Essential Holiday Guides

Guide to Child Friendly Holidays At Pierre & Vacances we know the importance of the

annual family holiday. It is your chance to take a break

from the daily grind, get away from work, chores and

the washing up! It is time that you can dedicate to

relaxing and spending time with your children and

partner. It is also something that you save and budget

for throughout the year. It is very important. So you

want to know that when you arrive everything is going

to accommodate your family’s needs.

Contents

Ardeche

Normandy Garden Cannes-Mandelieu

7

4 9

11 What to look for 13 How to get there

3 Location Location Location:

4 France: 4 Brittany 4 Normandy 5 Picardy

5 Pays de la Loire

7 Aquitaine

7 Ardeche 8 South of France 9 Spain 10 When to go

There is no shortage of child friendly holidays in Europe available so the first thing to decide is where you want to go.

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Location Location Location

Family holidays in France are always a great choice for British families, you can enjoy the warmer climate without having to go too far and older children can usually ask where the train station is (où est la gare) and follow the signs to la piscine, practising their hard learnt French. So where to go in France?

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Location Location Location- France

Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

Yes TrainFerryCarAeroplane

June: 20°cJuly: 21°cAugust: 22°cSeptember: 20°c - Play golf- Go sailing - Visit the zoo- Visit castles Port du Crouesty Holiday Village

Brittany

Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

Yes TrainFerryCarAeroplane

June: 19°cJuly: 21°cAugust: 23°cSeptember: 19°c - Play golf- Go sailing - Go horse riding- Visit the D-Day Landing Beaches - See the Bayeux Tapestry Normandy Garden Holiday Village

Normandy

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Location Location Location- France

Beaches?

Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

Yes, in North Picardy TrainFerryCarAeroplane

June: 19°cJuly: 21°cAugust: 21°cSeptember: 19°c - Play golf- Do water sports - Go horse riding - Go fishing- Steam railway sightseeing trips- Seal spotting tours- Explore the Country Park of Jardins de Valloires- Go to the bird-park Belle Dune Holiday Village

Picardy Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

Yes TrainCarAeroplane

June: 22°cJuly: 24°cAugust: 24°cSeptember: 22°c - Go sailing- Go fishing- Adventure courses in Le Bernard - Visit museums- See the Abbey of Sainte-Croix-de-Vie- Go to the zoo- Thalassotherapy in Les Sables d Olonne Port-Bourgenay Holiday Village

Pays de la Loire

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Location Location Location- France

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Location Location Location- France

Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

Yes, in the West TrainCarAeroplane

June: 23°cJuly: 26°cAugust: 26°cSeptember: 24°c - Go horse riding- Play golf- Surfing- Bordeaux vineyard tours and wine tasting- See the Benedictine Abbey in Soulac- Visit the Napolean III Museum- Explore the Landes de Gascogne regional park- Canoeing and kayaking- Go to the zoo Lacanau Holiday Village &Moliets Holiday Village

Aquitaine Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages

No TrainCarAeroplane

June: 23°cJuly: 27°cAugust: 26°cSeptember: 23°c - Walking- Cycling- Paragliding and bungee jumping- Visit the adventure park- White water rafting- Canoeing and kayaking Le Rouret Holiday Village

Ardeche

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Location Location Location- France

Beaches? Ways to get there

Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages:

Provence

Cote’ azur

Yes, in the South TrainCarAeroplane

June: 24°cJuly: 27°cAugust: 27°cSeptember: 24°c - Walking- Cycling- Horse riding- Play golf- Sailing- Water sports - Visit castles and churches- Visit La Camargue nature park

Pont Royal en Provence Holiday Village

Les Restanques du Golfe de Sainte-Tropez Holiday Village

Les Issambres Holiday Village Cap Esterel; Holiday Village

Cannes Mandelieu Holiday Village

South of France

Cap Esterel

Les Restanques du Golfe de Sainte-Tropez

Les Issambres

Cannes Mandelieu

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Location Location Location- Spain

Beaches? Ways to get there Average maximum temperature

Things to do

Pierre & Vacances Holiday Villages:

Andalucia

Catalonia

Yes

Aeroplane

June: 25°cJuly: 28°cAugust: 28°cSeptember: 25°c - Play golf- Visit castles and historic towns- Visit a spa- Visit a sealife centre- Go to a waterpark

Terrazas Costa del Sol Holiday Village

Bonmont

Spain

If you want to go a little further afield then Spain is a very popular British family holiday destination. Temperatures are a little higher so you can really work on your tan, but driving will take a lot longer so flying is the only really viable option.

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If your children are at School then you are limited to School holiday dates. Whilst these are obviously the best times of year to go for the good weather they are also busy and more expensive.

If your children finish School a little earlier than most in July then this is the best time to go for weather and you will be ahead of the really busy time.

If you are not constrained by School term dates then early July is probably the best time of year to get gorgeous weather, some peace and quiet and much needed R&R.

Top Tip

Did you know that in France they do not have the May/June half term that British Schools have? This means that you can go to France in half term and the holiday villages will be less busy than in the summer holidays. You should also get a better price!

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When to go

When booking your family holiday check if the holiday park or resort offer these facilities and amenities to make sure you have everything you need for an excellent time:

You will need…

Swimming pool(s) Children’s play area Children’s clubs for different age groups Evening entertainment Dishwasher Refrigerator Provide cots on request Step free access (if you have a pushchair)

Yes No

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What to look for

There are quite a few factors to consider when deciding how you want to travel. If you are going to France then you have quite a few options open to you and they are all worth considering.

Train – Travelling by train is the most environmentally friendly option and can be the least stressful. You can get the Eurostar direct from London or Kent to Paris or Avignon and then change to catch a train to the town you are staying in. You only need to check-in 30 minutes to an hour before departure, there is no collecting your luggage when you get there and did you know one child under 4 per adult can travel for free?

Plane – Flying is a great option if you are coming from the north of the UK or are going further afield as it is the shortest actual journey time. Just remember, if you are going with a budget airline where seats are not allocated on check-in, that you need to get to the gate early to make sure you are sitting together for the flight. Also make sure you have a means of getting from the airport to your holiday village at the other end, whether it is a taxi, car hire or a train.

Car – Driving to France is a viable option and does give you flexibility in terms of how long you take and where you go en-route. You can pack as much as you can fit in your car and don’t have to worry about liquids, sharp objects, baby food etc. You will obviously need to arrange a ferry or train across to France as well though. If you are heading to the south of France then you may want to plan a couple of overnight stays to break up the driving, or you can just share the driving between two of you.

Ferry – If you are going to the North of France then have you considered any of these ferry routes? If you book in advance this can be a lot cheaper than flying or the train and is potentially more convenient, depending on where you live.

How to get there

Dover

Folkestone

Newhaven

Portsmouth

Poole

Plymouth

Weymouth

CalaisDunkerque

Calais

Dieppe Le HavreCaenSt MaloCherbourg CherbourgSt Malo RoscoffSt Malo St Malo

England France

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Have a great family holiday!