Huttopia Lac de Carcans Huttopia
Europe France Aquitaine Gironde
Domaine de Bombannes, 33121 Carcans, Gironde, France
One of Huttopia's most beautifully situated campsites – and one of its newest – Lac de Carcans in the Medoc is the perfect place for the indecisive camper. Not only is it situated in an expanse of pine woodlands in the heart of Bombannes National Forest, bang on the shores of the Carcans Maubisson freshwater lake, it's also just a bike-ride from the sea where the beaches are big, sandy and beautiful. All of which makes it the perfect place whether you're the outdoors-adventure type or a beach-bum.
It's no surprise to find that, though new, this is already a popular site. With a multitude of facilities and stuff to do on and off-site, it is in many ways the perfect family campsite. There are pitches for tents, caravans and campervans alongside a range of pre-erected wood-and-canvas tents that have their own living areas, outside terraces and, in some cases, their own kitchen and en suite bathrooms. There are no less than four public washrooms, one of which is brand-new while the other three have been recently renovated, and they also have family and disabled-access bathrooms and baby areas. There's Wi-Fi, an outdoor swimming pool, a children's playground, fridge- and BBQ-hire and a food truck that serves as a café and pizzeria – plus bikes for rent for that all-important journey to the beach. Minimalistic and basic it may not be but if you like to keep your options open this place will be right up your street.
Among many activities on offer, there is volleyball, petanque, tennis and a children’s playground, plus lots of watersports are possible on the lake, from windsurfing and waterskiing to paddleboarding and kayaking. Meanwhile the nearby beaches are temptingly large expanses for swimming, sunbathing and dune-roaming. All in all, it's an ideal family campsite in a particularly lovely part of France.
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The Owner Says
In the heart of the Landes du Médoc, in Carcans-Maubuisson, a seaside resort offering a wide range of activities for all the family, just a few kilometres from Lacanau, Huttopia Lac de Carcans campsite invites you to stay in Bombannes national forest.
One hour from Bordeaux, Huttopia Lac de Carcans campsite is ideal for your weekend breaks and holidays by the ocean, in the heart of an unspoilt natural environment… a true paradise for cyclists and water sports enthusiasts, or for setting out to discover the Medoc and its castles. On the campsite, you can enjoy the swimming pool and paddling pool, the beautiful wooden terrace with its Snack Wagon where you can relax and have drinks, and family activities in the summertime in the heart of Bombannes estate. 250 hectares of pine forest with cycle paths and footpaths, the largest lake in France, the ocean just 6 km away, and the UCPA leisure park: it is a paradise for water and land-based sports.
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Reviews
Add Your ReviewLovely but...
We stayed in sweet wood plus safari tent last August for 5 nights. Lovely area. The tent was well equipped except there were no reclining chairs that should have been provided. The other tents had them! What we didn’t know was that the tent was up a very steep sand dune which made it really hard to lug all our bags and five bikes up there in 35•c! Which is why we were in need of a comfy chair! Apparently they had trouble getting more chairs. The play park is really good, swimming in the lake and biking to the beach was great. If you go in July and August then expect noise at night as the campsite has lots of summer schools close by. And check on the position of the tent if staying in safari unless you like climbing sand dunes, however once you’re up there it is lovely!
Camping in the dunes
We turned up at this campsite with no booking in the week before Bastille Day. We’d travelled up from Spain and just wanted somewhere for a day or two before we carried on north to our return ferry. We ended up spending a week here leaving us to do a mad dash for the ferry at the end of our holiday! We’ve used Huttopia / Indigo sites before so knew what to expect. This site was clearly an old campsite owned by someone else before & we had arrived within the first couple of weeks of the new ownership. Indigo have installed all new toilet blocks (which were immaculate and plentiful) and there is a huge play area / gathering area in the middle of the site. All the pitches are just dotted around between the trees in the sand. The pool was next to the Reception Area & was just a simple pool with a separate paddling pool for the little ones. I should imagine if they had been designing the site from scratch, they would have the pool, playground & food truck together, but it was fine with the layout they had. There was football screened on a couple of evenings as the World Cup was on while we were there which created a good atmosphere & wasn’t too noisy too late. The food truck served excellent pizzas – we were their 2nd customers of the season on our first night! Perfect when you’ve had a hard day at the beach & don’t want to cook. The campsite could not have been in a better position. The huge Lac D’Hourtin was 100 yards from the site through the dunes and the woods. Once you were at the lake, there is a beach with a café & activities – windsurfing / peddle boats etc. You can cycle through the woods to Maubuisson which is also on the lake & worth the visit for shops / cafes / ice-cream etc. We also cycled a little further to the sea at Carcans Plage which has the most amazing beach – loads of space & huge waves. All of the bike rides we did were along purpose built bike paths. You could cycle all day everyday from the site & not repeat your journey. Bikes were available to hire at the campsite, but we brought our own. If you have small children, you would probably be better off using the lake beach as the water was nice & calm. There were loads of places for days out from the site – Bourdeaux, Arcachon etc. Even though we arrived without a booking and then decided to stay longer, the staff at the site were very helpful & found us a pitch that suited us. The pitches are a bit haphazard & won’t suit people who like clearly defined spaces. Later on in our stay, the campsite was starting to get busy, so I’m not sure how well this would work at peak season. We couldn’t have our car near our pitch – just wasn’t physically possible, but I think there were some pitches that were more accessible. Really nice to not be disturbed by cars on our pitch – I wish more sites were like this. Looking forward to revisit this site in the future.
the hellewells
Great site with good facilities. This is a new addition and is clearly still having teething problems. The team at the office were very pleasant but somewhat ineffectual because they were so new. Training had obviously been sketchy. There are supposed to be no cars on site, so they made us lug all our gear over a hill to get to our pitch - it then transpired that there was in fact a roadway to the pitch itself that they didn't know about/tell us about. No wifi at all at present and only smiles and hope from the staff. Absolutely perfect place for us and our kids - calm lake, atlantic rollers a bike ride away and loads of safe cycle tracks to stretch legs. We will be back and would recommend it - just know the idiosyncracies.
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Pitches
180 camping pitches and 100 glamping units (wood and canvas tents, chalets and roulottes).
Who's In
Tents, campervans, motorhomes, caravans, families, groups, couples, pets… everyone!
On Site
Outdoor swimming pool, a central lodge with internet and free Wi-Fi, a playground, boules pitch, table tennis, 2 volley ball courts, 2 tennis courts and bikes available for hire. 'Camper's corner' shop for any essentials you've forgotten, books and board games to borrow and tourist information in reception. There are fridges and BBQs to use and a food truck (open July & Aug). Evening activities include open-air film and concerts, games nights and boules tournaments.
Off Site
There are lots of watersports (and swimming) on offer at the lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in France, or make your way to the beach, for surfing, bodyboarding or general beach-lolling. It's deadly flat and everywhere is easily explorable by bike, connected by footpaths and cycle paths. Lake-side Maubisson village is about 2km south of the site, while the resort of Carcans-Plage is an easy bike-ride away. Fishing is permitted in nearby Carcans-Hourtin lake.
Food & Drink
You can order morning bread and croissants at the campsite and there's an onsite food truck with terrace during July & Aug. Off the site, most of the restaurants in Maubisson and Carcans-Plage are pretty ordinary, although the Bistrot de Cochons (0033 5 5603 1561) in Lacanau-Ocean is pretty good. There's a grocery store 100m from the campsite.
Open
May – September.
The Damage
Camping pitches from €19 per night, including a pitch, 2 people, a vehicle and a tent or motorhome. Additional adults €4–€6.70; children under 2 years old free, and children between 2–7 years are free in low season and €5.10 in high season. Pets €2.20–€4.80. Glamping accommodation begins from €40 per night.
Getting There
By car: From Paris, before the Aquitaine bridge, take the ring road towards Mérignac Airport, then take Exit 8 towards Lacanau.
From Toulouse, follow signs for Mérignac Airport and take Exit 8 towards Lacanau. Once on the road to Lacanau, after Ste Helene, follow signs for Carcans and then Maubuisson. As you leave Maubuisson village, turn right at the roundabout, towards “Domaine de Bombannes”.
Public Transport
Train station: 61 km (BORDEAUX SAINT JEAN)
Facilities
- Campervans permitted
- Caravans permitted
- Disabled Facilities
- Dogs welcome
- Electrical hook-ups
- Good for kids
- Laundry
- Showers
- Swimming pool
- Wifi
Looking For...
- Beaches nearby
- Bicycle routes nearby
- Forests nearby
- Surfing nearby
- Waterside Campsite
- Woodland camping
