Family camping in France

Family-friendly holidays in France

France is about as family-friendly as destinations come. It’s got plenty of sandy beaches, children are welcome at the dinner table and when it comes to breakfast? Let them eat cake! The smell of freshly-baked croissants and pain au chocolat from the boulangerie are simply too hard to resist. And you’re on holiday after all. Choose a camping holiday, and you’ll probably find that the local boulangerie delivers their wares to the campsite every morning. Little touches like this (and the almost-obligatory table-tennis table) make French campsites perfect for families. And you’ll find them everywhere! Camping is such a popular pastime in France that there are a great number of campsites to meet the demand – so whether you are a family of beach lovers who want to relax or an adventure-loving family looking for action, there’s likely to be a campsite in a destination to suit you. Another thing that makes family camping in France an attractive proposition is price. A family trip to our nearest neighbour can be relatively affordable when compared with the cost of flying the whole family abroad. Bundle the kids in the car, head for the ferry port and the holiday begins with an adventure at sea. Stay under canvas and the excitement continues.

Camping with kids

It’s no great secret that, as a general rule, kids love camping. Setting up tent, snuggling down in sleeping bags, sitting up by the fire and toasting marshmallows – it’s all a big adventure. Add in the exotic appeal of staying in another country and it’s even more exciting. Everything is new and slightly different to at home. You might even find that the novelty of the communal washing-up area means they’ll want to help with the chores. Stranger things have happened! Which brings us to the sociable side of camping; campsites are great places for kids to make new friends. By the time you’ve pegged in the last guy rope, your children will probably have made a new best friend from the neighbouring tent. Long days playing outside are part of what camping is all about and your kids will love the freedom that camping affords them. They can kick a ball about barefoot in the grass, build dens, go pond-dipping and climb trees. These simple pleasures are likely to keep them occupied for hours and, let’s face it, when the kids are happy – so are the parents. All the fresh air and outdoor activity is the perfect antidote to lessons in stuffy classrooms and you might even find that arguments over screen time disappear.

Family-friendly glamping with kids

Sold on the benefits of camping but not sure you want to rough it? Go glamping instead! France has long had semi-permanent options on campsites from pre-erected tents to mobile homes. Although historically not labelled as such, these fall firmly in to the category of glamping – making the business of camping much easier and accessible to those who don’t on their own camping gear. But as in the UK, the rise and rise of glamping has seen expectations, standards and the range of options grow. Many French sites have glamping options and there are lots of places which are glamping only. The safari tent is one of the most popular options on French campsites – perhaps as it offers a little canvas home-from-home with separated bedrooms and living spaces. You’ll also find roulottes (France’s answer to the gypsy wagon or shepherd’s hut), cabins, bell tents, tipis and treehouses. Any of these are a great solution for a first family-camping trip in France as you don’t need to own your own camping kit and can test the water without spending a fortune on gear you might only use once. Glamping in France is also great if you simply don’t have the space to store stuff at home or to transport it over the Channel along with the family, the food, the clothes, the bodyboards and whatever else your family holiday demands. At the top end of the scale, glamping can be utterly luxurious so it is not just an easy-camping option but an alternative to a hotel that allows you to be immersed in nature – as well as sumptuous surroundings.

Destinations for family camping in France

France is full of alluring destinations – but which to choose for a family holiday? The sunshine and beaches of the South of France make it a pretty tempting destination for a family holiday but the Mediterranean coast is largely dominated by high-rise hotels and large holiday parks. These are the sort of places that we tend to avoid. Move a little way inland, off the coast and you start to find a greater variety of sites – places that are independently owned and run. But if it’s pine-backed sandy beaches that you’re after, how about trying campsites on France’s long west coast? From Biarritz to Brittany, the Atlantic Coast is a beach-loving campers’ dream – and great for watersports too. If your family is adventure-loving, you might like to head for the heights of campsites in the The Alps or the Pyrenees where there’s hiking, biking, climbing and (if you go in for a spot of winter glamping) snow sports too. Then there’s the Dordogne and Limousin, destinations in the heart of rural France. But if the long journey to some of France’s furthest reaches doesn’t sound like fun with kids in the car – stay north and try Normandy which has miles of coast and countryside and is not too far from home.