Endless beaches of soft sand and lapping waves, fringed by pine trees and undulating dunes – perfect!
Camping in the Vendee
131 campsites in France, Vendée for Beach
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On the edge of a pine forest and just a short walk across the dunes from a fine sandy beach, this could be an ideal spot for a seaside holiday. Les Cyprès is a very French campsite with good basic facilities and a pleasant modern pool complex. The 300 pitches are in an arc curving out towards the sea in both directions from reception; the 141 touring pitches of varying shapes and sizes occupy the southern end of the arc. All have access to electricity (10A) and water, though long leads are required in places and some are more suitable for tents because of the trees.
This family site is located close to the village of Barbâtre, on the west coast of the island of Noirmoutier. The site has direct access to a fine sandy beach. There are around 400 pitches, of which around 200 are available for touring units (the rest are occupied by an imaginative range of chalets, mobile homes and fully equipped tents, including teepees, many of which are for rent). Touring pitches are mostly equipped with 16A electricity. On-site amenities include two swimming pools and a paddling pool. A wide sunbathing area surrounds these. A children’s beach club is organised in peak season and evening entertainment is also on offer.
Camping Sandaya de la Bosse is located on the idyllic Île de Noirmoutier, off the coast of Vendée, France. On-site, you will find 249 touring pitches with electric hook-up points. Most pitches are on open and flat, sandy areas with little shade.
A site that lives up to its name, Camping Sandaya La Grande Côte, is extensive with 800 pitches, of which 293 are numbered touring pitches in rows spread over undulating dunes with sparse grass under pine, all with 10A electricity and over 287 chalets and mobile homes to rent.
Castel Camping La Garangeoire is a stunning campsite situated some 15 km inland, near the village of Saint Julien-des-Landes. Set in 200 hectares of parkland surrounding the small château of la Garangeoire, of which there is an outstanding view as you approach through the gates. With a spacious, relaxed atmosphere, the main camping areas are on either side of the old road, edged with mature trees.
Developed over the years on what was once a working farm, this is a friendly, relaxed, three-hectare site, very different from the sophisticated sites that abound in this area. Of the 208 pitches, 70 are available for tourers, the rest being occupied by mobile homes and chalets, of which 49 are available for hire. Touring pitches are large and attractively laid out, separated by hedges, with mature trees to give shade, and with electricity and water close by. There is a pleasant solar-heated pool with paddling pool and jacuzzi, and an old barn is used as a games room and for occasional events in high season. English and Spanish are spoken.
Camping l’Evasion is located close to the Lac de Jaunay, well known for its water-based activities. This modern, well-equipped site boasts a natural swimming pool bordered by white sand. There is also a traditional outdoor swimming pool with slides, plus a large, covered pool with a Jacuzzi.
This well established, family run site is within five minutes’ walk of Brem village and 1.5 km. from a sandy beach. The 76 touring pitches are level with varying amounts of grass, some with shade from mature trees. Pitches are separated by tall hedges and serviced by tarmac or gravel roads and have frequent water and 10A electricity points (long leads may be required). Premium pitches are available for an additional charge. There are 197 mobile homes and chalets available for rent. The swimming pool complex features heated indoor and outdoor pools with a jacuzzi, slides and a children’s pool, together with a sauna and fitness centre.
Tucked away in the Vendée countryside, just 15 minutes’ drive from the beach, this campsite enjoys a rural setting above the Lac du Jaunay, well away from the bustle of the coast. There are 229 good sized touring pitches, all with 10A electricity (Europlug) and 25 with water tap, drainage and 16A power. Some have shade, and others are in the open with mature hedges and trees. The enthusiastic family owners are very hands-on, and the facilities are of a high standard, most notably the entrance and reception building, and the pool area with its excellent indoor and outdoor pools, slides, flumes, jacuzzi, steam room and fitness suite. Fishing is well-catered for with direct access to the lake. You can buy your fishing licence, store equipment in a secure room, keep your bait in a fridge at the site.
Le Domaine de Bellevue is a family friendly site located in the northern Vendée, close to the town of Challans (famous for its market), and around 20 minutes from the broad, sandy beaches at Saint Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. There are 126 large (minimum 150 sq.m) pitches here, of which 40 are for tourers, 10 fully serviced with 16A electricity and dispersed around a large park, which has two generous fishing ponds (catch and release, and surrounded by a secured fence for the children) stocked with carp and other species. An entertainment programme runs during April, July and August and includes special activities for children. There is a range of mobile homes, chalets and bungalow-style tents for rent.
Camping La Grande Vallee is a small campsite situated In La Tranche Sur Mer, 700 metres from the beach. The campsite has 58 large pitches located away from the main road with plenty of shade. You will find a children's play area, Table tennis, and a small snack bar on site serving takeaway pizza and 'moule mariniere' once a week.
Situated On a large lake in the Vendée, five kilometres from Montaigu and half an hour's drive from Puy du Fou, you’ll find Flower Camping du Lac de la Chausselière. The campsite is suitable for families with children and those looking for peace and quiet, where you can enjoy peaceful fishing on the lake. The campsite is situated in a quiet area directly on the water. Well-paved paths lead to the 80 spacious touring pitches with grassy ground and the thirty rental accommodations. Green hedges delimit both the touring pitches and the accommodations, so you will always find an area with privacy.
A traditional, family run site, with a good atmosphere, this site has 121 pitches and 37 chalets (some private, some to rent). The 78 grassy touring pitches are reasonably level, there is shade in most areas and electricity (10A) is available. The site is served by one main toilet block and mostly gravel roads. Amenities include a small, covered bar and terrace. Takeaway food and bread are available in July and August. The town has an imposing ruined chateau and an old church, and there is a large motor museum nearby.
Camping la Forêt is an attractive, well run site with a friendly family atmosphere, thanks to the hard working owners, M. and Mme. Jolivet. Many visitors return year after year. It provides just 61 pitches with 46 for touring units. They are of a reasonable size and surrounded by mature hedges; all have water and electricity (10A), and some also have drainage. A variety of trees provide shade to every pitch. There are 16 mobile homes to rent (from 5 April) and one tour operator on site (11 pitches), but their presence is not intrusive and the site has a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. You are advised not to enter the site without checking pitch availability. Staff offer assistance with pitching your caravan.
This is a large site comprising rental properties and touring pitches in a total of 280. It is very family-friendly and check-in is very efficient and quick; English is spoken, and access is also easy for all sizes of outfits. The site consists of a range of Mobile Homes to rent, and 78 spacious large touring pitches are divided by hedging and some offer shade. The site itself is jam-packed with something always going on, most of the day and night; it is not a site to sit back and relax on, in fact, when I visited, there were several parties of school children enjoying the last of the school holidays. However, just a 5-minute (900m) drive, you will be on a beautiful, peaceful beach on the Atlantic Coast.
A member of the Chadotel group, le Bahamas Beach is separated from the sandy beach by 600 m. of sand-dunes and the River Jaunay. It is a modern, well-equipped site, very well placed on one of the most popular stretches of the Vendée coast, and attracts a higher proportion of French holidaymakers than many others in the area. The 81 touring pitches are scattered amongst the total of 235, of which 154 are mobile homes. There is one French tour operator (6 pitches). The pitches are grassy, and level on sandy soil, separated by hedges or low bushes and all have easy access to electricity and water. There are few trees and little shelter from the wind off the sea. Maximum unit length permitted is 8.5 m. There is a good range of daytime and evening entertainment for all ages in July and August.
Les Charmes is a peaceful, well laid out campsite, 3 km. from Apremont and 20 minutes from the Vendée’s sandy beaches. It is suitable for families with young children and those seeking a quiet, peaceful holiday. There are 55 pitches, including 35 spacious and grassy, level touring pitches with dividing hedges, some under shade from the mature trees around the perimeter. Electrical connections are available for most (10A, long cables required for some pitches), plus communal water points nearby. There is also mobile home and chalet accommodation for rent all year. The campsite has an indoor swimming pool with a smaller area for children within the main pool and a new jacuzzi and sauna. Access may not be suitable for large vehicles.
Originally a simple ‘camping à la ferme’, this site has been developed by a Dutch organisation into an extensive, very well equipped and well-maintained campsite. Located around two attractive fishing lakes, the 164 pitches, most available for touring, are spacious and attractively laid out with plenty of grass, hedges and trees, some young, some mature. All have electricity (6/10A), and a few are very large. There are 38 mobile homes to rent. An old barn has been converted into a large restaurant offering an extensive French menu, including a ‘menu du jour’. Also here are a small bar, a shop selling necessary provisions and the reception area.
Located in woodland and on dunes along a two-kilometre stretch of sandy beach, just east of the attractive little town of Noirmoutier on the island of the same name, this could be a paradise for those who enjoy a simple campsite in a natural setting. On land belonging to France’s forestry commission, this site is operated by Huttopia, whose aim is to adapt to the environment rather than take it over. On site there are 488 touring pitches, all of which have electric hook up points (10A), and are situated among the pine trees and accessed along tracks. Those on the sand dunes have fantastic views across the Baie de Bourgneuf. They cost a few euros extra – if you are lucky enough to get one. Some pitches may experience noise from a nearby bar.
This family run campsite is within a short drive of some wonderful beaches. In high season it is bustling and lively, with a children’s club and a full programme of activities for youngsters and the whole family. A smart bar, refreshment and entertainment area is next to the imaginative open-air pool complex. There are 88 privately owned mobile homes, 99 for hire and 49 touring pitches scattered round the site (80-100 sq.m), with 10A electricity and water reasonably close by, some shaded. Late night discos may be noisy in July and August.
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Vendée
It’s not only the fine beaches that make this holiday region so appealing – quaint fishing harbours, historic ports and charming towns all create a great holiday atmosphere.
This small but perfectly located region is all about the beach. All 200 km of it. That may sound a little over-simplified, but it is undoubtedly a magnet for lovers of sun, sea and sand. Visitors flock to the region to enjoy the exceptionally mild climate with an enviable sunshine record and famously balmy micro-climate (apparently, there are more sunshine hours here than on the French Rivera); it’s easy to see why this is one of the most popular tourist areas of France. The Vendée has a wealth of sleepy fishing harbours, historic ports and charming towns that all create a great holiday experience. Popular resorts in the Vendée include Les Sablesd’Olonne, La Tranche-sur-Mer, and St Jean-de-Monts.
The Vendée was the centre of the counterrevolutionary movement between 1793 and 1799, and a ‘son et lumière’ held at Le Puy-du-Fou tells the whole story. Les Sables-d’Olonne is its main resort, renowned for its excellent sandy beach. The area between the Vendée and Charente, the Marais Poitevin, is one of the most unusual in France – a vast tract of marshland with a thousand or more tree-lined canals and slow-moving streams.
Vendée Blogs
Spotlight on the Vendee
Rob Fearn | 2 Apr 2021 | Read time: 7m 57s
There are four distinct regions to the Vendée département: the Bocage, a rolling, wooded area of low hills; the Plaine with its open countryside and rich arable land, golden with wheat and sunflowers in summer; and two marshy areas - the silent Marais Breton to the north, the lush, verdant slow-moving waters of the Marais Poitevin to the south
Read MoreCAMPING IN THE VENDEE
Camping in the Vendée
The Vendée is a hugely popular region for camping, partly because it’s an easy place to get to from the UK. Campsites in the Vendée are usually of high quality (competition encourages standards to be high) and many have been in business for decades, gradually improving services and facilities. Of course, as is often the rule of thumb, the closer the campsite to the beach, the smaller the pitches are likely to be. That is sometimes the price to pay for convenience. Moreover, campsites near the beach can be more expensive.
And campsites on the beach can be that much more lively in terms of evening entertainment and general hubbub. For this reason, some prefer to enjoy the day on the beach and then retreat to the more secluded campsites slightly inland. But each to their own!
PLACES OF INTEREST
Places of interest
L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer: Famous for its mussels and other shellfish; site of migrating birds between August and November.
Apremont: Pretty village with a Renaissance castle; Vendée’s largest lake with a sandy beach, watersports and boat hire.
Île-d’Yeu: One hour by boat from the coast, a major tourist destination with colourful shops, cafés and restaurants; art galleries and exhibitions; bicycles and cars for hire.
Jard-sur-Mer: Abbey of Lieu-Dieu (financed by Richard the Lionheart); seaside with attractive, colourful houses.
Le Puy-du-Fou: 15/16th-century castle; son-et-lumière production and historical theme park.
BEACHES OF THE VENDEE
Beaches of the Vendée
The Vendée is a great choice for children of all ages. The traditional accessory for every child visiting the Vendée is, without doubt, the bucket and spade - and with good reason. From St. Jean-de-Monts to La Tranche-sur-Mer the coast is virtually unbroken with fragrant pine forests leading down to gently shelving sandy beaches.
These are some of France’s finest beaches, with gently shelving golden sands that are reassuringly safe for toddlers as they paddle and splash in the water. Many beaches offer high season kids’ clubs with organised beach activities as well as watersports on offer like sailing, windsurfing, paddleboards and kayaks. It’s generally easy for teenagers and older children to enjoy a degree of independence in safety.
Île de Noirmoutier: The Le Gois causeway (and a modern bridge) connect this once detached island to the mainland. A handful of scattered villages and miles of often empty beach create a magical environment, very different from the mainstream resorts further south. The Plage des Dames, complete with a boardwalk, wooden pier, soft sand and backed by oak trees, mimosa, eucalyptus and fragrant pine trees is hard to beat.
Les Sables d’Olonne: This is a resort where the beaches are so good they named the town after them. It’s one of the major resorts of the Vendée and has a fine, curved seafront and sandy bay. The marina is always a popular haunt with plenty of flashy boats to gawp at, as well as the usual bustle of a working marina and, naturally, some really good restaurants where you can enjoy fantastically fresh seafood. The 15th century Château St Clair is also a popular excursion as is the zoo with its sanctuary for over forty endangered species.
St-Jean-de-Monts: Though quiet for much of the year, St Jean-de-Monts wakes up with a vengeance during the summer months. This is one of the best-known hotspots, with many excellent family campsites jostling for position along the Cote de Lumière. The vast 8 km long beach is a delight with fine sands and no currents to worry parents of young children. It’s frequented by kite surfers and sand yachts, as well as cyclists and horse riders enjoying the shady pines that fringe the shore.
St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie: As a change from some of the larger resorts, St Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is an attractive fishing harbour spanning the river Vie. It is home to Beneteau, the world-leading sailing boat manufacturer and it is truly a town of boats, from the brightly painted fishing boats, the little ferries that ply back and forth to the Ile d’Yeu, to the host of small dinghies and sailing boats that bob up and down in the blue waters and whose white sails are sprinkled across the seascape. It’s no surprise the region is known for the Vendée Globe yacht race, one of the most gruelling nautical challenges in the world.
Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez: Not far from its larger neighbour, St Gilles, this pleasant town of small whitewashed houses adorned with jauntily painted shutters is also home to the Atlantic Toboggan waterpark on Merlin-Plage. Here a mind-boggling range of pools awaits, with waterslides, flumes, whirlpools and more. The 250-metre thrills of the twisting Boa and the Kamikaz are inevitable highlights.
The Route du Sel: An excursion with a difference is to follow the Route de Sel (or the Salt Route) through the Marais, inland flat expanses of land reclaimed from the sea. Take to the completely calm waters of the waterways that criss-cross the Sallertaine’s ancient salt marshes and find yourself at eye-level to the surrounding marshland with its windmills and wildlife. A wonderful time to do this is early morning when you might start paddling as the atmospheric morning mists begin to burn off, revealing the magically tranquil landscape around you.
CUISINE OF THE REGION
Cuisine of the region
Not known as a viticultural world-beater, the Vendée does have vineyards around Brem-sur-Mer and Mareuil-sur-Lay, producing light, refreshing wines perfect at the end of a long day in the sun. Excellent duck comes from Challans where the duck market was a key part of the local economy. Locally produced meat and poultry include Charolais beef, salt-marsh lamb and foie gras.
The Brioche de Vendée, the soft, slightly sweet bread served at breakfast is a family favourite. Best of all though is the huge variety of seafood available from the simple but highly prized oyster to the elaborate fish dishes that tempt every passer-by. Seafood includes sole sablaise, cooked with lemon, barbecued sardines from Saint Gilles Croix-de-Vie, baked white tuna and mussels from the Baie de l’Aiguillon cooked in white wine.
Samphire: A herb that grows on the edges of the salt marshes.
Mogette: A signature dish of the region, Slow-cooked baby haricot beans, traditionally served with gammon.
Jambon de Vendee: Local raw-cured ham.