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

First Up

Deeman83 wrote: »

kippy wrote: »

Heading to Le Clarys Plage next week. Really looking forward to it now.
Haven't been there before but have been to Domaine Des Ormes a few years ago.
Three kids in tow, 7,4 and 1.

It looks like a great site with plenty options not to far away either.

I just had a few queries that folk who have already been there might be able to answer in advance of us going,
There is a golf course nearby - has anyone played it? Any comments? Can clubs be rented etc?
Are there any interesting spots in Sait Jean Du Monts itself that might entertain the kids for a day?

Cheers for all the info on this thread - it's been a great resource.

There is a monster truck/motorbike show on at the minute. Kids would love it.
There is a zoo futher south at des Sables d'Olonne. There are plenty of golf courses around, not sure about how to book, rent clubs but im sure it wouldnt be a problem. Lots of cycles routes in forest and along the promenade at the beach.
You can hire bike cars which is good fun. There are a lot of creperies along the beachfront. St jean de monts has a market every wednesday and saturday which is good to see. All sorts of things for sale.
Take a day trip to St Gilles De Croix, an excellent touristy fishing town with lots of restaurants and bars and an amazing marina,

Its St Gilles Croix de Vie in case anyone is putting it into a SatNav!

Sweet little town and beach. They have a very nice wine fair featuring the Loire's best producers but I think its in July.

Miley Byrne

kippy wrote: »

Heading to Le Clarys Plage next week. Really looking forward to it now.
Haven't been there before but have been to Domaine Des Ormes a few years ago.



There is a golf course nearby - has anyone played it? Any comments? Can clubs be rented etc?

I've played it twice and to be honest I could take it or leave it. I had my own clubs with me so didn't have to hire them but it isn't worth €70 which is what I think they are asking for at the moment. Greens are good but not enough irrigation to keep the fairways green so you can get really poor lies. The front 9 is also very very tight. If you veer slightly off line then it's au revoir to your ball. So if your looking for a nice relaxing round you could end up extremely frustrated because as i say a lot of it is very unforgiving off the tee.

First Up

Its a few years since I played it so memories are a bit hazy. I remember it as a "holiday" course so not too serious. Some nice views down over the beach and town. Some linksy holes - nice breeze.

If you have your own clubs (even a half set) it would make for a pleasant outing. But €70 to hire clubs? Nah, not worth it.

mr_edge_to_you

Heading to Sol a GoGo in St Hilaire De Riez next week having stayed in Les Ecureils last year.

As others have said it’s a really enjoyable cycle from Les Mouettes to St JDM. St Gille is a bit further away but a gorgeous place. Excellent cycle tracks all the way from St Hilaire to JdM.

We did the monster truck show last year. Our kids 5 and 2.5 (at the time) were amazed by it. It was a bit rough and ready but great craic.

One of a the best days out we had was a visit to Planete Sauvage drive-thru zoo. We would’ve spent the whole day there if we’d known how big it actually was.

Our 3 yr old is expecting to visit the Dinosaur Park first thing on Sunday morning after we arrive Saturday afternoon.

We were keeping the aquarium in La Rochelle in case there was a washout day. It would be a bit of a drive but having been there a few years ago I would highly recommend it. Our kids would love it.

One more piece of information I would give is that there is a SuperU in Les Mouettes which is open all day Sunday. It’s like a regular sized Tesco here. Our drive from Roscoff would’ve much more enjoyable had we known that we didn’t have to pop into a supermarket to pick up a few necessities (bread, milk, water etc) on the way.

webpal

Here at the moment very warm here currently. I’m doing a half marathon in St Hilaire in the morning so hopefully the good weather we had at home will have stood to me

seanin4711

webpal wrote: »

Here at the moment very warm here currently. I’m doing a half marathon in St Hilaire in the morning so hopefully the good weather we had at home will have stood to me

where did you find out about events in France?
doing berlin in 6 weeks and need a run out when we are over there!
thanks
best of luck BTW!

seanin4711

Hi All,

Week 1 L'Ocean Breton Carnac 18th Aug
2hrs + drive from Roscoff

Week 2 back up to Les Mouettes, Carantec. 24th Aug
20mins+ from Roscoff port

anyone been there and much to do around these areas?
heading over with a folding camper and two kids(waterslides were the campsite selection criteria)
plus campsites are usually fairly good so wanted to minimize driving.

thanks

John

webpal

seanin4711 wrote: »

where did you find out about events in France?
doing berlin in 6 weeks and need a run out when we are over there!
thanks
best of luck BTW!

I’ve been here previously so had seen it going on. Website here may have links to other races

54and56

webpal wrote: »

Here at the moment very warm here currently. I’m doing a half marathon in St Hilaire in the morning so hopefully the good weather we had at home will have stood to me

Best of luck Webpal - Courir comme le vent !!

54and56

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

We were keeping the aquarium in La Rochelle in case there was a washout day. It would be a bit of a drive but having been there a few years ago I would highly recommend it. Our kids would love it.

Super option if there's a rainy day or you just want to have a day out.

One tip (which I wished I'd known about before we visited) is to buy your ticket for the aquarium online or from your campsite if they sell them as it'll save you a long queue when you arrive, particularly if it's a wet day as it seems EVERYONE has the same idea on a wet day!!!

ONY

seanin4711 wrote: »

Hi All,

Week 1 L'Ocean Breton Carnac 18th Aug
2hrs + drive from Roscoff

Week 2 back up to Les Mouettes, Carantec. 24th Aug
20mins+ from Roscoff port

anyone been there and much to do around these areas?
heading over with a folding camper and two kids(waterslides were the campsite selection criteria)
plus campsites are usually fairly good so wanted to minimize driving.

thanks

John

I was in Les Mouettes earlier in the year. Not much in Carantec in the way of a village/town. There is a lovely coast walk and a couple of parks (we had a buggy so only saw bits and pieces of it). There is an island you can walk to when the tide is out. Table de ty pot is a lovely restaurant we tried when there.

Otherwise you can drive to Pol de Leon, or Morlaix (we saw Morliax during the flood clean up and it was lovely then so would be fantastic on a sunny day!)

The site itself is fantastic too!

mr_edge_to_you

seanin4711 wrote: »

Hi All,

Week 1 L'Ocean Breton Carnac 18th Aug
2hrs + drive from Roscoff

Week 2 back up to Les Mouettes, Carantec. 24th Aug
20mins+ from Roscoff port

anyone been there and much to do around these areas?

Carnac is gorgeous. Not sure if there’s a whole to do in the immediate area but its a lovely area. We use it to break the journey when sailing back from Roscoff. The neighbouring town Trinité sur Mer is lovely too.

Regarding Carantec I’ve no idea what there is to do in the area. We stayed in Brittany twice in gites and there just isn’t as much to do with kids. As an adult I absolutely love it though and would happily spend 12 nights there.

There’s a good zoo outside Lorient called Zoo Pont Scorf which was good. Also, there’s a big aquarium in Vannes which is handy for a rainy day.

You’re about 2.5hours from Mont St Michel which is well worth a visit and would make a great day out if you’re up for the drive.

Obviously as a camper you have the added bonus of justifying random visits to Decathlon!

talla

Got back to Ireland on Thursday from just under three weeks in France.
Travelled over on Brittany ferries on Saturday July 14th - no issues with the journey, usual quick loading /unloading.
Stopped over in a hotel in Bordeaux on the Sunday night on the way down to La Sirene.

Stayed in La Sirene from July 16th to July 29th.
Great weather, early 30's and only a couple of thunder showers over the two weeks.
As for the site itself, as everyone has mentioned before, its crazy busy.
We were staying in a Europcamp aspect down near the side entrance where the foam parties are held for those that know the site so it was a lot quieter down there and didnt have to navigate the car through the busy areas entering / leaving the site.
No complaints on the Eurocamp Aspect mobile, not sure I'd pay the slight slight premium over an Advant (big step up from espirit/ vista though).

Pool complex was great, the no sun loungers rule works IMO especially with the amount of people that can be in the pool complex - always managed to find a spot on the astroturf. However I would recommend bring fold up camping chairs if planning on just sun bathing / reading around the pool as it can get a bit uncomfortable on the back after a while. We bought some fold out chairs /loungers in the site shop that did the trick for us - bit steep though.
Pool area / slides were well supervised by the lifeguards.

Nighttime shows in the theater are definitely a step up from any other site however you need to be there extremely early to get a seat - we only went to one full show (the queen musical show) and popped in and out of others. I wasnt too pushed on the La Sirene bar / club in the evenings - I could take it or leave it but found the the Beach Bar a relaxing chilled out area @ night, just a pity that they stopped serving at around 10/ 10:30pm there so then had to move into main bar.

As for surrounding area we stayed onsite and argeles plage / port for the majority of the time but I'd recommend Collioure as a really nice picturesque town for a day out - just get there early for less hassle with parking.

I found mobile signal to be generally useless around the site (and most of argeles) even though I was always showing full 3G / 4G signal however the on site campsite was surprisingly very good (again best I've used at any site) and had no issues using my IPTV service to watch a couple of GAA matches or Netflix. Also no issues using the TPLink travel router linked in the thread a few pages back to share the wifi over multiple devices.

On the way back I stayed over in Nantes on Sunday 29th and then went to Mont St Michel for the day and then stayed in Camping La Valee in Houlgate Normandy for a couple of days while I did the D-Day sites.

This was the only downside of the holiday, Camping La Valee was meant to be a 5* site but not a patch on any of the other sites I've stayed in. Site was fairly run down, bit of a "Chav" crowd to it and bar area was a let down - wouldnt be recommending this site to anyone (I'll admit my judgement could have been slightly clouded by going from La Sirene to this site but still.....)

Would I go back to La Sirene - Yes, but I'd probably structure the holiday a bit differently as its a lot of driving. I'll probably look into staying in a site around the Bordeaux area for 5 days or so on the way down to break it up a bit more - currently thinking "La Reserve" (any idea when Siblu make booking available for 2019 Je_suis_Jean?). I know I could do the fly/drive option but it just doesnt appeal to me for some reason - I enjoy the whole Ferry experience.

Agent_47

talla, Cork to Santander, it would be half the drive in distance to La Sirene

talla

Agent_47 wrote: »

talla, Cork to Santander, it would be half the drive in distance to La Sirene

If it was the Pont Aven sailing from Cork to Santander, I'd jump at it but its the same vessel type that Stena use from Rosslare so its very basic.

Toots

Has anyone used the Intermarche Drive stores in France? It appears to be the nearest big supermarket to where I'm staying, but the website isn't letting me sign up for an account (Looks like you order online and can drive up and collect it) Does anyone know can you just use it as a regular shop and go in with a trolley?

talla

Toots wrote: »

Has anyone used the Intermarche Drive stores in France? It appears to be the nearest big supermarket to where I'm staying, but the website isn't letting me sign up for an account (Looks like you order online and can drive up and collect it) Does anyone know can you just use it as a regular shop and go in with a trolley?

Yes, just a normal supermarket (Intermarche drive store just means a petrol station is there also I think).
Used the the Intermarche Super et drive in Argeles Sur Mer and Houlgate.

54and56

talla wrote: »

I'll probably look into staying in a site around the Bordeaux area for 5 days or so on the way down to break it up a bit more - currently thinking "La Reserve" (any idea when Siblu make booking available for 2019 Je_suis_Jean?).

Hi Talla,

The siblu website doesn't have the 2019 calendar options open yet but when I was in La Reserve you could ask reception for a quote for dates in the 2019 summer season and they'd give you one which you could then book if you wanted to so it is possible to book 2019 now.

I'd suggest calling their call centre on 01 526 86 58 (it's a Dublin number which bounces to their French call centre) and see if they can help you or put you through to the La Reserve reception desk.

volchitsa

Toots wrote: »

Has anyone used the Intermarche Drive stores in France? It appears to be the nearest big supermarket to where I'm staying, but the website isn't letting me sign up for an account (Looks like you order online and can drive up and collect it) Does anyone know can you just use it as a regular shop and go in with a trolley?

I think they're usually set up alongside a normal super- or hyper-market, so to that extent yes you can just go in and shop, but the "Drive" part is actually a pick up point for pre-ordered internet shopping. So if you go to one where there is only a Drive (but I've no idea if that exists or if so how common they are) then you couldn't actually shop there unless you'd gone online first.

54and56

volchitsa wrote: »

I think they're usually set up alongside a normal super- or hyper-market, so to that extent yes you can just go in and shop, but the "Drive" part is actually a pick up point for pre-ordered internet shopping. So if you go to one where there is only a Drive (but I've no idea if that exists or if so how common they are) then you couldn't actually shop there unless you'd gone online first.

I've definitely seen a few "drive only" supermarkets around the place. They were often on small(ish) plots of land similar in footprint to a petrol station with 4-6 loading bays where customers can drive up and collect their shopping. IIRC they have fairly set opening times designed to facilitate collection by customers during lunch and/or after 9-5 type office hours.

It crossed my mind that one French supermarket must have decided early on during the internet boom that this was going to be the way forward and they all jumped on the same bandwagon believing people would prefer to order and collect rather than order and have delivered but I've rarely seen these "drive" locations being used and I get the feeling they've turned out to be a white elephant which the supermarkets are kind of stuck with given the infrastructure investment etc.

I think people either like to shop in the traditional manner or have shopping delivered. Tesco offer something similar where you can order and collect from their parked up van in Stillorgan Luas car park. The van literally sits there most of the day with a driver etc waiting for people to pick up their shopping. I just can't see how the cost of a van + a driver can make sense for the few people who use the service!!

^^^ Rambled off topic - apologies.

webpal

Finished the half marathon in one piece and just about on my knees. Started off ok, first few kms were in the shade so all went to plan, then the we turned into the sun and wow the heat was phenomenal, never got my pace back and ended up finishing about 20 mins slower then I would have liked.

My watch packed it on en route too probably due to the amount of sweat, it fogged up then condensation appeared then it went. I’ve never experienced heat like it. Its 12:48am now and I’m sitting outside in me cax having a beer ��.

Funnily enough I remember doing the athlone flatline a couple of years back and people were collapsing all over. Nobody was bothered by it yesterday, I guess we Irish are just not cut out for it.

Anyhoo, have an excuse now to spend some time in the local intersport and decathlon.

Also, someone was asking about unloading times from ferry, we docked on roscoff at 10:30 the other day and it took until 12 to get past passport control, I’ll definitely get the fastpass thingy next time

54and56

webpal wrote: »

Finished the half marathon in one piece and just about on my knees. Started off ok, first few kms were in the shade so all went to plan, then the we turned into the sun and wow the heat was phenomenal, never got my pace back and ended up finishing about 20 mins slower then I would have liked.

My watch packed it on en route too probably due to the amount of sweat, it fogged up then condensation appeared then it went. I’ve never experienced heat like it. Its 12:48am now and I’m sitting outside in me cax having a beer ��.

Funnily enough I remember doing the athlone flatline a couple of years back and people were collapsing all over. Nobody was bothered by it yesterday, I guess we Irish are just not cut out for it.

Anyhoo, have an excuse now to spend some time in the local intersport and decathlon.

Well done Webpal, serious achievement in they heat.

Enjoy decathlon!!

loyatemu

got back yesterday from 3 excellent weeks in France on the following sites:

Carnac, Grand Metairie
Geurand, Domain de Lenevo
Benodet, Point Saint Gilles (just one night here due to the WBYeats cockup).

happy to answer any questions on the sites or areas.

also, to reiterate my recommendation from earlier in the thread - go to Lily's Café in Rosslare for your brekky when you get off the ferry. Better and cheaper than the food on the OW.

HuntingDrog

loyatemu wrote: »

got back yesterday from 3 excellent weeks in France on the following sites:

Carnac, Grand Metairie
Geurand, Domain de Lenevo
Benodet, Point Saint Gilles (just one night here due to the WBYeats cockup).

happy to answer any questions on the sites or areas.

also, to reiterate my recommendation from earlier in the thread - go to Lily's Cafn Rosslare for your brekky when you get off the ferry. Better and cheaper than the food on the OW.

Was thinking of going to Grand Metairie or Point Saint Gilles next year. What was it like? My kids will be 12,11,8 and 6. My kids aren't great for going to the clubs and that but they do like going to do the activities on their own time. Let me know how you found both these sites. tks

loyatemu

HuntingDrog wrote: »

Was thinking of going to Grand Metairie or Point Saint Gilles next year. What was it like? My kids will be 12,11,8 and 6. My kids aren't great for going to the clubs and that but they do like going to do the activities on their own time. Let me know how you found both these sites. tks

Grand Metairie is a great site. My kids (age 11-15) aren't that big into the clubs either, but they have great entertainment for the younger kids in their newly-built amphitheatre every night, and there's a playground and indoor games room (with loads of table-tennis and pool tables), all of which are right beside the bar so you can have a drink whilst the kids are entertaining themselves.

There's also zipwires through the trees above the site (there's a fee for those). and a mini-farm that even the older kids loved (they have goats that spend most of their time pushing each other off the rocks).

Free wifi in the bar (it's not fast, but at least it's free. We paid for wifi at our pitch and it was still crap). Mobile coverage is terrible though.

The pool complex is decent, not as exciting in terms of waterslides as some other sites. There are 2 indoor pools for if the weather isn't great.

There are multiple nice beaches within 2 minutes drive (you can cycle out the back gate too); and Carnac is full of prehistoric megaliths, with some of the most famous alignments right in front of the campsite gates.

One negative point is that the pitches are quite tight.

St Gilles: as I mentioned we were only there for one night - it seemed more english-speaking than the other 2 sites we were on. Grand Metairie was maybe 50/50 French/non-French whereas St Gilles seemed about 70% British and Irish (DeLenevo was 90% French).

Compared to Grand Metairie it seemed more geared to younger kids; also the sports facilities (including the all important table-tennis) were a long walk from the bar and not usable at night which would be a negative for our kids.

Pool complex was pleasant enough - no sun loungers for some reason, just chairs, but it does have a bar/ice-cream stand at the pool which is not that common on French sites.

There's a lovely little beach directly outside the gates; and if you're staying with Eurocamp they have a big team there with clubs for all ages up to teens. Benodet is a nice resort too, and within walking/cycling distance of the campsite.

54and56

loyatemu wrote: »

also, to reiterate my recommendation from earlier in the thread - go to Lily's Café in Rosslare for your brekky when you get off the ferry. Better and cheaper than the food on the OW.

And if you're sailing into Cork with a bit of a drive north and you've a gra on you for a proper Irish Breakfast you absolutely won't beat Johnnys Restaurant & Takeaway in Waterglasshill.

AlanG

Just back from 18 days in France found a lot of useful information on here so decided to do a write up in case it helps anyone. .
Stayed in Domain Des Ormes (camping), Les Dunes in Brem Sur Mer (mobile) and then le septentrion (camping) near Le Mons.

Ferry from Rossalare to Cherbourg was great - smooth as can be and no problems. I would definetly recommend bringing breakfast rather than rushing in the morning to get the family fed.
Drove to Domain Des Ormes in about 2 hours - had the tent on the roof rack so took it easy. We had 5 nights camping here. It is a very large site - our pitch was close to the pool complex but be warned that some are very far away. Lots of people drove down to the pool area and shops due to the distance. Many eurocamp mobiles seemed to be very far away. As many people have said about domain des ormes it is a very expensive place but there is lots to do if you want to pay for it (5 per person for one of the worst mini golf courses I have ever seen). It cost 85 a night just for a pitch with electricity which as almost 3 times what other places cost. The staff were generally teenagers who didn't want to help with any issues or know how to help. The pools were good and the site was clean. The indoor pool was like human soup it was so packed even on nice days but next year they will have a new dome built over more pools so that problem should ease. It is a noisy site and the staff seem to make no effort to impose a curfew after midnight.
The site is however beautiful and there is lovely bar by the chateau as well as the main bar and one in the hotel. You can use the pool in the hotel and golf club if you want to get away from things. The local town is about 6 Km away and is very nice and has some life to it - unlike most non tourist towns in Norther France were it is almost impossible to feed anyone after 9pm and there are no shops in the town. We did a day trip to Mont St michael - it is an amazing town - go after 3 and it will be quieter.
Overall a good site and we would possibly go again.

Next we got a mobile in Les Dunes in Brem Sur Mer - this is a very french site - almost no one spoke English and there were no other Irish there - only a couple of GB cars. The local towns are again quiet but at least have some reasonable eating and shopping options. Site facilities are good but the mobiles are packed in very tightly. The main attraction of the site is that it is right on the beach - literally just outside a coded gate to a lifeguard patrolled beach with a couple of surf schools and a bar / cafe. The mobiles are all private and hired out by the site office so they are quite well stocked and a lot more homely than with the likes of Eurocamp. Things are pretty cheap and it is pretty quiet on site. There are good playgrounds and lots of people playing Pétanque each day. The 3 pools are nice and not too busy. Main drawback was the lack of English speaking kids so our kids didn't make any friends.

We used this as a base to go to the amazing Puy du Fou - I wont try to describe it but it is a super enjoyable theme park with no rides , just shows but that everyone in the family will enjoy. We also did the Nantes mechanical Elephant from here and it was also really good and a unique experience. (hint: get tickets for the big Carousel before 12 to get a second ride free.) The drive to Nantes was only about 75k but took over an hour and a half due to the low speed limits and city traffic.

Next stop was camping in le septentrion at Brulon outside La Mons. A really good site and very different - on a lake and forest with good mix of nationalities staying. It is cheap but well run with a nice bar and restaurant on site. Good for a 3 of 4 day stay. La Mons has a really historical old town which is bizarrely almost deserted despite being on a par with many medieval towns across Europe. This site was cheap and there are some nice towns around although restaurants are had to find. Not a lot to do on site if it was raining but the pool is indoors - no slides however. There is a big Pétanque area beside the site which has lots of locals playing and the lake also has an activity centre.

Stayed in a 500 year old B & B near Bayeux the final night and did Omaha beach and cemetery along with the guns at Lounges Sur Mer - both were well worth a visit. And can be done quite quiclky on the way to the ferry.

It was our first trip and very enjoyable - main surprise was how difficult it is to get food or drink outside the sites or after 9pm. Most villages and towns have no shops and if there is a restaurant it only opens 12-2 and 7-9. Even the hypermartkets generally don't open Sunday so if you want to get away from the site to eat then you really have to plan it.

gaillimh

Hi.
I’m on a dodgy phone here & can’t do a proper search of this thread so sorry if this has all been covered before...
Essentially I’m wondering if there is anywhere in France doable on the ferry in the last week of September & first week in October or is that just far too late to find anywhere with any life that will have some sun?
We have flights booked during that time but it’s looking like one of the party won’t be able to fly now so I’m wondering I we have any ferry options at all?
Thanks very much for any advice.

54and56

gaillimh wrote: »

Hi.
I’m on a dodgy phone here & can’t do a proper search of this thread so sorry if this has all been covered before...
Essentially I’m wondering if there is anywhere in France doable on the ferry in the last week of September & first week in October or is that just far too late to find anywhere with any life that will have some sun?
We have flights booked during that time but it’s looking like one of the party won’t be able to fly now so I’m wondering I we have any ferry options at all?
Thanks very much for any advice.

Most places on the west coast close in early September or certainly she back most of the entertainment and some of the facilities as site occupancy declines rapidly.

Some of the guys here (Stone Deaf 4 Ever) holiday on the southern Mediterranean coast in sites like La Sirene which is likely to have better weather at the end of September and they may know if some of the sites stay open and are busy that late in the season.

Whether you are up for such a long journey from the ferry is a different question!!

gaillimh

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Most places on the west coast close in early September or certainly she back most of the entertainment and some of the facilities as site occupancy declines rapidly.

Some of the guys here (Stone Deaf 4 Ever) holiday on the southern Mediterranean coast in sites like La Sirene which is likely to have better weather at the end of September and they may know if some of the sites stay open and are busy that late in the season.

Whether you are up for such a long journey from the ferry is a different question!!

Thanks for that Je suis jean.
I’m not even necessarily looking at campsites specifically - somewhere with a nice town with a decent selection of reasonably priced restaurants with a bit of sunshine is what we’re after.
But need to be able to get there without flying which is the trouble unfortunately.