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

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988201#Comment_120988201

yep, they are chilled on the speedo thing there. My plan last year was to simply use the lake if needs be, but the pool was no issue in speedos or with a UV top.

I totally agree on the requirement to have dedicated swim gear though. In italy theres now a trend by muppet teenagers to wear calvin klein boxers high over the hips under their swim shorts (fkin fukwits, if its not unhygenic, it is feckin damp in the nether-regions for very long afterwards) but ballbuster speedos is overkill at the same time.

fits

You don’t need ballbuster speedos though. Just not baggy shorts.

jon1981

Folks savage heat in Ile de re this week. Also for those nervous about the Speedo/tight boxers rule in the pools. Not all camps are enforcing it. We're in a 5 star camp and I'm delighted to be allowed wear my swim shorts 😂

jon1981

Also be prepared for the bridge from la Rochelle to Ile de re, it's an absolute nightmare. 1 lane merging into 10 toll booths merging back into 1 lane. We were queuing at the toll for 1 hour. The last 25km took close to 1 hour 30 mins.

Apparently this traffic on the bridge is normal?!

BullBauld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990302#Comment_120990302

We crossed over the bridge 3 weeks ago mid afternoon and got straight to toll and over, no wait. Maybe depends on time of day or day of the week.

jon1981

It was about 7-8pm when he landed it at.

Peckham

If anyone looking for a change from France next year, we're just back from Duinrell in the Netherlands. Fantastic place and would highly recommend it.

Similar vibe in many ways to the French campsite, but sufficiently different too!

Very accessible flying to/from Amsterdam and then public transport.

Honesty Policy

We are thinking of heading to La Sirène next year. When is regarded as high/peak season there? What week/month do the evening shows start? We would love to see some.

Also what temperatures are you looking at in June time?

Am I right in saying the little tourist train doesn't pick up from La Sirène any more?

Any other tips would be great...thank you.

Fann Linn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120999888#Comment_120999888

DFDS are also supposed to be putting a RoPax ferry on between Ireland and Zeebrugge in Belgium. This will open up new options for people who wish to travel to the Low Countries, Germany and further afield.

Something I would like to consider for the future.

Idleater

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121010824#Comment_121010824

Going with them to Dunkirk soon. Heading to NL/Belgium and then pick a direction to find a campsite.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121010824#Comment_121010824

We used to be regular Ireland-France customers until my other 3 passengers all had bad crossings at various times. So now we nearly always Landbridge. If heading to west coast France, I'd prefer a 17 hour overnight sail to landbridge and drive, but I'm outvoted :)

However if heading to Dunkirk, I'm not sure I'd prefer the 23 hour sailing to the landbridge. But I wouldn't mind trying it once to see what it's like. I think Swift & Tunnel out and Tunnel & Stena landbridge return this year was around €1000, €200 French hotel, plus €85 in fuel costs. Timewise, there wouldn't be that much difference if you arrived in Dunkirk in the morning and could start driving.

bbuzz

Hello,

I got a Bip&Go toll tag for France, but I also have an EasyPass Irish toll tag - does anyone know if they interfere with each other? I.E. can I have both on my windscreen or should I take off the Irish one while in France?

Thanks in advance.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121012439#Comment_121012439

We have Irish and French (atmb) tags beside each other on the windscreen. Have not noticed any problems.

lilmonkey3

Hi All, looking for a but of advice before i book our french ferry holiday next year.

we are looking to explore the south west of France ie approx 6.5 hour drive from roscoff any further would be too far a drive for us.

we have done st gilles Brittany, Les Ormes, Clarys Plage and Pin parasol to date. Our fav has been les ornes plenty to do during the day and a good atmosphere in the bar in the eve.

Any recommendations for South West France our main wants would be a good pool area with slides etc for de kids the waterpark element the kids absoutely afore and then for us a bar with a bit of an atmosphere in the eve not too loud but not too quiet where we wud spend de eve sitting across frm each other in an empty space. Trying to find best of both worlds nice to have a drink on the decking of a cabin in the eve ourselves but also good to get out and meet new people too and kids to make a few friends too during the hols.

Any advice

dzer2

Lac de 3 valles an hur from Toulouse

lilmonkey3

Thanks i will check that one out

webpal

Try Les Mathes area, a lot folk here have been to either Les Charmettes or Bonne Anse Plage. Try to remember by the time you get off the boat, get through passport control and account for probably 3 stops at a minimum, your 6.5 hour drive on Google maps could easily turn into 8.5

spuddy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121021700#Comment_121021700

I second this. We usually drive from Cherbourg to Vendee, approx. 4.5 hrs on Google maps, but in practice it takes at least 6 hrs with stops along the way.

Heroditas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121019093#Comment_121019093

I'm also looking at Bonne Anse Plage too for next year. Good bit further south than previously but very reachable in a drive with two breaks to stretch the legs.

Only downside might be that the arrival and departure dates might not be as flexible as the camps serviced by Eurocamps.

Bonne Anse Plage looks amazing though. Ticks a lot of boxes for me

sell9999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121010408#Comment_121010408

July very busy and August is packed with mostly French families.

Was up to 40C in July and August, June is a bit milder but still going to be mid 30s

Tourist train didn't stop there last year but did this year, alternative is to use bikes to get around. Local trains to other towns like Banyuls or Colioure for day trips too.

There's horse riding at the ranch around the corner from the campsite. The campsite stables was closed down this year unfortunately.

The shows are nightly all summer so no problem there.

The local beach is within walking distance and can use restaurants in other campsites for a break from La Sirene as it's pretty busy all the time.

The old town has much better French restaurants than the new town which is mostly tourist places offering burgers, pizzas and kebabs.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Hi All, first time in here for a while,

just wondering if anyone has stayed at le brasilia near perpignan, its about 30 mins from Argeles Sur Mer, we're thinking of doing a week here and a week at la Sirene next year (which we've been to 4 times), but looking to get opinions before putting the wheels in motion.

Honesty Policy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121023399#Comment_121023399

Brillant, thanks for all that information. I'm now thinking that we'll go in early May as we'll have a 5-6 month old baby with us, just with the heat and busyness. Do you know if the shows run in early May? Also, do you need to book the bikes in advance? Thanks again.

Honesty Policy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121023889#Comment_121023889

Any tips for La Sirene, would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Miley Byrne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121023345#Comment_121023345

Stayed there once about 5 years ago and while the site itself was great, the mosquitoes were an absolute pain. We got absolutely destroyed by them in the evenings no matter what measures we took to try to prevent them. This was in late June/early July

Stone Deaf 4evr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121024386#Comment_121024386

No worries, what would you like to know? Its a big camp, what ages are you travelling with?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121024381#Comment_121024381

No, I think that the daily shows all start in mid or late June, could be wrong on that. May is fine, or even early June, but you'll find that Argeles Sur Mer hasn't quite kicked off by then - not sure if that's a concern or not!

I find the June temps fine - we had 32 degrees or there abouts, think it rose to 36 one day, nobody seemed too bothered as it wasn't an uncomfortable heat.

Don't miss "Feel Collins" the Phil Collins tribute act on the stage if it's on at the time - it's actually epic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121024386#Comment_121024386

Having a hire-car to see the region is (in my mind) a major attraction but I know that many don't do that so much these days. The physical position of campsite is ideal for a trip into the Pyrenees, the local wineries and the various beaches and local sights, or even a trip into Barcelona.

Bikes are great too, very handy to get into the port for a meal, etc.

Very highly rated local wineries:

http://www.chateau-valmy.com/

https://sauvy.com/

There is barely a bad beach in the region but one of my favourites is the very relaxed Plage du Racou where you can also do some snorkeling around the rocks.

Another activity I recommend is driving or bussing it "Parking Paulilles" early in the day and walking down to one of the cove-beaches along Cap Bear.

I mentioned this in a recent post but Blue Bear, just outside the campsite, do lots of activities such as cycling or kayaking and provide transport to the destination.

amor3

Just booked la sirene for next year. Be interested to hear from those that drove from cherbourg. Am aware its a long drive, plan on doing an overnight or 2 on the way down and a different campsite nearer the port on the way back. Have looked at flights but love the ferry.

We've done les charmettes so many times, so excited to do a different site!

Munsterbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121028586#Comment_121028586

We've done that drive 4 times but we always booked Brittany Ferries to Roscoff as it gets in at 7am on Sunday and we just bite the bullet and do the trip in one go. Yes it's long but with 2 driving it's not so bad. Coming back we always stay overnight around Tours as we come back thru cherbourg. La Sirene is great a really fabulous site but quite large much bigger than Les Charmettes. Take a day trip to Figueres in Spain where you have the Dali musuem 1hr drive over the Pyrenees.

Munsterbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121023889#Comment_121023889

We were there in 2014 and since then AFAIK the Yelloh group has taken over the site. We really enjoyed it there , much smaller than la sirene. Nice bar/ restaurant, pool complex is good and plenty of sun loungers. I'm sure others here might have a more up to date review but we enjoyed it there.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121028586#Comment_121028586

I drove it last year as we were over for three weeks. Left Roscoff port at 07:30 and arrived into La Sirene at 22:30 that night. My kids are older, so were well able for the drive and said that it wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be. 😆

I went with Brittany Ferries to Roscoff as the early arrival times suit the one-day drive, the IF from Cherbourg only arrived in at 11:30, so would have required that we stay-over. If I was going to stay-over, then I was planning on getting to Bordeaux by around 9pm.

I weighed up all of routes down and the most sane - whether it's from Roscoff or Cherbourg - is Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse as it's dual-carriageway/motorway for ~97% of the journey. I planned our food stops with fuel stops and avoided the motorway fuel stations (as the fuel price was v. high at the time). There's a clever short-cut around Niort where you come off the A83 at Benet and route through the South-Westerly outskirts of the city instead of following the motorway to join the A10 North-East of the city. It saves around 30kms of motorway, plus you can get food and fuel at a reasonable establishment.

We used Waze the whole way down, it's very active in France and every incident is notified to you and the routing is very good. We encountered one hold-up where a horsebox was overturned just 5 mins ahead of us, so Waze routed us off the motorway just before the traffic stopped and we traveled through a town for 10kms to rejoin the empty motorway further down. We lost 30mins or about that, but otherwise the drive was uneventful.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but there is the quirkiest of lay-bys after Toulouse where it's built around a canal port on the Canal du Midi, and it's a welcome distraction for 30mins. It was at this point when we jumped out of the car did we really realise how far South we were as the temps had picked up and the crickets were chirping in the pine trees.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Aire+de+Port+Lauragais+Sud/@43.3514029,1.8067632,1474m

If arriving late to the campsite, phone ahead and arrange to have the keys left with security.