Camping & mobile home holidays in Aquitaine, western France
Aquitaine is a vast area of south western France whose coastline stretches from the south bank of the river Gironde, opposite Royan to the north, and right down the west coast to the French/Spanish border below Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Cote Basque.
Bordeaux, one of the best known cities in the country, is both the capital and the largest city in the region, and is 350 miles southwest of Paris. This area is probably best known for the wine produced hereabouts and which is exported worldwide. This is a region of wide-open spaces which includes Europe's largest forest, and offers a long list of outdoor activities in an authentic and healthy environment.
Aquitaine has become a Mecca for holidaymakers and especially those on camping or mobile home holidays who find that this is a peaceful and sparsely populated region of France ideally suited to those looking for watersports holidays as this area has probably the best surfing beaches in Europe.
Before going further we must explain that this huge area covers several departments: Gironde, Dordogne, Lot et Garonne, Landes and the Pyrenees Atlantiques, but it is along the coastline from Soulac-sur-Mer in the north down to St Jean de Luz in the south where you will find the bulk of the camping holiday resorts.
However, if you look at a map you will see that for quite a few of these resorts further north you will have to drive down to Bordeaux and then back up north again to places such as Soulac sur Mer, Carcans Plage, Lacanau Ocean etc because of the river Gironde and the fact that there is no bridge between Royan on the north bank and Port Bloc on the south.
But that is one heck of a long drive for no reason because thankfully there is a ferry between the two places. It is an expensive ferry but it saves hours and hours of driving and a whole lot of fuel too. Fares for the crossing at the time of writing (Sept 2011) are €3.10 per person and €22.80 per car.
A lot of people who take their camping holidays on the southwest coast of Aquitaine don’t realise the opportunities this coast has for watersports and for surfing in particular, and we have to say that the whole coastline from Soulac downwards is a surfer haven with 5 metre waves being quite normal.
Not that we would recommend a complete novice to try surfing in a 5 metre (16ft) surf because for the first few times a wave of that size comes towards you it is rather daunting to say the least, but you can overcome that minor problem by taking surfing lessons with one of the many surf shacks up and down the coast. Suffice it to say that the further south you go the better the rollers!
All in all, Aquitaine is a superb place for camping holidays and the climate matches the host of vocational opportunities of the region.
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