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We are travelling to Calais in late July. We are not new to France, but will be with our caravan for the first time and we have a 4 yr old.

We like the sun, but would like to avoid travelling too far. Have done Vendee twice before and fancy a change. We prefer medium sized sites that are good quality.

THought Loire,but it seems the sites are a bit remote.

Dordogne or Jura maybe. Gosh I am getting campsite blindness now.

Any help much appreciated.

Quote: Originally posted by shamrock23 on 11/4/2011

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We are travelling to Calais in late July. We are not new to France, but will be with our caravan for the first time and we have a 4 yr old.

We like the sun, but would like to avoid travelling too far. Have done Vendee twice before and fancy a change. We prefer medium sized sites that are good quality.

THought Loire,but it seems the sites are a bit remote.

Dordogne or Jura maybe. Gosh I am getting campsite blindness now.

Any help much appreciated.

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If you like the sun, then out of the destinations you are thinking of, then I would go for the Dordogne.  It is certainly the furthest, but if you really like the sun, I would head for somewhere South of Lyon.  Another factor is that, generally speaking the East is a little warmer than the West, having less of the cooling influence of the sea, but then it's not uncommon for rain over the mountains.  We have had reasonable weather when we have stayed in France on the Swiss border close to Geneva.  You are within striking distance of Annecy too.  Unless you are going for a seaside holiday at one of the more popular areas, it may be worth not booking and just go where the weather forecast says the weather will be good.

Everyone loves the Dordogne - and it's very attractive - and there are some tip top sites there, though some offer far more than you will want with a 4 year old. Choose carefully. Be prepared for crowds - like trying to park on market day in Sarlat !!

I don't really understand about sites on the Loire being "a bit remote". There are nice places there too.  A 4 year old can easily walk into town from the site in Azay-le-Rideau.

The Jura is an adventurous choice but if your 4 year old was older I'd say go on further and into the Alps.

ValA will say why not Burgundy? - and I'd agree with her. While the Brits flock to the Dordogne many knowledgeable Parisians will quietly make for Burgundy. And with your new caravan you can move gently between two or three places in that area.

Of the two, I'd go for the Dordogne.  We spent our first two French holidays on sites there, and have been back several times since, always finding new things to see and do.  There are some great campsites BUT it's busy in late July and you may find that the most popular sites are already pretty full.  You will always find a pitch somewhere, if you're prepared to go for smaller out of the way sites, though.

We had pretty poor weather in the Jura, which coloured my views of that side of France - and we haven't been back since!

Thanks for the comments. Le Paradis is fully booked from the 16th July, as you would expect from a quality site. We have earmarked it for next year, as we cant go earlier in July this year.

We are now looking at Etang the castels site in the Loire , see what they have left.

We always said we would buy a caravan over the winter to get the best deal, and then have time to use it and book a holiday. So what have we done ..... the exact opposite !!  I am sure we will get somewhere though as we are looking from the 10th July now.

Thanks for the posts, Jura is off the agenda.

Etang de La Breche is a very nice site and has spacious pitches and a good water complex. Plenty of room for kids to run around and the restaurant was very good when we were there about 4 years ago. Its about 9km if I remember from Saumur and so is fairly peaceful. Having said that we weren't there in high season. If it is full try the Isle de Offard which is on an island in the Loire directly facing Saumur so an easy walk into town. Used to be a municipal site but I think it has been taken over.

Good luck with finding a site that suits.