Time to be looking for camping holiday offers

Posted on February 20, 2012 by artj

With Christmas and the New Year come and gone it’s high time we started taking a serious look at the holiday season for 2012, and Easter time is the first period of the year for that but there is little happening camping or mobile home wise in Europe unless you happen to be going on an Easter egg hunt that is.

Really and truly camping holidays start in May, but even that is a tad early in our book, especially for France, though it has been known for May to be red hot. Picking the best time to have 2 weeks of scorching hot beach type weather is a lottery isn’t it?

We have been to Brittany at the end of June and been frozen stiff, but conversely we have been there again at the same time another year and it was so hot we had to seek shelter from the sun.

Other resorts in France show similar trends until the summer really heats up, and that is usually early June when we tend to take mobile home holidays in St Jean de Monts in the Vendee region on the west coast. They represent great value for money and the beaches there are wonderful.

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To find gifts we went to the shops.

Posted on February 17, 2012 by artj

Once upon a time, many, many years ago and long before the EU or the Internet were invented, life seemed to be easy and our pace of life was far less frenetic than it is today. Those were the days back in the 1960’s which some of us can look back upon with rose tinted spectacles in the knowledge that all was well with the world and we wouldn’t have to apply for a remortgage in order to afford a holiday, or anything else for that matter.

Growing up in the ‘60s was a pleasurable experience for many of us in the UK and it was an all round special decade full of pure adolescent pleasures combined with lots and lots of freedom. It was the decade when package holidays really took off and when camping holidays in France and other European countries were possible instead of being pipe dreams.

We had no mobile phones but you cannot miss what you’ve never had; there were no Ipads or Ipods and traffic was but a fraction of what it is today. Most of us only had black and white TV because colour was expensive, and we were unable to tape films because the recorders had not been invented.

Yes we had music and lashings of it too but we could only play vinyl records and the recorder’s needles only lasted a short time before needing to be replaced or sharpened, but we were supremely happy which is something a great many kids are not today.

These were the days before Argos, so if you needed to find gifts or presents for anyone then you had to trudge round the shops, but as we knew nothing better we were happy, so on reflection we have moved on 4 decades in time but have regressed 10 in the satisfaction we receive from living a happy life.

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Favourite camping holiday regions in France

Posted on January 27, 2012 by artj

I guess that all the tour operators, that is, the companies who sell camping holidays in France, all know which are the most favourite regions and resorts for British holidaymakers, but does it really matter to you? Do you have to follow the herd and visit a region or resort just because it is used by your fellow Brits? No, and nor do we. Our camping holidays are tailored to where we want to go and not where a tour company would like us to visit for a couple of weeks.

But there are some nice areas of France which are usually busy in the summertime, indeed, in June and July one can hardly move for the English, Irish and Scots in the Vendee region and parts of Brittany. Possibly this could be because those two departments are relatively near for Scots and Irish but there are no cheap camping holidays at that time of year.

So we have established that Brittany and the Vendee are popular camping holiday areas, but the rest of the west coast of France is much visited too, though nowhere near as much as those first two.

Languedoc is coming into its own these days and this is one region which until recent years has been sadly neglected by we Brits, most of whom took their holidays in Provence next door until they found that Languedoc is nicer, cheaper and much cheaper.

Yes of course, people take camping holidays all over France, but those regions we have mentioned above are very much the most popular.

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A special self drive holiday

Posted on January 26, 2012 by artj

If you are into self drive holidays together with camping holidays or mobile home holiday then this is a good one for you. Cross over into France either via the Tunnel or by boat from Dover to Calais and potter down the eastern side of France and head for Basel; probably the quickest way is to go on the autoroute from Calais to Reims, Nancy and either Colmar and then enter Germany near Freiburg or go to Basel and head north into Germany that way.

Either way takes you into the Black Forest or Schwartzwald, an unimaginably beautiful forest in western Germany, but beware because if you become seriously lost there you may never be found, and that’s the truth!

Go through the forest and head eastwards along the banks of the Lake Konstanz, all the time driving through some of the most scenic parts of Europe. Head for Austria by following signs for Innsbruck and then Saltzburg which in itself is worth a few days exploring as there is an absolute mass of history there for anyone interested in that sort of thing.

Nearby you can visit Zell am See, a superbly pretty town built right next to a large lake in which there is safe swimming, fishing and boating. Great stuff!

The example suggested above is just the bare bones of a wonderful driving holiday which I can guarantee you will enjoy to the full providing you love scenery and history. This may not be one of those cheap camping holidays one reads about, but on the other hand neither is it expensive.

You may even be able to find a Selectcamp campsite in the area and we can assure you that they are the providers of superb luxury camping holidays – tents with fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms and mobile homes which are simply the last word in luxury holiday accommodation.

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Older and the better off families off seek luxury camping holidays

Posted on January 25, 2012 by artj

There comes a time for most people, sometimes it creeps up on them with age, and sometimes they seek things like this out as they begin to be more prosperous, but the fact is that both of these examples look for that little bit more luxury in life, so instead of taking their holidays in just any old tent they actively seek out something which has been truly elusive and that is luxury camping holidays.

Now hold on a minute I hear you cry; just what are these luxury camping holidays about?

Well the answer is quite simple in that there is Dutch a company called Selectcamp which operates Europe wide, and they sell both camping holidays under canvas and mobile home holidays too. The difference between Selectcamp and the other providers of similar holidays is that Selectcamp do actually provide tent camping holidays which are the most luxurious known to mankind.

Their mobile homes are a delight in that they are large, comfortable and have all the mod cons you could wish for, but the tents they provide for camping holidays are just out of this world. Apparently these tents are made to their own design so you won’t see them under any other tour operator’s banner this year at least, and the mid range tents have fully equipped kitchens would you believe?

But that isn’t the whole story by a long way because the top of the range tents which Selectcamp provide have fully equipped bathrooms as well. Now that is truly an innovation which no other company can equal at the moment, but they will have to equal it otherwise they will lose out big style to Selectcamp in the future and just end up selling any old cheap camping holidays instead.

 

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Staycations can be a huge rip off

Posted on January 25, 2012 by artj

OK, I admit that we took “staycations” when the kids were young and we were unable to take them abroad, because holidays abroad in those days were quite expensive, even camping holidays just across the channel in France, and it is only because more and more tour operators got into France with their legions of mobile homes and camping pitches that has brought the prices down.

In those days, and I am talking of 30 plus years ago, we had to go to places such as Pontins if we wanted a holiday near the seaside, and though I personally loathed those camps I did appreciate the fact that they provided cheap holidays for the masses. To be fair they were great for children, but places like these don’t appeal to everyone and I must be one of those who would prefer to stay at home rather than darken the doors of another Pontins, or similar.

We started going to France in a serious way over 20 years ago and we stayed in mobile homes which were surprisingly comfortable and quite spacious, but since then we have seen the advent of cheap camping holidays across Europe which are affordable by virtually anyone’s standard, indeed, there was an article in the press recently which suggested that, in the school holidays at any rate, that staycations cost more than many holidays abroad, and that is with a weak pound as well!

So, it is our family opinion that if you are unable to get a really good deal with your staycation you are better off taking the car and zooming off on camping holidays in France for a couple of weeks because some of these supposedly cheap staycations are a huge rip off.

 

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Self drive holidays are the best

Posted on January 23, 2012 by artj

One has to be a tad careful when writing blogs about this camping lark because the term camping holidays covers so much; it covers tent camping of course, static caravans, mobile homes and even caravan parks come under the banner of camping holidays.

They are superb fun but whilst some people love being under canvas for a week or two, there are equally as many, perhaps more, who prefer that little bit more comfort that a mobile home holiday offers. Now I don’t know when you last took a holiday in a mobile home/static caravan, or even if you have even stayed in one or not, but I can tell you that they have improved vastly over the past 20 years or so and the modern ones have all you need for a nice and relaxing holiday in the resort of your choice.

Mobile home holidays are just the ticket for vacations abroad, but they are best when you drive to said resort yourself. Oh yes, you can take a train to virtually anywhere in France with ease, or you could easily fly and hire a car at the other end, but you really get the best out of a holiday like this when you self drive. Why? Simply because self drive holidays give you the freedom to go where you want on a whim, and of course, you can take so much more of that all important holiday junk with you!

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Cheap luxury camping holidays

Posted on January 19, 2012 by artj

I guess lots of people suffer at this time of the year like ourselves, and are bombarded by holiday brochures through the post from companies they have never heard of who are trying to sell their camping holidays this season. These brochures must cost an absolute bomb, not only to produce but to send out through the post too.

It smacks a little of desperation to me in this age of Internet when a great many holidays are sought and booked online, and still these tour operators are going down the old fashioned route of sending paper out which surely must cost £5 or more per household.

Well ok, we have friends in the business and we never apply for brochures, but still they arrive and have to be thrown into the recycle bin ready for the next pickup. All we are seeking, probably the same as you, are cheap camping holidays somewhere in France or Italy where the sun shines and the wine is cheap and nasty.

A touch of luxury never goes amiss though we feel, and there is one company out there called Selectcamp which provides luxury camping holidays and luxury mobile home holidays. This company is the only one we are aware of which provides the Full Monty in tent camping, and by that we mean it provides tents with both fully equipped kitchens AND bathrooms! Can’t be bad!

 

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Mobile homes in France

Posted on January 19, 2012 by artj

Ideally of course, we would all have a nice big and extremely comfortable, well appointed mobile home which we could set up in our favourite place in France, go there when it suited and let our friends have a week or two sometimes to keep them sweet. All of that because holidays in mobile homes in France are at least as popular now as they were before the so called credit crunch recession.

Yes, France is still the favourite holiday destination for a great many Brits, and that is despite the fact that our beloved pound is still in the doldrums. What I can’t understand is: we all know the Euro is in deep, deep trouble and has dipped in value to nearly all other currencies but our Pound doesn’t seem to have made much headway against it. Strange.

But really, all most of us want is a nice holiday somewhere we can relax and get a tan without having to apply for a remortgage. That shouldn’t be too difficult should it? But having asked that question I can say that one of the papers last weekend made a comment that holidays here in the UK cost more on average than they do in Spain or France! Talk about Rip Off Britain!

We have found by experience when going into France for a holiday to forget flying or coach holidays and forget the train too. Take your own vehicle and go on a self drive holiday, you’ll find it much more rewarding and you can also take so much more of your own clutter with you!

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Camping Quiberon, and the noise problems there.

Posted on January 18, 2012 by artj

Well we all make mistakes at some time or other, and it is easy to that when you are choosing holidays; all the family sat round and all wanting to go to different resorts, even different countries, and that is precisely what happened to us in the summer of 2010 when we went camping to Quiberon. To say that camping holidays should not be like this is an understatement. So, if you want a really noisy camping holiday then please read on.

We had decided to take a camping holiday – actually it was in a mobile home but that counts as camping anyway – but the argument between wife, daughter and self was precisely where to go. We had decided on France, and that is always our first choice for this type of holidays, but where in France?

As it so happens we all voted to go west but to 3 entirely different places, and after all, western France is one Helluva large place. Luxury camping holidays were top of my list, somewhere in the Vendee which I love, and our 33 year old daughter voted for the Languedoc region which whilst it is a glorious area it was a tad further than I wanted to drive that year as I had had a recent foot operation.

Strangely it was my wife who made the final decision based on just how far she thought I would be able to drive with a bad foot as neither she nor our daughter will drive on the (“wrong side of the road”), so she chose Quiberon and it was to be a rather poor choice I can tell you!

Quiberon town lies at the foot of a peninsular which juts out to sea from the south western coast of Brittany, and you access it from the road near to Carnac. Quiberon is about 15 KMs long but the amount of traffic on the main road sometimes makes you think it is twice that far. Believe me when I say that the best bit of Quiberon is the D768 off the peninsular!

Quiberon town lies at the far end of the peninsular as do most of the camping/mobile home sites. We had booked through Matthews Holidays to stay at Camping du Conguel, which apart from the lack of supervision by their so called “security” which allowed loads of drunken French teenagers to make the evenings absolute Hell was a pretty nice place.

Sadly, the management was not inclined to do anything about this problem and we idly wondered what their reaction would have been had the miscreants been English, or British.

Worse still were 2 other factors, the first of them being that the mobile home we had booked from Matthews Holidays was probably as old as our daughter was at the time – 33 as I mentioned above, but she was and still is in peak condition whilst the mobile home we were stuck with for 2 weeks was a complete wreck – old and knackered as my wife termed it, so I won’t tell you my exact thoughts about it lest they upset your sensibilities.

The second thing was, and still is, a problem for people staying in Quiberon, and that is the small but energetically active private airport around which most of the campsites are clustered. It is noisy from around 9 am to 9 pm and doesn’t stop for weekends either. Every few minutes a noisy little plane takes off as another one lands, and to me the noise was highly intrusive.

They take out parachutists and dump them somewhere far away for them to glide back to the aerodrome and have another go. The noise is incessant and if you still decide to go there after reading this then be on the lookout for cheap camping holidays there because it is not, repeat not worth paying the full price!

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