Huttopia Landes Sud is essentially a campsite
in the dunes. The soil is light, sandy and undulating while the trees that
cover it all are those tall gangly pines that are synonymous with the coast.
Pad around in your flip-flops and the familiar feel of sand in your toes makes
you feel like the beach is on your doorstep. In fact it’s a 15km cycle ride away
and the dunescape seems to go on for miles. After 40-minutes of pedalling, a dip
in the sea is all the sweeter.
Cycling is exactly the type of thing this
campsite is all about though. It’s an active place and the facilities are
plentiful. There’s a heated swimming pool, volleyball courts, petanque, table tennis and a good
children’s playground. Plus, a river runs around one edge of the camping area,
where you can slip in a canoe or kayak and paddle all the way to the sea – sadly
there aren’t any available to hire on site yet.
It’s fair to say that so many options,
including organised children’s activities, do give it a slightly commercial
feel. It’s staff that welcome you here, not a coupe of campsite owners, and
there are plenty of caravans and motorhomes to be found. Yet the Huttopia aim is
really to make a welcoming site for everyone. At the far end, smaller,
non-electric pitches are occupied almost solely by tents, while glamping
options are also available in another area with wood and canvas lodges and oversized
gypsy-style trailers.
It’s certainly not a tiny, local farmer-owned
place but if you’re looking for traditional camping in the trees and never want
to be left thinking of ideas for things to do, Huttopia Landes Sud will be the
first to fill the void.