Site in south france for windsurfing

[darren_374234478]

Hi All,

We are already thinking of next summers holiday, and were thinking about the Biaritz region which as i understand could be a bit unsettled.

Does anybody know of any good sites in the south of france with good pool complex for kids, and also with direct access to a windsurfing venue, either on an inland lake or by the sea.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Darren

 

[Mick_374367146]

Camping La Nautique at Narbonne in the south of france not far from the spanish border is a superb site where each pitch has its own private facilities ( shower toilet electric and hot and cold water). Next to a lake good for wind serfing. Good weather and quiet compared to sites and towns arround Nice & Antibes. We have been for the last 3 years and will be going next year as well ( my wife loves the private facilities. Go to their website and take a look.

Mick

 

[darren_374234478]

Hi Mick,

I have seen this site in the Alan Rogers guide and it does read well. I have a couple of questions about it if thats ok?.

Does the site suffer from road noise being close to the auto route?

What is the pool complex like, is it good for a 6 year old girl?

Does the lake have a sandy Beach suitable for swimming and children etc or do you have to go to the coast for that?

Sorry for all the questions, as you have visited for 3 years i guess you know everything there is to know about it. Oh and whats the weather like?

Cheers in advance,

Darren

 

[DJM]

Hi Darren

We have stayed at La Nautique twice, once for a two week holiday and once as an overnight stop on our way to Spain. I will list what I consider are the positives and negatives for the site.

Positives: Private bathroom facilities on every pitch, well organized swimming pool with small children's pool, lovely restaurant on site, easy to find just off the motorway, direct access to lake for windsurfing, canoeing, sailing etc..

Negatives: The area is renowned for the very violent Tramontana winds which seem to blow a lot of the time and because of this there is a speed restriction for caravans and motor homes on the motorways near here.

Certain pitches are an awkward shape if you have a large van and awning to erect and some pitches have very high hedges to shelter you from the wind and are a bit claustrophobic.

The site is owned by a very welcoming Dutch family but the site is predominantly used by Dutch campers who can sometimes be a bit clannish when they are in large numbers.

Not enough sunbeds for everyone around the pool area when the site is busy.

Transport is essential for all shopping requirements and for going to any other restaurants / bars /shops.

Personally, I would drive a little bit further over the border into Spain and stay at El Delfin Verde campsite which is a cracking family site with every amenity you could wish for and has direct access to a beautiful beach which is used by many windsurfers.

If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

[darren_374234478]

Hi DJM,

Thanks for that info, much appreciated.

Do you remember any road noise, it looks very close to the auto route, and i guess bbqs are not allowed?

We are looking for a site for next august, looked at southwest france, where we have found a great site on a lake but have concerns about having unsettled weather.

We like the sun, and need a good pool complex, etc, also i would like to be somewhere i can windsurf from the site. Do you know anywhere else? Where do you go in spain?

Thanks Again,

Darren

 

[DJM]

Hi again Darren,

No noise from the motorway at La Nautique but a little from the local access roads if you are pitched at the boundary of the site up against the hedges. They tend to put short stays on these pitches.

Officially no b-b-q's allowed - unofficially a lot of the Dutch ignore this rule.

In August you should be guaranteed good weather in this region, in fact probably a bit to hot, but the strong winds still appear and this helps.

Sites in the North East of Spain which I have used and would happily return to are El-Delfin Verde at Torroella de Montgri and Cambrils Park situated between Salou and Cambrils.

 

[Mick_374367146]

Darren

autoroute is not that close to cause noise, you can hear it in the distance but noise soon "disappears into the background". Local traffic noise if you are at the edge of the site but not very busy anyway.

Pool is 25m long but there is a seperate kiddies paddling pool. Main pool has slide etc.

The site operates a "COOL KIDS" club where kids join a walking bus behind some big furry animal from about 10am. All sorts of activities supervised etc. Various sports activities in the day and evening help keep young and old occupied if you wish.

Lake side doesn't have sandy beaches etc and is mainly for wind surfing boats etc. Always seems to be windy down there , sometime very windy.

Pitches can have high trees which give good shelter but can be dark, especially down by the pool area. Some are quite open. If you vistit their web site you can see the plan of the pitches... We favour pitches in the region of 220 - 225 as thses have high trees at the back with low bushes on the sides, this shelters the pitch from the wind without being too hemmed in. You get morning sun but do loose the sunshine earlier in the evenings.

Supermarkets are close but not walkable (by the motorway exit) or in Narbonne which is about a 10 minute drive away. You can always park for free (big carpark behine the theater and a 10 min stroll along the canal to the town center, or a bit further out on the oposite side of the road is a park and ride. We have always parked behind the theater - no problem!.

Excellent beaches at Narbonne plage (20 mins away), good long walks along the seafront and to the next town if you wish with only a little "street walking".

We like the relaxed atmosphere better than the traffic mayhem you get arround Nice etc and the weaher is just as good. This year we had 2 cloudy mornings and a few drops of rain (about 20 mins in total) which was pretty good in 2 weeks. Afternoon temperature were between 28 and 35 but mostly with a breeze.

Hope this helps... but go to their web page to see the pictures etc-- the private facilities are great and that the reason why the wife likes it so much and we keep going back.

Mick