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

MorganIRL

Hi has anyone stayed in this site Atlantic Club Montalivet, south of la Rive, but alot cheaper. Similar site. TIA

MorganIRL

Guys, I'm very confused on car hire in France. My reading of online documents for car hire firms is that there is an excess of €3000, and this is held on a credit card for the period.
1. Have I read this correct or am I missing something?
2. Is excessonline.ie the only way to bypass the above figure, or is there another way?

beggars_bush

MorganIRL wrote: »

Guys, I'm very confused on car hire in France. My reading of online documents for car hire firms is that there is an excess of €3000, and this is held on a credit card for the period.
1. Have I read this correct or am I missing something?
2. Is excessonline.ie the only way to bypass the above figure, or is there another way?

Take out your own excess, refuse their insurance, make sure you've a good limit on your card and debts are paid off

westgolf

MorganIRL wrote: »

Guys, I'm very confused on car hire in France. My reading of online documents for car hire firms is that there is an excess of €3000, and this is held on a credit card for the period.
1. Have I read this correct or am I missing something?
2. Is excessonline.ie the only way to bypass the above figure, or is there another way?

Hi

Excessonline is one option. We had the same queries this year and ended up going with indigo car hire. They are a kinda broker for car hire deals. Only had to bring car back on full tank and a 250 deposit which could be paid on arrival in cash or credit card so no block on card. Don't book with them until you have dates and flight times to hand.

MorganIRL

Gone very quiet on here. booked our hols for June nxt yr. Didn't wait for black Fri, not sure the sales wud be as good this yr. It'll be a holiday of firsts for us. Flying, car hire, 2 wks, south west coast. Haven't booked flights yet hoping for a sale.

MorganIRL

westgolf wrote: »

Hi

Excessonline is one option. We had the same queries this year and ended up going with indigo car hire. They are a kinda broker for car hire deals. Only had to bring car back on full tank and a 250 deposit which could be paid on arrival in cash or credit card so no block on card. Don't book with them until you have dates and flight times to hand.

Just looked on indigo, unless they have just changed policies, all the car companies require 1000-2000 excess to be held on a card for car hire and a deposit of 0-300.

average_runner

MorganIRL wrote: »

Gone very quiet on here. booked our hols for June nxt yr. Didn't wait for black Fri, not sure the sales wud be as good this yr. It'll be a holiday of firsts for us. Flying, car hire, 2 wks, south west coast. Haven't booked flights yet hoping for a sale.

Aer lingus sale doesn't beat the prices when first released, is what I found

SusanC10

We are heading to Italy for a change. Flying plus Car Hire plus Campsites.

Flights and Campsites booked but not Car Hire yet.

Baybay

Ferry booked including flexibility. A family wedding & then a friend’s wedding bookend the trip as currently booked. Both are also abroad but not in France so debating travelling to the second from France altogether & adding a few days on to the holiday at the end.

average_runner

SusanC10 wrote: »

We are heading to Italy for a change. Flying plus Car Hire plus Campsites.

Flights and Campsites booked but not Car Hire yet.

What age are the kids? What campsite?

Think we will leave France after next year, Italy is on our list

SusanC10

average_runner wrote: »

What age are the kids? What campsite?

Think we will leave France after next year, Italy is on our list

Kids will be 11 & 14. Bella Italia at Lake Garda and Norcenni Girasole in Tuscany.

westgolf

MorganIRL wrote: »

Just looked on indigo, unless they have just changed policies, all the car companies require 1000-2000 excess to be held on a card for car hire and a deposit of 0-300.

Don't book online. Call their booking line and outline your requirement. That's what I did as I didn't want a large block on my card.

beggars_bush

average_runner wrote: »

Aer lingus sale doesn't beat the prices when first released, is what I found

Aer Lingus prices for flights to the continent are way up on last year as far as I can see.

average_runner

beggars_bush wrote: »

Aer Lingus prices for flights to the continent are way up on last year as far as I can see.

We got Toulouse 50 - 100 euro cheaper this year.
Booked when they came available

beggars_bush

really?
flights to Geneva, Milan, Lyon with aer lingus are more expensive than last year

and we booked quite late

billbond4

For the tesco tokens, should I make a booking online first(to get online discount) then ring up and ask to pay off some of balance with tesco tokens?

First Up

For anyone thinking of taking the Epsilon from Dublin to Cherbourg, for anyone other than truck drivers, my advice is don't. The ferry is simply not designed for a crossing of 18-19 hours. It looks and feels like a works canteen; zero room to stretch legs, zero entertainment, zero distraction for kids.

Plus it leaves Dublin Port at the height of evening rush hour so you battle commuter traffic, queues for the East Link and people going to the 3 Arena and then the drive through the port itself.

The Stena ferry from Rosslare is easier (and almost as quick) to get to, has more space to relax in comfort, a cinema and its a shorter sail.

I'll give the WBY a try at some point but if its a choice between the Epsilon from Dublin or Stena Horizon from Rosslare, I'd take the latter every time.

And now they both sail on the same days - customer friendly eh?

Jpm123

billbond4 wrote: »

For the tesco tokens, should I make a booking online first(to get online discount) then ring up and ask to pay off some of balance with tesco tokens?

You have to ring them first to use your tesco tokens. When you ring them they will give you the discount price and will charge you a small fee every time you ring and pay some off with your tesco tokens. I think is around €20 each time

valtra2

Thinking of heading to Biarritz this year. Any recommendations on camps for a 5 and 7 year old. Will be hiring car. Was in la clarage plage last year and loved it.

loyatemu

Irish Ferries fare hikes have finally persuaded us to skip the boat next year, going to fly to southern France instead.

I'll miss being able to take the bikes and all the other crap that gets thrown into the roofbox (and the wine on the return trip), but I won't miss the extra packing, driving etc, and TBH I've had my fill of the ferry itself. The WBY is not worth the money they're now charging for the trip.

flangemeistro

I'm looking for a new site myself for anyone in the know please guys.
We've slowly extended our trips so last year we did 3 sites over 26 nights and this year we're going for the full month because in my eyes getting away is the hardest part so while we're away we might as well stay away.
Our two Staples are Les Mouettes for the last week or ten days as that's my wife's favourite and to be fair it hasn't been topped yet and the only negative I can find is the surrounding towns aren't plentiful.
I love Des Ormes mainly because we book with Canvas there and their kids camps and family camps are second to none even though I think the bar area & games room should be 3 times bigger and I wasn't that blown away with the dome last year.
Just to give you an idea of where we've been in past years we're La Grande Métairie, La Pointe St-Gilles and Domaine De Kerlann.

Also to give you an idea of our timeframe, we go mid June to mid July which is important as we found La Grand Metairie was like a ghost town in mid June last year, almost non existent night entertainment and we were told the full programme doesn't start until July.

Also with the youngest turning 2 at Christmas we might be tempted to travel a bit further south if the campsite is worth it so maybe 4.5 hours but nothing more.

I also wanted to include a few nights in puy du fou this year but all the accommodation is sold out already.

Thanks very much any info is appreciated.

Munsterbhoy

Anyone else holding out for another black friday deal from eurocamp. I got a 2 bed 2 bath espace in Dordogne in June for €40 pn last Yr. Looking to get a deal in Languedoc region this Yr.

Beanybabog

Hello, does anyone know of any good campsite with lodge or chalet type accomodation with 3-4 beds not too far from the ports in France? We went to a Yelloh Village last year and had two mobiles (us and my parents) but some appear to have new mobiles with an extra module on them which would suit us, but I have heard eurocamp have more facilities, but I can only find mobile homes. Appreciate any tips!

MorganIRL

loyatemu wrote: »

Irish Ferries fare hikes have finally persuaded us to skip the boat next year, going to fly to southern France instead.

I'll miss being able to take the bikes and all the other crap that gets thrown into the roofbox (and the wine on the return trip), but I won't miss the extra packing, driving etc, and TBH I've had my fill of the ferry itself. The WBY is not worth the money they're now charging for the trip.

Done the same ourselves this year. New experiences and all that. Got a good deal on a site near Bordeaux, didn't wanna wait till black Friday in case Eurocamp didn't Trump up with the reduced rates..

I liked the new boat, mostly cause it was from Dublin which was easier travelling for us.

ncit9933

We got Mid Aug with Irish Ferries for €1000, family of 5.
July coming in more expensive

Macy0161

flangemeistro wrote: »

Also with the youngest turning 2 at Christmas we might be tempted to travel a bit further south if the campsite is worth it so maybe 4.5 hours but nothing more.

I also wanted to include a few nights in puy du fou this year but all the accommodation is sold out already.

Thanks very much any info is appreciated.

We've done two years at Le Littoral, early season, around the June Bank Holiday. Once in a mobile via eurocamp, and last year in our own tent. They're no longer eurocamp I don't think, but the irish crowd who's name escapes me still had mobiles last year.

Great up to around 10/11 years old - ours seemed to be outgrowing it, and we're spreading our wings further south next year, otherwise have nothing but good things to say. We also didn't want to be sucked into the same place, at the same time, with the same people... But it's on the list to go back to when the children feck off, and we're travelling alone!

They have the animations and kids club going when we were there, and didn't see much difference from their change from Yelloh to Sandaya.

We didn't do puy du fou, but I know others who have done it handy enough from the site. Talmont castle also worth a half day.

loyatemu

ncit9933 wrote: »

We got Mid Aug with Irish Ferries for €1000, family of 5.
July coming in more expensive

that's OK - we were looking at around 1700 for 5 in July, which is silly money, and 500 more than last year.

pmpa

flangemeistro wrote: »

I'm looking for a new site myself for anyone in the know please guys.
We've slowly extended our trips so last year we did 3 sites over 26 nights and this year we're going for the full month because in my eyes getting away is the hardest part so while we're away we might as well stay away.
Our two Staples are Les Mouettes for the last week or ten days as that's my wife's favourite and to be fair it hasn't been topped yet and the only negative I can find is the surrounding towns aren't plentiful.
I love Des Ormes mainly because we book with Canvas there and their kids camps and family camps are second to none even though I think the bar area & games room should be 3 times bigger and I wasn't that blown away with the dome last year.
Just to give you an idea of where we've been in past years we're La Grande Métairie, La Pointe St-Gilles and Domaine De Kerlann.

Also to give you an idea of our timeframe, we go mid June to mid July which is important as we found La Grand Metairie was like a ghost town in mid June last year, almost non existent night entertainment and we were told the full programme doesn't start until July.

Also with the youngest turning 2 at Christmas we might be tempted to travel a bit further south if the campsite is worth it so maybe 4.5 hours but nothing more.

I also wanted to include a few nights in puy du fou this year but all the accommodation is sold out already.

Thanks very much any info is appreciated.

For Puy du Fou, have a look at Domaine de Mélusine, we stayed there last year. Fantastic place to stay for Puy du Fou. Literally, a three minute drive there. Accommodation was spotless.

flangemeistro

Macy0161 wrote: »

We've done two years at Le Littoral, early season, around the June Bank Holiday. Once in a mobile via eurocamp, and last year in our own tent. They're no longer eurocamp I don't think, but the irish crowd who's name escapes me still had mobiles last year.

Great up to around 10/11 years old - ours seemed to be outgrowing it, and we're spreading our wings further south next year, otherwise have nothing but good things to say. We also didn't want to be sucked into the same place, at the same time, with the same people... But it's on the list to go back to when the children feck off, and we're travelling alone!

They have the animations and kids club going when we were there, and didn't see much difference from their change from Yelloh to Sandaya.

We didn't do puy du fou, but I know others who have done it handy enough from the site. Talmont castle also worth a half day.

Thanks very much, I had a look and it seems right up our street, will probably make that our first stop for 8 nights then up to benodet for another 8 nights and finish off with 10 in Les Mouettes.

On the topic of Benodet, I mentioned that I stayed in la pont st Gilles 2 years ago and while we liked the site in general, best pool setup we've experienced, but the night time entertainment wasn't great.
Just wondering if anyone has stayed there and stayed in the other benodet campsite I think it's called port de plaisance and can you compare the both please.
Thanks

flangemeistro

pmpa wrote: »

For Puy du Fou, have a look at Domaine de Mélusine, we stayed there last year. Fantastic place to stay for Puy du Fou. Literally, a three minute drive there. Accommodation was spotless.

Thanks I'll check that out for 2021 because unfortunately puy du fou is sold out for June and July already for next year.