Dordogne
Hi all,
could really use some campsite suggestions for the Dordogne in May. Hoping to go from Calais via the Champagne region so any recommendations for sites/Aires on route would be very gratefully excepted.
Pat x
Comments
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What sort of sites do you like? Nowhere will be full in May, so you can take your pick of sites and pitches. But it really does depend on what you're looking for. Do you want five pitches in an orchard, or a five star site with pool, restaurant and bar? Or somewhere in between. You'll find them all in the Dordogne.
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if you want a top class site with all the trimmings (bar, restaurant, 3 pools, table tennis, canoeing etc) then Domain de Soleil Plage nr Vitrac.
a bit remote, ok for cycling as quiet roads, 9km south from Sarlat.
wonderful for chilling out, but unfortunately we had some really poor weather last spring which was a shame.
also, the Dordogne is a river carved through a rocky region of france and doesnt have 'stolling along the bank' topography .....river edge ciffs can be hundreds of feet above the river.
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My Motorhome friends say they have two priorities - a site within walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants, and also one with hard standing pitches.
Le Capeyrou at Beynac fits the first of those requirements better than many of the more remote campsites, but does it have hard standing pitches these days to avoid the notorious Dordogne mud ? I don't know, but someone else might.
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The problem with sites offered by the C & M Club, is that they represent a very small number out of the hundreds of sites available in the Dordogne and the almost 10,000 available throughout France. Indeed the club offers only 21 sites in the whole of Aquitaine, with only nine in the Dordogne.
I can't find out how to find out Caravan Club prices, because we don't have the Overseas Brochure, but I looked at just two of the nine sites offered, and both are available with the ACSI Card (www.campingcard.co.uk). They are Domaine de Soleil Plage at 19 euros with the ACSI Card (that's for pitch, outfit (whatever that is), two adults, awning, and electric hook-up). Les Peneyrals is 17 euros for the same package. Others may also be available with the ACSI Card so it's worth having a look at the website.
If you want the surety of booking sites in advance then the C & M Club will provide that, but if you want the freedom to go as you please which is possible in France except in the peak of peak season, then you can make your choices from a much larger number and range of sites.
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Which route are you planning? If you are going to visit the area around Reims then you would have to go East to West south of Paris to get to the Dordogne. Most people would go via Rouen then maybe take in the Loire, say, Blois. Also the Dordogne covers a big area with the most popular parts being around Sarlat.
If this is your first visit to the Dordogne I would definitely head towards Sarlat and make sure you visit Rocamadour and the nearby caves “Les Caves”. There are hundreds of sites to choose from.
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Here are a few sites we have been to in recent years
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/domaine_de_soleil_plage.html Nice quality site right on the river and not to far from Sarlat.
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_le_paradis.htm Another good quality site with nice restaurant and good pool complex.
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_le_port_de_limeuil.htm Nice site on the opposite bank of the river from the village of village of Limeuil, perhaps a quieter site than the two above.
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_le_ch.html Not the Dordogne but a little further south on the River Lot. Nice, smallish, Dutch owned site with small pool and restaurant.
David
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I agree with Grant - why book outside peak season. It may rain for the whole time you've booked, like it did with a rally booked on to Moulin de la Roch one year. We were intending to go to the Dordogne but on the way it was pouring down, and at the Vezere river we found a muddly broiling brown torrent, so decided to go further south where we had full sunshine for a fortnight. Our third week was spend in the Ardeche where we met up with the rally - and they'd been stuck on their pre-booked site for four days because they couldn't move for flood water. They'd booked a fortnight but left to go further south after ten days. If you don't book you could look at a weather forecast and head somewhere else entirely. We've been known to be heading for Italy and end up in Spain instead - turning left instead of right at the bottom of the Rhone Valley!
I've found the prices on this website now, and Soleil Plage is either £20.68 or £20.89 for a pitch up until the 30th June - compared to the ACSI price of 19 euros or (at today's rate) £16.90. Les Peneyrals is £18.53 but compared to £15.12 - and that's for the same package of 'normal pitch, two adults, car and caravan, awning, and electricity'. Dogs are charged as extra with the CMC but one dog is free with the ACSI card. There are two ACSI Card sites in the Dordogne at just 11 euros per night and one even offers 7 nights for the price of 6.
And, of course, we shouldn't forget that there are hundreds of other sites available which are not part of ACSI or offered by the CMC. There are around a dozen (at least) municipal sites which cost from just 10 euros per night and there are very many more commercial sites giving a lot more choice than just those offered by the CMC.
Pre-booking is a purely British pre-occupation, and isn't something which occurs to Europeans except in peak season where many of them seem to go back to the same sites and even the same pitches year after year after year.
But having said all that, I think it's still useful to find out what sort of site a person is looking for. Everyone has different preferences, and whilst I like a pool which opens early for my morning swim, and a bar for an evening walk and tipple, other people would hate a 'commercial site' of that sort and prefer five pitches in an orchard.
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Agree with others no need to book sites in advance. Just remember the Dordogne doesn't start and finish with Sarlat, all you need is a couple of days there then move to another area there is much to see and as you are using a MH I would suggest you move on a regular basis to cover the area, otherwise you will miss so much or have to keep travelling out daily with the van.
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I remember very well the extremely few occasions when we pre-booked continental sites, and these were always in late July school holidays.
First, we were camping in the Dordogne for a pre-booked week. The site wasn’t full and it rained endlessly day after day. Finally we gave up and headed to the Med. Managed with some difficulty to get a refund on the unused deposit.
Second, we hired a Caravan to pick up in France and had a fairly stressful journey to a pre-booked site in Switzerland. When we arrived the owner said “we reserved you a nice pitch”. Well, it was, but there were only a handful of other caravans there. It was delightful but we need not have booked and could have taken more time to get there because of the various delays we experienced.
Third and last time, reserved a pitch at a busy site near Lac St. Croix. Fair enough, the site was full so booking was needed but it was so dusty they came around and sprayed water on the roads to keep the dirt down. Not very pleasant.
So with the exception of the Med. in high season and perhaps a handful of other places, please never book. It could ruin your holiday and you might as well use EuroCamp, or, even better, book a chalet or Gite.
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I find that quite a few British motorhomers do still go to campsites in France, but unless it is a site in a very favourable position (beachfront, town centre or next to a tourist attraction) the French motorhomers avoid campsites altogether. They park in approved Aires, unapproved Aires, clifftop car parks, and grass verges. Result? More space on most campsites than ever before - like this one !
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We see very few French. Mainly Dutch then German and some from Belgium. I like to practise my French so I have to seek them out!
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