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

Munsterbhoy

Sad news for me today as wife n 2 kids want us to fly drive to France next year after 8 yrs of taking the car, still though will have to get a weekend wine trip in with the bus..

j_mo

tinimc wrote:

Celtic Rambler, a quick question for you or anyone else on here that has visited France. What is the best way to get mobile internet. I have paid a fortunate on site for their internet but depending on where in the site, its hit and miss. We mostly want it for at night time for the boys to use the tablet to watch movies on youtube or for us to catch up on the news or facebook. I have an old o2 dongle and an old smartphone and was wondering can I get a SIM card that I could load with credit. I want to be able to bring it around with us if we can. We don't have internet packages on our mobiles and they will cost too much to just put on for the 2 weeks. Any advise would be welcome. We are both on the Three network if thats of any help.

I think that Meteor offers free roaming on their packages now and also Lycamobile. I'm not 100% percent sure what network in France does either of them use. We just brought an unlocked phone and went to an Orange store and got a sim card. The sim card was €15 and you could top up by €10 for 1gb or get 3gb for €25. You cannot top up online unless you've got a French card so you but them in a shop or an Orange store. They have the largest network in France. Last year we got an SFR sim card which was fairly similar, price wise. Unless you were going for a short time, it could be costly to be streaming video regularly.

CelticRambler

tinimc wrote: »

What is the best way to get mobile internet. I have paid a fortunate on site for their internet but depending on where in the site, its hit and miss. We mostly want it for at night time for the boys to use the tablet to watch movies on youtube or for us to catch up on the news or facebook. I have an old o2 dongle and an old smartphone and was wondering can I get a SIM card that I could load with credit.

First of all you'll need an unlocked phone. I was quite surprised to find that phones in Ireland are nearly all tied to one network or another, whereas here you just buy one in the supermarket and put your (one or two) SIMs in as and when you want.

So then you need a suitable SIM. If it's only for two weeks, there's probably nothing much to separate the different networks so take the first one that offers you unlimited 3G or 4G for about 20€. You might have to pay an extra tenner for your French number.

Before you get carried away, though, coverage can be very patchy. There are lots of areas in France where you'll struggle to get 3G; some of the places I stop, I can't even get a decent radio signal!

For that reason, I've got a 2€/month offer with just 50MB of data per month and haven't ever used it all. I make an effort to find a Wi-Fi hotspot (usually McDonalds) if I really need to download a video or other hefty file.

In your situation, I'd just tell your boys that there's no internet and let them get used to the fact that there *are* places like that in the world! :pac: Otherwise, check your existing contract. I can upgrade mine with a 16€ one-off payment that gives me unlimited data for 30 days any designated foreign country. I've got a Three card for my trips to Ireland and I'm sure they have something similar for the "Irish abroad" market.

54and56

tinimc wrote: »

Celtic Rambler, a quick question for you or anyone else on here that has visited France. What is the best way to get mobile internet. I have paid a fortunate on site for their internet but depending on where in the site, its hit and miss. We mostly want it for at night time for the boys to use the tablet to watch movies on youtube or for us to catch up on the news or facebook. I have an old o2 dongle and an old smartphone and was wondering can I get a SIM card that I could load with credit. I want to be able to bring it around with us if we can. We don't have internet packages on our mobiles and they will cost too much to just put on for the 2 weeks. Any advise would be welcome. We are both on the Three network if thats of any help.

My experience over the last seven years is that roaming on French networks is very patchy and nowhere near good enough for streaming video unless you are in the middle of a major city and even then as a roaming client you probably only get 3G at best. I've tried all the different tricks, going with standard Vodafone roaming, buying a Three UK SIM and buying a local French SIM and none of them came anywhere close to the sort of signal strength and speeds I'm used to here so now I just suck it up and buy the campsite Wi-Fi package which fit the last few years has actually been very robust. I still roam but I only use mobile data for keeping up to date on emails and news etc, nothing heavy.

manshay

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

My experience over the last seven years is that roaming on French networks is very patchy and nowhere near good enough for streaming video unless you are in the middle of a major city and even then as a roaming client you probably only get 3G at best. I've tried all the different tricks, going with standard Vodafone roaming, buying a Three UK SIM and buying a local French SIM and none of them came anywhere close to the sort of signal strength and speeds I'm used to here so now I just suck it up and buy the campsite Wi-Fi package which fit the last few years has actually been very robust. I still roam but I only use mobile data for keeping up to date on emails and news etc, nothing heavy.

I have just returned from Yelloh camping Le Fayolan, Clairvaux les lacs in the middle of the Jura mountains and had sufficient 4G signal to make "Facetime" video calls home.
The last few years on the Western coast I've found that the signal was generally poor.
I have Vodafone Red Roaming, with 200MB free each day. Their website states you cannot roam on 4G in France but my device has.

Baybay

Bowlardo wrote: »

What is the best cheapest ferry to get from france to ireland.
They will be traveliing in august
Is there any special offers available or sales coming up?

trying to use the website but they are chronic

The best deals will probably have been already picked up so good value may be limited, if at all. It's prime school holiday period but if they could wait until September, they'd probably get a much better deal.

54and56

manshay wrote: »

I have just returned from Yelloh camping Le Fayolan, Clairvaux les lacs in the middle of the Jura mountains and had sufficient 4G signal to make "Facetime" video calls home.
The last few years on the Western coast I've found that the signal was generally poor.
I have Vodafone Red Roaming, with 200MB free each day. Their website states you cannot roam on 4G in France but my device has.

Sitting on the Oscar Wilde ready for departure. I really hope I can pick up some of the 4G you experienced this year over the next few weeks. I too am on Red Roaming and have always been limited to (at best) 3G along the West coast from Pornic to Royan.

helqui

just out of curiosity has anyone bothered bringing back wine with them and is there a limit, also is it cheap to buy comparing to here?

munchkin_utd

helqui wrote: »

just out of curiosity has anyone bothered bringing back wine with them and is there a limit, also is it cheap to buy comparing to here?

You do know that Ireland has one of the highest rates of tax on Alcohol in Europe ??

So yes, wine is cheaper in France, substantially cheaper - and no. Nobody would ever think of taking advantage of this and buying a few bottles.

The few crazy people who decide to buy the wine cheap can only bring enough "for personal use".
When you start getting to full van loads of wine, the customs will start asking questions, but a reaonable amount would be allowed.

For a more precise answer, Google would be a place to start, maybe with a search like "how much wine can i bring into ireland" or some such term.

blackeyedpeat

During the whole "Brexit" thing I think I read a figure of a 1000lt was considered the acceptable cut off by HMRC for personal use.

If you buy it you'll drink it. Don't expect it to last till Christmas!

I took a liking to the Cider last year and brought home a case of that too.

helqui

90lts of wine i believe, thanks for replies

54and56

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Sitting on the Oscar Wilde ready for departure. I really hope I can pick up some of the 4G you experienced this year over the next few weeks. I too am on Red Roaming and have always been limited to (at best) 3G along the West coast from Pornic to Royan.

Answering my own question here but just FYI I'm roaming on the FYR network in La Rochelle at the moment and getting a 4G signal which is giving me a 30mb download speed. Nice 😀

christy02

manshay wrote:

I have just returned from Yelloh camping Le Fayolan, Clairvaux les lacs in the middle of the Jura mountains and had sufficient 4G signal to make "Facetime" video calls home. The last few years on the Western coast I've found that the signal was generally poor. I have Vodafone Red Roaming, with 200MB free each day. Their website states you cannot roam on 4G in France but my device has.

Hi. That campsite looks interesting. What was weather like in that area? Did you book it directly?
Sorry about the questions....

manshay

christy02 wrote: »

Hi. That campsite looks interesting. What was weather like in that area? Did you book it directly?
Sorry about the questions....

NEVER apologise for the questions! (Unless they are moronic!!!!)

Weather was fab, sunny 22-25C(good for pale Celtic skins);
we stayed there for the Ireland vs France Euro game and had a little mini holiday of 4 days.
Its a really nice site, pools are great and heated.
We booked it directly through yelloh! (their exclamation mark not mine)
We booked it 4 days before travel.
It's a quiet town, we went to the restaurant on the square for 2 of our evening meals. As ever in France english is widely spoken.

The French air force train around there so we saw fighter jets at close quarters during our Al Fresco breakfasts, I was excited by them, my +1 was less excited.

aquarius10

We're just back from 2 weeks in France and thinking about going South next year for a bit more Sun ? We plan on getting the ferry and spending the first few days around Paris and then heading south.

Can anyone recommend a good site around the Beziers area, we don't want to drive more than 7 hours from Paris area.

Club Farret, Aloha Village Serignan plage has been recommended along with Les Sablons which is also in the same area, please help us in choosing. They all look great online so if anyone has been to any of these sites please let me know.

This year we stayed for the 1st week at La Garangeoire which was lovely but the weather did not help and it was in the middle of the countryside and we had to drive everywhere.

The second week we stayed at the Clarys Plage which we loved. It was near St. Jean Des Monts and had a good buzz about the place. The pools were a big hit and the evening entertainment was your typical campsite shows & kids discos in between the Euro matches.
The weather had also improved which helped. We visited La Rochelle, Nantes, Ile de Re and Noirmoutier while in the area.

We've previously stayed at La Baume and Bella Italia in late May which we really enjoyed.

We have 2 children 4 & 5 and need a campsite which will keep them entertained but also want a town nearby to explore and possibly things to see & do in the area.

Thanks in advance.

gandalf

helqui wrote: »

just out of curiosity has anyone bothered bringing back wine with them and is there a limit, also is it cheap to buy comparing to here?

Wine is substantially cheaper than here. Our record is four years ago when we brought back 195 bottles in the back of the estate car but we were staying in Bordeaux and it would have been a sin to not take advantage of that fact.

Some of that was €2 bottles of Rose from a local wine co-op which was extremely drinkable and then cases from Chateaus around us that we visiting, think quality red wines at €5 - €7 a bottle which would cost €15-20 a bottle here. We also picked up some St. Emilions and some Margaux' s Grand Cru's at higher prices which would be at least twice the price here.

If you are going over and you have space in your boot it would be a sin not to bring home some joy. Even Carre Four and Cora have good wines at decent prices.

aquarius10

Need help planning 2017

We're just back from 2 weeks in France and thinking about going South next year for a bit more Sun ? We plan on getting the ferry and spending the first few days around Paris and then heading south.

Can anyone recommend a good site around the Beziers area, we don't want to drive more than 7 hours from Paris area.

Club Farret, Aloha Village Serignan plage has been recommended along with Les Sablons which is also in the same area, please help us in choosing. They all look great online so if anyone has been to any of these sites please let me know.

This year we stayed for the 1st week at La Garangeoire which was lovely but the weather did not help and it was in the middle of the countryside and we had to drive everywhere.

The second week we stayed at the Clarys Plage which we loved. It was near St. Jean Des Monts and had a good buzz about the place. The pools were a big hit and the evening entertainment was your typical campsite shows & kids discos in between the Euro matches.
The weather had also improved which helped. We visited La Rochelle, Nantes, Ile de Re and Noirmoutier while in the area.

We've previously stayed at La Baume and Bella Italia in late May which we really enjoyed.

We have 2 children 4 & 5 and need a campsite which will keep them entertained but also want a town nearby to explore and possibly things to see & do in the area.

Thanks in advance.

christy02

manshay wrote:

The French air force train around there so we saw fighter jets at close quarters during our Al Fresco breakfasts, I was excited by them, my +1 was less excited.

manshay wrote:

Weather was fab, sunny 22-25C(good for pale Celtic skins); we stayed there for the Ireland vs France Euro game and had a little mini holiday of 4 days. Its a really nice site, pools are great and heated. We booked it directly through yelloh! (their exclamation mark not mine) We booked it 4 days before travel. It's a quiet town, we went to the restaurant on the square for 2 of our evening meals. As ever in France english is widely spoken.

manshay wrote:

NEVER apologise for the questions! (Unless they are moronic!!!!)

Thanks for that. Last couple of years we have stayed in rural gites which we love and done a lot of local exploring. Past Bordeaux this year.

Eldest will be 6 next year and begrudgingly admit she would like some kids her own age, although she never complains.

May mix it up next year and do week in a gite and week in campsite. Looking for something a bit different than the normal type. That one looks great.

Any other recommendations gratefully received. Done les Charmettes few years ago and while it was okay, a bit too much like being in kerry for me (all irish). Met loads I know which I also prefer not to do.

54and56

Hi all,

My niece, hubby and 3 year old are thinking of doing a couple of weeks in a French campsite in early Sept. We use Siblu but they close most of their sites on either Sept 3rd or 9th as far as I can see.

I think they'd like a bit of sun so I assume that time of year they need to head as far south as they are prepared to drive. I told them it's likely whatever park they go it it will be very quiet and some of the facilities and activities will be closed.

I think they just want to use it as a trial run for future holidays when their daughter is a little older.

Any suggestions/tips/recommendations?

SusanC10

Just back from 3 weeks in France on our first Ferry/Campsite Holiday as a family and just want to say Thanks to all but esp the Veterans on this thread for all the advice before we left.

We had a great time and will be doing it again next summer Learnt a lot and would do several things differently but it was great ! We have 2 kids (aged 10 & 7).

We took IF Oscar Wilde Rosslare-Cherbourg route and found it a good experience with little to no problems. For us the 4-bed 2-Star Cabin with Window suited us fine and I wouldn't be bothered to pay any more as we spent v little time in the cabin apart from sleeping.

We used Tesco Tokens to pay in part for Irish Ferries and we had no problems really with this (once I figured out how it worked !)

We used Eurocamp and did 2 sites which were very different - the first being larger with a larger pool complex and Kids Clubs etc and the second quieter. We liked both for different reasons and would continue to do a 2-site holiday along those lines. For us the Couriers made a difference as to how we viewed the camps. The first had Couriers who made very little effort at all (apart from one guy and the kids couriers) and the second had 3 great Couriers.

Roll on 2017 - Is it time to start the 2017 Ferry / Campsite Thread yet ?!:)

aquarius10

Glad ye had a great trip Susan, it's never too early to start a 2017 thread.

I just booked our holiday for next year yesterday, all the ferry prices are online so once we picked a campsite, that's it done.

Heading to La Sirene down near Perpignan, it's the furthest south we'll have driven so fingers crossed it will be ok. We'll break the trip down and back up to Cherbourg with a stopover some place. Any recommendations for a place back up would be appreciated. Was looking around Vichy which would be 5 hours from Argeles sur plage but if someone knows a nice spot please let us know.

Thanks in advance.

UsedToWait

SusanC10 wrote: »

..Learnt a lot and would do several things differently but it was great !

Just wondering what you'd do differently - it might be helpful for people in the same boat (pardon the pun!) as you were next year..

SusanC10

Mod-Note:
Our Travel 2016 Thread can be found here. So much Invaluable info contained in there.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

Let's get the Ball rolling so

Just back from 3 great weeks in France and looking to go again for 2017.

Irish Ferries have their prices for 2017 out but NO Early Booking Offer yet ! Normally there is 10%. So have priced it but waiting first.

Eurocamp have prices and Early Booking Discounts.

SusanC10

aquarius10 wrote: »

Glad ye had a great trip Susan, it's never too early to start a 2017 thread.

I just booked our holiday for next year yesterday, all the ferry prices are online so once we picked a campsite, that's it done.

Have started the 2017 thread - see you over there Aquarius

SusanC10

UsedToWait wrote: »

Just wondering what you'd do differently - it might be helpful for people in the same boat (pardon the pun!) as you were next year..

Mostly to do with how much stuff we brought in the car (too much!) and how much Wine we brought back (not enough!). Also in terms of the type of mobile we would choose and what is important for us having stayed in 2 different types. And what is important to us as a family in relation to different types of campsites as we stayed on 2 totally different ones and visited friends on a third.

whippet

I will be going back after a two summer break from France (cruise last year and Stockholm this year)

The previous four times we have only gone down as far as Cognac and along the west coast.

In 2017 looking to get as close to the south coast as possible .. near Cannes etc.

Has anyone any recommendations as to accom - Gite / Camping / Resorts in this region .. two kids will be 8 and 5 at the time. I don't mind paying for a decent place

jay0109

Didn't make France this yr but went in Summer of 15.
Same dates 23rd June, back 5th July (give or take a day) for 2017 are €200 more expensive (no promotion codes applied in either year). So nearly 20% of a price rise...thats steep

54and56

Hi all,

I'm currently one week into a three week stay in Siblu La Reserve (http://www.siblu.ie/france/aquitaine/la_reserve.php) which is located https://goo.gl/maps/GVHdvKw41wK2

It's by far the best Siblu site I've been to in terms of layout, infrastructure, facilities and entertainment. It has it's own private access to a huge freshwater lake with a man made beach, very safe and nice warm water!!

It's a little out of the way i.e. a 15 minute drive to the nearest decent size town with large size supermarkets such as Intermarche and Super U etc and there aren't many restaurants near the site but the shop on site is very well stocked, isn't too expensive for the essentials like bread and milk etc and the onsite bar and restaurant are fine.

The reason for my post is that there is an Irish family who own a very nice 3 bed mobile home here with a fully covered deck etc they have decided not to stay for August so are looking to rent it out for August. If anyone here is looking for a last minute dot come French camping holiday in the sun (and it's splitting the rocks here circa 27c ATM) please reply or PM me and I'll give you the owners contact details.

I've no idea what rent they are looking for but this "for rent by owner" website should give you a means of benchmarking what they are asking for http://www.directholidayhomes.co.uk/la_reserve.html. The mobile home is located in a quite but central part of the campsite close to the pool, entertainment area and shop etc but bear in mind you will need to purchase fun passes onsite from Siblu if you want to use the pool and kids clubs etc assuming the owners don't have fun passes they can provide you with.

Hope this is of some use to someone!!

nirvana78

I'm delighted this thread has started, I've watched the last one with envy knowing I'm not going to France until next year. It's great getting the updates of those who are back or those who are on site now. In the past we've done a fly drive campsite holiday (Les Amiaux, St. Jean De Monts), hired a gite, stayed in Disneyland and stayed with family but Din, Din, Din next year we're going by ferry and camping in our own tent (first time to do both!)

Our rough plan so far: Going for three weeks heading out last week in June, Irish Ferries to Cherbourg. Our eldest is military mad so we'll do the first week in Normandy then head over to Vendee. We don't want to go too far as we also have two small ones, so St. Jean De Monts area suits us perfect. Doing the usual research, I came across a camping discount card called a "camping card". This card gives great discounts on selected campsites, if anyone can share their experience using this card that would be great. I hope to pay for the ferry by using Tesco vouchers, so far I have €225 so that's the equivalent of €900 with clubcard boost. If anyone can confirm for me, if I were to book in November, when there's a potential early booking discount available, could I use my €900 and then pay the remainder with more Tesco vouchers when I receive them?

This to do: Definitely revisit Puy De Fou, amazing day out
Definitely revisit Planet Sauvage
I see there is some aerial adventure place in St. Jean De Monts
An aquarium for the little ones
Any other ideas?

I'm not trying to be super organised, I'm just excited and looking for ideas, suggestions and recommendations. We're heading to Italy this year so that will fill the void for now!

SusanC10

@ nirvana - I use the Tesco tokens last year for the first time. The best way to do it is to book on the phone with Irish Ferries and pay €100 deposit with your Credit Card. Then you have until 6 weeks before you travel to pay the balance in any way you like and in any number of installments you like.