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

nirvana78

We've booked Les Ormes again for next year, albeit slightly different this time. This year for the first time we brought our own tent and all the trimmings. We loved this way of accommodation but we definitely didn't like how long it took to put everything up and take it back down again. We stayed on three sites this year so quite a bit of packing and unpacking. For next year we decided to book a premium pitch with some of the equipment already there, however when we looked at Eurocamp they have a Safari tent available for 12 nights in June for under €500 so that's a no brainer for us. We won't have to bring half as much stuff and we can just walk straight in and let the holiday begin. The weather won't be fantastic but that doesn't bother us too much, we're not ones for the heat anyway.

My question is what activities do the teenagers get up to in the Eurocamp Base Club at Les Ormes? I have a 13yr old boy, who's very keen to get away from his two brothers age 3 & 4!

loyatemu

nirvana78 wrote: »

We've booked Les Ormes again for next year, albeit slightly different this time. This year for the first time we brought our own tent and all the trimmings. We loved this way of accommodation but we definitely didn't like how long it took to put everything up and take it back down again. We stayed on three sites this year so quite a bit of packing and unpacking. For next year we decided to book a premium pitch with some of the equipment already there, however when we looked at Eurocamp they have a Safari tent available for 12 nights in June for under €500 so that's a no brainer for us. We won't have to bring half as much stuff and we can just walk straight in and let the holiday begin. The weather won't be fantastic but that doesn't bother us too much, we're not ones for the heat anyway.

My question is what activities do the teenagers get up to in the Eurocamp Base Club at Les Ormes? I have a 13yr old boy, who's very keen to get away from his two brothers age 3 & 4!

we've stayed in the Safari tent the last 2 years and love it. Even better than a mobile IMO - there's more space in the bedrooms, and you don't have to do much cleanup when you're leaving. The main thing they're missing is a sink in the kitchen area (not bothered by the lack of bathroom, the sanitaires on decent campsites are usually excellent and someone else is cleaning them )

Juggler101

I don't think they have the full range of kids clubs open in June,
We've done June Eurocamp holidays, and it has only been a camp for younger kids available!
You should give them a call to clarify.

nirvana78 wrote: »

We've booked Les Ormes again for next year, albeit slightly different this time. This year for the first time we brought our own tent and all the trimmings. We loved this way of accommodation but we definitely didn't like how long it took to put everything up and take it back down again. We stayed on three sites this year so quite a bit of packing and unpacking. For next year we decided to book a premium pitch with some of the equipment already there, however when we looked at Eurocamp they have a Safari tent available for 12 nights in June for under €500 so that's a no brainer for us. We won't have to bring half as much stuff and we can just walk straight in and let the holiday begin. The weather won't be fantastic but that doesn't bother us too much, we're not ones for the heat anyway.

My question is what activities do the teenagers get up to in the Eurocamp Base Club at Les Ormes? I have a 13yr old boy, who's very keen to get away from his two brothers age 3 & 4!

nirvana78

Juggler101 wrote: »

I don't think they have the full range of kids clubs open in June,
We've done June Eurocamp holidays, and it has only been a camp for younger kids available!
You should give them a call to clarify.

That's a good point, I didn't think of that. I'll call them and give an update here for anyone else who might have the same question.

Update here: I checked their website and unfortunately for us the teens club doesn't start until 24th June, well that was this years date, so I would imagine it's something very similar for 2018.

redmissb

Well I'm booked for next year! Going 23rd June Marina di Venezia for 14 nights, booked with Allcamps.ie. Hope I can get flights for a reasonable price now. I really wanted to go to France on the new IF ferry but no guarantee it'll be in service for next June anyway I guess. I've wanted to go to a campsite in Italy for a long time so really looking forward to it!

darragh o meara

What company is the best to book Le Littoral for 2018. So far the prices I've seen are a lot higher than what I expected. We are looking to go in July for a fortnight and have spent the last few years going to the Vendee to Sol aGogo and La Clarys Plage, both great campsites BTW, just in need of a change of scenery.

54and56

redmissb wrote: »

Well I'm booked for next year! Going 23rd June Marina di Venezia for 14 nights, booked with Allcamps.ie. Hope I can get flights for a reasonable price now. I really wanted to go to France on the new IF ferry but no guarantee it'll be in service for next June anyway I guess. I've wanted to go to a campsite in Italy for a long time so really looking forward to it!

G'wan out of that with yer feckin fancy pants camping in Italy. This is the plain old boring camping in France thread.

The camping in Italy website is over that way ->

aquarius10

cedar5 wrote: »

Looking for recommendations for campsites in south of france spain or Italy.
We have done Bella Italia, Cambrils and Villanova.We are a family of 7 (children from 15 years to 9) some campsites will only allow 6 per mobile so its difficult to get accomodation. Good football /kids clubs, night entertainment and pools are what we are looking for and not to have to hire a car if possible.
Has anyone any experience of any of the following and how they compare to Bella Italia
Le Soleil France
Le Sirene France
Castell Montgri Spain
Elfin Verde Spain
Marina Di vensia Italy
Camping fabulous Rome
Union Lido Italy
Or any other recommendations?
Many thanks in advance

Was in La Sirene for 2 weeks start of July. The weather was a little unsettled with showers and thunder 5 days out of 13.

We drove from Cherbourg with hotel breaks on both journeys. A lot flew into Perpignan or Carcassonne or Girona which is just over 1 hour away.

We have been to Bella Italia, La Clarys Plage, La Garangeoire, Des Ormes, St. Aubin sur Mer, La Baume previously. Our kids are 5 & 4. I had read so much and it had been recommended so much I was a little let down when we finally got there. It's nice but still not like Bella Italia. I think it's more suited to kids 8+. I could maybe see us going back when the kids are older.

There was a packed daily schedule and a magazine printed each week highlighting all the events! Foam parties @3pm on a Friday see photo. Feel Collins, Chicago and Queen tribute bands - they really did put on a good show every night.

We never used the kids club and I think a lot of the football was in the sister site across the road Hippocamp.

La Sirène positives:
Good all day & all night entertainment.
Great pools and slides
Lovely adult only pool with bubble beds and waterfalls
Onsite outdoor massage at pool area
No sunbeds- just Astro turf to lie on so no battles for beds


Negatives:
Very busy car traffic around site with kids shooting out of side roads on bikes
The restaurant/shop/launderette areas very cramped together.
Caravans very close together with little room around pitches.
The onsite restaurant not great.
Not many restaurants near campsite.
The campsite is a good mile from beach/port/town but there is a little train to bring you up and down if you don't have own transport

Hope the above information helps you choose, any questions just ask

redmissb

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

G'wan out of that with yer feckin fancy pants camping in Italy. This is the plain old boring camping in France thread.

The camping in Italy website is over that way ->

Well jeez sorry if I offended! Still a campsite holiday albeit not in France, we've only ever done campsites in France so was just posting as Italy was mentioned a few pages back and it's a big change for us to do a fly drive holiday instead of ferry..interested to see if anyone else had booked for next year too.

redmissb

darragh o meara wrote: »

What company is the best to book Le Littoral for 2018. So far the prices I've seen are a lot higher than what I expected. We are looking to go in July for a fortnight and have spent the last few years going to the Vendee to Sol aGogo and La Clarys Plage, both great campsites BTW, just in need of a change of scenery.

Le Littoral is a Yelloh site isn't it? I can recommend booking direct, we went direct with them this year to Benodet and they were great to deal with. Accommodation excellent too.

Edited to add you also get loyalty points if you stay with them which can be used in exchange for free nights on subsequent holidays.

54and56

redmissb wrote: »

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

G'wan out of that with yer feckin fancy pants camping in Italy. This is the plain old boring camping in France thread.

The camping in Italy website is over that way ->

Well jeez sorry if I offended! Still a campsite holiday albeit not in France, we've only ever done campsites in France so was just posting as Italy was mentioned a few pages back and it's a big change for us to do a fly drive holiday instead of ferry..interested to see if anyone else had booked for next year too.

I hope you know i was only joking!!

When we finally give up the whole ferry/car trip to France i fancy trying sites in Italy and Spain so I'm actually a bit jealous that you're giving it a go.

redmissb

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

I hope you know i was only joking!!

When we finally give up the whole ferry/car trip to France i fancy trying sites in Italy and Spain so I'm actually a bit jealous that you're giving it a go.

I feel a bit stupid now I thought you were serious!:o:D

I've been looking at sites in Italy and Spain for years but always ended up booking ferry and France till this year! I know I'm going to miss the wine haul though..that's the biggest perk of bringing the car for me, also I love travelling on the ferry and can't wait to try the new IF ship..if I was sure that it would be in service next year for June I would have gone for France I think.
We'll see how it goes anyway in comparison to the French sites!

talla

So just back from 9 nights in Le Clarys Plage and 10 nights in Le Grande Metarie.
Weather was great for the first 4/5 days but a bit meh after that at best and mostly disappointing.
Next year looking at further south, current favorite at the moment is La Sirene.
Some questions I'm hoping some people can answer on La Sirene.

1. With Eurocamp mobiles is there room to park a car - (largish SUV), have always heard the further south you go, the less room. Looking @ Avant / Aspect accomodation. I know flying is an option, but prefer the ferry experience.

2. For those that drove from Roscoff/Cherborg, did you complete the drive in one day or stop over on the way down? Plan would be 12/14 nights in the south and may 2 nights in Normandy on the way back.

3. Mosquitoes - any major issues? I dont really have an issue with them but they seem to love the other half's blood.

4. Wifi / Mobile reception - in my experience camp wifi has been hit and miss (mainly a miss) so is the wifi useable and any mobile reception to fall back on?
Sulky teens need their connection to the outside world (and their dads )

5. Entertainment - I've read that there are usually a couple of decently produced shows are on - more the other half's/ daughter style.
Are these shows in the main bar area or in a seperate area so I could avoid?

Thats the initial questions that come to mind anyway.
Cheers in advance.

Stone Deaf 4evr

talla wrote: »

So just back from 9 nights in Le Clarys Plage and 10 nights in Le Grande Metarie.
Weather was great for the first 4/5 days but a bit meh after that at best and mostly disappointing.
Next year looking at further south, current favorite at the moment is La Sirene.
Some questions I'm hoping some people can answer on La Sirene.

1. With Eurocamp mobiles is there room to park a car - (largish SUV), have always heard the further south you go, the less room. Looking @ Avant / Aspect accomodation. I know flying is an option, but prefer the ferry experience.

2. For those that drove from Roscoff/Cherborg, did you complete the drive in one day or stop over on the way down? Plan would be 12/14 nights in the south and may 2 nights in Normandy on the way back.

3. Mosquitoes - any major issues? I dont really have an issue with them but they seem to love the other half's blood.

4. Wifi / Mobile reception - in my experience camp wifi has been hit and miss (mainly a miss) so is the wifi useable and any mobile reception to fall back on?
Sulky teens need their connection to the outside world (and their dads )

5. Entertainment - I've read that there are usually a couple of decently produced shows are on - more the other half's/ daughter style.
Are these shows in the main bar area or in a seperate area so I could avoid?

Thats the initial questions that come to mind anyway.
Cheers in advance.

Plenty of space for a range rover or people carrier.
We did the drive over 2 days. Possible to do it in one if the kids will put up with 10 hours in the car all in one day.
We had no prob with mosquitos.
Wi-Fi is brutal.wouldn't waste my money on it again, you can forget about 4g as well, whatsapp and twitter is about as good as you can hope for.
Yeah, the shows (mama mia, lion king, blues brothers etc )are held in an open air theater, but there are two separate bars completley isolated from that

54and56

redmissb wrote: »

I feel a bit stupid now I thought you were serious!:o:D

I've been looking at sites in Italy and Spain for years but always ended up booking ferry and France till this year! I know I'm going to miss the wine haul though..that's the biggest perk of bringing the car for me, also I love travelling on the ferry and can't wait to try the new IF ship..if I was sure that it would be in service next year for June I would have gone for France I think.
We'll see how it goes anyway in comparison to the French sites!

Looks like it'll be a nice ship - http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/irish-ferries-orders-144m-ice-class-ship-with-cinemas-pet-facilities-and-private-passenger-balconies-34763646.html

If IF put the new ship (which carries 450 more passengers than the Oscar Wilde) on their schedule to France from next May I'll certainly try to get on it!!

k123456

Is anyone on this thread familiar with hiring a cruiser 4 berth on the Canal de Midi, how would it compare price wise with a similar holiday, cruising on the Shannon

redmissb

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Looks like it'll be a nice ship - http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/irish-ferries-orders-144m-ice-class-ship-with-cinemas-pet-facilities-and-private-passenger-balconies-34763646.html

If IF put the new ship (which carries 450 more passengers than the Oscar Wilde) on their schedule to France from next May I'll certainly try to get on it!!

It'd be a lot handier for us to leave from Dublin too, the Epsilon never appealed but this looks like it will be a fantastic ship.

54and56

redmissb wrote: »

It'd be a lot handier for us to leave from Dublin too, the Epsilon never appealed but this looks like it will be a fantastic ship.

I wonder what the difference in sailing time to Roscoff is from Dublin Vs Rosslare. I'd probably trade 5 hours on the new IF ship for 2 hours driving to Rosslare but if the net difference went much higher than 3-4 hours I'd probably still opt for driving to Rosslare (or Cork) and a shorter sailing than spend almost a full day on board from Dublin.

talla

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Plenty of space for a range rover or people carrier.
We did the drive over 2 days. Possible to do it in one if the kids will put up with 10 hours in the car all in one day.
We had no prob with mosquitos.
Wi-Fi is brutal.wouldn't waste my money on it again, you can forget about 4g as well, whatsapp and twitter is about as good as you can hope for.
Yeah, the shows (mama mia, lion king, blues brothers etc )are held in an open air theater, but there are two separate bars completley isolated from that

Cheers for the reply, spent a bit more time researching today so booking made for July 2018.

First Up

redmissb wrote:

It'd be a lot handier for us to leave from Dublin too, the Epsilon never appealed but this looks like it will be a fantastic ship.

Have they said it will operate to France from Dublin?

kindalen

New IF ship now due for delivery mid 2018, so might not be used summer 2018 at all.

First Up

kindalen wrote:

New IF ship now due for delivery mid 2018, so might not be used summer 2018 at all.

They'll need a while to get used to it before it goes into service. Big operation.

westgolf

How do I search this thread only ? The search function on the home page gives me results from the whole of boards ?

Going out from Rosslare this year having always gone from Cork. Looking for tips for a place to eat before the ferry. Also coming from Galway so any thoughts on route welcome

judgefoozle

westgolf wrote: »

How do I search this thread only ? The search function on the home page gives me results from the whole of boards ?

Going out from Rosslare this year having always gone from Cork. Looking for tips for a place to eat before the ferry. Also coming from Galway so any thoughts on route welcome

Just did a similar drive going from outside Tuam to Rosslare - for us, the easiest way was to go via Claregalway onto motorway (M6/M4), straight to M50, then onto M11 and join with N11.

You can go cross country via Tullamore/Carlow/Enniscorthy but it only saves maybe 10/20mins so don't think worth it.

Last year we did Dublin/Cherbourg and it's much easier - doesn't always work with outbound/return dates, but will be trying our best to book that for 2018, or else maybe Cork as the new M17 motorway should shave a bit off the journey time too.

As for food options, we just stopped in Applegreen on the M4 and that tided us over.

Enjoy!

dzer2

westgolf wrote: »

How do I search this thread only ? The search function on the home page gives me results from the whole of boards ?

Going out from Rosslare this year having always gone from Cork. Looking for tips for a place to eat before the ferry. Also coming from Galway so any thoughts on route welcome

Galway to Portlaoise and then N80 to Rosslare. Culletons in rosslare for food.

webpal

westgolf wrote: »

How do I search this thread only ? The search function on the home page gives me results from the whole of boards ?

Going out from Rosslare this year having always gone from Cork. Looking for tips for a place to eat before the ferry. Also coming from Galway so any thoughts on route welcome

If you look at the page numbers above you will see the option to search this thread

westgolf

webpal wrote: »

If you look at the page numbers above you will see the option to search this thread

Indeed, but can I put a word or words in the search function and just search that topic in this thread ?

westgolf

judgefoozle wrote: »

Just did a similar drive going from outside Tuam to Rosslare - for us, the easiest way was to go via Claregalway onto motorway (M6/M4), straight to M50, then onto M11 and join with N11.

You can go cross country via Tullamore/Carlow/Enniscorthy but it only saves maybe 10/20mins so don't think worth it.

Last year we did Dublin/Cherbourg and it's much easier - doesn't always work with outbound/return dates, but will be trying our best to book that for 2018, or else maybe Cork as the new M17 motorway should shave a bit off the journey time too.

As for food options, we just stopped in Applegreen on the M4 and that tided us over.

Enjoy!

Excellent, just what I was looking for. Thank you.
Going Rosslare Cherbourg and Roscoff Rosslare coming back so it's a bit of a change from Cork Roscoff. Still nothing wrong with a change. Heading to Domain Des Ormes

Juggler101

westgolf wrote: »

Indeed, but can I put a word or words in the search function and just search that topic in this thread ?

Are you on mobile site or desktop site? I think on mobile you can only search the whole of boards, not just the current thread.. or at least, that's all I can see!

westgolf

Juggler101 wrote: »

Are you on mobile site or desktop site? I think on mobile you can only search the whole of boards, not just the current thread.. or at least, that's all I can see!

Yes.. Mobile, that must be the reason. Thanks