When you hear the words camping in France what do you think? Canvas, tents, slumming it? Well, I am here to smash your perceptions and tell you why camping in France with Siblu Holidays is a must.
Tents and I do not mix, so trust me when I tell you that camping in France doesnt always mean under canvas. In fact, most campsites in France don’t have tents, they have mobile homes (or what we know as static caravans).
We have recently returned from a week at Domaine de Litteau in Normandy with Siblu Holidays with 4, yes 4 teen boys and we had a fabulous time.
Let me tell you about Siblu. They are an anglo-french company and on the site we went to there was a pretty great mix of both French and British tourists and homeowners. The site that we stayed in was spotlessly clean and well maintained with excellent staff, fabulous recycling facilities and something for everyone.
Our Mobile Home
We stayed in a 3 bedroom Excellence holiday home with terrace. We also included the linen and towel pack, end of stay cleaning and equipment damage waiver. This worked for us as it meant that we only packed swim towels (which we needn’t have as they were included in the towel pack) and a favourite blanket for each of the boys which they used in the car.
The Holiday home was superbly equipt and we were presented with a list of what was in there on our arrival and then gave it back once we had confirmed it all within the first 48 hours. The only downside for me was that there was only one loo (and four teens)! Other than that it was a great size we all managed to get on the sofas to play cards. It was definitely spacious enough not to all feel on top of each other, especially with the outdoor space.
The Campsite
We were all delighted with what the site had to offer even bearing in mind that we went a week after the summer season had finished. The boys’ visited the pool every day and the lifeguards were fully qualified and had just the right amount of authority to deal with four teenage boys!
We took sports equipment with us (table tennis bats and balls, cricket, basketball and football) and these were used every day. The site has its own MUGA (Multi-use sports area) which was perfect for basketball, football and cricket.
Due to the campsite not being full of children they also played pool each evening during happy hour without any competition for the table!
There was also archery, play areas, bouncy castle (or pirate ship in this case), Patong area, Lakeside fishing, outdoor gym and kids clubs, so fantastic for kids of all ages.
There is also onsite entertainment through the peak season, but we loved the bar where people gathered after French boules every evening. It was social and inclusive. A lot of the people on site were owners when we visited and the entertainers sang a lot of French songs which we loved (the teens less so)!
We knew that this was one of the smaller and quieter sites, but that was fine by us – We don’t tend to use the onsite entertainment a lot. There was still more than enough for everyone to do. We really liked that everything was easily walkable, I even walked to the laundrette and washed and dried a couple of loads of laundry so I didn’t have a huge pile when we got home.
Getting There
The location is excellent for exploring Normandy and only 45 minutes from the French port of Ouistrum where we got the ferry from Portsmouth from (Via Brittany Ferries).
The Ferry was OK and I say that as a serial and serious sufferer of seasickness. We had a cabin and I sleep the whole journey as did one of the teens who suffers too (this would be why there are no in-cabin images as it would have been rude)!
The others thought the ferry was excellent. They enjoyed the on-boat entertainment and even joined in with the quiz on the way back. The six-hour journey flew by and it was great to have a cabin as a base for everyone to return too.
The Location
We thought the location was ace. perfect for exploring Normandy. We did loads of tourist stuff even with four teens.
We agreed to explore on a morning, early afternoon and then let the teens spend the afternoon and evening on-site.
Would we book a Siblu Holiday Again?
The answer to that from everyone who went is a resounding YES. One of the boys’ is trying to get his parents to book one for next year as he enjoyed it so much.
We travelled to Siblu’s Domaine de Litteau holiday village in Normandy, just 45 minutes from the ferry port at Caen. Seven-night holidays start from £350, based on up to six sharing a two-bedroom Esprit holiday home with terrace from 29 August 2020. To book and for latest offers, visit siblu.co.uk or call 0208 610 0186.
Brittany Ferries operates the longer routes from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth direct to Brittany and Normandy saving miles of unnecessary and costly driving. Travel overnight by luxury cruise-ferry in the comfort of your own cabin with en-suite facilities or be whisked across the channel in as little as 3 hours. We travelled from Portsmouth to Caen. Book online at brittany-ferries.co.uk or call 0330 159 7000.
Comments are closed.