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

oinkely

jay0109 wrote: »

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

Just did this to book our ferry this morning. They did not add on the €15 booking fee and allowed the tesco voucher off the discounted price. Very happy.

BlazingSaddler

webpal wrote: »

Latest discount code for Eurocamp

1 Apr - 30 Jun 50%
1 Jul - 21 Jul 30%
22 Jul - 29 Aug 15%
30 Aug - 29 Oct 30%

code 17RISC02

I've put this through on a couple of campsites and there are genuine big savings to be made, so much so that I'm extremely tempted to book. Thats what I like about Eurocamp, you know the mobiles and campsites are of a certain star. Usually they are a bit dearer but this code seems to be very competitive.

This code worked perfectly for me so many thanks webpal! If anyone is an AA platinum member it is worth checking your rewards, Eurocamp have a similar discount code which I tried yesterday and this also works. PM me if you need it. AA also has rewards/discounts for car hire, Hertz and Thrifty I think.

billbond4

oinkely wrote: »

Just did this to book our ferry this morning. They did not add on the €15 booking fee and allowed the tesco voucher off the discounted price. Very happy.

Are you able to modify your booking online?
or do you have a message
"Sorry this booking cannot be amended here. Please contact us for assistance"

oinkely

billbond4 wrote: »

Are you able to modify your booking online?
or do you have a message
"Sorry this booking cannot be amended here. Please contact us for assistance"

I get the same message as you - can't amend it online.

billbond4

ok, i was just looking at getting the insurance and breakdown assistance

ECO_Mental

Just booked a week over easter in Normandy. Was going to go during the summer but the value i got for a week was too good to pass up. Going out good friday on IF to cherbourg return room plus car only €450. Then 7 days in an eurocamp site was only €300 ( that code worked as well)

So all in all a week in france for about 750, you wouldnt rent a house in galway for that money

oinkely

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Just booked a week over easter in Normandy. Was going to go during the summer but the value i got for a week was too good to pass up. Going out good friday on IF to cherbourg return room plus car only €450. Then 7 days in an eurocamp site was only €300 ( that code worked as well)

So all in all a week in france for about 750, you wouldnt rent a house in galway for that money

We did pretty much the same - but with the added bonus of tesco vouchers knocking the ferry spend down to €94. Taking the caravan and a good blow heater though. Can't wait.

Easter being so late is a great treat alright.

ECO_Mental

If easter is late it can be great, a couple of years ago we went to brittany and lucked out with the weather it was in the realy 20s for the two weeks in late april.

cathalj

webpal wrote:

Latest discount code for Eurocamp

webpal wrote:

1 Apr - 30 Jun 50% 1 Jul - 21 Jul 30% 22 Jul - 29 Aug 15% 30 Aug - 29 Oct 30%

webpal wrote:

code 17RISC02

webpal wrote:

I've put this through on a couple of campsites and there are genuine big savings to be made, so much so that I'm extremely tempted to book. Thats what I like about Eurocamp, you know the mobiles and campsites are of a certain star. Usually they are a bit dearer but this code seems to be very competitive.

This code really makes a difference....... serious savings to be had.

Thanks so much Webpal !

Do you mind me asking how you heard of it ?..... (I'm on Eurocamp mailing list but didn't get any notification , nothing on their website etc)

Thanks again for taking the time to post this code.

webpal

via groupschemes

BlazingSaddler

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Just booked a week over easter in Normandy. Was going to go during the summer but the value i got for a week was too good to pass up. Going out good friday on IF to cherbourg return room plus car only €450. Then 7 days in an eurocamp site was only €300 ( that code worked as well)

So all in all a week in france for about 750, you wouldnt rent a house in galway for that money

This has really got me thinking!, very tempted by this. You could have 5 nights in Carnac for €140 in a 3 bed classic arriving on 16th or 17th April. Irish Ferries for us is coming in at €605 (3 star 4 bed inside inc cot both ways). 4.5 hour drive or pay more for the boat with Brittany (€768 and drive for 2.5 hours)! Very tempted as we are flying this summer and will miss the wine run!

76544567

BlazingSaddler wrote: »

This has really got me thinking!, very tempted by this. You could have 5 nights in Carnac for €140 in a 3 bed classic arriving on 16th or 17th April. Irish Ferries for us is coming in at €605 (3 star 4 bed inside inc cot both ways). 4.5 hour drive or pay more for the boat with Brittany (€768 and drive for 2.5 hours)! Very tempted as we are flying this summer and will miss the wine run!

Big gamble on the weather that time of year though.

billbond4

Is there any other deals on breakdown assistance + travel insurance like the one on IF website?

Bryji

Hi everyone,
My very first post on boards. Thanks all for the great info here and in the 2016 thread. We're going back to Brittany in July for the 3rd year in a row, to the same campsite: Camping Port de Plaisance / Yelloh! Village in Benodet. Obviously we've found something that works for us, we have 2 little ones, 3 & 5 so mostly looking for a reliably enjoyable holiday.

The first year we booked with Vacansoleil, it was ok but expensive and our van was very small and moldy smell in the kids bedroom. I have to put hands up and say we didn't complain as we didn't want to be moved from beside the rest of our family who were close by. Apart from that it's an excellent resort, well run with a large indoor pool and other entertainment which is mostly suitable for older kids. The worst thing in our first year was 1 week of heavy rain but last year was great.

One of the best things about Bénodet is the town centre and its beaches within walking distance, about 2km. Lovely little town with great restaurants / creperies. Also very close by is Sainte Marine, just over the bridge (or 1/2 eur ferry trip across the river) with my favourite restaurant "Pizzeria du Port" amongst others.

We stayed with Bénodet Breaks last year and this year coming, really recommend them, they are a family in the UK with several pitches of different sized vans on the Port de Plaisance site. Very nice guys, good to deal with and their vans are very high standard. When you book with them you get a 20% discount code for Brittany Ferries, but there are some blackout dates and I think it only applies to the ferry far itself, not accommodation or anything else, but it still saved us nearly €100 despite only applying to our outward leg for our dates (next year thinking of extending to 3 weeks to get it both ways).

We travelled with Brittany Ferries every time, and I was mostly lurking on here on the forums to figure out about Irish Ferries and the tesco tokens (already thinking about 2018!). The reason I'm thinking so far ahead is considering getting the Tesco credit card to get extra points but I've pretty much decided against it. I'll explain my reasoning in case it's helpful for others:
- most of all, I really like Brittany Ferries and am a bit claustrophobic and want a nice comfortable crossing. Always had a good experience with them in person and on phone and the Pont Aven is a lovely ship with lots of different areas for walking around. We got club class last year because we booked late and were forced to, getting it by choice this year as (what they don't mention on their website) is the window in club is directly over the sea, we got external cabin the year before and it was facing the deck with people walking past, small thing but it adds to the experience).
- Irish Ferries seem to be very expensive for July timeframe, up to €650 before adding cabins etc., BF seem to be 100-200 cheaper. These fares seem to even apply to the 'Epsilon' which they bill as their 'Economie' type crossing. I think I would only want to use the Oscar Wilde if using IF.
- If doing Tesco tokens they seem to add €40 to cost (20 each way) and if you want to pay off bit by bit it looks like you have to do by phone and hence face another €21 charge. So that's an extra 60eur you need to claw back with vouchers (=€15 of vouchers before boost). Note if you are doing the tesco thing, I noticed they have an option to save your vouchers all year and only get them at christmas, if I was doing tesco/IF this would make sense.
- If I add an extra week next year, can get the 20% discount for way back also on an already cheaper fare (note: it's not just Bénodet Breaks who can give you a discount code, I think many independent providers have this deal)
- I can get a KBC credit card and get €10 back per month, if I do that now and put it towards the Ferry I'd have maybe €180 I could put towards the ferry (and they have an offer now where it's upt to €40/month for 3 months). You would need to be spending €1000+ / month to get the full amount

Next year we'll probably split time between Bénodet and somewhere further afield. As I said the thing we really like about Bénodet is being able to walk to the town centre and beaches, does anyone know of similarly situated well run camp sites further south (but still west coast but hopefully less possibility of rain)?

insullation

Tesco credit card is pointless for gathering points unless you do all your shopping in tesco. Would need to spend 40k plus on it just to cover the government stamp duty a year.

Seth Brundle

I was sent an email from Irish Ferries about 10% off bookings...

The 10% off motorist fares offer available for bookings made from now up until 31 January for travel on Ireland – France services from now to 16 Dec 2017. New Bookings only.

No code though, it's a traceable url.

Kerry Gooner

Appreciate any feedback on planning to head to Camping La Pinède for a fortnight in the middle of august, three kids between 3 & 10 accompanying.

Shefwedfan

Ok I am looking for some idea's, we looked at France last year and in end went to Peppa Pig land in UK. Was great but weather was a bit off even thou it was June/July. This year due to new arrival we are looking at trying to get away towards the end of August/start of September. No kids in school yet(last year I can say that)

I am looking for advice on where to head in France, I am looking at Ferry into Roscoff and don't want to travel a massive distance. Any recommendations? has anyone travelled at this time of year? what can weather be like?

Other option is to fly to Reus in Spain and book somewhere down there but prices 2k+

CJhaughey

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Ok I am looking for some idea's, we looked at France last year and in end went to Peppa Pig land in UK. Was great but weather was a bit off even thou it was June/July. This year due to new arrival we are looking at trying to get away towards the end of August/start of September. No kids in school yet(last year I can say that)

I am looking for advice on where to head in France, I am looking at Ferry into Roscoff and don't want to travel a massive distance. Any recommendations? has anyone travelled at this time of year? what can weather be like?

Other option is to fly to Reus in Spain and book somewhere down there but prices 2k+

I really nice campsite in Brittany is Le Grande Metairie in Carnac.
Its a very well run and featured campsite with great pools and lots of outdoors activities.
We went to there twice, and loved it both times.
Really you need to go south of Bordeaux to get reliably hot weather but smallies in a car might not like the drive.
It will be hot there at that time of the year though, be aware of that with young uns.

judgefoozle

Kerry Gooner wrote: »

Appreciate any feedback on planning to head to Camping La Pinède for a fortnight in the middle of august, three kids between 3 & 10 accompanying.

Stayed in La Pignade -
http://www.siblu.ie/camping-la-pignade

Which is nearby to where I think you're on about?
https://goo.gl/maps/2FGDfTQUqmL2

Kids were 7 and 5 at the time and we all loved it. Very safe, they could cycle around the park on their own. Good kids club with some Irish staff which always helps if kids are a bit shy. The French staff were all very friendly and willing to put up with our rubbish French, which you don't always get everywhere. Nice villages, beaches, towns, supermarkets nearby. We all have really great memories from that holiday.

Only thing I'd advise, is if you're driving it's a long trek - I think it took 6/7 hours in a small campervan from Cherbourg, including a McDonalds stop-off on the way, so best to stay for 10-14 days if you can. Roads are great though, we just downloaded google maps to our phones and no problems.

We travelled the last week July/first week August and weather was between mid-20's to low 30's - but no guarantees of course. Booked direct through the Siblu site and got a good last-minute deal considering the time of year.

Hope that's of help, but if you want to know anything specific let me know.

Kerry Gooner

judgefoozle wrote: »

Stayed in La Pignade -
http://www.siblu.ie/camping-la-pignade

Which is nearby to where I think you're on about?
https://goo.gl/maps/2FGDfTQUqmL2

Kids were 7 and 5 at the time and we all loved it. Very safe, they could cycle around the park on their own. Good kids club with some Irish staff which always helps if kids are a bit shy. The French staff were all very friendly and willing to put up with our rubbish French, which you don't always get everywhere. Nice villages, beaches, towns, supermarkets nearby. We all have really great memories from that holiday.

Only thing I'd advise, is if you're driving it's a long trek - I think it took 6/7 hours in a small campervan from Cherbourg, including a McDonalds stop-off on the way, so best to stay for 10-14 days if you can. Roads are great though, we just downloaded google maps to our phones and no problems.

We travelled the last week July/first week August and weather was between mid-20's to low 30's - but no guarantees of course. Booked direct through the Siblu site and got a good last-minute deal considering the time of year.

Hope that's of help, but if you want to know anything specific let me know.

Thanks for prompt reply, believe it is one of the sites we are considering and luckily enough the children are well used to spending 6 hours travelling in a car.
May return with some further questions when itinerary finalised.

Shefwedfan

CJhaughey wrote: »

I really nice campsite in Brittany is Le Grande Metairie in Carnac.
Its a very well run and featured campsite with great pools and lots of outdoors activities.
We went to there twice, and loved it both times.
Really you need to go south of Bordeaux to get reliably hot weather but smallies in a car might not like the drive.
It will be hot there at that time of the year though, be aware of that with young uns.

Will have 3 month old, 2 year old and 4 year old in car so don't want to drive a long distance as it would be hell :-)

Thanks for reply, will have a look at that place

BlazingSaddler

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Ok I am looking for some idea's, we looked at France last year and in end went to Peppa Pig land in UK. Was great but weather was a bit off even thou it was June/July. This year due to new arrival we are looking at trying to get away towards the end of August/start of September. No kids in school yet(last year I can say that)

I am looking for advice on where to head in France, I am looking at Ferry into Roscoff and don't want to travel a massive distance. Any recommendations? has anyone travelled at this time of year? what can weather be like?

Other option is to fly to Reus in Spain and book somewhere down there but prices 2k+

Les Mouettes in Brittany. Couldn't be closer to Roscoff (20 mins) and we had a fabulous 12 days last July. Only downside I can think of is there was only a site run kids club which wasn't bad but no where near as good as the Eurocamp or Canvas kids clubs on other sites.

saggycaggy

Is this thread just for France or can i ask here in relation to Spain??

We've never been on the camping type holiday before but looking into going to Spain at the minand Villa Camping Vilanova Park near Barcelona seems reasonable enough-any ever been??

Overwhelmed by the thread as not a clue what to go for (where to avoid in France/Spain) but any low cost suggestions for a family of 4 (2 girls 5 and 9) for late August would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Shefwedfan

saggycaggy wrote: »

Is this thread just for France or can i ask here in relation to Spain??

We've never been on the camping type holiday before but looking into going to Spain at the minand Villa Camping Vilanova Park near Barcelona seems reasonable enough-any ever been??

Overwhelmed by the thread as not a clue what to go for (where to avoid in France/Spain) but any low cost suggestions for a family of 4 (2 girls 5 and 9) for late August would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

We might need to start our own thread :-) This was recommended to me by a friend who has stayed there. Fly into Reus, more expensive but closer or fly into Barcelona.

saggycaggy

Great thanks Shefwedfan- i'll look more into the camp so, always good to get a recommendation!

Thanks.

clogher77

Thinking of heading to France this summer. First time. We usually holiday in Ireland. Was thinking of getting ferry from cork to roscoff. Or would we be better off flying.
We re flexible on dates - thinking of last 2 weeks in August as ferry seems cheaper.

We have 5 kids who will be 11,9, 4, 2, and 9 months next summer.

The 2 older ones want water slides.
We want a buggy friendly camp close to beach for younger ones so they can make sand castles etc.

Anyone have any advice/ recommendations.

I've looked on line. Because we have 7 the accommodation is working out very expensive even though baby will be in a travel cot.

Any tips much appreciated.

donegal.

clogher, i'd definitely drive/ferry.

when we were kids we'd often bring a cousin with us ,so 2 adults/5 kids.
I'd recommend camping , Book something like this and bring a basic small tent with you for the 11 and 9 yr old to sleep in.

jay0109

clogher, try these
http://www.campinglesdunes.fr/en/
We're staying with them this Summer for the first time (2+ 4) in a 3 bed. We booked direct to get the best value

Stone Deaf 4evr

clogher77 wrote: »

Thinking of heading to France this summer. First time. We usually holiday in Ireland. Was thinking of getting ferry from cork to roscoff. Or would we be better off flying.
We re flexible on dates - thinking of last 2 weeks in August as ferry seems cheaper.

We have 5 kids who will be 11,9, 4, 2, and 9 months next summer.

The 2 older ones want water slides.
We want a buggy friendly camp close to beach for younger ones so they can make sand castles etc.

Anyone have any advice/ recommendations.

I've looked on line. Because we have 7 the accommodation is working out very expensive even though baby will be in a travel cot.

Any tips much appreciated.

For whatever reason, when the ferries are cheap, the camps are more expensive. Probably to do with the French taking their holidays at that time.