I've just been introduced to camping and wanted to know if it's possible to camp somewhere near the Med on a small budget with my own kit. I'm hoping to sort something for next year since it's probably too late for this year. We've got the next 12 days off work so hoping to get away for a bit somewhere on the cheap so we'll probably just find somewhere down the South coast of England for this week.
Cheers
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I think whether or not camping works out as a cheap holiday depends on how many of you are going. When you add up the cost of the ferry, petrol, tolls, camp site fees etc to stay on the med and divide it by 2, it works out as quite an expensive holiday. We went to the South of France this year and it cost us (2 of us) more than 2 weeks on a Package holiday would have cost us. However, if you have a few kids, I would say that camping would work out cheaper.
Be warned though, campsites on the South Coast of France are a lot more expensive than campsites in UK. We pay £18 per night for our favourite campsite in Wales which is really a top class site. However, on the Mediterranean coast of France, we paid £24 a night on a site which was good but not even in the same league as the one in Wales.
Despite all this though, we really enjoyed the fortnight we had there and are already planning to go back next year.
i agree with Pixie , sites down there are dearer but when you take in the superb atmosphere you seem to get on a french site & the superb weather you usually get , makes it all worth it.
Ferry , 10 nights in the S of France with EHU cost us under £350 thats with a caravan.Fuel , diesel especially loads cheaper too , tank full for about £20 - £25.
Depends on your style of camping, location and type of campsites you want.
At the seaside ashore the mediterranean will be more expensive. The further you get from the well known town, the cheaper. Municipals also are cheaper, usually rather simple with little animation (although some had: free, even the kayakking) but clean.
Prices differ per region. We were two persons, car and caravan. Near Paris I paid totally different tariffs, for both good camp sites 5,50 Euros (no electricity) and 18 euros (with hookup) per neight!! The Massif central and Dordogne varied from 9,20 (beautiful and very fine municipal, camping a la ferme 10,70 euro) to 14 euros (municipal site)per night.
The point is that we look for 2 or 3 stars (Michelin guide) camp sites. The 4 or 5 stars are more luxurious with more activities on the site, but also more expensive.
Funnily, many municipals are better than their stars indicate. As they are municipal often the gate remains open, wich costs them stars in the classification.
All these sites were not always very modern but very -and I mean very- clean and well maintained. Looking in the guide I also saw many campsites costing about 21 to 28 euros (same number of persons), but those were not the type we like: too many facilities and activities and therefore too crowded.
Conclusion: the ferry will be the most expensive. Campsite cost may vary from fairly cheap to very expensive. It really is up to you.
------------- WL
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
we only stopped at one municipal site , that was at Bonny sur Loire.Cheap enough but didnt like the fact it was occupied by travellers who seemed to have all the EHU & had washing machines connected up to the drinking water taps.They didnt bother us or anything but we were never at ease , luckily stayed just the night , after driving 400 + miles anything would do basically.
We paid €2.50 site + €2.50 per person at a site near Samur in the Loire Valley in all about £5 a night for 2 of us. Its was Brit run not French. The Ferry companies are up for a bit of haggling if you play one against the other. I went from £99 down to £80 for the car and us with Seafrance and now have a discount voucher for the next trip. It pays to shop around first.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Budget camping abroad
