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I (the editor) and my family have stayed many times in the Longeville area when some of our friends owned a campsite there, Les Clos des Pins, so I can say with conviction that the whole area is wonderful. The beaches are Blue Flag and there are sand dunes and pine forests to wander through. About 6 Km south from Longeville there is a large supermarket on the fringe of La Tranche. La Tranche itself is well worth a visit: it always seemed to us to be a jolly place with lots of things happening, and of course there are the shops, so leave your wallet behind guys! In fairness we much preferred the beaches around Longeville to those of La Tranche, but the atmosphere of La Tranche takes some beating. The beaches, oh yes! People come from a long way away just for the surfing! If you can't surf properly then the next best thing is to buy a cheap body board from a shop or the supermarket and it's nearly as much fun.
There are masses of camping facilities in the immediate area, including Camping les Dunes which is a friendly campsite situated at Les Conches de Longeville about five miles from La Tranche-sur-Mer, between Sables d’Olonne and La Rochelle - more information about camping in La Tranche from another of our sister sites.
Getting to la Tranche is easy enough from any of the northern ports, though your best bet is undoubtedly St Malo, with Caen and Cherbourg being the next best choices. Head for Rennes in Brittany and from there follow signs for Nantes and/or Bordeaux. From there you get to the Nantes peripherique which can be a tad daunting the first time so take care with the signs. Once on the peripherique you need to follow signs for Bordeaux before getting off it at junction 48 and heading for La Roche sur Yon. At la Roche simply follow signs for la Tranche.
Slightly further afield from Les Dunes is the bustling town of Les Sables D'Olonne - take the D747 from La Tranche and then head for Les Sables on the D949 - it's about 40Km or 25 miles. There is a wonderful outdoor Zoo where very few of the animals are caged. Monkeys steal your food in the Zoo restaurant and all of the exotic birds that we saw were free to fly if they wished.
More details than I can supply are to be found on the official La Tranche website . | 
