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we're looking to take our own tent to italy next year for a camping holiday. we'd like to be near the coast on a campsite with lots to do within walking distance to shops and restaurants (quite a lively resort) also quite large pitches.

not asking too much am i??

can anybody help please

Hi Kimrob

We were going to go to Italy in July but ended up in France again for 3 main reasons

1. Italian campsites tend to have very much smaller pitches than France.  The standard size seemed to be about 80m2 which is very very tiny!  The aim of all the campsites we read about and heard about seemed to be 'pack as many units in as close together as you can!'

2. These campsites with tiny pitches charged nearly twice as much as sites in France that had pitches twice the size!  For example this year we were at L'Etang de la Breche in the Loire and our pitch was nearly 250m2 and cost us €30 per night.  Most similar quality sites we looked at in Italy were charging €50 per night which was very expensive.

3. When we tried to book Italy in January we found that all the good sites were already fully booked for the whole of July and August!  You need to book very early to get a pitch and sometime even if you try early all the best sites are booked from the year before by 'regulars'.

There are a lot of large, lively sites on the coast near Venice so you might want to have a look at them.  When we were looking initially we used the Alan Rogers guide to camping in italy and it was very useful, I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks pixie

Funny you should say that about the sizes of the pitches - it actually made me look at France again too. We went to Lake Garda this year and like you say everyone was crammed into small spaces. I think we'll try the south of france instead I quite fancy Cap D'Agde (not the nudest bit though!)

Thanks for your suggestions.

Kim

Hi Kim - We are going to Malcesine on Lake Garda next July - our 9th time! - and though we know most things about the area we've never tried camping. We are now in the process of planning our "big adventure" - lol - cycling all round the lake, but as we will be taking our time and stopping off at various places en route, we will be spending one, or maybe two, nights sleeping in a small tent. Do you know of any campsites where we would be able to just turn up for a night? I've done a brief search on the net but the only ones I've come up with so far seem to be the ones with permanent tents which you have to book in advance. Any info would be most welcome - thanks

Eunice

We went to Playa Paraiso a couple of years ago, our pitch was only slightly smaller than France/Spain and the prices were competative.

Playa Paraiso is one of about 15 sites along the coast on the outer edge of the Venetian Lagoon.

We will return but Europe is a big place with lots of countries to visit.

The biggest plus - where else can you spend a great day on the beach and then pop off to have dinner in Venice watching the illuminated gondolas pass by. Another reason - Verona is well worth a day trip.

So Italy is worth the long journey and slightly smaller pitches.