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

MorganIRL

amor3 wrote: »

MorganIRL a pic of the site map.... if it works!!!

Thanks very much.. OMG it's big, just realised it's just down the road from la pinede so I reckon high chance of mozzies.... Thks again

beggars_bush

MorganIRL wrote: »

Hi is Les Charmettes a large site? The large chance of mozzies at la pinede has put herself of the site.. TIA

Stayed there as a child in 1989
Still have great memories

average_runner

MorganIRL wrote: »

Hi is Les Charmettes a large site? The large chance of mozzies at la pinede has put herself of the site.. TIA

Yeah its gone very big. We never returned after the extension, just got too packed and the weather isn't great. They need a proper kids pool like other siblu sites have.

We did enjoy our time there but when you see other siblu sites, you know there is alot better out there.

amor3

average_runner wrote: »

Yeah its gone very big. We never returned after the extension, just got too packed and the weather isn't great. They need a proper kids pool like other siblu sites have.

We did enjoy our time there but when you see other siblu sites, you know there is alot better out there.

Surprised you think that about the pools.. it's why I'm finding it hard to find another site as none of them compare to the pool complex here. We also got great weather anytime we've been, but maybe that because we always go in July or August though..

average_runner

amor3 wrote: »

Surprised you think that about the pools.. it's why I'm finding it hard to find another site as none of them compare to the pool complex here. We also got great weather anytime we've been, but maybe that because we always go in July or August though..

We travel on the first 2 weeks of July each year, les charmettes we might get one week of good weather, max temp of 25 ish but there is always a cold breeze at the pool. We always monitor the weather there when away and it was the same this year except for 1 or 2 days. (21 degrees some days) We like it around 31 and the lowest was 28 but thats us.

The pool complex is good, but when you have a 6 and 8 year old, its not the type of pool where kids can play on their own with other kids. For example La Carabasse has a massive pool up to the kids waist and then a deeper pool where we can bring the kids to swim. Just gives more independence to play.

One big difference we notice between les charmettes and la carabasse was at the night show for the kids. Les charmettes would have the kids battling for one small prize but La Carabasse would give up to 10 small prizes per game and the entertainment area in La Carabasse was maintained alot better.

Funnily enough, people we met at les charmettes, now go to la carabasse so the kids have a great group to play with.

Les Charmettes has a better cycling environment outside it though, but La Carabasse has better beach facilities.

amor3

average_runner wrote: »

We travel on the first 2 weeks of July each year, les charmettes we might get one week of good weather, max temp of 25 ish but there is always a cold breeze at the pool. We always monitor the weather there when away and it was the same this year except for 1 or 2 days. (21 degrees some days) We like it around 31 and the lowest was 28 but thats us.

The pool complex is good, but when you have a 6 and 8 year old, its not the type of pool where kids can play on their own with other kids. For example La Carabasse has a massive pool up to the kids waist and then a deeper pool where we can bring the kids to swim. Just gives more independence to play.

One big difference we notice between les charmettes and la carabasse was at the night show for the kids. Les charmettes would have the kids battling for one small prize but La Carabasse would give up to 10 small prizes per game and the entertainment area in La Carabasse was maintained alot better.

Funnily enough, people we met at les charmettes, now go to la carabasse so the kids have a great group to play with.

Les Charmettes has a better cycling environment outside it though, but La Carabasse has better beach facilities.

We had days of 37 this year and lows just before we left on Saturday of 24 . Our kids 8, 5 and 1 had great fun in the pools, although we did have to follow the 1 year old constantly obviously.

Would love to try somewhere new though, it's a case of going with what I know at this stage. Do you do the drive to carabasse. It looks good!

average_runner

amor3 wrote: »

We had days of 37 this year and lows just before we left on Saturday of 24 . Our kids 8, 5 and 1 had great fun in the pools, although we did have to follow the 1 year old constantly obviously.

Would love to try somewhere new though, it's a case of going with what I know at this stage. Do you do the drive to carabasse. It looks good!

Yeah a 1 year is tough work. We flew to la Carabasse, 2 hour drive from Toulouse and its a motorway 98% of the way.

I know a few who drove, but they were staying for 3 weeks, they broke the drive up over 2 days.

8 and 5 year old would love la carabasse. Kids clubs are brilliant and the town is a 5 min walk max, so ye could go for coffee while the 2 kids are at the kids club.

Not sure how much Irish are there after the first 2 weeks of July though as its French hols then.

MorganIRL

How have people found the Siblu group to use? I'm guessing all mobiles are privately owned and they use this group to rent mobiles, hence the damage deposit and cleaning costs and just from reading comments on sites. Sry for all the questions about sites but want my searching to be done before the brexit rush.

average_runner

MorganIRL wrote: »

How have people found the Siblu group to use? I'm guessing all mobiles are privately owned and they use this group to rent mobiles, hence the damage deposit and cleaning costs and just from reading comments on sites. Sry for all the questions about sites but want my searching to be done before the brexit rush.

There is only cleaning cost if you don't clean it yourself.

Siblu are grand to deal with, but if you have special requests get it in an email.

Stone Deaf 4evr

MorganIRL wrote: »

How have people found the Siblu group to use? I'm guessing all mobiles are privately owned and they use this group to rent mobiles, hence the damage deposit and cleaning costs and just from reading comments on sites. Sry for all the questions about sites but want my searching to be done before the brexit rush.

I stand to be corrected on this, but the difference I've found between siblu and other places is:

Siblu Own and manage the park in its entirety, you can buy your own mobile home, and have them act as a letting agent, renting it out while you're not there, and you also pay them an annual fee for this. But I would assume that the vast majority of mobile homes on the site are owned by Siblu itself (I only say this, as over the course of a few years on Siblu Sites, only once did I stay in a mobile that had any semblance of personalisation in the form of a planted garden.)

The likes of Eurocamp, lifestyle, Roan, etc, tend to have a smaller number of mobile homes on bigger sites, but the camps themselves are not run by Eurocamp etc.

average_runner

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I stand to be corrected on this, but the difference I've found between siblu and other places is:

Siblu Own and manage the park in its entirety, you can buy your own mobile home, and have them act as a letting agent, renting it out while you're not there, and you also pay them an annual fee for this. But I would assume that the vast majority of mobile homes on the site are owned by Siblu itself (I only say this, as over the course of a few years on Siblu Sites, only once did I stay in a mobile that had any semblance of personalisation in the form of a planted garden.)

The likes of Eurocamp, lifestyle, Roan, etc, tend to have a smaller number of mobile homes on bigger sites, but the camps themselves are not run by Eurocamp etc.

Almost right. If you buy a new mobile home off siblu, they will give you a discount on your site fees if you allow them to rent it out over the busy period. But Siblu will only rent out mobile homes less than 5 years old.

For example in Les Charmettes you can't pick the mobile pitch you want until Siblu knows when the owner wants it to be available.


Sites like La Carabasse and les Charmettes would have older mobile homes on them and you can rent these privately, but Siblu is now trying to cripple this market.

redmissb

amor3 wrote: »

Surprised you think that about the pools.. it's why I'm finding it hard to find another site as none of them compare to the pool complex here. We also got great weather anytime we've been, but maybe that because we always go in July or August though..

Check out Camping Les Brunelles, best site we've stayed in..amazing pool complex. It's in the Vendee, I much preferred it to Charmettes.
Also you can book direct with owners on directholidayhomes, maybe it's been mentioned already though. We used them before and got a mobile with bikes included..very handy!

Edited to add it's Les Charmettes we booked via directholidayhomes. Les Brunelles we booked direct with campsite.

loyatemu

just back from 3 weeks on La Grande Metairie in Carnac

return crossing on the WBY on Monday was the roughest we've been on in 12 years of going to France, rounding Lands End we sailed straight through a deep depression (not unlike the one I'm experiencing today...)

Other than that I quite liked the new ferry, I think the layout is an improvement on the OW, the car decks are definitely more spacious with room to open your doors properly and drag a wheelie case between rows of cars. Food offerings are much the same as the old boat (the steakhouse has been replaced by a burger/taco joint). Cabins are more comfortable with a flatscreen TV in each.

The main negatives are the outside deck, which is just a big empty space at the back of the boat, I had liked sitting on the benches as we left port on the OW. Also the cinema - there's only 1 screen now, and despite queueing up for half an hour a lot of people didn't get into Aladdin on Monday.

amor3

loyatemu wrote: »

just back from 3 weeks on La Grande Metairie in Carnac

return crossing on the WBY on Monday was the roughest we've been on in 12 years of going to France, rounding Lands End we sailed straight through a deep depression (not unlike the one I'm experiencing today...)

Other than that I quite liked the new ferry, I think the layout is an improvement on the OW, the car decks are definitely more spacious with room to open your doors properly and drag a wheelie case between rows of cars. Food offerings are much the same as the old boat (the steakhouse has been replaced by a burger/taco joint). Cabins are more comfortable with a flatscreen TV in each.

The main negatives are the outside deck, which is just a big empty space at the back of the boat, I had liked sitting on the benches as we left port on the OW. Also the cinema - there's only 1 screen now, and despite queueing up for half an hour a lot of people didn't get into Aladdin on Monday.

I'm nearly sure there are 2 screens.. The Abbey and the peacock.. granted I didn't go to the cinema but had a stroll around and am just about positive there are 2 screens!

Seth Brundle

amor3 wrote: »

I'm nearly sure there are 2 screens.. The Abbey and the peacock.. granted I didn't go to the cinema but had a stroll around and am just about positive there are 2 screens!

Their website confirms that.

See the latest movies, for both adults and kids in a choice of movie theaters.

https://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/ships/wbyeats/deck-plan/

loyatemu

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Their website confirms that.

https://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/ships/wbyeats/deck-plan/

well they only had one movie on at a time on both crossings we were on, whereas on the OW there was always a choice of movie in the 2 screens.

My kids went to Aladdin on the way back, it was in the "Peacock" and the "Abbey" seemed to be unused (it was signposted for reserved seating but perhaps that's in a different room)

54and56

redmissb wrote: »

Check out Camping Les Brunelles, best site we've stayed in..amazing pool complex. It's in the Vendee, I much preferred it to Charmettes.

Don't suppose you know what the cycle tracks are like round there?

MorganIRL

redmissb wrote: »

Check out Camping Les Brunelles, best site we've stayed in..amazing pool complex. It's in the Vendee, I much preferred it to Charmettes.
Also you can book direct with owners on directholidayhomes, maybe it's been mentioned already though. We used them before and got a mobile with bikes included..very handy!

Edited to add it's Les Charmettes we booked via directholidayhomes. Les Brunelles we booked direct with campsite.

Looked at this site earlier, looks nice..looks like a big site :-(. Contacted them re rates next year, and they said won't be releasing rates till October. Not much up-to-date reviews on the site which I assume means it has predominantly main land eu guests,?

MorganIRL

54&56 wrote: »

Don't suppose you know what the cycle tracks are like round there?

These are the the routes for the vendee velo, hope it attaches. Loads of selections of routes around this site.

redmissb

MorganIRL wrote: »

Looked at this site earlier, looks nice..looks like a big site :-(. Contacted them re rates next year, and they said won't be releasing rates till October. Not much up-to-date reviews on the site which I assume means it has predominantly main land eu guests,?

Yeah you won't meet many Irish or English families there which is fine by us but those we did meet had been coming back year after year. It's a busy site in July and August which may not suit some. Pristine site though and the water complex is top class!

redmissb

54&56 wrote: »

Don't suppose you know what the cycle tracks are like round there?

Think they were good around there I'm trying to remember!

Macy0161

I did the vendee velo routes around Le Littoral this year, mainly solo early morning spins but also with the family. They were excellent. A lot of them are off road with compacted gravel or quiet roads with good surface. The "local" routes off them were a bit rougher. Anyway, here's the post on the cycling forum... https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=110491738&postcount=12

gerfmurphy

looking at la croix de vieux pont for 2020.
anyone recommend accomadation there? anyone stayed in a lodge or the deck house?
we went with yelloh this year and overall the accomadation was better. bigger bed better mobile, dishwasher tv etc.
we didnt have bbq and oven which was missed
stayed in les ormes chalet too and it was very nice
ideally I would like a bigger bed like 200x160 but ac would be nice too.
any good options other than eurocamp or alfresco? do they have private rentals?
tia

Munsterbhoy

La sirene are revamping the whole entertainment, restaurant and bar area for 2020. Restaurant badly needed doing. Pictures on their FB page..

Johnny_Fontane

54&56 wrote: »

LD Lines was 2014, much remembered!!

My greatest ever bargain alert find. LD Lines contacted me for drumming up so much business and gave me free food on the way over and back.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Munsterbhoy wrote: »

La sirene are revamping the whole entertainment, restaurant and bar area for 2020. Restaurant badly needed doing. Pictures on their FB page..

Much like the mafia, I though I was out, but you're pulling me back in!

That does look like a significant improvement.
At our last visit we ended up eating at the Bambou restaurant across the road in l'hippocampe as it was far more airy and modern looking.

The other thing about the restaurant / bar / arcade area that I didn't like as the years went on, was that the amount of Irish attending (and ending up swarming the quite small bar area in an effort to get as much beer inside them as possible) increased dramatically. If that space is increased and not used as a thoroughfare from the pool area to the entertainment area it could be a lovely setup.

Sleepy

gerfmurphy wrote: »

looking at la croix de vieux pont for 2020.
anyone recommend accomadation there? anyone stayed in a lodge or the deck house?
we went with yelloh this year and overall the accomadation was better. bigger bed better mobile, dishwasher tv etc.
we didnt have bbq and oven which was missed
stayed in les ormes chalet too and it was very nice
ideally I would like a bigger bed like 200x160 but ac would be nice too.
any good options other than eurocamp or alfresco? do they have private rentals?
tia

We stayed with Canvas there last year. Just a standard mobile but found them very good (and I got a great last minute deal on it!). Had a similar mobile with Yelloh! this year and was dissapointed to find it didn't have the fly screens that were installed on all the windows on the Canvas mobile.

BlazingSaddler

gerfmurphy wrote: »

looking at la croix de vieux pont for 2020.
anyone recommend accomadation there? anyone stayed in a lodge or the deck house?
we went with yelloh this year and overall the accomadation was better. bigger bed better mobile, dishwasher tv etc.
we didnt have bbq and oven which was missed
stayed in les ormes chalet too and it was very nice
ideally I would like a bigger bed like 200x160 but ac would be nice too.
any good options other than eurocamp or alfresco? do they have private rentals?
tia

Join this group on Facebook, seriously informative and they have private owners who will list availability. https://www.facebook.com/groups/145635722125632/?ref=share

raddo

raddo wrote: »

So we were thinking of heading further south next year. Has anyone recommendations of parks similar to LCP but down a bit?? Just want to try something different. Any info would be great.

We have nearly pushed the button on booking Bonne Anse Plage.
Has anyone stayed there, how does it compare to Le Clarys Plage?

54and56

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

My greatest ever bargain alert find. LD Lines contacted me for drumming up so much business and gave me free food on the way over and back.

And rightly so!! I absolutely loved that route, it just made such a difference to be docking in St Nazaire and unpacking in St Jean de Monts less than 2 hours later!!

The fact it only cost me €168 one way including an outside 4 berth cabin was a serious bonus!!

I guess it's not commercially viable otherwise I'm sure one of IF, Stena or BF would be putting a boat on the route if only for the summer months.