Endless beaches of soft sand and lapping waves, fringed by pine trees and undulating dunes – perfect!
Camping in the Vendee
107 campsites in France, Vendée for Kids
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Domaine de l’Oiseliere is ideal for camping and campervan holidays and jsut 35 minutes from the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou. This is a small site with just 45 large pitches to choose from, 30 of which are for touring and are 200m2 and separated by hedges. There is a choice of full sun or shaded pitches with cover provided by oak trees. For families travelling in a caravan, large plots enable you to extend your awning easily. The site is a pedestrian zone; vehicles can drive to and from the pitches upon arrival and before departure. Otherwise, campers must use the adjacent parking area.
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.
Camping Les P’tites Maisons dans la Prairie is a charming, family-friendly campsite with a unique Wild West theme. Located in the Vendée region, it offers a peaceful countryside setting while remaining within easy reach of the Atlantic coast and local attractions. The site provides a mix of traditional camping pitches, chalets, mobile homes, and themed accommodation, making it ideal for families and groups.
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.
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.
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.
Les Biches is a popular site 4 km. from the sea. Set in a pinewood, nearly everywhere has shade. There are 434 pitches with 30 available for touring units. They are mostly hedged and on fairly sandy ground, all with electricity (10A). The majority for tents and caravans are in the far part of the site. A very attractive pool complex with children’s pool and flume is overlooked by the bar and terraces. Useful for families with young children. The site is used by tour operators and is unsuitable for American-style motorhomes.
Just outside the charming seaside town of Saint-Jean-de-Monts on France's Atlantic coast, Côté Plage Campsite offers a tranquil escape for families and outdoor enthusiasts. Enjoy the convenience of being just a short stroll from the stunning eight-kilometre sandy beach, where you can soak up the sun, swim in the refreshing waters, or try your hand at windsurfing. On-site, 123 spacious touring pitches with 10Amp electric hook-up points are available and separated by small hedges.. The natural location of Côté Plage campsite in the middle of a forest and the dunes is also a big plus.
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.
Camping La Prairieis located in Saint-Jean-de-Monts, France. It is situated just 800 meters from the beach and the Atlantic Ocean and is accessible by foot through woodlands and dunes within fifteen minutes. The site has 34 touring pitches with a 6-amp hook-up point, 46 seasonal pitches, and 40 mobile homes or chalets available to hire. Pitches are delimited by hedges, providing a lot of peace and privacy. A tree on each pitch offers some shade.
Moncalm is owned by the Atlantique Pellerin Vacances group. Most pitches are occupied by mobile homes and chalets, mostly to rent. There are just three touring pitches. The site is 300 m. from the village centre. An impressive range of amenities include a large, heated, covered pool with terrace and solarium, water slide, sauna, spa, massage shower and an excellent children’s outdoor water park, sports ground and internet corner. An entertainment programme is organised in high season, including discos and competitions. Sandy beaches at La Tranche-sur-Mer are 7 km. (free shuttle in high season).
The name gives a clue to its location! This well-run site is on the edge of a pine forest and just a 600 m. walk to the sea. The 255 pitches are mainly occupied by mobile homes, with 90 for rent and 50 owned by a small British tour operator, but there are 52 mainly level touring pitches in groups and divided by hedges. Forty have 10A electricity, water and drainage whilst a few are tucked away among the trees and are ideal for smaller tents. Quiet in low season, the site comes to life in July and August with activities arranged for all the family.
This eight-hectare site should appeal to families with children of all ages. It is very lively in high season but appears to be well managed, with a full programme of activities (it can therefore be noisy, sometimes late at night). The site is only 1 km. from the excellent beach. There are 450 flat, grass and sand pitches, 121 are for touring units with the remainder occupied by tour operators and mobile homes to rent. All touring pitches have 10A electricity (French sockets, long leads may be required) Some are separated by high hedges, others are more open with low bushes between them. There is a good aquatic area – the flume takes you past rocks before plunging into the pool.
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.
La Mouette Cendrée is a green site surrounded by mature trees and farmland but conveniently close to a main road and supermarket. It is ideally situated on the Atlantic Coast for the beach and close to pretty seaside villages. The owners aim to create a peaceful, friendly atmosphere at this small, simple site. The 101 grassy, flat pitches are 70/110 sq.m. and are separated by a mixture of tall and low hedges with 10A electricity available throughout.
Plein Sud is a small, friendly site, immaculately kept and with a very French ambience. There are 110 grassy pitches separated by hedges, all of a reasonable size. All have electricity and water; most also have drainage. Twenty pitches have site owned mobile homes, cabins or tents for rent, the rest have privately owned mobiles. The touring pitches at the far end of this long, narrow site are particularly peaceful. Only 800 m. away, via another campsite across the road and through a strip of forest, is a long stretch of safe, sandy beach.
Just five kilometres from the super sandy beach at Jard-sur-Mer, la Grand Métairie offers many of the amenities of its seaside counterparts, but with the important advantage of being on the edge of a delightful, sleepy village otherwise untouched by tourism. It is a busy, well-run site, with a programme of lively entertainment in high season. The site has 172 pitches (39 touring pitches), all with electricity (10A). The pitches have good shade, are all separated by mature trees and hedges and are reasonable in size, although access to some may prove difficult for larger units.
La Parée du Jonc is a member of the Atlantique Pellerin Vacances group and is located in a 3 hectare clearing in the woods, close to the popular resort of Saint Jean-de-Monts. The site is just 150 m. from a wonderful sandy beach, to which there is direct access. Pitches are of an average size and some are partly shaded. Most have electrical connections (3/6/10A). This is a well equipped holiday centre with an impressive aqua park with a heated outdoor pool, water slides, flume and an attractive children’s pool. Other amenities include a multisports pitch, a snack bar and a children’s play area. Cycling is popular and the nearest cycle trail is just 50 m. from the site.
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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.