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

average_runner

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

I think you'd probably be ok with your own bottle of red wine and your own glasses but I wouldn't bother with beer or G&T's etc.

Like you we'd often have some wine and/or beer with our dinner and then wander down to the entertainment area for the show or to just provide the kids with an opportunity to meet other kids and whilst there drink something we wouldn't have in the mobile e.g. cocktails or draft Leffe!!

We all sound so a like:eek:

54and56

average_runner wrote: »

We all sound so a like:eek:

Have I got two accounts on here???

Stone Deaf 4evr

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Have I got two accounts on here???

I think he means we all have the same routines when on hols. :pac:

mikerd4

Couldnt drink Leffe if you paid me to, really dont like it.  The choices in La Reserve werent great though with Stella being the drink of choice unfortunately and at 5.50 a pint its not cheap...
Ive just checked that owners rental site for La Carabasse and again for the dates Ive booked its still cheaper to go direct with Siblu.  I found the same thing when I was booking La Reserve last year although this year Siblu have given us a loyalty discount which was handy.

webpal

Tour de France route has been announced. If you are heading to Vendee, Brittany or even Carcassone, it's definately worth keeping an eye on to letour.com. Even if you have no interest, it could prove quite troublesome if you were trying to drive from Roscoff.

Also on the subject of UK visitors, we were in Jard sur mer for the last World Cup in 2014 and the place was empty, there was many an afternoon we had the pool complex to ourselves. Reps couldn't understand it but thought people just didn't travel because of the football

average_runner

mikerd4 wrote: »

Couldnt drink Leffe if you paid me to, really dont like it. The choices in La Reserve werent great though with Stella being the drink of choice unfortunately and at 5.50 a pint its not cheap...
Ive just checked that owners rental site for La Carabasse and again for the dates Ive booked its still cheaper to go direct with Siblu. I found the same thing when I was booking La Reserve last year although this year Siblu have given us a loyalty discount which was handy.

Again it depends on the type of mobile home you are getting from Siblu and maybe time of the year

For us:
Village: La Carabasse
Arrival: Saturday, 30-06-2018 for 14 nights Accommodation: Excellence, with 3 bedrooms, terrace and aircon

Siblu discounts:
EARLYBIRD 2018 € -119.00
EARLYBIRD 2018 € -175.00
14 Nights or More offer € -128.80


That was coming in at 2168 and without paying the nightly price for pick your pitch and no tv
Going private we got it for 1300 which included tv, washing machine, aircon etc

54and56

webpal wrote: »

Tour de France route has been announced. If you are heading to Vendee, Brittany or even Carcassone, it's definately worth keeping an eye on to letour.com. Even if you have no interest, it could prove quite troublesome if you were trying to drive from Roscoff.

Also on the subject of UK visitors, we were in Jard sur mer for the last World Cup in 2014 and the place was empty, there was many an afternoon we had the pool complex to ourselves. Reps couldn't understand it but thought people just didn't travel because of the football

Thanks for that. As it happens we will be heading for the ferry home from Roscoff on Friday July 6th which is the day before the Tour starts in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île so we shouldn't get delayed by it as we'll be on the A83/A3 which is well inland but if we were departing Jean de Monts Sat morning and rushing for the ferry I could easily see big delays with traffic and road closures etc which wouldn't make for a comfortable journey to Roscoff particularly if you had decided to take the coastal E60 route rather than the inland Nantes -> Rennes route.

mikerd4

Thats a big saving alright. We paid 950 for a week for a 2017 3 bed excellence with air con (had a washing machine last year but for a week i really dont care) for 6 of us, and picked the van we wanted in the spot we wanted. As that price includes fun passes etc i couldnt beat it going private and having the peace of mind of booking with siblu direct.

All that aside we arrive there the same day as you....

juneg

Is there a link to contact owners privately on any of those sites please?

average_runner

juneg wrote: »

Is there a link to contact owners privately on any of those sites please?

What camping site you want?

average_runner

mikerd4 wrote: »

Thats a big saving alright. We paid 950 for a week for a 2017 3 bed excellence with air con (had a washing machine last year but for a week i really dont care) for 6 of us, and picked the van we wanted in the spot we wanted. As that price includes fun passes etc i couldnt beat it going private and having the peace of mind of booking with siblu direct.

All that aside we arrive there the same day as you....

Cool, you ever there before? We are flying it and then rent a car.
First time going to this part of France, was in les charmettes for 5 years:D

54and56

mikerd4 wrote: »

Thats a big saving alright. We paid 950 for a week for a 2017 3 bed excellence with air con (had a washing machine last year but for a week i really dont care) for 6 of us, and picked the van we wanted in the spot we wanted. As that price includes fun passes etc i couldnt beat it going private and having the peace of mind of booking with siblu direct.

All that aside we arrive there the same day as you....

Private owners break down into two groups in my experience:-

1. Those who own several mobiles on the site and rent them as a business. These guys are more likely to be focused on maximising revenue and minimising cost so you're less likely to get a mobile with the nice extra's and more likely to get an older mobile they've bought 2nd hand to rent out. They'll try to charge the most and want the mobile rented every single week of the season.

2. Owners who have one mobile and it's their main holiday home. These guys don't want a high number of renters and they don't want a lot of young kids crammed into their mobile either as one of their main priorities is that their holiday home is looked after and not trashed. They've likely invested €35,000 or more in their holiday home and are typically looking to cover some costs by renting it when they are not using it themselves. They are not professional renters so you are more likely to be able to negotiate the asking price down, get fun passes thrown in etc and you're more likely to find the nice to have extras e.g. air con, TV with basic Sky (not that you'll want to be watching it but a bit of news can be good to see every now and then), washing machine, nicer BBQ and even things like bikes which you are free to use.

If you were looking to privately rent for one week with 6 people (4 kids) a lot of the owner renters would be a bit afraid of such a booking and keep their prices high.

If you shop around the sites referenced earlier and make contact with 10-20 you'll quickly suss out those who are in it to maximise income Vs those whose priority is to make sure the people renting their holiday home will look after it and leave it as they found it.

A few hours invested in building a bit of rapport with some owner renters can pay dividends for both you and the owner.

juneg

average_runner wrote: »

What camping site you want?

Ah the $64,000 question 😂

54and56

juneg wrote: »

Is there a link to contact owners privately on any of those sites please?

You have to contact them via the links provided by the website initially as that's how the websites track the custom they generate for their listings.

I found with https://www.directholidayhomes.co.uk/france the listing often contains a mobile phone number which quickly lets you identify UK/Irish owners. An introductory SMS setting out who you are, your party (2 adults and 2 kids aged X & Y) and the dates you are interested in renting from and to along with your email address usually generated a positive response and generally by email so from there forward you are in direct contact with the owner. If there's no mobile number just use the contact form setting out the same info and you will generally get a response fairly quickly.

When I did it last year I priced the equivalent mobile e.g. 3 bed excellence with covered deck for the weeks we wanted with Siblu including the application of loyalty bonus etc and used that as a benchmark for assessing whether a particular private rental was better value or not one fun passes etc had been factored in. It also helps you to justify a bit of negotiation i.e. why pay a private owner you don't know €2,000 if you can rent an equivalent securely from Siblu for €1,800 or whatever.

Prices advertised by private renters are no more than asking prices. If demand is low or they like the sound of your party (small family looking to rent for 3 weeks) they can drop the price to secure the booking. Better to have 3 weeks booked with one family at a lower cost than end up with 3 families renting a week each or possibly a vacant week in there with no income at all.

Lastly, coming up to Xmas can be a god time to negotiate a private rental. You will be putting down a deposit so an influx of some cash to the owner in the run up to Xmas can be a motivating factor!!

Robtjregan

Hi Aquarius10. Just wondering if the €2200 includes the 4 nights in Disneyland Paris or is it just the camping park?

Robtjregan

aquarius10 wrote: »

We used to travel with Eurocamp but this year Al Fresco was around €200 cheaper for same campsite on same dates. Reviews are fine, so we booked Al Fresco. Pays to shop around

We are sailing out with IF and home with Stena as dates for travel suited us better, 15 - 28 June. Stena was also cheaper for return journey home.

Our entire holiday with return ferries, 4 nights in davy Crokett Disneyland Paris with half board plus meal plan & 8 nights in yelloh campsite Saint Aubin Sur Mer is €2,200.

Hi Aquarius10. Just wondering if the €2200 includes the 4 nights in Disneyland Paris or is it just the camping park?

Pataman

This thread is from 2015!!!

aquarius10

Robtjregan wrote: »

Hi Aquarius10. Just wondering if the €2200 includes the 4 nights in Disneyland Paris or is it just the camping park?

I keep a notebook of our holidays each year so I actually have the prices scribbled down - it was 2015 prices and it was 15 June - 28 June so the dates impacted massively on price too !!

We now have to travel during the school holidays and prices are a lot higher !

Gavlor

Has anyone been to either la Soleil or la serine in Roussillon?? We’re heading down that way next year and are having a bit of difficulty choosing! La Soleil is ahead on points at the minute due to its proximity to the beach.

I should add that we’re flying in to carracossone and will drive from there.

Thanks in advance

Stone Deaf 4evr

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=100391897&postcount=954


Info on La sirene there. Was back again since I wrote that, kids being a year older meant they really got great value out of it. Fantastic site. Just FYI, the beach is not really fine sand, it's more or a gravelly effort.

Gavlor

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=100391897&postcount=954


Info on La sirene there. Was back again since I wrote that, kids being a year older meant they really got great value out of it. Fantastic site. Just FYI, the beach is not really fine sand, it's more or a gravelly effort.

Thanks a mill. Do you mind if I ask a quick Q? we’ll have a 1 yr old and 2.5 yr old, is that train a viable option for them and does it stop at loads of camps on the way??

Stone Deaf 4evr

Gavlor wrote: »

Thanks a mill. Do you mind if I ask a quick Q? we’ll have a 1 yr old and 2.5 yr old, is that train a viable option for them and does it stop at loads of camps on the way??

I'll go with a cautious 'it depends', if the weather is hot, you'll melt on that train, also it does stop at loads of camps, so what is a ten minute drive in your own car can easily stretch out to 35 to 45 minutes. the town and its surrounding areas are very easily navigated by car though, and there's always plenty parking, so we didnt use that train at all the second year.

Gavlor

Just an FYI, the eurocamp early bird offer ends today. Booking through eurocamp uk leads to a further 10% on average due to the decent euro rate

loyatemu

Gavlor wrote: »

Just an FYI, the eurocamp early bird offer ends today. Booking through eurocamp uk leads to a further 10% on average due to the decent euro rate

worth looking at eurocamp.de as well - last year it was far cheaper than the Irish and British versions (dunno why).

k123456

I haven't camped before in France , but will do.  I see there is mention of booking independently, which of course can be cheaper.  To book  independently, is there a website etc where owners of "mobile homes", etc advertise their "pitches" , I have checked AirBnb and cant find anything there

54and56

k123456 wrote: »

I haven't camped before in France , but will do.  I see there is mention of booking independently, which of course can be cheaper.  To book  independently, is there a website etc where owners of "mobile homes", etc advertise their "pitches" , I have checked AirBnb and cant find anything there

This is the one I found most useful for the sort of campsites most people on this thread use in France.

kippy

Tim Robbins wrote: »

Hi,
We're looking to go to France with two young boys (5 and 3) with Eurocamp.
We got quote for Ferry and Chalet in Brittany South. 8 Nights in Brittany and it comes in at 2,300.

This is our first family holiday in July and we are just bit worried we might be paying way too much. Idea was to book early so it might be cheaper.

We were told we were getting 300 euro discount on room an 100 discount on Ferry for booking early.

So is that a reasonable price?

How much would I save if I started shopping in Tesco and did similar holiday?

Going in early June is not option and would prefer not to go late June as that means older child misses school.

Give Kelair a buzz. Have generally found them to be very good to deal with and cheaper than most. Five of us going for 12 nights on site plus the ferry in august for 2600 ish which I thought was good for the time of year.

josip

loyatemu wrote: »

worth looking at eurocamp.de as well - last year it was far cheaper than the Irish and British versions (dunno why).

as can be amazon.de and other *.de sites
Germans demand and get value for their deutschmark euro.

54and56

Not sure if it's been mentioned here already but you can now book IF's new ferry the WB Yeats for France 2018. Looks like it'll be on the Rosslare - Cherbourg route and the new cabins look like a decent upgrade over the OW but, initially at least, pricing on the WB Yeats seems to be a good bit more expensive than the equivalent booking on the OW.

It'll be interesting to see whether the extra capacity on the Ireland - France routes will lead to some decent discounts in the coming months.

webpal

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Not sure if it's been mentioned here already but you can now book IF's new ferry the WB Yeats for France 2018. Looks like it'll be on the Rosslare - Cherbourg route and the new cabins look like a decent upgrade over the OW but, initially at least, pricing on the WB Yeats seems to be a good bit more expensive than the equivalent booking on the OW.

It'll be interesting to see whether the extra capacity on the Ireland - France routes will lead to some decent discounts in the coming months.

Just looking at July and August and the WB Yeats seems to be Dublin Cherbourg. The rooms are fairly pricey.