When we talk of "camping holidays" we naturally include tent camping but more
often than not the term is used for mobile home or static caravan holidays, and no one does camping holidays like the French!
We always think that the best sort are self drive holidays which allow you so much freedom to go where you want, and also to take masses of things with you which wouldn't be possible if you flew there.
The French have long since turned camping into an art form and their sites generally have a fair mix of pitches for tent camping together with more luxurious mobile homes and spaces for those travelling with their own camper vans.
In a country which is several times larger than the UK you have plenty of room for choice as to where to take your break, but it's the same old story as to whether to book early or take a chance and leave it until the last minute.
OK, if you're going out of season at either end then you can most probably take advantage of an offer for early booking, but if you have a family and need to go during the UK school holidays then we can tell you now that bookings are well advanced by the end of January so you need to get your skates on to ensure you get a holiday at the reort of your choice.
If you are going under your own steam you will almost certainly opt for a ferry to France somewhere that leaves you with the least possible hassle and mileage to cover when you land. If your camping holiday is somewhere on the west coast then you need to be looking at options like Cherbourg, Caen or St Malo with the extreme option being Roscoff in Brittany.
More often than not though, if you book your hols through a tour operator you are "given the short crossing between Dover and Calais which can mean a drive of an extra 250 miles or so to the west coast resorts, and with fuel being the price it is it may be cheaper to seek one of the options we mention above.
Apart from that though, you can make some substantial holiday savings if you take a look at our page of tips on just that topic, and whilst you're here please take a look at our mobile home holidays page.
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