Where are the best campsites in northern France?

Any good cheap campsites in the south of France?

• Want to go camping somewhere in the south of France, and looking for a good cheap campsite where I can take my own tent. Ideally close to the beach and near a town. Any ideas? Thanks.

• Answer:

  It depends on what you mean by cheap! The honest truth is that nothing is cheap in the south of france at this time of the year. Also, if you are wanting to go in the next couple of weeks the chances of finding a pitch anywhere are negligible as those who use sites in that area booked their pitches months ago. The french school holidays end in 2 weeks' time and after that places will be available more or less anywhere you fancy. There are hundreds of really good campsites in the south of France, many of which I have used in the past. I have camped at Sete, Juan-les-Pins, le Lavandou, Ste Maxime, St Tropez and others. I've looked at a brochure published by the Camping and Caravanning Club and see that (as an example) the price of a pitch at Frejus reduces from £25.85 per night to £18.75 per night as from August 21st. That is the price of a pitch + 2 adults but usually they charge the same for just 1 person. On top of that there will be the "holiday tax" of about 50 eurocents per night. Despite this. it's a great place to go for a holiday and the chances are that the weather will be better than we've been having! Actually, if you want a holiday with a good beach, cheaper pitches and a shorter drive, I would recommend the area around St Palais sur Mer, near la Rochelle. There are brilliant sites at St Palais such as Camping le Puits de l'Auture (which is moderately pricey) and the site next door (whose name I forget) which is much cheaper but shares the facilities of l'Auture. Or, further north are the sites around St Jean de Monts, St Gilles Croix de Vie and St Hilaire de Riez. The beaches along this coast are brilliant and eating out much more reasonably priced. Hope whereever you go, you will have a good holiday. Our last week (in Devon, camping) was very, very, wet!