Any suggestions, please, for a site beside a river in the Ardeche region of France
We're planning to take our van down the the Ardeche region in France for the month of June.
An area we don't know and we want to have a change!
We will expect to stay on the same site for the month.
We love to have a pitch beside a river if possible.
We prefer smaller, quieter sites, but a pool and snack bar would be a bonus.
Any suggestions, please?
Thanks
Answers
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I'm not sure if this is a little to far west for you. We stayed in 2007 and loved the riverside location and short walk along the river into Saint-Geniez-d'Olt, which I thought was a world heritage site. The site accepts ACSI.
Paradis Marmotel Campsite in Aveyron
Colin
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Camping La Falaise at Balazuc has been recommended to us by a trusted friend, but alas we never got there. It might suit your requirements. Website on line but only a couple of reviews on Trip Advisor as few UK visitors seem to know of it.
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We stayed at Camping Revire for the last few days of the season in 2023. It's a family run site with 39 pitches and some permanent cabins 250m from the village of Saint Martin d'Ardèche and 50m from the river.
https://www.campinglarevire.com/0 -
Hi. My wife and I have visited the Ardeche for a week or two every year for many years. We stay at Camping Paradise Les Amarines, with our caravan, a lovely touring park with statics on the side of the river Czeze. A spacious level site with a very good swimming pool, pool side bar in high season and a bar and restaurant attached to Reception. A well maintained and clean site with a 15 minute walk into Goudarges and a small Intermarche supermarket and fuel nearby. Three vineyards within short walking distance with excellent tasting rooms. St Gely is a must visit when in the area, with a wonderful restaurant, Wine Cooperative shop and vineyard within the village. You are on what is known as the Wine Route between Bagnols Sur Czeze and Barjac with plenty of vineyards and quality restaurants to visit. Plenty of Roman history within a reasonable drive to Nimes and the Pont du Gard and Avignon for example. Florence and Alain who run the touring park are a lovely couple whom we have known for many years. Quite confident they would look after you very well. All the best with your search. Alan & Helen Taylor
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The time of year is of major importance in the Ardeche. In April, May and June sites can be quiet - quieter than in a lot of other areas in the south. In July and August they can change character completely and the smallest quietest site might have 'animations' and 'kids disco nights' and noise and bustle all day long. We store our caravan there, and see the site we love go from lovely and quiet, to manic and much enjoyed by our grandchildren!
There are some lovely sites, which take the ACSI card - some from just 15 euros per night (see here}. Despite the appearance, in June, many of these will be quiet. If you want to be directly on to the Ardeche river bear in mind that the Ardeche is a very hilly area, and the river runs through a narrow gorge for many miles. There are sites, however, in the wider parts of the valley. When you've had a look through come back for further information. We've spent many many holidays in the area, first with our children, then on our own, and now back again with children and our grandchildren.
https://www.campingcard.co.uk/campsite/search/q/country:france/regions-france:ardeche/period-of-stay:facet-name-start-date_2025-06-01,facet-name-end-date_2025-06-29/filter-name-flex-days:2/filter-name-travel-party:facet-name-adults_2/accommodations:camping-pitch/sort:recommended/paging:0,10/view:list).0 -
Thank you ValDa - useful info.
We have been staying at a campsite in the Dordogne region - same pitch every year for 35 years, usually staying for a month.
Like you, with children and grandchildren. Now we are usually away just as a couple, late May to early July
Our original site has now become a holiday village, so we are looking for a new base in a new area and the Ardeche appeals.
We are ACSI members and I have this year's guide but was struggling to filter for sites on the bank of a river.
Yes we realised the Ardeche has some gorges and rocky sections, but there are other (tributary?) rivers as well.
I'm really grateful for all advice - and will enjoy the research.
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We were there in 2018 and there are pictures of the site on my blog of the holiday.
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OK after much debate we have settled on Vallon Pont d'Arc as our base in the Ardeche.
We've looked at all the sites mentioned here (and found elsewhere) and it looks like the ACSI site Beau Rivages fits our needs and budget for a 4 week stay. Thank you Longtimecaravanner for your useful blog.
My only slight concern is the availability of WiFi - the website says it's available only on the bar terrace. We have family living abroad and are in frequent email and WhatsApp touch with them and family and friends in the UK. Can anyone please advise how good is the signal strength? Are we likely to access the signal with the WiFi booster which we carry for that purpose?
The fallback will be to use our mobiles with data - is the mobile signal decent in that area?
Many thanks to everyone for help and advice. We are very much looking forward to exploring a new area.
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