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I thought I was the only one who started looking and planning this early, we have just come back from a med cruise ( big 40 so it was a birthday treat) and so not going to France this year and I am already having withdrawl symptoms. Cruise was great but not really for me, I love the freedom of camping holidays. 

For the past 6 years we have always been with Keycamp to the Vendee but now we have a large enough tent and a trailer on the way we are gonna try a DIY trip next year. We are ok with the roads and stuff but would love to hear anyones advice as to campsites that are good for pools and entertainment, etc. we also like the idea of the south on the Med instead of the Atlantic for a change but is that just a drive too far? The Languedoc looks lovely though, AArgh good job I have lenty of planning time

JK

Dancelover - choosing a site isn't easy!!!  It depends on what you like (scenery, mountains, wildlife, beaches, quiet and a 'foreign' atmosphere, or wild entertainment, bars, sing-alongs and lots of other British people - or somewhere in between.  As you say there are so many sites, there is something to suit everyone.  It also depends on when you're planning to go.  Some of the busy, apparently over-commercial, sites are absolutely lovely outside of peak season.  We've just come back from a big, busy site, but out of ten pitches in our area down by the river only ours and one other was occupied.  It was so peaceful the noisiest thing around was the birds singing in the trees.  However the same site in mid-July is manic!

When we started we got all the books we could - Eurocamp, Canvas Holidays, Keycamp etc for the larger sites, then tourist information brochures from the areas of France we were interested in, the Alan Rogers guide, and anything else we found in the library or elsewhere , and looked for the sort of site we wanted at that particular time.  Since then (26 years ago) we've more recently started going twice a year (makes choosing easy because you've got a second bite of the cherry- roll on August for our second trip).  We always use Camping Cheques now, for the main sites we stay on - and sometimes stay a few days, sometimes (like this time) for 12 nights or so.  Where we go usually depends on the weather - we buy a paper when we arrive in France and look to see where the sunshine is forecast, then head that way.  We now don't plan sites in advance, but about lunchtime on the first day decide where we'll spend the first night.  After that it's a bit hit and miss - this time, as mentioned, we spent 12 nights on one site because the clutch and turbo on our car were playing up and we knew we could find a level pitch, in a lovely area, where if we didn't have a car we could still have an enjoyable holiday.

Just read JKSara's post - the Languedoc is lovely - both inland, and on the coast.  Check out the Camping Cheque website (under our campsites - select the area of France you want, right click, then highlight the particular site you want to have a look at - comes up with a page showing main details, and a link to the campsite's own website - just to have a quick look at some of the sites in that area - makes it easy to find, and easy to see just what sites offer.    You don't have to buy anything, or commit yourself to using Camping Cheques, but it does make a quick reference page for anyone looking for larger type sites, with pools and so on.

We love La Boucanet (I've done a review on it) at Grau du Roi, but have stayed at Camping Neptune and Champs Blanc at Agde, and Le Haras near Argeles.