Campsites on west coast of france?

Question

we are doing a two week surf trip along the west coast of france but are struggling to find any basic cheap campsites. any suggestions of areas and campsites would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

With respect, there are tons of tourist books [bookstores / libraries] and websites on this:

Lonely Planet, Berlitz, Frommer's, Fodor's.

France is America's fav tourist destination!

Answer 2

Although many years ago, was in the area of Jard Sur Mer, a small town not too far distant from La Rochelle. Behind the beach was a large camp site. Could try there.

Answer 3

Try Hossegor, Seignosse and Capbreton. Have stayed in these areas several times, great surfing area on the South-West coast (about 30 miles north of Biarritz).

Answer 4

Word of mouth when you get there is the best way to find where the best surfing is, but the southern coast of Brittany between Quimper and St. Nazaire should be exposed to the full force of the Atlantic.  Furthermore, the autoroutes (motorways) in Brittany are toll-free, so you can move a long way very quickly and for only the cost of fuel (important factor given the poor euro/pound exchange rate this year) if you need to go elsewhere for decent surf.

Regarding campsites, if you can understand French, buy a copy of the Michelin "Guide Camping Caravanning"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michelin-Annual-...

but be sure to stay only on Municipal campsites (Town council sites).  They are always very clean, with free hot and cold showers, in or on the edge of the town, and they are cheap.  Privately owned ones are expensive and often noisy with bars and discos (much better and more worthwhile to visit local bars).

Finally, Campsites on the beach charge high rates and often you have to leave your car other than at the side of your tent (so that they can squeeze more tents in), so if you don't mind driving for a few minutes, it is always better to be 10 - 20 km inland.

Have a great trip.

Answer 5

West coast is a bit vague- that could be as far north as Bretagne or as far south as the Pays Basque. Seeing as I seem to recall something about Biarritz (a city located in the latter) being the place to go surfing in France, I'll recommend doing the following, which yields 15 results. (It's from the Yellow Pages and too complicated to copy and paste due to ads, pictures, etc.)

1. Go to http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/

2. Type "camping" (without the quotation marks of course) where it says "Quoi, Qui".

3. Type "Biarritz" (again without the quotation marks) where it says "Où".