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

BailMeOut

Booked Ile de Re for first two weeks in Aug 2017. Silly question I know but any deals going on Brittany Ferries from Cork to Roscoff?! Current price from Brittany is 1112.00 EUR there and back.

Mountainsandh

oinkely wrote: »

Anyone been to France in April? Thinking of heading over with the caravan during the school holidays for ten days or so, just staying around Brittany.

Seems to be plenty of sites open with heated indoor pools and the ferry is cheap. Would work out cheaper than renting somewhere in Ireland for the break!

Any feedback on Brittany in April would be great. interwebs seem to suggest temps around mid to low teens.

Oinkely it's hard to say, generally the weather is better overall in Brittany than Ireland, imo. Meaning, it could be like Ireland, but with more or longer sunny spells. Then again, we've had many an amazing Easter in Ireland of late ! Temperatures a bit better too.
Of course the lower South you go, the better the weather.

webpal

Steve_hooo wrote: »

Anyone traveled with Stenaline Horizon to France booking only the Reclining Seat and can answer the below:

Are these in a separate room like for IrishFerries?

Do they give you a pillow and blanket?

Is there space to roll out a mat and sleep on the floor?

Thanks

not sure about your specific questions but I do know that on this boat, people sleep everywhere, I.e. Bars corridors, doorwells etc.

oinkely wrote: »

Any feedback on Brittany in April would be great. interwebs seem to suggest temps around mid to low teens.

we went in May before and spent the entire time with the gas fire on. It was freezing, couldn't even walk on the beach.

BailMeOut wrote: »

Booked Ile de Re for first two weeks in Aug 2017. Silly question I know but any deals going on Brittany Ferries from Cork to Roscoff?! Current price from Brittany is 1112.00 EUR there and back.

Generally no although it is possible to get a discount with some accommodations.

billbond4

on Irishferries, can you use a discount code and pay with tesco clubcard boost?

jay0109

billbond4 wrote: »

on Irishferries, can you use a discount code and pay with tesco clubcard boost?

You can over the phone

billbond4

thanks for that, handy to get to double discount.
I know they charge a bit for phone bookings. 15e

jay0109

billbond4 wrote: »

thanks for that, handy to get to double discount.
I know they charge a bit for phone bookings. 15e

Tell them you couldn't put through both discounts on the net, quote the price you were trying to get at the time...and they'll honour that on the phone without adding the surcharge

billbond4

Thanks for that tip @jay019
Was on hold to tesco as there was an issue with my token, but it got sorted.

hurler32

Travelling on Ferry to France at end of June for 7/8 days , Family of 5 to roscoff.
Didnt plan on driving too far on French side so thinking Brittany might be far enough although not set in stone, any recomendations on locations up that part of france for families..children 11,13,15??

Safrongirl

Do you have to transfer the vouchers to Irish ferries before you  phone them ?

billbond4

yeah you need to transfer from clubcard to a toekn that Irish ferries can use.

i.e. from my mail.
How to use your token code:

1. Visit www.irishferries.com/tesco to make your booking online or by calling Irish Ferries offices on 0818 300 400 in the Republic of Ireland. Phone lines are open from 0800 – 1900 Monday to Friday and 0800 – 1600 on Saturday. Note that bookings made through Irish Ferries Contact Centre will attract a telephone booking supplement of €15.00.

2. You will need your token code and value in order to make a booking.

3. Only one e-token code can be used for each booking.

Stone Deaf 4evr

hurler32 wrote: »

Travelling on Ferry to France at end of June for 7/8 days , Family of 5 to roscoff.
Didnt plan on driving too far on French side so thinking Brittany might be far enough although not set in stone, any recomendations on locations up that part of france for families..children 11,13,15??

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057621952&page=19

good thread here, if campsites are your thing.

I've been to pont aven, a nice little village about an hour from the boat, we stayed at the siblu camp 'domaine de kerlann'

your kids are old enough that they'd handle a bit longer drive though, I'd recommend looking at places in and around St Jean De Monts, that whole place is well set up for tourists and theres a fantastic beach and market there.

GeneralSherman

Hurler32. In my opinion you should stay in Brittany if you are willing to take a risk with the weather. I would recommend Domaine Les Ormes for the age your children are at especially if they are sporty. Good pools for if it rains, plenty of organised events if your kids want to participate. A 2 0minute drive to the beach, plenty of places to see if you really want to do day trips. Our problem was getting the kids to leave the campsite. Jean De Monts is a good distance down and really it's just a beach resort.

54and56

GeneralSherman wrote: »

Jean De Monts is a good distance down and really it's just a beach resort.

Have to completely disagree with you there GS, we spent 3 years in Siblus Le Bois Masson campsite in Jean De Monts and we never spent more than a couple of days at the beach. There are so many cycle paths, markets, day trips, water parks etc in the area that its much much more than just a beach resort.

westgolf

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Have to completely disagree with you there GS, we spent 3 years in Siblus Le Bois Masson campsite in Jean De Monts and we never spent more than a couple of days at the beach. There are so many cycle paths, markets, day trips, water parks etc in the area that its much much more than just a beach resort.

Agree completely. Key is some research before you depart. We would do roscoff to jean de monts in about 4 hrs with a half way stop.

Helmet

Do Irish Ferries have a sale in January? A lad I know reckons he got sailing for 50% off what his friend paid for the same crossing last year.

average_runner

Helmet wrote: »

Do Irish Ferries have a sale in January? A lad I know reckons he got sailing for 50% off what his friend paid for the same crossing last year.

Not to France anyhow.

Helmet

average_runner wrote: »

Not to France anyhow.

Bugger, yer man is adamant he picked up cheap sailings the last 2 years to Roscoff.

average_runner

Helmet wrote: »

Bugger, yer man is adamant he picked up cheap sailings the last 2 years to Roscoff.

You might get 10% - 20% off, but people got that already. Sure check any how

54and56

Helmet wrote: »

Do Irish Ferries have a sale in January? A lad I know reckons he got sailing for 50% off what his friend paid for the same crossing last year.

If Irish Ferries had a 50% sale every January two things would happen:-

1. Everyone on here (who are mostly regular ferry users to France each year) would know about it.

2. Everyone would wait to book in January.

Can't see Irish Ferry's doing a regular 50% sale in January unless its a very limited availability and/or time limited flash type sale a la Ryanair offering €9.99 seats to Barcelona which you quickly realise are only valid for 10 seats per flight and only on the first Tuesday in February!!

BlazingSaddler

Hi all. For the last 4 years I've stayed fairly far north (Picardy, Brittany) and done the ferry/ Eurocamp or Canvas thing (all thoroughly enjoyable I might add!) but this year we are thinking on recommendation of heading further south and trying La Sirene. I do however have a budget of €3k. Is this achievable in mid July for a minimum of 10 nights do you think? My initial enquiries with Eurocamp or Lifestyle suggest not with cheapest accommodation of £1900 and the flight with Aer Lingus excluding baggage at €1600 ish. This is without even looking at car hire. I don't really want to drive that far from Cherbourg or Roscoff. Any tips would be appreciated please! also it doesn't have to be La Sirene I suppose, just a site down south good for 3 kids within budget for flight/accommodation and car hire! Not a lot to ask!! Thanks in advance

Stone Deaf 4evr

BlazingSaddler wrote: »

Hi all. For the last 4 years I've stayed fairly far north (Picardy, Brittany) and done the ferry/ Eurocamp or Canvas thing (all thoroughly enjoyable I might add!) but this year we are thinking on recommendation of heading further south and trying La Sirene. I do however have a budget of €3k. Is this achievable in mid July for a minimum of 10 nights do you think? My initial enquiries with Eurocamp or Lifestyle suggest not with cheapest accommodation of £1900 and the flight with Aer Lingus excluding baggage at €1600 ish. This is without even looking at car hire. I don't really want to drive that far from Cherbourg or Roscoff. Any tips would be appreciated please! also it doesn't have to be La Sirene I suppose, just a site down south good for 3 kids within budget for flight/accommodation and car hire! Not a lot to ask!! Thanks in advance

I'm doing la sirene again this year, but I'm flying into Barcelona and driving the two hours up. We took the ferry last year and tbh the drive was just a bit much, my kids are 6 and 3.
We're travelling in July and the approximate costs are as follows

Aerlingus flights ex cork -800
Car hire in Barcelona -220
3 bed mobile for 12 nights in la sirene -980 including linen (lifestyle holidays)
Hotel for 2 nights in Barcelona before we come home -200

This all comes in at almost a grand cheaper than what it cost me to drive and ferry, taking into account fuel costs and tolls and staying with eurocamp

So just a shade over 2 grand, plus, we're getting a lot more time at the camp than we had last year when we drove, I love the ferry and all, but those flights leave cork at 6 am, so I should have no problem in being sitting in the sandy beach bar sipping a cocktail by 3pm on the same day, with a run to the supermarket already in the bag!

GeneralSherman

Blazing Saddler consider flying into Tours Loire Valley with Ryanair and then hire your car and campsite from there. Flights in mid July are reasonable. Lots to see and do in Loire Valley especially if you like chateaus.

Munsterbhoy

BlazingSaddler wrote: »

Hi all. For the last 4 years I've stayed fairly far north (Picardy, Brittany) and done the ferry/ Eurocamp or Canvas thing (all thoroughly enjoyable I might add!) but this year we are thinking on recommendation of heading further south and trying La Sirene. I do however have a budget of €3k. Is this achievable in mid July for a minimum of 10 nights do you think? My initial enquiries with Eurocamp or Lifestyle suggest not with cheapest accommodation of £1900 and the flight with Aer Lingus excluding baggage at €1600 ish. This is without even looking at car hire. I don't really want to drive that far from Cherbourg or Roscoff. Any tips would be appreciated please! also it doesn't have to be La Sirene I suppose, just a site down south good for 3 kids within budget for flight/accommodation and car hire! Not a lot to ask!! Thanks in advance

Dublin to rodez on Tue 11 July for 14 days is €610 for 5 without bags with Ryanair That's not too far from ardeche region ( 3 1/2 hrs) or dordogne region 2 1/2 hrs. Accom in le ruisseau is €1775 with eurocamp , carhire €300 . That gives u scope for bags and linen hire within ure 3k budget. Ardeche is a great region with lots to do and has great weather.

BlazingSaddler

Hi. Thank so for the ideas! I'm now looking at flying into Nice and staying at La Baume in Frejus for 11 nights. Can anybody recommend? Also, what is the best way to go about booking car hire? I would be flying with Ryanair so would the car hire be cheapest with them? I'd need a decent size car for 5 including luggage and a baby seat!

Stone Deaf 4evr

BlazingSaddler wrote: »

Hi. Thank so for the ideas! I'm now looking at flying into Nice and staying at La Baume in Frejus for 11 nights. Can anybody recommend? Also, what is the best way to go about booking car hire? I would be flying with Ryanair so would the car hire be cheapest with them? I'd need a decent size car for 5 including luggage and a baby seat!

I used rentalcars.com for my car hire.

be advised that baby seats are mental expensive to hire. our two are onto booster seats now, so we're either going to bring them with us (should be no problem on the flight as they'll be sitting on them) or alternatively I was looking at these
http://www.halfords.ie/kids-zone/car-seats/child-car-seats/bubblebum-inflatable-booster-seat-black

54and56

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I used rentalcars.com for my car hire.

be advised that baby seats are mental expensive to hire. our two are onto booster seats now, so we're either going to bring them with us (should be no problem on the flight as they'll be sitting on them) or alternatively I was looking at these
http://www.halfords.ie/kids-zone/car-seats/child-car-seats/bubblebum-inflatable-booster-seat-black

SD4E, if I was in your situation I'd sit the two kids on some books/bags etc and head straight for the nearest Auchan supermarket and pick up two of these for €24 which you can bin when you return the car.

Peckham

Had been following this thread for a while in planning my France 2017 experience. Have been there twice in last few years (La Sirene, Argeles in 2014, and Pointe Saint Gilles, Benodet in 2016) and was keen to go back in 2017.

It’s a family holiday (kids will be 6 months, 3 and 6 next summer), so wanted somewhere that was easy enough drive from the ferry and was family-oriented (good pool, and ideally kids club for the 6 year old). Eurocamp prices seemed high for next year, so was looking elsewhere.

Ended up booking Le Bois Masson in Saint Jean de Monts for the first two weeks in July.

Irish Ferries to Roscoff - €1259 return
Campsite for 14 nights - €1566 (for their highest spec 3 bed mobile)

€2825 in total. Seems good value.

Posting here as info might help others with planning.

(Shout out to Je_suis_Jean for some great recommendations!)

Stone Deaf 4evr

Peckham wrote: »

Had been following this thread for a while in planning my France 2017 experience. Have been there twice in last few years (La Sirene, Argeles in 2014, and Pointe Saint Gilles, Benodet in 2016) and was keen to go back in 2017.

It’s a family holiday (kids will be 6 months, 3 and 6 next summer), so wanted somewhere that was easy enough drive from the ferry and was family-oriented (good pool, and ideally kids club for the 6 year old). Eurocamp prices seemed high for next year, so was looking elsewhere.

Ended up booking Le Bois Masson in Saint Jean de Monts for the first two weeks in July.



(Shout out to Je_suis_Jean for some great recommendations!)

you cant go wrong there, great camp, and St Jean De monts is a great town in stiking distance of plenty things to see and do. enjoy!

hurler32

Have been trying to decide since where to stay in France...its 4 hours from Roscoff to the above Le Boisson site which seems a long enough drive in my eyes....where is best in the circa 2 hour drive range ??..a site where one could rent a 3 bed mobile home in a decent site....a quite at night site would appeal ..the Siblu resorts look good??..is their better or others worth a look?..thanks for any help.