wouldn't ever buy wifi, it can be expensive. I'd rather go down the extra SIM card route.

mirrorwall14

webpal wrote: »

Ok, I guess you are familiar with the data side of things so. Wifi is free in some campsites but I wouldn't depend on it. It's usually in the bar or reception so can attract a lot of use. Personally I wouldn't ever buy wifi, it can be expensive. I'd rather go down the extra SIM card route.

Yeah it’ll be a case of trying to ensure wherever we go has decent coverage now

flangemeistro

Hi guys just wondering if anyone has an experience of renting a private mobile home on a Siblu campsite.

I emailed a few private mobile home owners on directholidayhomes.com for Domaine Der Kerlann back in January but only one of them replied and their security deposit was ludicrous.

So I went ahead and booked direct with Siblu for the week & paid a €70 deposit.
Anyway one of the other private owners replied to me today and their mobile home is available for my dates stunning, even taking into account losing my deposit to Siblu this mobile will still work out €40 but it's not about the money it's about the washing machine, tv and DVD player that after included.

My query is if I rent a private mobile home on a Siblu site will I still be able to use the pool facilities and will my kids still be able to use the kids club?

I've asked the mobile home owner also but haven't received a reply.

Thanks.

Stone Deaf 4evr

flangemeistro wrote: »

Hi guys just wondering if anyone has an experience of renting a private mobile home on a Siblu campsite.

I emailed a few private mobile home owners on directholidayhomes.com for Domaine Der Kerlann back in January but only one of them replied and their security deposit was ludicrous.

So I went ahead and booked direct with Siblu for the week & paid a €70 deposit.
Anyway one of the other private owners replied to me today and their mobile home is available for my dates stunning, even taking into account losing my deposit to Siblu this mobile will still work out €40 but it's not about the money it's about the washing machine, tv and DVD player that after included.

My query is if I rent a private mobile home on a Siblu site will I still be able to use the pool facilities and will my kids still be able to use the kids club?

I've asked the mobile home owner also but haven't received a reply.

Thanks.

Its been a while since i was in a siblu camp, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to buy a pass from them to use the pool and kids club facilities. - I'm sure Jean will be on shortly to clarify as I believe he has done the privat rental a few times.

pmpa

flangemeistro wrote: »

Hi guys just wondering if anyone has an experience of renting a private mobile home on a Siblu campsite.

I emailed a few private mobile home owners on directholidayhomes.com for Domaine Der Kerlann back in January but only one of them replied and their security deposit was ludicrous.

So I went ahead and booked direct with Siblu for the week & paid a €70 deposit.
Anyway one of the other private owners replied to me today and their mobile home is available for my dates stunning, even taking into account losing my deposit to Siblu this mobile will still work out €40 but it's not about the money it's about the washing machine, tv and DVD player that after included.

My query is if I rent a private mobile home on a Siblu site will I still be able to use the pool facilities and will my kids still be able to use the kids club?

I've asked the mobile home owner also but haven't received a reply.

Thanks.

Hi,

I have stayed on Siblu sites a good few times now, I have always booked directly as every time I look into booking privately the deposits are very high and as you say the security deposit is huge. If you book privately you have to purchase the wrist bands for each person to gain access to the pool, entertainment etc. I have met people that rented privately every year and never had any issues but I can never get a cheaper deal booking privately some mobiles one year were a lot more expensive booking privately. If you pay the extra and hand pick the mobile through Siblu you might get lucky and get a mobile with everything you want, from memory when we said in Kerlann we had a mobile with aircon and TV but it didn't have a washing machine.

flangemeistro

pmpa wrote: »

Hi,

I have stayed on Siblu sites a good few times now, I have always booked directly as every time I look into booking privately the deposits are very high and as you say the security deposit is huge. If you book privately you have to purchase the wrist bands for each person to gain access to the pool, entertainment etc. I have met people that rented privately every year and never had any issues but I can never get a cheaper deal booking privately some mobiles one year were a lot more expensive booking privately. If you pay the extra and hand pick the mobile through Siblu you might get lucky and get a mobile with everything you want, from memory when we said in Kerlann we had a mobile with aircon and TV but it didn't have a washing machine.

Thanks very much for the reply. I know I'm probably pushing it but from memory can you remember how much the wristbands were?

The last correspondence I had from the private owner was when he asked me the ages of everyone in my party so I'm guessing he's investigating the wristband prices for me.

When you say pay the extra and handpick my own mobile I didn't see any option like that on the Siblu website when I was booking.

pmpa

flangemeistro wrote: »

Thanks very much for the reply. I know I'm probably pushing it but from memory can you remember how much the wristbands were?

The last correspondence I had from the private owner was when he asked me the ages of everyone in my party so I'm guessing he's investigating the wristband prices for me.

When you say pay the extra and handpick my own mobile I didn't see any option like that on the Siblu website when I was booking.[/QUOTE

I think they are roughly e35 per adult per week and e17 for each child per week, if you book them online you get a discount.
I always handpick my mobile, when you put in the dates you want on the Siblu website, it should show you the handpicked mobiles available, you can click on the site map and it will show you exactly where the mobile is situated and what extras it has. Give them a ring if none are showing up online as I'd be very surprised if all the handpicked mobiles are booked already. You pay e7 per night extra if you handpick your mobile,but I prefer to know what exactly the mobile has and where it is on a site before I go!

molly dolly

wifi can be patchy but we try and limit screen time on hols (much to the 7 year olds horror). he didn't rate Les Alicourtes in the Loire Valley because the wifi was terrible.

We've booked Sequoia Parc this year. We have a 13 year old boy (who I may decide to leave at home yet). He needs big, active site. Any idea does this site show GAA premiership games the only requirement of middle boy. Driving in france never bothers me, its an adventure. Our absolute fab site is a 9 hour drive. St Avit.

54and56

flangemeistro wrote: »

Hi guys just wondering if anyone has an experience of renting a private mobile home on a Siblu campsite.

I emailed a few private mobile home owners on directholidayhomes.com for Domaine Der Kerlann back in January but only one of them replied and their security deposit was ludicrous.

So I went ahead and booked direct with Siblu for the week & paid a €70 deposit.
Anyway one of the other private owners replied to me today and their mobile home is available for my dates stunning, even taking into account losing my deposit to Siblu this mobile will still work out €40 but it's not about the money it's about the washing machine, tv and DVD player that after included.

My query is if I rent a private mobile home on a Siblu site will I still be able to use the pool facilities and will my kids still be able to use the kids club?

I've asked the mobile home owner also but haven't received a reply.

Thanks.

I rented privately last year for the 1st time and it was perfect, we're doing it again this year with the same owner. We got a much nicer mobile (AC, washing machine, Sky TV etc) for significantly less than the rent quoted by Siblu and the owner threw in 2 adult fun passes (they get X amount included in their annual service charge) but we had to pay for 2 for the kids which cost €43 each for the 20 days we were there so you need to factor that into your thinking.

mirrorwall14

Does anyone know if its possible to get access to the eurocamp kids clubs if you chose a different operator? (Happy to pay). The dates we want, the only available accomodation is 876 with eurocamp where as its between 400 and 650 with everyone else