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We bought baguettes from the campsite shop for 65 cents, and the supermarket variety were cheaper still.  The baguettes in all the boulangeries we bought them were 75 or 80 cents.  I never saw any at a euro or more.  Flutes (the bigger variety were around 80 cents, and even our Baguette Campagne (which is more expensive was only 85 cents in the campsite shop).

As for expensive campsites, yes they can be in high season, but outside peak season you can get those same £30 to £40 campsites for as little as £9 (using Vacansoleil Cheques), or somewhere between 11 and 15 euros (using Camping Cheques or an ACSI card).  

You can spend whatever your budget will allow - I read one poster who eats out all the time - but we managed a really good three week holiday on our very modest budget this year.

As you say, worth every penny! 

A couple of things.  We have booked, have looked at several sites for our tour. One of them may be approaching 20 euros, a few are ten or fewer euros, most around 18 euros. This could be because of the grade of site we're looking at, because of our requirements (tent), because of the part of France we're in ..... and so on.  Need more details to compare but we certainly don't think we're being asked loads of money - little different from last year.

The difference in prices of baguettes has always been with us. You would for several years expect a variation between 0.5 and 1 euro deending on where you're buying but also the quality of the bread. Go to one of the major supermarkets and you'll be able to get seriously cheap (and tasteless, textureless) baguettes for 0.6 (less at the end of the day) and "much" more expensive (more tasty, better texture, &c) for up to 2 euros .... look around and take your pick but it's no different from UK supermarkets.

The basic story is that if you limit yourself to a camp shop or one in a dense tourist area, you will pay over the odds.  If you want to use a supermarket rather than the local baker, you can save money but get not such good bread ....    

The same applies, 2+2, to meals out - you need to search a little - just as you do in UK  .....     

Quote: Originally posted by TWOPLUSTWO on 07/7/2010

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I am currently booking my camping holiday, two weeks in France and a week in Spain and it IS decidedly pricier than any UK camping holiday I have ever booked. The prices also outweigh any Spanish camp sites literally a stones throw over the border.

Campsites average about £30-£35 Euros PER NIGHT + Most ask for anything from £15-25 Euros as a booking/admin charge!! I appreciate that the sites are nice and well run, but nevertheless, I have never paid anything near £40 for a site in the most beautiful parts of Cornwall. It is EXPENSIVE in any currency.

As for food. The hypermarkets are OK, but a small baguette for 1 Euro - 1.20 is very expensive considering. There are cheap options, but we are talking 'mystery meat' products and many things I wouldn't ordinarily eat. I will be taking a proper deep cooler this year as making lots of small shops is a drain on the wallet. The longer we can keep food cool, the les we will have to buy and we will not have to eat as an alternative to throwing food away.

I am not complaining about costs as it is our main holiday. But , if I work out the real cost of my 3 week camping holiday in France and Spain. Food is without doubt a major expenditure. Eating out at restaurants is very expensive and mostly unjustifiable when we have self catering facilities. I would dearly love to experience more of the French and Spanish restaurants, but unless you are lucky, the 10 Euro 'specials' are generally a disappointment.

BUT - What a beautiful country, with the best campsites and views, best beaches and awesome roads and perfect weather (When it isn't flooding).


WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

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Last year we paid about £40 per night at a commercial site in Devon. Add to this the expense of paying to visit attractions for a family of 4 when the weather isn't so good; and our £15-£20 per night in France with an additional £200 for ferry crossing and £200 of extra fuel doesn't seem very expensive.

When we initially looked at the prices of some of the larger sites in France we felt they were expensive, but then I remembered what we'd paid over here last year. I also looked very hard at how I could make savings without compromising our holiday. We've booked two sites during the main school summer holidays in the south of France, both with pools and excellent reviews, and will be using camping cheques to pay for them cos we're going after 15th August, when French kids go back to school.

Next year we're planning on doing it even cheaper by using our Tesco club card points for the Tunnel, and hope to fit a week in at Whitsun with the savings.

So if the foods a bit dearer I'm not going to worry about it. We can't normally afford to eat out more than once or twice during a holiday in this country so I don't expect it to be any different in France. What will be different is the experience and hopefully the weather!

Don't be to sure of that Sjray, I have just come back from 6 weeks in France, and for the first 2 it was cold and very very wet. I don't know if it made the TV news here, but the local TV news said that 40 people had drowned and 22 were still missing. So it's not alway warm and sunny on the med coast of France. As for prices, we noticed a big hike in the price of most things compared to last year.

Steve W