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

Ah my mistake there, thanks for clarifying. From past experience I’ve found that ferry prices normally only go in one direction after first publication (other than the very occasional special offer period, although I think that these are now a thing of the past) which is why I now always book up very early.

Just back and once again got some really useful tips from the thread so I decided to submit my own for others who may benefit.

 - Got Irish Ferries from Dublin – all as expected but the prices of food on board has gone mad. Breakfast and coffee in particular was a total rip off. We will go back to bringing brioch and pastries form Lidl.

- Travelled first to Yelloa village park in Montsabert – was camping in a tent here. Great site and the two local towns are good. One on the Loire (saint Mathurin) and then a larger town with a fab chateau close by (Brissac). There are quite a lot of people in this area that don’t speak English so it is a bit more real French than some tourist areas, you will need to try some basic French. On the site itself English is no problem. As with all places I have been in France you need to ensure you eat between 12 and 1:30 and 7 and 9:30 if you want to get local food. For anyone new going to France this is the biggest challenge once you go away form the major tourist sites.

The site at Montstabert is small but they have good entertainment and a decent pool – slides are small enough. They have massive bouncy net up in the trees which really stood out as a top attraction for the kids and I didn’t see anywhere else. The site is beside the chateau but you cant actually see it from the site itself which is a bit disappointing.

On the way down we stopped by the German gun emplacements at Longues Sur Mere – This meant we had to take the toll road after which added about €35 to our journey but the site is so impressive it is well worth a visit.

While on this site we also went to CineScene in Puy du Foy. We had done the park in Puy du foy before but Cinescene is on a totally different scale. It would be a big ask to do both in one day but I highly recommend anyone to go to the show if you can get ticket. If you can only do one then the park is probably better but it is worth going back for Cinescene. We had planned on going you the park later in our trip but is not the sort of place you want to spend a day at 40 degrees so we cancelled.

Moved on to Clarys Plage in Jean-du-monts and had a Eurocamp mobile. All clean and well stocked. Site is excellent with the SuperU just outside and the beach close by. Loads to do in the area and a good kids and teen club. Found it best to go to the town of Jean du Monts for decent food but as per usual it was hard to get any variety for the kids – creps, plain burgers and nuggets everywhere. Not much by way of pasta or other options for kids. While here we did the Elephant in Nantes (a must see n my opinion), the submarine base in Saint Nazarie (well recommended – amazing how big it is) the submarine tour in Saint Nazarie (everyone should go on a real submarine once, kids loved it as you could mess with all the switches and dials). We also travelled to Noirmentier, the butterfly place was a bit of a disappointment and the harbour village was not as nice as you would get in Ireland but the salt harvesting was very interesting and the drive across the causeway was very memorable. There is loads to do around clarys plage as it is very touristy – a good fun fair, quad biking, horse racing and lots more.  Top tip – remove your roof box once you arrive as many beach carparks are max height 1.9 meters.  The pool complex at Clarys plage is really good and my youngest felt it was better than Domain des Ormes which is saying something.  

After Clarys plage we drove up to Domain des Ormes and camped in the tent again. This is the only place I returned to from previous trips and now that the dome is built it is even better (have a look at the website as the dome has so much in it now). This is a really large site but very spacious for camping – pitches are huge. For day trips Mount Saint Michel and Saint Malo are fabulous (definitely remove roof box before going to Saint malo). The town of Combourg has some good restaurants and to us seemed to have a lot more life in it that most towns in Brittany, it also had the best Market day we have experienced so far in any small town.  Domain des Ormes is a great site with absolutely everything on site. It is expensive but has so many options for activities and food that you get what you are paying for. We booked direct and it was about twice the price for the pitch compared to Mostsabert. The whole site is lovely, especially around the chateau and club house. There is a nice walk to the local hamlet and the bar there opens form 12-7pm (no English spoken).

We did feel this time the standards of cleanliness on site slipped a bit – even though there was a massive wasp problem staff were not cleaning tables or empting bins around the bar / restaurant area during the day. The toilet blocks are very nice and were mostly kept clean. They are pure luxury compared to most in Ireland.

On the plus side they have had a health and safety upgrade. The tree Zip-It style course was very haphazard 4 years ago but is now quite safe and has more options for kids. The activities are well priced and well cheaper than they would be in Ireland. Food in the club house restaurant was good value for decent steak etc. but the Pizza place was a bit pricey. The shop did do prepacked sambos if you don’t fancy forking out 15 quid a head on a quick lunch.

On the last night we got a tree house – it was 300 for the night but it was well worth doing for one night. We got one with a spiral stairs and I was glad we didn’t go for a more difficult one. I saw some people really struggling with the rope ladders to their tree houses and to be honest, the novelty would wear off pretty quick as you have to get kids up and down. The workmanship on the treehouses is remarkable and the beds comfortable but I wouldn’t be bothered doing more than one night as you spend most time out of it.

Overall top tips after out 4th French adventure:

- Top tips - Remove Roof Box, Eat well around 1pm, bring breakfast for Ferry, assume everything will be closed on Sunday, don’t expect good Coffee, search out the Fresh (Brittany) milk in the shop, in Brittany buy a blue disk for parking in small towns.   

- Top attractions – Puy du Foy (download App translator for each family member or share headphones), Mont Saint Michel, Nantes Elephant, Longues Sur Mere.

Good options for the Vendée area please. Preferably near a beach, age range from 6 -10. And possibly walking distance to bars restaurants.

Hope I'm not asking too much!

Thanks

Any recently returned travellers with a data SIM card? Would be happy to take it off your hands for a modest few quid.

Getting the WB Yeats on Saturday, have booked Speedy Exit on the way over. What time should we be aiming to be in Dublin Port for?

Wont be much use to majority on here but might suit a few. DFDS are to start taking car and camper van passengers on their Rosslare to Dunkerque from Friday 5th August

https://www.dfds.com/en/about/media/news/dfds-to-trial-rosslare-dunkirk-passenger-service-from-5th-august

Duration is no issue…

I’m currently on the DFDS Victoria Seaways on my way to Kiel in Germany from Klaipeda, Lithuania and it’s a 22 hour journey…

I’d happily take an extra 2-4 hours on a ferry if it means 300-400km less driving any day!!

and I have to say having taken the WB Yeats to France about 2 1/2 weeks ago (and taking it home again this weekend), the DFDS service is excellent in comparison.

@crisco10 2.30 and you'll be fine. You have Speedy Exit so you'll be one of the first cars boarding anyway

Very quick review, just back from La Baume, Frejus. Flew with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Nice, absolutely no problems both ways. Took a transfer from Nice to Frejus for €130 each way and hired a car locally for €350 for 9 days, compact size car but worked out well for the 5 of us. Stayed with Eurocamp in a 3 bed Azure Vista, I’d seriously recommend against this, absolutely tiny! This was our second time at La Baume, very large site with two main pool areas at opposite ends. The pools are fantastic, 5 slides at one pool and 3 slides at the other kept the kids well entertained. Well located for trips to Cannes, Monaco, St. Tropez. Would highly recommend overall but be careful in July/August if you struggle with excessive heat!

I would agree on the restaurant/ snack bar and overall lack of food options on site, these could certainly be improved. We were there 5 years ago as well and they have invested money in improving the water slides and surfaces around the pools significantly, moving the smaller kids play area to a different location freeing up more sun bed space. Probably not in my top two or three sites but the kids got so much enjoyment out of the pools that I’d consider going again. I personally had no problem with the reception staff who were very helpful during my stay and prior to arrival with any questions that I had.

Anyone any ideas when Irish Ferries will release dates. I'm really eager to book accommodation. I tried to predict last year's route based off previous years and got it wrong and paid for an extra night we didn't use or couldn't cancel

Usually October but the past few years its been slightly earlier, end of September possibly,

Turned out to be a nest of mice. In attic and walls.

very poorly dealt with. Offered mouse traps. Caught a few.

no offer of moving accommodation.

room L10 if going soon.

seeking a partial refund. No reply yet. Place is great in every other way and wasps are there but not too bad.

Yea it’s a forest setting. But couldn’t sleep with scurrying and scratching all night. It was really bad.

Thats great help... thanks a million will have a look at that place... its great to get a recommendation instead of looking at them all...