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

54and56

judgefoozle wrote: »

Bonne Anse Plage looks great - we're after waterslides, kids clubs, gas bbq and near the beach - within 6 hour drive from Cherbourg.

But a big factor for the kids is that there's a good amount of Irish kids - or at least English speaking kids. After 3 years on these sites, we loved each holiday but the best craic they has was last year on a Kelair one - with a load of kids they could easily strike up conversations with.

What's Bonne Anse Plage like as regards english speaking kids?? Any ideas?

Thanks!

Bonne Anse Plage will tick all those boxes for you no problem and there were ton's of Irish/English kids when we were there but Brexit is hitting the Brits who like to holiday in France fairly hard so who knows what the dynamic will be like next year and in the years ahead.

Bonne Anse Plage has by far the best pool complex of the three Siblu campsite I've been to (other two being La Reserve and Bois Masson), lot's of space, big pool and great slides.

average_runner

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Bonne Anse Plage will tick all those boxes for you no problem and there were ton's of Irish/English kids when we were there but Brexit is hitting the Brits who like to holiday in France fairly hard so who knows what the dynamic will be like next year and in the years ahead.

Bonne Anse Plage has by far the best pool complex of the three Siblu campsite I've been to (other two being La Reserve and Bois Masson), lot's of space, big pool and great slides.

Just to say Lee charmettes pool is bigger but not as close to the beach

Oriordad

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

The only downside to La Reserve relative to Bonne Anse Plage and Bois Masson is it is relatively isolated being 8km or so from the nearest town with large supermarket etc which is Parentis en Born (nice market town with good traditional rather than touristy restaurants) and about 17km from the coastal / resort town of Mimizan which is good to visit both during the day and at night but is obviously a lot more touristy. There are cycle paths all through the area but they aren't as scenic as they are around Bonne Anse Plage or Bois Masson.

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

We too have stayed in Bois Masson 3 years, Bonne Anse Plage 2 year and La Reserve the last 2 years.

Thanks, I think we may stick with Bonne Anse Plage but only due to La Reserve being a bit isolated.

Oriordad

Can I ask has anyone been to Futuroscope in the last few years. Has it become dated or worth a visit.

murt101

Do all Siblu sites only have weekend arrivals in July?

Looking for a midweek arrival in Charentes Maritime region... any ideas where to look?

ShamoBuc

murt101 wrote: »

Do all Siblu sites only have weekend arrivals in July?

Looking for a midweek arrival in Charentes Maritime region... any ideas where to look?

The majority have Staurday arrivals, meaning you pay from Saturday even if you arrive on Sunday, Monday etc. A right pain coming from Roscoff as you are down a day at either end of your holiday but pay for 14/21.
Also having done it twice with Siblu in July, Reception is MANIC on the Saturday.

murt101

Thank you Shamo, I think that will rule out Siblu for us this year as we won't get into Cherbourg until Tuesday @11am. Back to Eurocamp for us I suppose...or maybe Yelloh!...

average_runner

murt101 wrote: »

Do all Siblu sites only have weekend arrivals in July?

Looking for a midweek arrival in Charentes Maritime region... any ideas where to look?

Try going private and u might get lucky

54and56

ShamoBuc wrote: »

The majority have Staurday arrivals, meaning you pay from Saturday even if you arrive on Sunday, Monday etc. A right pain coming from Roscoff as you are down a day at either end of your holiday but pay for 14/21.
Also having done it twice with Siblu in July, Reception is MANIC on the Saturday.

And that's another reason why we rented privately last year and again this year. We can arrive and leave on the dates that suit us rather than on Saturday only and we avoid the check in process altogether as the owner had already set us up on the Siblu system online so when we pulled up to the barrier the camera read our registration plate and we sailed in straight to the mobile and got the key from the cubby hole where we were told it would be. Painless.

murt101

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

And that's another reason why we rented privately last year and again this year. We can arrive and leave on the dates that suit us rather than on Saturday only and we avoid the check in process altogether as the owner had already set us up on the Siblu system online so when we pulled up to the barrier the camera read our registration plate and we sailed in straight to the mobile and got the key from the cubby hole where we were told it would be. Painless.

What website do you use for booking privately please?

juneg

Anybody ever tempted to use the auto trains to get to the south of France?
Do ye know anything about them? They go mostly from Paris I believe and you get a train yourself separately

average_runner

murt101 wrote: »

What website do you use for booking privately please?

Which site?

murt101

average_runner wrote: »

Which site?

Les charmettes is the site I'm looking at at the moment. Thanks.

average_runner

murt101 wrote: »

Les charmettes is the site I'm looking at at the moment. Thanks.

http://holidayinsouthwestfrance.com


Think this is the one I used last year

dominoe39

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

You can also try this website which has over 30 private owners offering their La Carabasse Mobile Homes for rent which I've used in the past (for other campsites) and found very good - https://www.directholidayhomes.co.uk/carabasse

A lot of the owners are British which means A) their holidays to France have become a lot more expensive with the devaluation of Sterling so they are hurting financially and likely to be using their mobile homes less than previously, the cost of maintaining their mobile homes has, in relative terms, increased, C) demand from UK holiday makers for their mobile homes will likely be down this year and D) your Euro rent is going to be worth more to them than in the past.

For all those reasons you should feel free to get pricing from a few and haggle to get the best value deal you can.

Also, January can be a tough time of year financially so someone offering to rent and pay a decent deposit now can be a very attractive proposition!!

Thanks for that link. Definitely going to vheck it and will give feedback if it works out. I waited for Cork flights to either Bordeaux and/or Carcassonne to be announced and now the sites we were looking at are either sold out or dates don't suit. This might save us 😊

54and56

murt101 wrote: »

What website do you use for booking privately please?

http://www.directholidayhomes.co.uk

54and56

dominoe39 wrote: »

Thanks for that link. Definitely going to vheck it and will give feedback if it works out. I waited for Cork flights to either Bordeaux and/or Carcassonne to be announced and now the sites we were looking at are either sold out or dates don't suit. This might save us ��

FWIW after doing this for years I have settled on a pattern of booking the accommodation I want as early as possible (literally as soon as we're home from one holiday and the desire is still there to keep going to French Campsites) and then once those dates are locked in I keep an eye on the ferry schedules to book as early as possible but I always choose the flexible option so I can later take advantage of discounts or better timing etc and cancel the original booking without cost.

kfc1

FWIW - seen this on another website
For anyone looking at a eurocamp site I have a discount code.

18WBIE03

Details below. Hope it saves someone a few €€€

Nights On Parc:

% Discount:

1 April - 25 May

50%

26 May - 30 June

40%

1 - 20 July

30%

21 July - 1 Sept

15%

2 Sept onwards

30%

Click here for more information and T's & C's.

The discounts apply per night to the accommodation base price and supplements based on the total holiday duration within the relevant date bands. The offer is subject to availability and a minimum duration of 3 nights with a maximum duration of 21 nights. The offer is only applicable to new 2018 bookings and cannot be applied retrospectively to an existing reservation. The offer is subject to the booking terms and conditions as stated in the 2018 Eurocamp brochure and cannot be combined with any other Eurocamp offer or discount. The offer is subject to availability.

The offer applies to Classic and Safari Tents, Classic, Esprit, Espace and Vista mobile homes only. All other accommodation types are excluded.

All parcs are included except: CD011, CD012, CD013, CD019, HL012, IA022, IL019, IS018, RV015, VN011, VS011, WM017, WM020, WM032. Selected parcs may be excluded at any time.

The offer is only valid for bookings made between 22nd December 2017 and 28th February 2018. The offer cannot be redeemed through travel agents.

CheerLouth

Have booked Domaine des Ormes for the first week in June. Has anyone been there at that time of the year before? We will have a 3 year old and 15 month old with us. Picked it more for a combination of the kids club and the distance from the ferry, not expecting the best of weather, but a few dry days will do us grand.

Miley Byrne

Anyone here been to L'Oree du Bois? Just a general view of the place is all I'm looking for as regards facilities, surrounding area, many English speakers on the site etc.

Have been looking at it but have yet to pull the trigger?

trixychic

Hi guys,

I'm wanting to book Sanguli camp in Salou for Sept this year but i realised I can save money by booking direct.

I've never done this before so just wondering if there is a big downside to not booking with eurocamp and going direct. Will I miss out on kids clubs or reps?? Is it a big deal??

fdevine

Sanguili run their own miniclub so no reason not to book direct as far as I can tell.

We looked at it from this summer but could't justify the mental prices Eurocamp etc are charging, good and all as the site may be.

I'd book whichever way is cheapest TBH.

If your budget won't stretch to Sanguili look at Camping La Siesta nearby. Hundreds of € cheaper, in July at least.

treascon

Wouldn’t think so. We have booked direct with a campsite in France that we stayed in 2 years ago with Eurocamp. Their customer service whilst there was pretty much non existent that I swore I would never travel with them again. I read in the brochure that the kids can participate in the kids club run by the campsite and it was considerably cheaper to book direct too so win win all round for us

trixychic

That's brilliant. Thanks guys.

trixychic

fdevine wrote: »

Sanguili run their own miniclub so no reason not to book direct as far as I can tell.

We looked at it from this summer but could't justify the mental prices Eurocamp etc are charging, good and all as the site may be.

I'd book whichever way is cheapest TBH.

If your budget won't stretch to Sanguili look at Camping La Siesta nearby. Hundreds of € cheaper, in July at least.

Thanks I just have another question for someone who's been there.

We're looking at the masai lodge or Tahiti suite. But I noticed they are at the edge of the camp is it very at to the pools or other bits and pieces???

DaDa

Hi,

We did our first Camping holiday last year in Castell Montgri.
We went in June to avail of the lower prices, and in fairness we really enjoyed it. However, the size of the mobile home double bed was simply too small.

I know that there are sites that also have villas (or equivalent) where the main double bed size is more generous. I checked Cambrils Park and might book, but if there are any other parks that you would recommend I check out, then I'd really appreciate it

Many Thanks!

_Brian

Maybe focus on sites with purpose built log cabins or such.
The mobile homes are standard and I doubt the beds will be any different one to the other.

I would imagine that those installing king sized beds in campsite accommodations will be targeting a particular market and so you may find a price premium in them.

fdevine

Three pool sections spread across the park so you shouldn't be more than a few minutes walk to a pool

Tahiti are pretty central

https://www.sangulisalou.com/downloads/sg_en_ficha_tahiti.pdf

Masai are a bit more remote but don't discount the value of it maybe being a little quieter

https://www.sangulisalou.com/downloads/sg_en_ficha_masai.pdf

Under 1000 accommodation units/pitches so it's a big site but not huge

Shefwedfan

Ok, so I am going to Butlins again this year, Minehead. We went last year and the kids loved it so we booked again while onsite.

I am just wondering is now the cheapest time to book the ferry? We go Irish Ferries. They have 25% off????

Or should I wait?

trixychic

Guys im trying to book the resort villa but it's asking for my identity card... which is the green public services card that everyone has. Are they allowed to ask for this???