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..how do I go about it?

spent a fortune on holidays this year (Florida, Egypt, Tenerife) and now that we are properly into camping, we'd like to take the opportunity to have a cheaper holiday, but still get some sunshine.

so, this leads me to think I can drive across to France with family and tent and within a few hours, be somewhere nice and warm and enjoy our tenting lifestyle, without breaking the bank.

the downside is, I don't know where to start. Are there any travel agents that can tell us some good campsites? or can anyone here point me in the right direction of a website/company that specializes in this sort of thing?

many thanks

You could have a look at the camping and caravanning abroad discussion board on this website. There is  a sticky called "going abroad for the first time" which will provide extremely useful reading.

In terms of tour operators, try Canvas Holidays, Eurocamp, Keycamp. All have good websites - they hire out tents and mobile homes but will have lots of of info on potential campsites where you can book pitch only.

As has been said - you will need to go well south for your sunshine. Think about what you want - beach/inland/basicsite/5 star etc.Look at a map & decide where you want to go and ask for recommendations on here for sites. Then have a look at some site web pages. Book it if you are going in high season.

Book a crossing - ferry or tunnel, plan a route using some of the route planning sites,think about an overnight stop.

Get some breakdown & health insurance.

Fill up the car & off you go.

Some questions first:

When do you intend to travel - early season (May/June/1st week in July), peak season (July to mid August) or late season (mid-August to late September/October)?  This can make a huge difference to campsite recommendations.

Do you have children with you - how many, what ages, and what do they like?  Are they 'joiners-in' and would love a kids club, or do they prefer to stay with mum and dad and do family things?

What do you adults like to do when on holiday?  Do you want a bar, restaurant and take-away, with a pool complex like a five star hotel, and evening entertainment or do you prefer to be the only people on a five pitch site in an orchard, where you can have a quiet and relaxing time?

How far do you want to drive?  Can you share the driving?  What about overnight stops - hotel or campsite?

Because there are so many campsites in France (around 11,000) it's best to narrow things down a bit. There's a site to suit everyone, and already some great advice from the knowledgeable people on here.  You don't need a travel agent these days - you can find out all you need to know from the internet, and from people who have actually 'been there, done it, know the snags - and who know the best campsites'.  It's easy enough to arrange the whole thing yourself - or you can go to tour operators such as Eurocamp Independent, Alan Rogers, Select Sites, and others - who will do it for you, as will the Caravanning and Camping Club, and the Caravan Club.  But armed with a little knowledge from here, you can arrange your own package exactly as you want it!

You can pay as little as 10 euros for a pitch, including electricity, or as camp-cat says, as much as 50 euros - but there are many many sites in between.  Give us a few more clues about what you want and we'll all be more than glad to help.

We went to france in our tent for the first time in 2009 and we loved every minute of it and didn't have any probelms.  You probably need to go as far as the Vendee or Charente for beaches and almost guaranteed good weather.  As your tent is pretty large you maybe better with an overnight crossing with LD lines (much cheaper then Brittany Ferries) which would leave you about 5-6hrs driving on the other side rather than the bother of an overnight stop. I haven't checked the time table this year but ours was 11pm-8am a late night for any children but thats a blessing when you are driving so long the next day as they will sleep.

If you want a more commercial site with pools, activities, bars, restaurants etc I'd request a brochure from Thomson Al Fresco as they are in a good deal of these.  I've been to Sequoia Parc (France) & Bella Italia (Italy) both have Thomsons in and they have been great sites - if thats what you want.

With your tent which I believe is Polyester I'd definitely request a partially shaded pitch as it will get extremely hot in the midday sun.  There was a Hartford opposite us in France on an exposed pitch who we got friendly with and they couldn't go inside their tent until after 7pm.

Good luck!!