My family and I started going to Hossegor, (which is situated in the Bay Of Biscay, SW France), when I was about 5, way back in the mid 80's. Well, up he coast a tiny bit from there actually). We always stay at the same place when we're there. Its a 4star campsite called Le Vieux Port.
The campsite has everything that you'd need. Even as young children we always had something to do.
The entance consists of a long kind of driveway, along which runs a football pitch, crazy golf and a mini go-kart thing for the kiddies. It all looks very classy, with flags from different countries running down both sides.
Then you approach the reception and main bar areas of the site. The campsite has one very very nice bar which is never too crowded, but always is full of atmosphere.
There are often live bands playing here (most of which sing in english, even thought they're mostly french). There is seating both outside and in. Unfortunately though, there is not much extra seating around, and we found out a couple of years ago that you aren't allowed to sit down without buying a drink, and the drinks can be expensive.
Despite the price, they have a good selection of un/fizzy drinks, cocktails, obviously lots of french beers, and you can even buy huge beer towers, which the waiters expertly carry up to your table. These are basically 4 foot tall glass tubes, carrying about 5 litres of beer, from which you can pour your own pints at your table. Its a great laugh if theres a big group of you.
The campsite is split up in to coloured sections. Its a huge place and this is a great way of keeping track of where you are. When you've booked in at reception, one of the staff will jump on their bike, and take you off to your caravan, chalet, tent or pitch. They have all sorts of accommodation arrangements here. From 8 person big wooden chalets, right down to the tinyest of tent pitches. Despite the very high standards of the site, it remains very cheap. As I can't quote exact prices because I don't have this years brochure, it would be wrong for me to guess. But I think that prices range from about £30 a week for a little space to pitch a tent, up to about 1500 for a big chalet.
I haven't mentioned before, but the beauty of this place is, not only is it in almost total cover from the sweet smelling pine forest, but its situated just a very short walk from the beach (which is what we go there for). The surf can be excellent and the sand is soft and golden (but also there can be a lot of litter away from the more popular areas, including glass. Be careful near the bins!!). The bins on the beach are something that we appear to think less about, here in the UK. They are a good idea though.
Other than the possibility of finding glass on the beach, I would warn people with young children to be careful in the water. We were always confident swimmers as kids, and therefore didn't really mind, but the currents here are very strong at times (depending on how big the surf is). The lifeguards (which patrol for the whole day) are very good, and very strict about keeping people in the correct areas between the blue flags. They all speak english too, which can be helpful in times of need.
Fishing on the beach is also very good. I have witnessed local fishermen catching bass upto about 10lbs. An amazing size in the UK, yet here they seem fairly common. Also, mullet (yes MULLET, a usually less disturbed water fish) swim in the surf, along with garfish and the occassional big flatfish. The locals use big rubber sandeels, fished on long flowing traces, and don't appear to cast that far. We've never had much success ourselves from the beach, but the outflowing river, down the coast, holds the same sorts of things, which seem to be a little easier to catch.
If its raining, or its that the kids are too young for the sea, there's an excellent little swimming pool set-up on the site. They have about 4 pools, one of which is indoors and therefore remains warm. Plenty of chairs around the edge, make this a good place for meeting people. We've always found the other visitors very nice.
Hossegor is my all time favourite town, and its only about 8 miles from the site. Its crammed with surf shops, among other things. There are many roadside cafes which sell really nice hot chocolate - not that you'd want it when the temperature sometimes reaches 35 degrees C. Its a definite tourist place, so goes very quiet out of season.
I'd recommend going here at the beginning of September in particular. Prices by then have dropped, the site is almost empty, you get the best weather, and the surf is also at its best at this time of year.
We usually drive down, after crossing the channel at Plymouth. It takes on average a little over 8 hours. We hated the travelling as kids, but the smell of the pine forrest when you reachBordeaux makes it all worthwhile. It really is lovely. You'll also see a lot of red squirrels there. A very rare sight over here.
I only regret that I can't find a telephone number or anything (all the staff there talk english so booking isn't difficult - we don't even normally bother booking actually. There's always room so it is possible to just turn up, tell them how long you're staying, and then pay when you leave). Hope this was helpful though. Ben
There's also a lake which is just a short walk through the woods to the north of the site. The bream fishing here is good, and there are also carp and even catfish.
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Dec 20th, 2000
(Dec 21st, 2000)
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