1st trip to France via tunnel with kids. Where to go?

[a892374923874]

Thinking about our 1st trip to France end October if restrictions allow, or Spring half term next year. Kids are 7 and 5. In the UK we prefer basic CLs near easyish cycle trails. We don't need swimming pools and other large site facilities. We have a shower tent and porta potti.

I've seen suggestions for municipal camp sites, ASCI sites, and other commercial sites. What would be most suitable? I understand Aires are generally not suitable given that we have a pop up tent and kids.

Any suggestions for regions or campsites to head for outside Summer? We prefer to stay somewhere a couple of nights and then move on. Should we wait until next Summer so we can stay further North?

Cheers

 

[Auberg-ine]

Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe, France !

Guédelon - Nous bâtissons un château fort

Nous bâtissons un château fort

www.guedelon.fr

 

[BrugseB]

By the end of october you'll have all the choice you want regarding campsites, there are hundreds of them even not in the usual guides. You can even just use googlemaps... Guidelon is top, our kids would consider a third visit - there's is a nice campsite in Lormes nearby. If you stay up north: bay de la Somme, with nice spot Les Tilleuls and accrobrance parc Salomon (for all ages). Hell, there's just so much to do & see, just go!

 

[Matty]

Disneyland

 

[WelshGas]

Thinking about our 1st trip to France end October if restrictions allow, or Spring half term next year. Kids are 7 and 5. In the UK we prefer basic CLs near easyish cycle trails. We don't need swimming pools and other large site facilities. We have a shower tent and porta potti.

I've seen suggestions for municipal camp sites, ASCI sites, and other commercial sites. What would be most suitable? I understand Aires are generally not suitable given that we have a pop up tent and kids.

Any suggestions for regions or campsites to head for outside Summer? We prefer to stay somewhere a couple of nights and then move on. Should we wait until next Summer so we can stay further North?

Cheers

Municipal sites are basic with good toilet and shower facilities. Often close to some community facility such as sports field, leisure centre or swimming pool. Normally you can’t book, pay daily and we’ve never been turned away. Not all have mains supply to every pitch.
ASCI is an organisation you can join and get a Discount card for off peak use. All the campsites are of a minimum standard with good facilities. There is an ASCI app which is free but you pay £2 or 3 for the data for the countries or group of countries you plan to visit. Full details each site and web,email and phone contacts. Virtually all the sites can communicate in English and other languages. Easy to book.

List of Municipal Campsites in France

Free List of Camping Guide To Municipal campsites in France

www.municipalcampsites.com

CampingCard ACSI | Inexpensive camping in the low season

Cheap camping at more than +3000 campsites in Europe inspected by ACSI. Stay from €13 a night with 2 people with your tent, caravan or camper van!

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[2haw]

With young kids, make Puy du Fou a must visit..

 

[The Blue Merle]

With young kids, make Puy du Fou a must visit..

Great place, went there years ago

 

[soulstyledevon]

France is a big place.
Where do you want to head.
If you can make it down south. The area around the big dune is fun.
Dune du Pilat

 

[a892374923874]

Thank you for the suggestions, all good food for thought. We’d only be going for the week so probably not too far South. I guess we could decide nearer the time depending on the weather.

 

[Wogga]

Normandy a good bet great beaches, depending how old the kids are plenty of museums etc. or turn left into Belgium and Holland, Ypres Brugge etc.

We stayed on sites because there were pools and games (Animation) to keep the kids busy whilst we chilled.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Exit the tunnel,
Turn left.
Head for Brugge. Cycling and beer. Then onto eastern Holland, loads of beaches and more cycling.
Turn right.
Cool bridge, Normandy beaches and the WW 2 stuff. Bayeux tapestry and onto Saint-Malo.

 

[The Blue Merle]

Exit the tunnel,
Turn left.
Head for Brugge. Cycling and beer. Then onto eastern Holland, loads of beaches and more cycling.
Turn right.
Cool bridge, Normandy beaches and the WW 2 stuff. Bayeux tapestry and onto Saint-Malo.

Don’t forget that sneaky speed camera that way to catch all the tourists rushing back to the tunnel/ferries

 

[LemonDrop]

Sounds like you’d like Île de Ré; lots of small campsites to choose from and cycling galore.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Normandy a good bet great beaches, depending how old the kids are plenty of museums etc. or turn left into Belgium and Holland, Ypres Brugge etc.

We stayed on sites because there were pools and games (Animation) to keep the kids busy whilst we chilled.

With only a week i’d say Normandy or Brittany. As others have said Normandy is full of things to do that 5 & 7 year old kids would enjoy rain or shine. (WW2 history might not be on the top of your list for the kids but they’ll probably enjoy looking at the tanks and stuff).

D Day experience at Dead Man’s Corner near Carentan. Museum, Imax cinema and Douglas Dakota flight simulator.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise nice village and great museum. (Branch of Aces High, who my wife works, for in the village )

Saint-Vast-La-Hougue is a nice fishing village. The Tomahawk fish restaurant by the harbour is fabulous and an amphibious boat trip to Ille Tatihou is fun.

Pegasus Bridge. Great museum, and a visit to the historic Cafe Gondree. Madame Gondre who was a child on the night of liberation is still there, fit and active.

Omaha and Utah Beaches and surrounding area - lots to see. Some campsites and beachside wild camping spots along the D421 in the Utah Beach area.

So much more …….

 

[kp64zl]

We are in Picardie - Le Crotoy - only 1 hr from Tunnel. Good cycling trails esp the veloroute 30 from st Valerie to Amiens and beyond.

 

[Melanie Day]

We went to France July before my boy started school. We stayed 16 nights and just rocked up no pre booking.

Best place for child friendly cycling was IL de Rae by far. We stayed at a couple of sites on the island and cycling was great all around.

La Flotte was lovely little place nice marina and restaurants.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Val de Vesle is our favourite one night stop a couple of hours from tunnel. Canal 100 metres away is great simple cycle.
Cosy Camp is our kids’ (7 and 10) favourite site after 10 years of going to France!

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www.tripadvisor.co.uk

 

[a892374923874]

We finally got here. We took the advice and got an ACSI card, and wandered along the North coast fairly close to Calais.

We have spent 4 nights in Le Champ Neuf near Le Crotoy and now have a couple of nights in Le Walric a few miles further South near Saint Valery sur Somme. It is due to rain tomorrow so we’ll test our wet weather set up with a Cinch Hub.

The cycling routes have been excellent, and safe and accessible from the campsites.

We found lots of free or cheap grassy car parks just outside small towns with a 2m height barrier which were great to stop for lunch and a cycle.

Our campsite experience though has made us appreciate the CL and CS network in the UK.

The kids said, somewhat dramatically ”Can we go to a field and run free?!“

We’re set up with toilet, hot water, solar pv, diesel heating etc, so just need water and a dump point.

The Aires seem off limits to us as we have a toilet tent.

We’ve got another couple of weeks booked at the end July/early August where I guess we’ll venture further South.

Is there the equivalent of the CL and CS network in France, with basic water and dump point?

 

[a892374923874]

We've booked our 2nd tunnel trip in August for 2 weeks. We've joined France Passion and bought a camping car park pass, and sorted out some water storage. General plan is to try a mix of municipal sites, an aire or 2, and France Passion sites, ideally where we can cycle around a bit.

Not quite sure where to go. Any suggestions on? We're not fussed about beaches, so thinking about staying East or central, and seeing what the weather is doing - don't want too hot! We will probably do a ferry to Cherborg another year, so West can wait.

We've not booked anywhere. I'm hoping to get away away without booking anywhere until the day or day before? Is this realistic?

Cheers!

 

[Perfectos]

We've booked our 2nd tunnel trip in August for 2 weeks. We've joined France Passion and bought a camping car park pass, and sorted out some water storage. General plan is to try a mix of municipal sites, an aire or 2, and France Passion sites, ideally where we can cycle around a bit.

Not quite sure where to go. Any suggestions on? We're not fussed about beaches, so thinking about staying East or central, and seeing what the weather is doing - don't want too hot! We will probably do a ferry to Cherborg another year, so West can wait.

We've not booked anywhere. I'm hoping to get away away without booking anywhere until the day or day before? Is this realistic?

Cheers!

Early to mid August will be busy, late August quieter (French schools go back).

 

[a892374923874]

I'm hoping to avoid too many crowds by not going too far South, and avoiding the coast. It is early August unfortunately. Is that wishful thinking?

 

[Perfectos]

I'm hoping to avoid too many crowds by not going too far South, and avoiding the coast. It is early August unfortunately. Is that pointless?

I would suggest booking your first few nights first stop etc, then plan from there based on where you intended to go

 

[BrugseB]

Away from the hotspots it's realistic not to book. You can also inquire about possibilities at the local tourist information. We often got super spots that way.

 

[ThomasHJ]

I'm hoping to avoid too many crowds by not going too far South, and avoiding the coast. It is early August unfortunately. Is that wishful thinking?

I agree with @Perfectos and would like to add that it mainly depends on the type of sites you're looking for. We never book any campings ahead, not even in high season. But we like the small, simple, green sites and we prepare to have to check several sites before we find a spot.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Not France but the Hartz Mountains in the north of Germany seems to be quite overlooked by the Brits. Very few there when we visited. Great area for walking and cycling. There’s also a scheduled network of steam trains running, if that’s your thing. Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Torfhaus, Wernigerode, Bad Harzburg are all good bases. We walked to the top of The Broken (former East German listening post) from Torfhaus and also went up on the train from Wernigerode - fabulous.