Ile de Oleron

[JohnnyP]

We are planning a trip to this island in the summer, I have found what looks to be a good campsite called "Huttopia Oleron Les Chenes verts" which I am looking to book soon. Can anyone recommend this campsite or recommend another good campsite on the island within walking distance of a nice beach?

Any info would be useful and appreciated.

 

[bigmac77]

No experience of Ile d'Oleron but if your heading there in peak season and it's anything like Il de Re I'd hurry up and book.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Very busy in late July and August. If you can I would avoid August as this is the main French holiday.
WE just booked Huttopia on Noirmoutier for mid July - almost fully booked up until September!

 

[JohnnyP]

Thanks Bigmac and Jabberwocky, i am booked up now, just wanted a sanity check before pressing the button.

 

[bigmac77]

Just look at the weather forecast for La Rochelle, that should be enough to settle any nerves

 

[JohnnyP]

Just look at the weather forecast for La Rochelle, that should be enough to settle any nerves

It looks good enough for me

 

[mrcheesbrough]

We are planning a trip to this island in the summer, I have found what looks to be a good campsite called "Huttopia Oleron Les Chenes verts" which I am looking to book soon. Can anyone recommend this campsite or recommend another good campsite on the island within walking distance of a nice beach?

Any info would be useful and appreciated.

We stayed on this site a few years ago (it was a Camping Indigo site back then). It's very near the beach, but if you want to swim it's worth walking down the coast about half a mile. The beach near the campsite is sandy but is mostly a rock plateau which is great for rockpooling and sealife. The island is superb for cycling around, it's mostly level and the lighthouse at the northern most tip of the island - Phare de Chassiron - is worth a visit. Be sure to check out the free bus service around the island - I think they leave at a stop just near the campsite, have fish and chips up the coast in La Cotiniere, and have your camera ready in Chateau d'Oleron to take some snaps of the colourful fishing port. You can also get a view of Fort Boyard, yep the one off the telly, from the beach in Boyardville on the east of the island. As for amenities there are supermarkets and shops a short cycle ride inland at Dolus d'Oleron. It's a fairly easy walk too.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Very busy in late July and August. If you can I would avoid August as this is the main French holiday.
WE just booked Huttopia on Noirmoutier for mid July - almost fully booked up until September!

Love the site on Noirmoutier. Heading back for our third visit at the end of July.

 

[JohnnyP]

We stayed on this site a few years ago (it was a Camping Indigo site back then). It's very near the beach, but if you want to swim it's worth walking down the coast about half a mile. The beach near the campsite is sandy but is mostly a rock plateau which is great for rockpooling and sealife. The island is superb for cycling around, it's mostly level and the lighthouse at the northern most tip of the island - Phare de Chassiron - is worth a visit. Be sure to check out the free bus service around the island - I think they leave at a stop just near the campsite, have fish and chips up the coast in La Cotiniere, and have your camera ready in Chateau d'Oleron to take some snaps of the colourful fishing port. You can also get a view of Fort Boyard, yep the one off the telly, from the beach in Boyardville on the east of the island. As for amenities there are supermarkets and shops a short cycle ride inland at Dolus d'Oleron. It's a fairly easy walk too.

Thanks for all the info Mr cb, I like the idea of the free bus service, we will have a dog with us so cycling for more than a few miles isn't really an option.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Thanks for all the info Mr cb, I like the idea of the free bus service, we will have a dog with us so cycling for more than a few miles isn't really an option.

I hope you enjoy your stay. Just so you know - the buses may not be free any more. It was a couple of years ago that we stayed. Also I'm not sure they'd let dogs on them. It's always worth fluttering your eyelids at the driver though, or getting the missus too. We were allowed to take our Cockerpoo on using this technique. The tourist website is pretty useful if you've not taken a look yet and can probably shed a lot more light on what the island has to offer. It's on the list as somewhere to return to one day for us. It's an ever growing lost mind.