We've just returned from a 12 day break at the Residence du Campeur, St Aygulf, Cote d'Azur. We're a family of 5 (three children aged 3, 11 and 15) and chose our holiday from one of the 'Late Availability' offers. Prior to our holiday we received an excellent information pack containing such things as a route-planning map, local area (south of France) driving map, campsite information booklet including local sightseeing information plus such things as a light-rucksack, blow-up beachball etc... all packed in a neat but sturdy holdall. St. Aygulf is a 9 hour drive from our home in Germany but the directions we received in the information pack were excellent and brought us without failure to the campsite.
Upon arrival a car-sticker was placed upon our windscreen to identify us to the security personnel as residents. At the main reception my wife and I, along with the two eldest children had green 'identity' bracelets fitted also to identify us as campsite residents and we were informed that a charge of €5 would be levied for each replacement bracelet. The Canvas representative took us to our caravan (a Festival-Midi) and showed us around the various features, she was very friendly and happily answered all our questions. Following her departure, we discovered that the caravan had not been throughly cleaned (sand on the floor for example ) and found ourselves cleaning up before we'd even unpacked (not something one wants to do following
a long drive) - an unfortunate start. Our feeling was that the young reps should not be responsible for cleaning the caravans themselves.
Having unpacked we explored the campsite. There is a small supermarket on the site but we also tried two of the larger supermarkets in St Aygulf and nearby Frejus. The larger supermarkets were, unsurprisingly, cheaper than the one at the campsite but they were also very busy.
The facilities on the campsite were good - in the swimming pool area there are three pools, a large pool (shallow-end approx 1.5 Metres), a small pool for 'learners' and a pool for very small children. All the pools were heated and the temperatures were always displayed - we found it somewhat strange that the large pool was always the warmest while the toodlers pool always the coolest. All footware had to be left outside the pool area (including flip-flops) and our 15 yr old was told to leave the pool as he was wearing swimming shorts (long 'fashionable' type) - these were NOT allowed (apparently due to hygene), only standard swimming trunks. There are also 2 tenniscourts, 3 table-tennis tables and a basketball/football area, equipment was freely available, though not from Canvas ("sorry we don't have any at the moment") but from Eurocamp ("please feel free to use anything you like"). There's also a Mini Golf area €1,50 each. There's a "Hoopi Club" for the 5-12's, our 11 yr old spent some enjoyable days with them. The campsite was clean and there was a refuse collection on a daily basis. It was unfortunate to discover that some dog owners did not deem it necessary to clean up after their pets. Our Caravan, was situated quite close to the Restaurant/Entertainment area. There was a full programme of entertainment which although good turned out to be quite loud and on some occasions went on after midnight. Our neighbours also remarked that their children also found it difficult to sleep due to the noise.
We ate only twice at the campsite restaurant and on each occasion were served by the same person who we found to be unfriendly. The food was, however, good.
The campsite is a short drive (approx.10 minutes) from the beach at St Aygulf - much too far to attempt by foot although possible with a bicycle. The traffic passing through St Aygulf was mostly horrendous, long delays could be expected in finding parking places close to the beach. Car drivers should also be aware of the hundreds of motor-cylists zooming between the lines of traffic. There is also a large waterpark in St Aygulf although we decided not to go, considering the almost €100 too expensive.
There is also a super beach at nearby Frejus (approx. 20 minutes by car).
We visited Monaco/Monte Carlo (approx 30-40 minutes on the motorway (tolls approx €20) - well worth a visit. We parked in the underground carpark at the railway station (approx. €8 - for 6 hrs) Monaco is not a very large place at all and a lot can be seen purely on foot although there was also a very good bus service. Beware if you've got children, €4 for an ice lolly!!! If you want to visit the Casino then you must be appropriately attired - smart/casual (plus a tie for men) and the range of expensive cars parked outside the casino is worth a photo or two. There are also plenty of designer shops, but don't expect to see any prices in the windows!!
We decided to take the coast road on our return journey travelling past Nice and through Antibes our plan was to take a look around Cannes and maybe let the children go down to the beach. The traffic was a huge problem and it took us a couple of hours to reach Cannes and it was a little late for the kids to go to the beach . To be honest we expected a lot from Cannes but were a little disappointed. The information told us to explore the little backstreets with it's extensive selection of shops etc. There were indeed a lot of shops but take a wrong turn and you may find yourself as we did in rubbish strewn alleys with the possibility of seeing young people with hyperdermic needles. There are a lot of small cafes/restaurants/pizzerias but our opinion was that the prices were a little high.
St Tropez is a short drive down the coast from St Aygulf (34Km).Travellers should be aware that St Tropez has very limited road links. The coast road is very very busy so an early start is absolutely essential. The first time we didn't leave until 11:00am which turned out to be much to late and we were forced to turn back. We tried again the next day at 08:00 and were successful. St Tropez is also worth a visit, although not a very large town, there are lots of tiny, narrow streets to wander with lots of shops. Drivers are warned on the approach to the town that there is very little parking in the town and directions to outer-lying carparks are given. We spent about half a day in St Tropez and paid around €7 for parking.
In general we found prices in the South of France to be higher than those at home but would recommend a holiday in this area. If being close to the beach is important then the Residence du Campeur is probably not the one for you. The Canvas representatives, although young, were excellent. The facilities at the campsite were good the 10 minute drive to the beach with it's difficult parking and the noisy/late entertainment were negative factors. (Please note, that Canvas do state the distance to the beach).
We fully intend to take another holiday with Canvasholidays - just not at this location.
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Aug 23rd, 2004
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