Camping du Toy
Europe France Aquitaine Landes
Welcoming and knowledgeable owner Vincent has been behind the helm here for more than 30 years, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about running a successful campsite. Carving out just 35 pitches of this beautiful locale, Vincent's privileged campers have a choice of pitching up in either the sun or the shade. A charming French farm building houses the site's immaculate showers, sinks, and toilets. Keep your eyes peeled; plenty of onsite oddities are waiting to be discovered including: original mosaics, sculptures, and tree-carvings, all lovingly created by Vincent’s fair hands!
A major pull of south-west France is the amount of day-trips on offer. Known for its neo-classical architecture, Bordeaux’s wide avenues, word-class museums and un-touristy atmosphere, make Aquitaine’s capital so much more than just a convenient stop between Paris and Spain.
Back at Camping Du Toy, guests gather around the large communal kitchen and get to grips with some of the region's famously fine cuisine, including goose liver, duck breast and asparagus. Du Toy also caters perfectly for children with a great onsite play area. There’s space and facilities to play football, volleyball, tennis, badminton, trampoline, and not to mention all the fun and exploring that can be had around the site's long grass, hedges, and tall trees.
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Details
Facilities
6 showers, 5 toilets and 2 washing machines (€3,50; detergent included). Wi-Fi available. There is a large children’s playground with log fort and slide, carousel, a zip wire, hammock swings and a trampoline. There is also table tennis, boccia, football pitches, volleyball, badminton and tennis. Vincent will kindly lend campers equipment for games. The communal barbecue area also hosts occasional evening parties.Suitable For
Tents, caravans, mobile homes and dogs – yes. Large groups should call ahead first.Nearby
The Aquitaine region is one of France's most historic and varied. It is also arguably the nation's most famous wine-producing region with the area surrounding regional capital Bordeaux (about 1hr 45min drive away) being home to miles of iconic vineyards. Just north of Vieux Boucau, the beautiful beach at Messanges is only about 25 minutes drive away from the campsite. Its undulating white sand dunes and crashing Atlantic waves attract scores of families and surfers. The pretty village of Soustons is one of the true jewels in the Landes' crown. Surrounded by ancient pine forests. the famous Lac 'Soustons is perfect for sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and swimming. Further afield, the quaint town of Luxey (about 1.5 hours drive from Camping du Toy) gets mobbed for 4 days every August when music lovers the world over descend for the annual Musicalarue. Also in August, the Feria de Dax takes place in the famed south-west spa town (9 miles away). Highlights include concerts, bullfights and fireworks.
Food & Drink
The onsite barbecue house is accessible to all campers. There is also a communal kitchen with gas stove and oven as well as 3 fridge/freezers which can be used for a small fee. Starting from summer 2015, baguettes, chocolatines and croissants will be offered for breakfast. A small restaurant is open in the evenings where campers can chose between one or two meals. You can also buy small meals to go. Herm (1m away) has a restaurant, bar and small supermarket. There is a larger supermarket at Castets (4m) while Magesq has a couple of fine-food supermarkets. Dax also hosts a traditional farmers’ market every Saturday.Opening Times
March–October, reservation only required from 15th July til 20th AugustThe Owner Says
Welcome to the south-west of France! My name is Vincent Fabas and I've been running this campsite for more than 30 years. The main building is a some hundred years old farm house and serves as appartment and reception building. It has mainly been left in its primitive estate. Round it my family and I have been enlarging the area to some wonderful campsite since the 1980ies. There are rolling paths through the nice pitches and shady cork oaks, oaks and pine trees, which are typical for this region. Besides you also find more exotic plants like bananas, olives, eucalyptuses, camelias or bamboos and a nice kitchen garden behind the farm house. Because of the great childrens playground the campsite is very popular with families. For young and old there are occasions to play boule, badminton, volleyball, football, table-tennis or to have a barbecue at our barbecue house, which is accessible for all campers. If you prefere a loner and quieter pitch, we have also enough place for you. The Toy gains its special flair not only by its beautiful plant arrangements, but also by the different mosaics, sculptures or carvings I fabricated mostly by myself to decorate the sanitary facilities and the area. Have a look at my photos. I look forward to your visit at the Camping du Toy!
Location
Contact Camping du Toy, 1284 Route Des Carroues, 40990 Herm, Landes, France
Getting There
Reviews
Add Your ReviewRated ★★★★★ over 8 reviews
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Perfect
Just perfect
The site is rustic and quirky and we loved it! Vincent and his family gave us a warm welcome and were always willing to give us recommendations on places to visit and the local area. The shower area was always clean and plenty of hot water. It's site itself is unstructured with pitches either in the trees or in the open but plenty of space for everyone. A great area for the kids with swings, a zip wire, wooden climbing structure and trampoline - our kids were pretty much free-range during our stay here. We ate every night in the communal area - either taking down our own food or having one of Constance's fantastic meals. The bar serves local beer and wines and was a real focal point for everyone meeting in the evening. There was a real mix of nationalities but everyone came together for singing and music most evenings. This site is a real gem. Thank you Vincent and family.
Fantastic, Rustic, Perfect
We had a fantastic stay here at end of July. The camp site was busy but not crowded, the pitches were a good size amongst the trees and we certainly did not feel like we were on a regimented pitch. There were a couple of water points nearby even tough the amenities weren't far away. The kids loved the play area and would have spent the whole 6 days there if we had not dragged them away to explore the area. It was great to use as bribery. The only thing I would change is it would be great if the trampoline had been sunk into the ground instead of free standing. The communal bbq area looked perfect, though we never managed to get back from our day trips early enough to bbq. :(. The seating area was still nice to sit at and have a drink or two while the kids were in the park or table tennis room. There is also a bar to keep you topped up. Fresh bread and breakfast pastries could be ordered and were very scrummy. The ablutions were clean (and not smelly) and I never had a problem with hot water. There is also a washing machine which was handy. The owner and his family were very friendly,helpful an accommodating. The entertainment was a bit odd, a dance troop performing a dance about something or another but we missed most of that as our kids are little and had to go to bed. In general the kids tend to stay up late and wake up late (very quiet in the morning). We found some glow worms too, which made me very happy. Overall I would say a lovely camp site catering mainly for French, English, Dutch and German visitors. Will definitely visit again if we are in the area.
A little over rustic
This could be a beautiful site but feel it has now been 'left a bit too rustic'. We only briefly met Vincent but must say his girlfriend was very helpful on our arrival. We only stayed one night - It just wasn't us - We normally love quiet and secluded but this seemed to lack something probably as we felt there wasn't a communal area or small cafe/bar. It could be wonderful with more input - not over priced though
Basic should not mean dirty
Returned from 12 days at Camping Du Toy and had to write this review. The site is interesting and certainly rustic, Vincent was helpful which was welcome. The site wifi broke after two days and 10 days later was still not working. When we came to pay, we were told there was no card payment facilities, would have been good to know that in advance. All these we could live with but not the state of the sanitary block. Toilets were dirty, with no toilet paper, they often would not flush. The showers were again dirty and although warm on most days were no more than a dribble of water and in the was up area we had to search for a sink plug more than once. This site might be well priced but there is no need for it to being this poor and dirty state. We will certainly never be visiting again!
Responce from the campsite owner:
Dear Chris, negative criticism is important for us to improve the conditions on our campsite. We excuse that the wifi-problem was solved too late that you could make a profit of it. I agree completely: The state of the sanitary facilities is one of the most important criterions of a campsite. On our site they are cleaned three times per day: In the morning after people have had their showers or used the toilets, in the afternoon, so that people find clean sanitation after returning from the beach in the evening and finally late at around ten o'clock so that everything is prepared for the next morning. More over there is a check between afternoon and evening. We are sorry and will check our system and the work of our cleaners more intensively. Many regards.
Family favourite!
We found this fabulous site last year and had a fantastic two weeks there in August. Such a relaxed atmosphere – perfect for switching off and just chill, welcoming hosts and beautiful surroundings. We loved Vincent’s many artworks – always something new to discover. Lovely evenings around the communal BBQ. Our two children (7 and 10 at the time) had a super time playing games with new found friends of various nationalities. A great base for excursions to the nearby lakes and the fabulous beaches of the west coast. Morning runs in the woods were popular too, as well as the walk to the shop to buy fresh croissants. We’re back this year!
Many happy visits!
We have visited this great site a number of times over the past few years with our two children as it is such a great base for the beaches of the west coast. It is a firm favourite with the kids who love its laid-back atmosphere. We think it is like camping in someone's garden and Vincent is a really welcoming host. I have such happy memories of lying in the hammock with a beer and learning new recipes while cooking on the communal BBQ. It is a really lovely place!
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