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

ring the specific site and make a booking over the phone. It’s €50 deposit with siblu. Have the site map open if you want to pick your pitch or know where it will be on the site.

What site did you use in the Dordogne and can you recommend it? My wife and I are looking at that area of France as we've never been there before and will be using it mainly as a base for touring around. Thanks.

Appreciate that. We've passed our time for bringing children with us and so lack of play amenities etc won't upset us at all. Relaxing in beautiful locations in good weather is what appeals to us now. Thanks again.

Exactly what Shamobuc said above, Stayed here for a week (le bois dormant) in June and could not fault it at all going with a 14 month old. Mobile homes are modern but can get very warm in the day so maybe bring your own fan or get one with air con if in the depts of summer.

Laundry on site aswel with a small shop - Speaking with other irish they found that the kids club was very french and at the time didn't cater for non french speaking people as much but that was when french schools where still on so might be different during the summer.

Bar and restaurant was good but we said why go to the bar and spend €5 a pint when we had our own drinks in the mobile and cheaper from the supermarket.

Just small things - The pool closes every day at 12.30 - 2 for a siesta(Misses wanted to stay all day every day),That can be a bit of a pain - As ShamoBuc mentioned about the check in…Our boar got into cherbourg at 1pm and stopped along the way but got to the site at 7(When reception was closed),But they had out key in the box and they give you the pin for the box in a email, Next morning i went to reception to give a deposit and get wristbands for the week for all so prob best to arrive late and do all the next day.

We didn't bother going across the road to the sister site as we had everything we needed.

The beach also in SJDM is lovely…If bringing a car bring stuff for the beach…We brought camping cars and picnic sheet and was great…Parking was easy got the day we were there.

Use Google to search boards like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%253Aboards.ie+ile+de+re+france

thanks ! Ferry booked already 😀

Île D'Oloron is much nicer in my opinion

Fresh oysters farms everywhere, you can ditch the car for a week it's so flat and just cycle everywhere with loads of paths.

Lovely beaches and great markets

Hey there, we're currently in Le Bois Dormant and we have 4 nights left.

Like every campsite we've been to over the last 11+ years, none of them have everything but all of them have that one thing that sets them apart, for this one that thing is the location, absolutely stunning walks outside your front door, beautiful beaches as far as the eye can see and multiple pretty towns a short spin away.

Unfortunately what let's this site down is the animation team and entertainment program, if you plan on staying in your mobile home drinking cheap beer and wine at night then this is for you, if like us you enjoy going down every evening for a different show and taking in the atmosphere then stay away, I'm honestly pricing other campsites nearby for the last 4 nights.

There is absolutely no attempt from the animators to speak English, they will at the welcome drinks and at their big money maker the bingo night but that's it, last week we went across the road to Mason for the early fun bingo and the animator needed a member of bar staff to explain the rules and to call out the numbers in English.

I understand Siblu are a predominantly French campsite as this is our 5th time staying with them but in other Siblu sites like Domaine De Kerlann the entertainment is far superior and they cater for English speakers, my eldest has grown out of kids camp but our youngest two only went once this holiday as only one of the animators spoke English to them and there was only one other English speaker.

The pool doesn't close for a siesta this time of year but that is the time you should go there as before 12 and after 3pm is pandemonium with little to no loungers, as mentioned the pool is basic with only two slides but my kids liked it.

Unlike a previous poster I actually preferred the bar in Dormant to Mason as there's a lovely outdoor area looking over the pool, whereas Mason is like an old barn shed that only opens at 5pm, and the stage in Mason is indoor and stuffy but Dormants is outdoors.

While the pool doesn't close for a Siesta this time of year the shop does from 1pm to 4:30 but you're honestly not missing out on much, the shelves are embarrassingly bare and extortionate.

Before anyone says that we need to make ourselves known and tell them we speak English, we did it on the welcome night and at two shows, last night the entertainer came over to my 8 year old son with the microphone and spoke French to him so my son responded in English, he spoke back to my son in English but didn't speak one more word of it for the night or included him.

As I said the location is Le Bois Dormants selling point and my problems might not be problems for other people but you just need to know as much as you can before you book because I wish I did.

My top 5 campsites over the last 11+ years in France

Le Littoral- Talmont Saint Hillaire

Les Mouettes - Carantec

Des Ormes - Dol De Bretagne

Saint Gilles - Benodet

l'Océan Breton - Plobannalec-Lesconil

Enjoy your holiday wherever you book.

As I said, our problems may not be problems to everyone depending on your personal requirements.

And yes you're 100% correct, we don't expect French people in bars, restaurants, shops, markets etc to speak English as the equivalent in Ireland wouldn't be able to speak French.

But what I do expect is the staff of a company who offer their website in English, who post the weekly entertainment, activities & kids camp schedules in English to speak English.

Thanks for that - I didn't book it in the end as was seeing mixed reviews! The lack of English speaking doesn't bother me really as I speak French but it's not so much fun for the rest of the family if only one person out of 5 understands what is happening.

We are torn now between Clarys Plage, Les Genets & Sol a Gogo. Apparently Sol a Gogo is going to be a Marvilla Parks site next year.

Eldest will be 10, youngest 5. We've booked Les Ormes for a week next year but looking to go a bit further south for our second week, in the hopes of slightly better weather! We've been in Carnac this year and last & weather was a bit hit and miss.

We were in Clarys plage a few weeks ago. Hated it. Cabin was nice but they're crammed in. The restaurant is a takeaway hut that serves pizza & burgers. Had to que for 45 minutes to order & then wait another 40 minutes for the food.

The pool area looks great on the pictures but it's quite run down & uneven from what looks like bodge jobs repairing the flooring around it over the years. Main complaint was the splash park did not work for almost the entire 5 days we were there. It worked for ~ 10 minutes the day we arrived & then the last hour on our final day. The ground was covered in algae/slime & very slippy. The main pool was too crowded as well, maybe down to the splash park not working.

I've seen others recommending it but I wouldn't go back.