Not feeling that optimistic that we will get to France in Sept husband is ‘high risk’ so we need to think carefully about when we travel. The thought of not going until Sept 2021 is just too depressing, so any experiences of the Dordogne in May/early June ? I know most sites will be open, but what about facilities such as pools, restaurants on site, general activities in the region? The weather looks about perfect at the moment- 22ish in Sarlat next week when the UK goes a bit colder again, but can May/June be cold and wet?
------------- Seeking luxury in unexpected places
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We've been to the Dordogne in early June and it was glorious . If you normally go in September I would suggest June would be very similar if not slightly warmer .
We have been to the Dordogne in June and the weather was lovely for a large part of the time but we did have a few really rainy days. I would say that it would be largely similar to September with a couple of extra rainy days thrown in!
------------- Pixie
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We've been several times in April/May/June and had good weather, comfortable warm weather but with the odd shower. Late May sees a lot of the seasonal shops/cafés/restaurants starting up. Pools will vary from site to site so it's best to check if that's important.
I am sure you will enjoy the Dordogne whenever you go and Spring is usually lovelier than Autumn.
But if swimming is important then choose a site with a covered heated pool - and ask the direct question of what temperature they maintain.
I am sure you also know from your experience that shops, restaurants and bars on French campsites are rarely open outside tne high season , so choose a site close to a town or village if you want facilities of that sort.
We usually go to this area in the Spring, sometimes as early as April, depending on Easter, but always home by the first week in June as it usually gets too hot for us by then. We have had all sorts of weather, but because we are always travelling, we just move on if we're not happy.
Just buy an ACSI book and set off, no need to book. If having a swim or restaurant is very important, you may need to ring up beforehand if the ACSI book doesn't say.
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We had the wettest, coldest week in the Dordogne. The gite was comfortable luckily, but the outside pool was unusable. Friends went home after 5 days.....we moved on to a part of the country that wasn't cold and wet This was school,holidays, so around May/June but can't remember exactly which month.
We were in the Dordogne from the end of May to mid-June last year. The first few days were lovely and warm, and we enjoyed the pool, but then it turned cool and started raining and continued off and on for the rest of the holiday. There were some breaks in the rain when we managed to do some sight-seeing, but on the whole it was a huge disappointment. The campsite restaurant wasn't open, and the bar had very little indoor space but a large patio area with sun umbrellas - not much use! We kept checking the weather elsewhere in France but it was pretty bad everywhere. After a couple of weeks we moved on to Puy de Dome - still wet.
This may well have been a particularly bad year for weather, and you will probably fare much better, but all I can say is that there were a lot of fed-up, wet tourists around! It struck us that most of the campsites and attractions weren't built for poor weather. Lascaux was heaving and the indoor part of the restaurant was full to burdting - there were far outdoor than indoor tables. The cafes at the Belvedere in Domme had almost no indoor seating, many of the chateaux we visited were the same.
I guess the Dordogne isn't as reliably warm and dry as places further south, but I think we, and thousands of other holidaymakers last year, were unlucky!
------------- Il vaut mieux vivre ses reves que rever sa vie
I think we were lucky that time last year, we went across to the ile de Re as the weather looked better that side, and we had 3 weeks of good Spring weather including some hot spells.
I mentioned to the campsite owner at Soleil Plage that we were thinking of going off peak in either Sept or June, and she quite sensibly said don't forget the evenings are a lot longer / lighter in June than in September.
------------- Neil
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Hi, we have visited once and that was in June. The weather was lovely but they had a lot of rain just before we arrived. The site we used, Soleil Plage, has a lovely pool complex, including covered pool, and a very good restaurant.
It’s a site we would return to.
We went in last week of May / first week of June last year. The weather was pleasant for the first few days, becoming glorious over the first weekend and the early part of the second week. Storms were forecast to move up from the south on the Wednesday, so on the Tuesday we hitched up and drove north to Somme Bay, where we had a couple more days of dry and cool weather before the storms caught up with us on the Friday.
The trouble was that our return ferry crossing was booked for Saturday afternoon, and the schedules had gone completely to pot when we arrived at the port ... !
The site we stayed on (Camping Le Paradis) had indoor and outdoor heated pools, and a bar and restaurant which were open. Most other shops, cafes and restaurants were also open although as a previous post has mentioned, many had more outdoor than indoor seating.
More blurb about our trip on our blog if anyone could care less ...
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Dordogne May/June (2021!)
husband is ‘high risk’ so we need to think carefully about when we travel. The thought of not going until Sept 2021 is just too depressing, so any experiences of the Dordogne in May/early June ? I know most sites will be open, but what about facilities such as pools, restaurants on site, general activities in the region? The weather looks about perfect at the moment- 22ish in Sarlat next week when the UK goes a bit colder again, but can May/June be cold and wet? 
via mobile 12/4/2020 at 4:47pm
