We have just returned from a brilliant road trip along the west coast of France, heading into Spain. I have said this so many times, but a campervan really does offer the perfect holiday for families who love to explore and who love an adventure.
We have had our converted campervan for about six years now, so feel that we are well practiced at packing for a campervan roadtrip and hitting the open road for an adventure! We have lots of great tips for enjoying a campervan holiday with kids, including making sure you have the essential campervan insurance and roadside cover, and having a rough itinerary for your trip. Oh, and don’t forget to pack some activities to keep the kids entertained on a road trip …. or forget to pack the wine for the adults when you arrive at your destination 🙂
A campervan road trip in France and Spain: Camping with kids
We have spent the last six years converting our campervan and have loved every minute of making special memories with the kids. Over the last few years we have explored most of the UK. Last year we headed over to France to enjoy a road trip around Brittany. I was amazed at how stress free and easy the ferry travel was with young kids and they were fantastic on the road. The campsites that we stayed at were just awesome and I knew that we would return this year to explore more of France. This year we travelled down the west coast of France and headed into Spain, stopping in Brittany, Vendée including Puy du Fou, South West France and Spain, before boarding the Santander ferry back to the UK. This trip was a real mix of luxury camping and campervan adventures over the three weeks.
We have chosen six of our top campsites in France that we found to be really family friendly, with good facilities and set in an ideal location to make for an excellent camping holiday in France
Domaine Du Logis campsite in Brittany
You may be wondering where to stay in Brittany? Let me introduce you to this lovely campsite in the heart of Brittany – Camping le Domaine du Logis.
Read our full Domaine du Logis review here.
Set in the heart of Brittany, between St Malo, Rennes, and Mont Saint Michael, you will find the beautiful 5 star Camping Domaine Du Logis.
Domaine du Logis is one of the prettiest campsites we have found in France. Set in the grounds of a 15th centre château you will find two heated swimming pools, a trampoline, bouncy castle, snack bar, restaurant and kids club (during the Summer months).
Camping Domaine du Logis is a lovely family friendly campsite. There are around 180 plots and a number of caravan rentals. The campsite is near to St Malo, so really convenient for ferry travel.
Mané-Guernehué, Brittany
We stayed at Mané-Guernehué for just three nights on our road trip and I will be honest we could have stayed here a lot longer. It is a really lovely 5-star holiday park in south Brittany, in the heart of the Gulf of Morbihan.
Mané Guernehue is lovely family campsite with great size pitches and fantastic family friendly facilities including a pool complex that was extended last year with the opening of the ‘2bis Fun’ water park. The pool complex has heated outdoor and indoor swimming pools, waterslides, paddling pools, a splash pool and spa wellness centre.
Other facilities include a kids club, trampoline area, soft play, bouncy castle and play park. There is also a riding school offering pony treks.
You will also find that Mané Guernehue has a restaurant, bar and takeaway.
You can read about our Brittany road trip here
Le Letty: campsite in Brittany
Le Letty is a family friendly campsite in the popular resort of Bénodet and has direct access to the Plage du Letty (Le Letty beach). One of the reasons we chose this campsites is not only for the great facilities on offer, but for the fact that the campsite is within walking distance of the beach. A few days of not having to move the campervan to head out is always a blessing!
Le Letty campsite is just one mile from Bénodet, nine miles from Quimper, and with direct access to the beach, Le Letty really is a wonderful campsite for families.
Facilites include a Kids club (this does get busy so remember to prebook your activites!). Le Letty has a great indoor and outdoor pool complex with waterslides, an artificial river and an abundance of sun loungers. There is also a mini market, bakery, bar, restaurant and takeaway on site .
Camping on Ile de Ré
We stayed here for just one night and I really don’t think it was long enough as two or three nights would have allowed us to really explore Ile de Rè. We checked in around 3pm and once we had quickly set up camp, we jumped on the bikes to find the beach. This campsite is a short walk from the beach.
It is a very small family friendly campsite with basic groceries and bread to order, cycle and electric cycle hire, table tennis and horse riding nearby. There is a supermarket 500m away and watersports nearby including canoe hire, sailing, and windsurfing.
Luxury camping in France
There are so many options for luxury camping in France. We stayed at St Avit Loisirs in the Dordogne with Eurocamp for a week in May half term and had an absolutely amazing family holiday.
You can read our St Avit Loisirs review here
During our 2019 summer road trip in France we spent a week in the Vendée staying at Clarys Plage with Canvas Holidays followed by two nights at Puy du Fou and a three night stay with Glisten camping.
Clarys Plage – Canvas Holidays, Vendée
Le Clarys Plage is a family friendly and lively holiday parc situated in the heart of the Vendée, close to St Jean du Monts. Facilities at Clarys Plage include a wonderful water park, brand new playground, kids club, football pitch and table tennis, with the beach close by.
There is so much to do in and around St Jean du Monts you can read more here
Le Clarys Plage is in a great location with a supermarket and an abundance of restaurants just outside the holiday parc. There is also the beautiful beach just a short stroll away.
We stayed in a Canvas Holidays Moda mobile home. Our three bedroom mobile home proved a perfect base for our week in the Vendée.
You can read our full Canvas holidays review here
Glisten Camping in South West France
If you fancy luxury camping with a difference take a look at Glisten camping. Glisten camping is a collection of geometric domes found in Sunelia Col d’lbardin in South West France in the Pays Basque region. With streams under small stone bridges, the unique geodomes dotted around, and mountain views peeking through the magnificent oak trees that line the campsite, Glisten camping is something really special.
The campsite has two small pools and a paddling pool for the toddlers, there is a new playground, a small bouncy castle, table tennis, a games room (located in the restaurant) and a multi sports pitch for the older kids.
The campsite also has a lovely terrace overlooking the pool with a bar, restaurant and takeaway (the pizzas are lovely).
Read our full Glisten camping review.
We booked our ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Caen and our return ferry crossing from Santander to Plymouth with Brittany Ferries.
For our Summer road trip in France and Spain we collaborated with Canvas Holidays, Glisten camping and the Camping and Caravanning Club.
The Camping and Caravanning Club have a wide choice of campsites across Europe. You can search by county and region, and also use their interactive map to help you choose the campsites that work for you.
Canvas Holidays have 50 years experience of European camping holidays and offer a wide range of destinations and accommodation types from tents to luxury lodges to suit your needs.
Please do not hesitate to drop me a line if you have any questions about campervan holidays with kids or our Summer road trip in France!
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Disclosure: We were provided with a pitch or accommodation at each of these campsites in France, however all thoughts and opinions are my own