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

aquarius10

Thanks for that Molly, we have booked La Sirene for 13 nights and will be spending 3 weeks in France in total.

Spending first 3 nights around Paris area and then heading south in one day. We'll probably break the drive back up over 3 days stopping around Nantes and st Malo.

Just waiting to book ferries - prices for 2017 are out but no discounts yet ??

54and56

aquarius10 wrote: »

Just waiting to book ferries - prices for 2017 are out but no discounts yet ??

Got an email from Stena yesterday offering a 10% discount for early 2017 bookings to Cherbourg.

The offer code is FRANCE10

I checked our dates and going out Rosslare to Cherbourg Thurs July 13th returning Friday Aug 4th for a 4X4 with roof box etc and an outside cabin for 4 each way is coming in at €989 with the discount which is about €80 less than I have already booked with Irish Ferries and Brittany via Roscoff going out Friday July 14th from Rosslare back into Cork on the Aug 4th sailing.

If the Stena outbound sailing was Friday instead of Thursday I'd have taken the €989 price (and the beds are better on Stena than Irish Ferries) but going out Thursday doesn't suit us as we are checking into La Reserve on the Saturday.

The other thing is Stena offer a Flexi fare which allows you to cancel up to 24 hours before saling for a full refund.

I took that options a few years ago so I had a guaranteed Stena booking in my pocket but if a better deal came along I could take that and cancel the Stena booking and that's exactly what happened. Think I ended saving €300 or so. Might be worth thinking about.

Quazzie

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Got an email from Stena yesterday offering a 10% discount for early 2017 bookings to Cherbourg.

The offer code is FRANCE10

I checked our dates and going out Rosslare to Cherbourg Thurs July 13th returning Friday Aug 4th for a 4X4 with roof box etc and an outside cabin for 4 each way is coming in at €989 with the discount which is about €80 less than I have already booked with Irish Ferries and Brittany via Roscoff going out Friday July 14th from Rosslare back into Cork on the Aug 4th sailing.

If the Stena outbound sailing was Friday instead of Thursday I'd have taken the €989 price (and the beds are better on Stena than Irish Ferries) but going out Thursday doesn't suit us as we are checking into La Reserve on the Saturday.

The other thing is Stena offer a Flexi fare which allows you to cancel up to 24 hours before saling for a full refund.

I took that options a few years ago so I had a guaranteed Stena booking in my pocket but if a better deal came along I could take that and cancel the Stena booking and that's exactly what happened. Think I ended saving €300 or so. Might be worth thinking about.

Book the Thursday and use the saved €80 to book ye in somewhere for the night. It costs the same but ye get an extra days holiday free.

54and56

Quazzie wrote: »

Book the Thursday and use the saved €80 to book ye in somewhere for the night. It costs the same but ye get an extra days holiday free.

Did that this year and it was fine but as we go for 3 weeks the extra day isn't that valuable (we couldn't do much as the car was fully loaded) and we pretty much eat up most of our respective annual leave with the three weeks. Would rather pay the extra €100 to leave on the Friday, do the journey down in one burst and go via and back through Roscoff rather than Cherbourg.

gerfmurphy

Hi All
We(my wife, 3 kiddies will be 6,3,1 and myself) are thinking of travelling to France 2017 for the first time ferry and campsite holiday.
hoping for 14-20 days
General idea is stay near a beach for a bit ,maybe a day at disney at some point if its possible and visit 2-3 sites if thats a good option.
couple of questions
Is there any recommendations for a campsite close enough to the ferry for that age kids? and one close enough to Eurodisney and a spin on the train into Paris?
would it be better to park in the one site for the entire stay or travel?
ideally we would like something comfortable and not to hectic, our previous experience in bella italia was the bungalow was very uncomfortable overall but the site was good ( and not too hectic in september).
thanks in advance for any help

jay0109

Anyone know if Stena will allow the use of promotion codes AND Tesco vouchers?
(earlier posts on this thread have mixed reports on whether IF allow it or not)

Charliebull

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Hi All
We(my wife, 3 kiddies will be 6,3,1 and myself) are thinking of travelling to France 2017 for the first time ferry and campsite holiday.
hoping for 14-20 days
General idea is stay near a beach for a bit ,maybe a day at disney at some point if its possible and visit 2-3 sites if thats a good option.
couple of questions
Is there any recommendations for a campsite close enough to the ferry for that age kids? and one close enough to Eurodisney and a spin on the train into Paris?
would it be better to park in the one site for the entire stay or travel?
ideally we would like something comfortable and not to hectic, our previous experience in bella italia was the bungalow was very uncomfortable overall but the site was good ( and not too hectic in september).
thanks in advance for any help

this year with kids 7, 5 and 1 we did domaine des ormes and would highly recommend this site, book the aspect, its dear but very secluded, quiet and has a covered enclosed deck which is perfect for young kids

dont travel around to much, with young kids that can become hard work

Munsterbhoy

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Hi All
We(my wife, 3 kiddies will be 6,3,1 and myself) are thinking of travelling to France 2017 for the first time ferry and campsite holiday.
hoping for 14-20 days
General idea is stay near a beach for a bit ,maybe a day at disney at some point if its possible and visit 2-3 sites if thats a good option.
couple of questions
Is there any recommendations for a campsite close enough to the ferry for that age kids? and one close enough to Eurodisney and a spin on the train into Paris?
would it be better to park in the one site for the entire stay or travel?
ideally we would like something comfortable and not to hectic, our previous experience in bella italia was the bungalow was very uncomfortable overall but the site was good ( and not too hectic in september).
thanks in advance for any help

Hi, when we went to Eurodisney a few years back we stayed in le village parisienne it's a lovely clean park only 15 mins drive away. Would recommend. .

aquarius10

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Hi All
We(my wife, 3 kiddies will be 6,3,1 and myself) are thinking of travelling to France 2017 for the first time ferry and campsite holiday.
hoping for 14-20 days
General idea is stay near a beach for a bit ,maybe a day at disney at some point if its possible and visit 2-3 sites if thats a good option.
couple of questions
Is there any recommendations for a campsite close enough to the ferry for that age kids? and one close enough to Eurodisney and a spin on the train into Paris?
would it be better to park in the one site for the entire stay or travel?
ideally we would like something comfortable and not to hectic, our previous experience in bella italia was the bungalow was very uncomfortable overall but the site was good ( and not too hectic in september).
thanks in advance for any help

Have you priced the Disney Davy Crockett ? We stayed there last year got 4 nights and 5 days park tickets for around €800 - they had free days and nights offer which is on at the moment I think ?

it's a Disney "campsite" with mobile homes, pool on site and about 5-10 drive to Disney parks ? Have a look as it includes entry into the parks and you can come and go as you please which might suit a young family.

You could go to another campsite then for the rest of your holiday up around Brittany so you wouldn't have too much more driving to do ?

Have fun planning and any more questions just ask

yellow76

aquarius10 wrote: »

Thanks for that Molly, we have booked La Sirene for 13 nights and will be spending 3 weeks in France in total.

Spending first 3 nights around Paris area and then heading south in one day. We'll probably break the drive back up over 3 days stopping around Nantes and st Malo.

Just waiting to book ferries - prices for 2017 are out but no discounts yet ??

I booked about 3 weeks ago with Irish Ferries and got 15%off using this code:


FRACL1


Not sure when it's good until or even if you are thinking of IF but worth a try.

aquarius10

I found IF expensive for the dates we were travelling, Brittany and Stena seemed to be cheaper even before any discount ?

Will look at IF discount now, thanks but think we'll be going home with Stena.

aquarius10

Can anyone recommend a hotel, B&B or apartment for one night in St. Malo or that area that has secure car parking suitable for family of 4 with 5 & 4 year old kids.

Finding it hard to get a place with safe parking, as the car will be fully loaded before we get ferry home next afternoon.

Any recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.

10-10-20

aquarius10 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a hotel, B&B or apartment for one night in St. Malo or that area that has secure car parking suitable for family of 4 with 5 & 4 year old kids.

Finding it hard to get a place with safe parking, as the car will be fully loaded before we get ferry home next afternoon.

Any recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.

I had the same concern in 2015. I stayed in a B&B well outside Fougeres which was very quiet & safe. http://mesauboin.fr/
It's not St Malo, but is about an hour away.

donegal.

aquarius10 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a hotel, B&B or apartment for one night in St. Malo or that area that has secure car parking suitable for family of 4 with 5 & 4 year old kids.

Finding it hard to get a place with safe parking, as the car will be fully loaded before we get ferry home next afternoon.

Any recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.

we where in the same position a couple of years ago.
we decided to spend our last 3 nights in Dinan. (its just less than 3 hours from la harve)
we stayed in http://www.olodges.com/en its in the center of the old town with secure parking.

I was apprehensive at first as i didn't want a long drive to the ferry but this was the highlight of our holiday, I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

aquarius10

Thanks for recommendations , will check them out.

SusanC10

Has anyone here used Vacansoleil before ?

We used Eurocamp this summer and were happy enough with them. But for the first part of our trip next year to France Eurocamp are not available in the area we want but Vacansoleil are.

My issue is the Deposit to be paid on-site. Vacansoleil say that the Campsite need €300 to be paid to the Campsite itself on arrival. This is for Breakages and a Cleaning Fee. Vacansoleil are saying that it is nothing to do with them but it is the Campsite.

Do Vacansoleil own their own Accomodation (like Eurocamp) ? Or do the Campsite itself own the Mobiles ?

A friend used Vacansoleil this Summer but on a totally different Campsite and in a different Country. She had to pay €100 Deposit with the Option of paying €35 for a final clean (to be taken from the €100). I would prefer to do this.

This morning I read a Review on Tripadvisor for the Site we intend to use where the Site kept part of the Visitor's Deposit from the €300 Deposit (after he had already left the Site) and he is now disputing this with his Bank. I want to avoid this Scenario. However Husband thinks that we would be better giving the Campsite a Credit Card rather than Cash and taking photos etc and then be in position to dispute it with the Bank.

Has anyone any experience of this kind of thing and in particular with Vacansoleil.

Thanks in advance.

BTW - Still haven't booked the Ferry as can't use Discount Code and Tesco Tokens :mad: Should I just bite the Bullet and book or hang on in there for another discount ??

westgolf

SusanC10 wrote: »

Has anyone here used Vacansoleil before ?

We used Eurocamp this summer and were happy enough with them. But for the first part of our trip next year to France Eurocamp are not available in the area we want but Vacansoleil are.

My issue is the Deposit to be paid on-site. Vacansoleil say that the Campsite need €300 to be paid to the Campsite itself on arrival. This is for Breakages and a Cleaning Fee. Vacansoleil are saying that it is nothing to do with them but it is the Campsite.

Do Vacansoleil own their own Accomodation (like Eurocamp) ? Or do the Campsite itself own the Mobiles ?

A friend used Vacansoleil this Summer but on a totally different Campsite and in a different Country. She had to pay €100 Deposit with the Option of paying €35 for a final clean (to be taken from the €100). I would prefer to do this.

This morning I read a Review on Tripadvisor for the Site we intend to use where the Site kept part of the Visitor's Deposit from the €300 Deposit (after he had already left the Site) and he is now disputing this with his Bank. I want to avoid this Scenario. However Husband thinks that we would be better giving the Campsite a Credit Card rather than Cash and taking photos etc and then be in position to dispute it with the Bank.

Has anyone any experience of this kind of thing and in particular with Vacansoleil.

Thanks in advance.

BTW - Still haven't booked the Ferry as can't use Discount Code and Tesco Tokens :mad: Should I just bite the Bullet and book or hang on in there for another discount ??

Dont know what site you have in mind but we were in the vendee region in june and the vacances soleil units on our site were quite old and dated as was the reception chalet.

aquarius10

SusanC10 wrote: »

BTW - Still haven't booked the Ferry as can't use Discount Code and Tesco Tokens :mad: Should I just bite the Bullet and book or hang on in there for another discount ??

Sorry have no experience with vansoleil, only Eurocamp and Al Fresco. We've booked with Lifestyle this year so fingers crossed.


Which ferry company did you want ? as far as I know IF will apply discount and allow tesco tokens if you phone them whereas Stena won't do likewise

I'm still waiting to book ferry too, IF are still more expensive with the discount than Stena or Brittany for similar sailing dates - don't think Brittany ever do discounts ?

Best of luck

SusanC10

westgolf wrote: »

Dont know what site you have in mind but we were in the vendee region in june and the vacances soleil units on our site were quite old and dated as was the reception chalet.

It's a Site in the Alps. Eurocamp's nearest site is 3 hours away otherwise we would be going with them.

SusanC10

aquarius10 wrote: »

Sorry have no experience with vansoleil, only Eurocamp and Al Fresco. We've booked with Lifestyle this year so fingers crossed.


Which ferry company did you want ? as far as I know IF will apply discount and allow tesco tokens if you phone them whereas Stena won't do likewise

I'm still waiting to book ferry too, IF are still more expensive with the discount than Stena or Brittany for similar sailing dates - don't think Brittany ever do discounts ?

Best of luck

Have phoned IF twice now and both times have been told that it is not possible to use the 15% Code and Tesco Tokens. Don't want to call again

We are looking to book the Return journey from France only as we will be using Landbridge to get there.

aquarius10

Oh that's a pity Susan

Maybe try again this week and mention you read that other people said they phoned IF and paid €100 deposit with the 15% discount and then pay balance with tesco vouchers ?

gerfmurphy

Charliebull wrote:

this year with kids 7, 5 and 1 we did domaine des ormes and would highly recommend this site, book the aspect, its dear but very secluded, quiet and has a covered enclosed deck which is perfect for young kids

Thanks for that. The place looks perfect.

We think we might try stay for 2 weeks in france.
Is it set that rentals are sat to sat or any combo is possible.
Would the place be in full swing in mid june?
Is there any point in booking early? Are eurocamp the only option for booking?
At the minute It seems very pricey for the aspect and not sure we need 3 beds,but It does look very nice.
The girls will sleep together and the little guy will be in a travel cot in our room,Or their room
How does the other mobiles compair.
Is there any way to get discounts?

Regarding the ferry is a cabin essential and what standard are they on stena horizon, we only had an option for 6 berth when I looked on the website
Is IF better? It looks a bit nicer cabin choice if tgat is important.

we will defo not travel from cork

aquarius10

Hi gerfmurphy

You can usually stay for any length with Eurocamp and Al Fresco and arrive any day you want as long as there is a caravan available.

BTW the caravans are small, even the newer Aspect and Avant don't have big rooms. The cot will probably have to stay in the kitchen / living area and keep your door open. We had a look around them this year while in France - they are brand spanking new but are so much more expensive - personally don't think I'd bother paying the extra. I'd rather have extra nights away

We have 2 kids 4 & 5 and have used the 2 bed vista, it's small but to be honest your only there to sleep so it never bothers us, and if we are there we use the deck a lot. If available I'd get the 2 bed 2 bath vista.

Mid June will be quieter and the weather maybe not as good but you can be lucky.

Eurocamp give discounts for repeat custom and also early booking, so do Al Fresco. We are booking with Lifestyle this year as they were only company that had availability at La Sirene for dates we wanted.

If you google the site you are interested in or read trip advisor for the site, you'll get an idea of what companies are available for each site. Also you can book most campsites directly but they usually don't take bookings for next year till this season ends. Definately price around, you can save few hundred for 2 weeks.

Regarding the ferries I would definitely recommend a cabin. Having slept on all of them, the Stena have the biggest beds and their cabins are grand. They are all ensuite, beds are maðe up and fresh towels supplied for a shower.
I'm pricing next year and we'll probably sail Brittany out and Stena home, due to price. Stena has improved since last year, no more people sleeping around the place. There are discounts on Stena and IF ferries now, never got a discount for Brittany.

Any othe questions just ask

SusanC10

aquarius10 wrote: »

Oh that's a pity Susan

Maybe try again this week and mention you read that other people said they phoned IF and paid €100 deposit with the 15% discount and then pay balance with tesco vouchers ?

Thanks Aquarius. I already said on the phone that a friend of mine had managed to do this on the phone but the lady in the UK call-centre was having none of it :rolleyes:

SusanC10

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Thanks for that. The place looks perfect.

We think we might try stay for 2 weeks in france.
Is it set that rentals are sat to sat or any combo is possible.
Would the place be in full swing in mid june?
Is there any point in booking early? Are eurocamp the only option for booking?
At the minute It seems very pricey for the aspect and not sure we need 3 beds,but It does look very nice.
The girls will sleep together and the little guy will be in a travel cot in our room,Or their room
How does the other mobiles compair.
Is there any way to get discounts?

Regarding the ferry is a cabin essential and what standard are they on stena horizon, we only had an option for 6 berth when I looked on the website
Is IF better? It looks a bit nicer cabin choice if tgat is important.

we will defo not travel from cork

I agree with Aquarius on the Aspect. Couldn't justify spending that kind of money on it. We saw one while in France this summer.

We stayed in a 3-Bed 1-Bath Espace and also a 2-Bed 2-Bath Espace this summer and have decided that the 2-Bed 2-Bath version is ideal for our family needs. However, it is only available on v few of the campsites.

We have 2 kids. We also visited friends who have 3 kids (incl 1 in a cot) and their ideal is a 3-Bed 2-Bath Esprit.

Next summer we are trying the 3-Bed 1-Bath Avant and we'll see how that goes. The site we are going to does not have the 2-Bed Espace otherwise we would be going with that.

We went IF Rosslare-Cherbourg this year and had a 2-Star 4-Berth Cabin with Window and that is fine for us. My friend with 3 kids gets the 3-Star 4-Berth version of this in order to fit the cot. Cabins / Reclining Seats are compulsory on IF afaik.

Hope this helps.

gerfmurphy

thanks for the advise.
I see Brittany ferries have 15% discount on ferry if you book the campsite through them, will have to price that.
Stena is working out the cheapest, but im warry of what the ship is like (its about 150 cheaper, but we can return to Dub).
IF and Brittany are about the same price. I like the idea you just overnight on brittany but maybe the kids would miss out on stuff

With the mobile home there seems alot of alternative names, so do i just look for 3bed2bath and they all all the same with different companies just asigning names.
for now I have eurocamp with the avant, espace, espirit and classic, on the campsite page i have comfort and standard, on brittany ferries max and max+ plus other site like canvas etc sites seem to use different names again. its hard to try compare like for like

thanks again for the invaluable help, not sure where i would be without the guidence

SusanC10

gerfmurphy wrote: »

thanks for the advise.
I see Brittany ferries have 15% discount on ferry if you book the campsite through them, will have to price that.
Stena is working out the cheapest, but im warry of what the ship is like (its about 150 cheaper, but we can return to Dub).
IF and Brittany are about the same price. I like the idea you just overnight on brittany but maybe the kids would miss out on stuff

With the mobile home there seems alot of alternative names, so do i just look for 3bed2bath and they all all the same with different companies just asigning names.
for now I have eurocamp with the avant, espace, espirit and classic, on the campsite page i have comfort and standard, on brittany ferries max and max+ plus other site like canvas etc sites seem to use different names again. its hard to try compare like for like

thanks again for the invaluable help, not sure where i would be without the guidence

It took me ages last year to book the Mobile and also to decide.

We decided to use Eurocamp for our first trip as we had recommendations from several friends who had used them in the past - all families with kids under 12.

The we decided which area of France we wanted to visit and decided on a 2 Site Holiday.

We also decided to use Irish Ferries from Rosslare to Cherbourg and to return the same route due to a combination of the times/days of the sailings, again recommendations and the fact that you could use the Tesco Tokens and the Early Booking Discount which I did last year.

Once we had decided on the locations in France we wanted at least one of the Sites to have the Eurocamp Kids Clubs.

On the Accommodation - 2 Beds is sufficient for us though the 3 Bed can be good too.

We want an Oven and BBQ as we do a lot of cooking at the mobile and only eat out once a week.

We had thought that we wanted 2 Bathrooms but this has now gone down our priority list due to the standards and the close proximity of the Campsite Toilet/Shower Blocks.

Surprisingly we would prefer a Dishwasher. We had thought that we would be ok without one and we were but now it has a higher priority than the 2 Bathrooms.

Depending on the location we now also preferred a covered deck.

We had decided on and booked 2-Bed 2-Bath Espace but due to some complications ended up with a 3-Bed 1-Bath Espace in one of the Campsites. In hindsight this was good as it allowed us to compare.

While on site we also saw both the Aspect & Avant and we visited Friends in a 3-Bed 2-Bath Esprit so we have seen all of these in the flesh too.

Our ideal remains the 2-Bed 2-Bath Espace and if it were available on more sites we would book it all the time. However, next year we are going for a 3-Bed 1-Bath Avant so will see how that goes. Both of these mobiles have dishwashers.

Next summer for our first site we are going to an area in the Alps where the nearest Eurocamp is 3 hours away and we will be using Vacansoleil as a result. I am nervous about it as the mobile will have no BBQ or Oven and also due to the Deposit issue I have outlined in a Post above. So we'll see how all of that goes.

You just need to decide on your own priorities and give it a go.

SusanC10

Hopefully this will help someone trying to decide on Accommodation provider

Eurocamp

Pros

- Flexible arriving and departure days
- Only €99 Deposit required at Booking
- Good Customer Service in Cork Office (we had an issue on one of the Sites which was dealt very well with by the Cork Office on our return)
- Good variety/choice of Accommodation
- Oven
- BBQ
- Dishwasher (some Accommodation)
- 2 Bathrooms (some Accommodation)
- No Damage / Cleaning Deposit - Pay €17.50 Waiver instead.
- Kids Clubs (some Sites)

Cons

- Expensive
- Sites tend to be clumped in the same region and then none at all for large areas of France.
- Linen Hire Expensive


Vacansoleil (based only on the Booking Process so far)

Pros

- Less Expensive
- Flexible arrival / departure days
- Have Sites in more off-the-beaten-track locations
- €100 Deposit when Booking
- Linen included in Price (on some sites)

Cons

- No BBQ provided
- No Oven
- No Dishwasher (in any Units)
- Large Damage / Cleaning Deposit (€300)
- Less variety/choice of Accommodaton

gerfmurphy

A relative has told me that October is the best time for booking the ferry, always the best sale, is that correct?

54and56

gerfmurphy wrote: »

A relative has told me that October is the best time for booking the ferry, always the best sale, is that correct?

Historically that may be the case but I don't think it was last year. IIRC the early discounts offered last year in July/August were as good as it got and some people who waited for better pricing ended up paying more than the prices they could have locked in early.

One possible explanation for last year was the fact additional traffic was expected due to the Euro's in France so the normal requirement to stimulate sales via "sales" was reduced as the ferry companies knew they'd have increased demand. That obviously won't be a factor in 2017.