In 2026, we are looking at taking our main holiday earlier so that we can go further south with our dogs, before the temperatures get too high. We were thinking of late April to early June when according to Google it should be an average of 17 to 20 degrees.
For those of you that know about these things, does that sound about right?
Secondly, are there any recommendations about where to go and what to do? I was thinking of the midi-Pyrenees / Lot et Garonne areas.
Thirdly, are there any campsite recommendations, as nearly all the reviews for sites in these areas are from 7 or 8 years ago, if not older.
Many thanks in advance.
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We usually are away May/early June, the weather can vary a lot, possibly cooler/damper to begin with, but by June it can be too hot for me. We counter this by heading straight south, then heading back north more slowly, to linger a bit in the north if it's getting hot.
We did the Dordogne to death in the early days, so tend to go elsewhere now. Our last trip we went via the A71/A75 and Vichy, which we like very much, down to Sommieres which we love, but is usually hot.
However, I love Sarlat, it's worth a few visits, though you have probably been there.
Having looked at your profile, I see you have been to some of the sites we use. They are mainly from the ACSI book, that is how we navigate.
We roamed around a wide area of that inland part of South West France several times before Covid - but not since, so I can only speak from memory. We found all sorts of things to interest us for a day or two in all sorts of places, but nothing to tempt us to spend longer in any one place.
We were touring without dogs so we did different things from you . And I really don’t know what dog owners want to do. We walked the city streets in Toulouse and Agen, watched a demonstration of Armagnac production at Condom, had lunch under tne arcades at Mirepoix, visited the astonishing brick built cathedral atAlbi and the exhibition of Toulouse Lautrec paintings next door, spent an evening at a high class concert in the cathedral at Lavaur, loved the water lily garden at Le Temple sur Lot, watched a cricket match of all things at Damazan, had lunch in countless village restaurants and so on. But I am afraid you might not be able to do many of those things with two dogs on leads.
We stayed at a dozen different campsites for a day or two but the only one worth mentioning to you.- and the only one we went to twice - is Moulin de Mellet a few miles from Agen . The reviews on here are exactly as I remember it. We liked it there and the owners were good and helpful. But again we only stayed a few days and restlessly moved on.
So if you are prepared to move from place to place and stay at low key sites it’s worth exploring.all that area. Good wishes.
We were in the Gironde and Lande areas in June, it was already far too hot for the Wonderful Mrs Wez by that point, it was even hotter further inland towards the Lot et Garonne (the furthest east we went was just south of Libourne so not even into the Lot et Garonne). We're talking temperatures in the mid to high 30°C!
So what I'm saying is you might want to think about being in that region in June.
We did another trip in September down to the Med coast through the Lot et Garonne along the A62 route-ish, the temperatures then were high 20°C/low 30°C too. It gets a lot hotter there than the average temperatures suggest.
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We have been in/around those areas a few times pre and post-Covid. I would say that your temperatures are a touch low but i have to say we usually have a rough plan outlined and it gets changed according to the weather. Generally we have have had good weather - sunny and up to 28c daytime but dropping to teens progressively from 6pm ish so eating tended not to be outside.
A site we have been to twice now is at Caylus - Camping la Bonnette. Smallish site with a pool and bar/restaurant (which is also open to locals) Largish level pitches and quite sheltered. Dutch owner and wife. His wife does the cooking for the restaurant - never been disappointed with what is on offer- she even made something one night for us that wasn't on the menu but we had talked to her about. From Caylus there are several interesting old villages/castles and markets to visit without having to drive too far. we intended to stay 2-3 nights - and needed up staying 8 nights last time we stayed there. WE use BF into Cherbourg and meander down with a few stop offs - Fougeres/Sillé le Guillaume - maybe Azay le Rideau or similar then get on the N10 - quick stop in the Dordogne and then on to Caylus - meander back suing a different route. About 4-5 weeks in all - depending on the summer plans.
Many thanks for the responses so far.
One of the reasons for going earlier in the year is so that if temperatures permit, we can do things without the dogs in tow - they are very happy staying in the car. It is quite restricting if we have the dogs with us, especially as they don’t like busy places even if dogs are allowed. The activities mentioned sound like things we would like to do.
We too cross to and from Cherbourg, so the plan would be to get down to the south west as soon as possible and then be back up north by early June - or sooner if it gets very hot.
Le Moulin de Mellet is one site I had my eye on, and I will check out Camping La Bonnette, thanks.
We have stayed around the Biarritz area twice in June and in the Midi Pyrenees once in early July.
Both times near Biarritz we stayed at Le Pavillon Royal which was a nice site. The weather wasn’t great either year. One year it rained almost the whole time we were there and the other year it didn’t rain a lot but was quite cloudy and very windy. Looking back at photos, I am wearing a cardigan in most of them so I am guessing it wasn’t very hot.
The year we went to the Midi Pyrenees (a long time ago), we stayed at Camping Pyrenees Natura which was a really lovely site. I absolutely loved the area and we had beautiful weather but again, I don’t remember it being really hot. The only thing I remember not liking in this area were the big blood sucking flies that appeared in the middle of the day. They gave horrible big bites, like nothing I have ever seen before, so take insect repellant! Funnily, we didn’t see any mozzies, just these huge flies that looked like a standard house fly but about twice the size which left a massive welt everywhere they got you!
------------- Pixie
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
By the description (especially size & blood sucking), with a google cross-check, they sound like “horse flies” aka clegs. We have them in Scotland (& elsewhere in uk, no doubt). OH gets bitten & I do not. The opposite of the West Highland midge, bizarrely.
We don't tend to travel too far south as my husband's health is affected by high temperatures.
One suggestion if you are in this area and the temperature suddenly spikes - as it did last year when we were in the Dordogne: average June temp a lovely 25deg c, what we got was 34-36 deg c - is to head to the coast. The coastal resorts won't be that busy in June and you've always got the advantage of sea breezes. Not that far south but we really enjoyed the Ile d'Oleron this year. The main beaches may be restricted for dogs - not that the French seem to worry about it - but you can always find somewhere for your dog to have a paddle.
------------- Seeking luxury in unexpected places
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by Ironned on 31/12/2025
We don't tend to travel too far south as my husband's health is affected by high temperatures.
One suggestion if you are in this area and the temperature suddenly spikes - as it did last year when we were in the Dordogne: average June temp a lovely 25deg c, what we got was 34-36 deg c - is to head to the coast. The coastal resorts won't be that busy in June and you've always got the advantage of sea breezes. Not that far south but we really enjoyed the Ile d'Oleron this year. The main beaches may be restricted for dogs - not that the French seem to worry about it - but you can always find somewhere for your dog to have a paddle.
This was where we spent most of our time in June, it was still hot 30+°C and the campsites were quite busy (plenty of people taking advantage of their ACSI discounts). Still places available and cooler than inland but not as quiet or as cool as you'd expect.
Firstly I would disregard the VERY deceptive published average temperatures, as that is often derived from both uncomfortable highs AND lows! Concentrate on the historic highs particularly, you will find mid 30C to nudging 40C surprisingly common! France can be surprisingly warmer than UK almost as soon as you cross the channel!
Decades of visiting northern France down as far as Le Mans region whilst camping (tents) in late May/early June has taught us that the temperature can be a very uncomfortable sweltering near 40C in the sun (we've watched a fair few fellow Brits keel over with sunstroke because they underestimated the power of the sun!), whilst plummeting to single figures at night where we've been bloody cold and gone to bed wearing almost every item of clothing we could get on!
The weather in France seems as variable as the UK, but with greater extremes! So hotter, colder, heavier rain, stronger winds, more violent storms etc.! Perhaps with the notion of anything that is experienced is often short lived, and tomorrow may be an entirely different sort of day! - Quite Cumbrian in a way! I think the further south you go, the more predictable - BUT, that's a historic view, friends of mine who live in the south of Spain may argue that 'global warming' has sent their formally predictable good weather rather haywire in recent years!
I absolutely would not contemplate leaving my dog in the car unattended, if/when the sun does come out, the temps soar near instantly, SERIOUSLY do not underestimate the power of the sun in France, it's in a different league to UK, a mere 10 mins in the sun could be the end of them!!!! We've found traveling in cars without A/C (old Landrovers/Rangerovers) with all the windows open and decent airflow was pushing our tolerance!
In the past we have taken our dogs with us and travelled in June. As it's less busy at that time of year, we have never booked anything, other than a day or so ahead. Since we have experienced a wide range of weather conditions in different parts of France, this has given us the freedom to move if it's too hot, wet etc. for dogs. In our time we have been as far south as Perpignan and stopped much further north.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
Flexibility is definitely the key - we rarely book but I like to explore the options available to us, especially with 2 dogs and a fussy OH to consider! We have plenty of sites that we know and love in the Dordogne, the Western Loire and above, but were hoping to get further south to somewhere we've not been before.
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: South-west France
via mobile 28/12/2025 at 5:09pm
