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We have been to the Vendee 3 times.  Twice down south and once up north and much prefer the south.  We stayed (in our own caravan) at a site called Les Ecureils in Jard sur Mer which was lovely.  I think they have eurocamp etc etc.  And we stayed at Longeville sur mer too (but can't think of the site name).  The Vendee is beautiful you will love it. 

When we went to the North we stayed near St Hilaire de Reiz.  We didn't like that so much.  Can't think of the site name but will see if I can find it. 

Still can't find the site at Longeville sur Mer but the site at St Hilaire de Reiz was called Les Biches.  The site was fine with a nice pool etc and good facilities but the area wasn't as nice as the south.

Mispelt Les Ecureils it is Les Ecureuils sorry.

We also stayed at Les Ecureils, a lovely site although the town, Jard sur Mer is very small & quiet (or it was at the end of May).  We actually went with Canvas holidays but checked out the Eurocamp and KeyCamp tents on site and they're all pretty similar, except Canvas charge less !  (I'd certainly go with them again).

We actually took the crossing to Cherbourg which cut down on the driving time (it was around 3 and a half hours from there on a Sunday morning), another time I'd probably sail to St. Malo as the road connections are better.

I'd certainly head back to the Vendee area but as we're looking for a caravan after this year's dismal summer, I think France will be off the agenda for next year due to stretched finances.

Tobermory,you'll have to keep us in formed, cos we hope to have a portion of the Vendee in the not too distant future. have a good one!

Den

hi, we've done the vendee twice stopping at les amiaux and then camping acapulco.acapulco was the better site, so we thought mainly because it had more of a french feel about it.both are situated in st. john de monts.we sailed portsmouth to cherbourg and it took about 4 hrs to drive from cherbourg.

We have stayed in The Vendee 5 times, twice at La Yole (St Jean de Mont), Sol-a-Gogo (St Hilaire-de-Riez), La Loubine (Les Sables D'Olonne) and Le Trianon (Les Sables D'Olonne). We enjoyed all these sites.

We prefer the southern end of The Vendee, near Les Sables D'Olonne but most of it can be reached on days out anyway.Les Sables beach is fantastic as is the town itself.

I would say that the majority of sites are decent enough when you stop with the big companies, just decide what type of site you want (we like decent tropical-type pools with slides) and pick the ones that appeal, the descriptions are usually pretty accurate. We usually look for large emplacements too, take note Le Clarys Plage at St Jean, although a popular site and reads a good description has very small emplacements and when we visited (admittedly quite a few years ago now) everyone seemed to be quite cramped!

A good trip out is to the waterpark at Ile De Noirmoutier-have visited that 4 times now and never been disappointed! La Rochelle further south down the coast is also worth a visit.

To sum up I think the Vendee is a perfect place to start your visits to france (I say start because you'll probably be hooked after the first time!!) and I think you would be very unlucky not to have a good time. The weather does rival the south of France and we have always had it good, having been as early as June and as late as September! It is a little more expensive than the south of France and possibly a little moreso than Brittany (in our experience) but all in all definitely no more expensive than here!!

Camped at a lovely sea side town called La Tranche Sur Mer in Vendee called Camping Bel.  Great family run site, walking distance to the beach and to a large supermarket which stocked everything, including lots of camping items.  The pitches varied in size but overall good if not a bit small for some.  The toilet blocks were great, they were always being cleaned, lots of showers and sinks aswell.  They had separate baby baths which were lovely - great big sinks.

Lots of Eurocamp and Keycamp campers camping but you can easily phone the site direct.  Not masses to do for teenagers on the site, more entertainment for younger chldren with kids club etc..  Lots of windsurfing on the beach at night to watch.  BBQs allowed.  No noise after 10.00. 

We travelled from Portsmouth to St Malo on an overnight ferry (9 hours!) we had a cabin which meant we could sleep which was great.  The journey took 2 and 1/2 hours the other side and easy to find.  I would recommed it and i would go again.

Happy camping

We stayed at Domaine de la Foret in St Julien des Landes - http://www.domainelaforet.com/ - got back last weekend.

Was a lovely little site, very quiet and peaceful and we enjoyed our time in France, although the Vendee wasn't really our thing.  If we were to go back we'll stay further north - nearer Ile de Noimoutier - gorgeous island

We've been to the Vendee twice this year and a few times before always with Canvas et al and staying in a static home - as everyone else has said a great region to visit. We are thinking of taking our tent next year but are concerned about the size of some of the pitches - we were at Camping les Dunes at Longeville sur mer and the pitches there were very small, certainly not big enough for our tent. Also a bit concerned about French toilet blocks - don't want to face a hole in the ground ! Our last ferry crossing wasn't the best, Portsmouth to St Malo at night - very choppy !

Any advice ?

just reading thorugh the reviews as we are probably heading towards the Vendee in a couple of weeks. can highky recommend lastminute.com and their 'last second deals'. For the 2 of us, we can get a mobile home plus ferry for 199 for 1 week for both of us and the little one !

In general, eurocamp seems always more expensive then booking by other means. Last year we went to the south of france and it was cheaper to book the ferry on our own and the mobile home directly with the cam site (Yelloh)