A year ago in June, when our daughter made 3 months, we jumped into our van and started our #ElternzeitTour2023, the second half of my parental leave: 3 months to slowly drive from #DΓΌsseldorf to #Barcelona and back to visit my parents and let them meet our baby.
That was around 7000 kms, and we got to know plenty of campings, some of them we enjoyed a lot and some of them we simply could not wait to leave behind. With a wish to register them for the future and for others, we crafted this list that contains their reference, price and some personal opinions.
A note about campings and differences between countries
After some time travelling around Europe (Germany, France and Spain, for the sake of this post), the minimums you can count on change quite greatly. Let me add some comments below, completely under my personal opinion.
FKK / Naturist
In general I would say that the FKK campings (the real ones, not the fake brothels) are wilder, in the sense that you may lack some services that otherwise you may be used to find in campings. Modern toilets, proper reception, paved ways, washing machines... these things may be missing because what is sold is a closer connection with nature, and a more comune / friendly / family approach where either the camping behaves like a single community or as a complete individualistic do-not-bother-me approach. In either way appears to me that it is more appreciated a wilder stay rather than a fully covered service.
The French way: Camping Municipal
We discovered that from villages to towns, mostly all of them have an area acconditioned as a camping, and as it is kinda publicly driven, the cost is pretty cheap, the services are minimal but enough, and usually they are quite close to the town allowing you to visit the place without feeling you do a big excursion. In some occasions like in Rouffach, you arrive there and there is no barreer, just a park under the trees and the office is closed. You're invited to simply plant and the next day someone will come to the office and you go there to pay the night. In other occasions like Grenade-sur-l'Adour there is a machine with a barreer, and you register there and receive a card straight away, fully automated, and this system actually covers an amount of other campings in the country. Other villages like Limoux you should go to the public swiming pool that behaves as a reception. Can be that the camping municipal is just next to a school, so there is no calm until all children are gone, or it is next to a way where people walk their dogs, so you have plenty of people passing by your pitch... or next to a very transited road crossing... the possibilities are infinite. But not get confused, this is a cheap and usually very good approach to do road turism with a fraction of the budget, meeting other interesting travellers seeking similar tastes.
Anyways, as we travel with mostly everything we need with us, we only need a place to park, needing very few from the infrastructure itself, and therefore we find this approach perfect for us.
The Spanish minimum
After spending so much time in France and its Camping Municipals, we found that the campings in Spain are actually full service only, expensive, turisty, packed, and leaving not too much room for a simple come-plant-sleep-leave approach.
I also must mention one very bad experience we had when searching for a camping for a night on-the-go. Our route passed by the camping La Vall de Bianya and we stopped asking for a place, "any place fits, it's just a night". After paying 40 euros they bring us to a pitch that they call "the number 1", fully concrete-based... that stinks... and it actually turns out to be the caravan toilet (the place where you throw your grey water). Of course we complained, got the money back and left, but we lost already one hour which is not that great when you travel with a hungry baby.
The Mediterranian and the peak season.
Avoid that, unless this is what you're looking for. We had only one experience with La Camargue in Autumm 2022 and was very calm and positive. So we wanted to repeat in this Summer 2023 trip, and found that the place was absolutely packed, expensive, dusty, full and annoying. When we tried other options we found that everything was actually full, unbookable, and we ended leaving the coast to go more inland, searching for a calmy place with a pool. They exist, but they are not in the touristy summer routes, so to find them you need to abandon all direct sea wish (and embrace rivers and lakes, they are great!).
Us and our constraints
Of course everyone has a different set of needs. For us, travelling with a 3 month baby in a van that does not have toilet nor space inside, campings have to provide:
- A secure place to park without being illegal or bothered, we may need to leave stuff unattended outside while sleeping.
- Shadow, as our baby still could not handle sun cream.
- Toilets kinda usable, kinda close, at least clean.
- After a pair of weeks we discovered that our daughter enjoyed swimming pools, so water capabilities were highly appreciated. None has really shadow in the water.
- If we have been in the road for a while, meaning sleeping wild or using Camping Municipals for long, we also needed a washing machine.
What did we asked at the reception?
- A calm pitch, the more in the back and lonely as possible (but not thaaaat far from the toilets), and with shadow
- Electricity connection
- The key for the family toilet, if exists and if it's closed usually to the public
- The WiFi credentials
- The openning times of the shop, the swimming pool and the restaurant
This should give you an idea of our camping ratings and opinions below.
How to read these
I tried to be as explicit as possible. The opinions were mostly done after leaving the campsite, or few days after at most, so they should be quite fresh and accurate. I tried to find the proper website when possible and the Google Maps location for each one. Prices are also accurate and indicating when the electricity was booked and included in the price. I also indicate when the camping is FKK / Naturist, as we like that and I think it's necessary to be aware of it before you appear there. The opinion regarding if we would come back or not is based in the overall feeling, more than the quality of the camp site itself, as some very basic ones are absolutely fine in front of other supposed to be richer ended up annoying or uncomfortable, so completely subjective. I also tried to add a pic of the pitch when possible, but we didn't always have one and sometimes we moved within the camping if we stood more than a night.
1. WΓΌrzburg
| π Naturistenbund Frankenland e.V. GΓΌntersleben |
|---|
| π https://www.nbf-wuerzburg.de/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/1LBh6KG9sFM7Knp1A |
| π° 25β¬/night β‘ |
| π FKK / GNN / Naturist |
| π’ will come back |
- very familiar
- very quiet
- good and clean toilets. Toilet paper and soap.
- swimming pool, washing machine
- pay for shower
- No bar / restaurant. Can buy local beer and ice creams
- The village is actually far to visit on foot.
2. Bad Urach
| ποΈ Camping PhΓ€hlhof |
|---|
| π https://pfaehlhof.de/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/SE3nM9HoJjNtv3Fa9 |
| π° 35β¬/night |
| π may come back |
- lot of long term campers
- Humid, next to a small river and between mountains
- calm
- indian restaurant
- has horses inside, therefore lot of flies
- Clean toilets. Toilet paper and soap
- baby bathtub
3. Bodensee
| π Camping Klausenhorn |
|---|
| π https://www.camping-klausenhorn.de/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/48DnT85X46WbgX3e6 |
| π° 44β¬/night β‘ |
| π may come back |
- Touristic, crowded, huge, expensive
- Access to the lake, beach
- Small restaurant and bars / kiosk
- bus to town and to the islands
- sanitaries good. Toilet paper and soap
4. Rouffach
| π Camping Municipal Rouffach |
|---|
| π https://www.ville-rouffach.fr/culture-sport-loisir/infrastructures/308-camping-municipal |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/G7GbC1hCUedEa9Gs8 |
| π° 16,80β¬/night β‘ |
| π may come back |
- Camping Municipal
- in the town, next to a school, open for everyone to enter
- old and clean toilets, no toilet paper nor soap
- pass code for hot water showers once you pay
- reception comes twice a day: you plant and then you pay
5. SaΓ΄ne
| π Camping La Chanoie |
|---|
| π https://www.camping-lachanoie.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/9PsMExrsYJtFTH4L6 |
| π° 18β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- calm, friendly
- access to the river, can swim
- old but clean toilets. Bring your own toilet paper
- old washing machine, unreliable
- has a bar / restaurant next to the river beach
- croissants and bread service
- big and empty, ask for the pitches in the back
- far from town on food, ok by bicycle.
6. Harbour in RhΓ΄ne
| ποΈ Camping et Guinguette Les Bords de Seille |
|---|
| π http://camping-bords-de-seille.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/w1g9BBAzdTDQnM1D6 |
| π° 30 β¬/night β‘ |
| π may come back |
- Very small, clean, familiar driven
- Next to a boats harbour. Noisy and party during the night.
- small swimming pool, basically for children
- small kiosk with terrace in the sun
- some shadow pitches
- good for one night
- toilets clean and modern. Toilet paper and soap.
7. RhΓ΄ne
| π Camping du Point Vert |
|---|
| π https://camping-ain-bugey.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/4XmXHgRpe8bXJrmw6 |
| π° 22β¬/night |
| π’ will come back |
- calm, familiar, friendly, small
- lot of spiderwebs, clean toilets. No toilet paper nor soap
- swimming pool, also for children
- access to the river, not directly swimmable.
- there is a restaurant next to it
- Wonderful views, beautiful sunset
- barely shadowed pitches
8. Valence
| ποΈ CΓ mping Le RhΓ΄ne |
|---|
| π https://www.camping-tournon.fr/en/ |
| πhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/HPrwT2M9Y4JWdnmU9 |
| π° 34β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- calm, friendly, small
- in the town itself, restaurants available walking
- in the shore of the river, pitches with great river view
- lot of shadow, great for burning summer sun
- modern swimming pool
- modern and clean toilets, excellent baby/family toilet (by far the best). Toilet paper and soap
9. Avignon
| ποΈ Lodges & Nature Camping les 2 RhΓ΄nes |
|---|
| π https://camping-avignon.fr/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/kSYinKwwzHUitSSo8 |
| π° 31β¬/night β‘ |
| π may come back |
- familiar driven, laid down atmosphere
- lot of shadow, full of trees, trees full of (very) loud crickets
- old toilets, clean-ish. No toilet paper nor soap
- small, quite packed
- swimming pool is nice, but very slippery inside and outside
- In our Tuesday it had a food truck with pizza and a swing & jazz young band
- full of mosquitoes, quite loud place.
10. Le Camargue
| ποΈ Camping Paradise La Brise de Camargue |
|---|
| π https://www.camping-labrise.fr/en/campsite-saintes-maries-de-la-mer |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/addBoewjTRpmmMR36 |
| π° 46β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back (but out of high season!) |
- typical coast touristy camping
- packed, full, services available
- big swimming pools, water area for kids
- toilets are clean and modern-ish. Toilet paper in the entrance of the toilet. Don't remember soap.
- access to the beach from a single door
- pitches are dusty, bushes between pitches islands but not between pitches, no grass, few shadow spots
- no privacy, noisy
11. Montpellier
| ποΈ Camping Naturiste Source St Pierre |
|---|
| π https://campingstpierre.com/en/camping-english/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/TAnpfu5Ac1cK3QaK7 |
| π° 44β¬/night β‘ |
| π FKK / GNN / Naturist |
| π’ will come back |
- small and familiar, lovely atmosphere, super wellcoming
- riverside swimmable and pool. The pool has a child water castle, and shadowed sunchairs area
- lot of shadow pitches
- brand new toilets. Toilet paper and soap.
- small restaurant only for evenings. During the day it sells drinks, snacks and ice creams.
- mosquitoes, but not a big deal
- pitches with no grass. Basically dirt + little stones and pine leaves.
12. Minerve
| ποΈ Le Mas de LigniΓ¨res |
|---|
| π https://www.lemasdelignieres.fr/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/AiofLLQnsyqu4XCr5 |
| π° 33,50β¬/night β‘ |
| π FKK / GNN / Naturist |
| π΄ won't come back (they did not want us there, that was obvious) |
- small, family driven
- wild, it's a piece of mountain bought and kinda parceled.
- minimum infrastructure in pitch. Electricity and water are far.
- toilets clean, old and shared. No toilet paper nor soap.
- swimming pool old and in bad state, surrounded by bad quality and broken concrete, full of vespas
- people not friendly, guests used to come and be curious on us
- avoid, never come here anymore.
13. Carcassonne
| ποΈ Camping municipal de Limoux |
|---|
| π ?? |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/v91r1r2GREGuUb5EA |
| π° 13β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back (but suspicious at night) |
- Clean, empty
- next to the municipal swimming pool, entry is included
- brand new toilets, very clean
- electricity socket is normal, not the typical 3-pin-plug socket
- Camping is next to a river, which is a social place for youth and dog walkers.
- At 6:30 workers came to the river with big machinery and started working in conditioning the river
- mosquitoes
14. Olot
| ποΈ Camping Les Tries |
|---|
| π http://lestries.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/CPUwWVhibFCXJHjF6 |
| π° 25β¬/night β‘ |
| π΄ won't come back. It's a forgotten hole. |
- ignored to be renovated for the last 25 years, as explained by long-term campers there.
- toilets dirty but functional
- voucher to enter to the public swimming pool in front for 3β¬ per person. This is an awesome swimming pool, the only motivation to stay.
- cats around and mosquitos
- unmaintained infrastructure, electricity, water, grass and accesses
15. Tossa de Mar
| ποΈ Camping Can MartΓ |
|---|
| π http://campingcanmarti.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/PB14FMZBdrWduDqj9 |
| π° 50β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- clean, a bit dusty, maintained
- toilets are functional and clean. Toilet paper in the entrance
- shadow almost everywhere
- calm in general. At night dogs bark a lot
- expensive, but in town, making it possible to avoid the car
- swimming pool is big, old, and with guard.
- people do not respect the pitches, everybody crosses other people's pitches unrespectfuly
16. Santes Creus
| ποΈ Camping Santes Creus |
|---|
| π http://campingsantescreus.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/kzErDTC3noApj61Y6 |
| π° 20β¬/night |
| π΄ won't come back |
- overall feeling: amateurly constructed, half done, about to close due to bankruptcy.
- swimming pool for children is done, small and surrounded by dusty fake grass, and an enormous hole in the floor may be the main swimming pool some day.
- absolutely noone there, only a very noisy pair of families that conquered the small pool.
- to enter you need to call the camping first, you receive indications and a all-in-one-worker will open the gate, settle you and charge you the money. No ticket.
- dusty, rocky, minimally maintained
- ants everywhere
- every second pitch has a nice water fountain, as noone is there this is great for water games.
- far from everything, you come to stay inside, not to use it as head quarters.
17. AlquΓ©zar
| ποΈ Camping AlquΓ©zar |
|---|
| π https://www.campingalquezar.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/azzGpgsEg8ZMPE7eA |
| π° 29β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- clean toilets, dusty pitches, between lot of short olive trees
- shadow is ok from afternoon on.
- swimming pool is small and crowded, and with fences around it. Hanging out is outside the fences, over clean fake grass. In the afternoon parts of the water are under shadow.
- has overpriced supermarket
18. Armalygal
| ποΈ CΓ‘mping Armalygal |
|---|
| π http://www.armalygal-camping.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z7665Rdw3QLHFwaF9 |
| π° 30β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ would come back |
- dusty and few trees.
- old but clean toilets
- absolutely outstanding views to Riglos mountains
- great swimming pool with views to the landscape
- lounge bar with nice music next to the pool
19. Grenade-sur-l'Aldour
| ποΈ Camping municipal de Grenade-sur-l'Adour |
|---|
| π https://www.grenadesuradour.fr/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/b3BGaTDHYLSSzNVv5 |
| π° 13,80β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ would come back |
- big pitches with good shadow
- quiet
- machine driven, can't enter otherwise. You must register first, charge your account, and then youβre good to camp. Better to prepare beforehand at ππΌ Camping-Car Park
- old toilets but ok considering it's a municipal camping. Bring your own toilet paper.
- walkable to the village
20. Montcuq-en-Quercy-Blanc
| ποΈ Aire Camping-Car Park |
|---|
| π https://www.campingcarpark.com/fr_FR/sejour/aire-etape-camping-car/occitanie/46-lot/montcuq-en-quercy-blanc |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/AwZvF6ZUYp4SzL8G9 |
| π° 13,80β¬/night |
| π΄ won't come back |
- machine driven, can't enter otherwise ππΌ Camping-Car Park
- horrible toilets, unacceptable. The guy that cleans (Mika) signed that he was 30 minutes but he only stood 5 minutes and nothing was clean. Women toilets were also closed. Bring your own toilet paper.
- pitches ok, need leveling.
- between 2 roads, very noisy
- the town itself is cute and worth a visit
21. Millau
| ποΈ Camping 2 RiviΓ¨res Millau |
|---|
| π https://www.camping2rivieresmillau.fr/en-gb/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/xqvzAw18XdcZCbMu7 |
| π° 22β¬/night |
| π’ will come back |
- nice pitches, shadow
- next to a beautiful river
- toilets good and clean. Toilet paper included and soap. There is also a children's shower in mini size.
- made use of the washing machine. Ok, 5β¬.
- free welcome drink between 7 and 8
- do not order a pizza in the camping's restaurant.
- next to a restaurant with tecno music until 1AM. Everyday. The guy in the camping does not warn about it.
22. Orange
| ποΈ Camping Manon |
|---|
| π None |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/uiSRpzrsdbmhbGdG8 |
| π° 32β¬/night β‘ |
| π may come back |
- nice pitches with very tall bush walls
- old toilets, the ones next to the pool are absolutely horrible, with caca marks in the wall. Bring your own toilet paper.
- full of mosquitoes
- appears to be in town, but it's actually far.
- the ALDI close by is 20 minutes walking
23. Monteux
| ποΈ Camping Municipal Bellerive |
|---|
| π https://www.auxvallons.fr/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/L9rrgxeWD3tvJj269 |
| π° 18β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- big shadowed pitches, with little stones
- for a camping municipal, very clean and maintained sanitaries. No toilet paper nor soap.
- very welcoming host
- very close to town, walkable, but it does not offer too much. It was once a walled medieval town but now it seems only a petanca (boule) club.
- a super "one night stay"
- no bar, no supermarket, nothing more than the pitch.
24. Lac du Sainte Croix
| ποΈ Camping Aux Vallons |
|---|
| π https://www.campingalquezar.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/LbDCAJQ2HDCa2n2c8 |
| π° 22,22β¬/night β‘ + 4β¬pp WiFi |
| π may come back |
- few pitches with shadow, and these ones are close to the pool or in the way to the toilet.
- none are leveled
- limited privacy
- very friendly driven
- very clean, modern and well maintained sanitaries. Big and nice family room. Toilet paper but no soap. In the family room there was soap.
- small cleaning dishes space
- nice pool, cared and round
- the way to the lake is wild and short. The lake itself is wild too: rocky and uncomfortable to enter
- very cute villages around
- nice place to settle and do day trips, remarkable lake area
- very bad situation with the wifi, it's expensive and you have to buy it yourself. Packages make sense if you know how long you stay. It's a big extra cost.
25. Grenoble
| ποΈ Camping Club Naturiste Le Courtialet |
|---|
| π https://lecourtialet.fr/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/VAVxsPR6qa1FPnJP8 |
| π° 26β¬/night β‘ |
| π FKK / GNN / Naturist |
| π’ will come back |
- not leveled but grass pitches, big and wild. They are all individual, all different, without walls and some under big trees providing great shadow.
- absolutely astonishing views to the mountains. The sky at night is awesome, you may hear rocks falling in to the river, which is far down the mountain.
- clean and modern sanitaries. Toilet paper and soap.
- super friendly people
- big swimming pool
- big bbq area, nice to hang out. It makes the whole camping stink of burn coal during the night
- far from civilization. Therefore silent but you can't forget anything.
- no bar, no restaurant, no supermarket
26. Aix-les-Bains
| ποΈ Camping Le Meyrieux |
|---|
| π https://facebook.com/CampingLeMeyrieux |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/89QqPDggE7guFzgGA |
| π° 16,80β¬/night β‘ |
| π΄ won't come back |
- it's a farm with a field where you camp. It stinks cow. Some long term campists. It has water and electricity
- pitches are abstract. Reception is the living room of the owner
- toilets are clean and old-ish, but few and wide open. You can be seen naked from the road. No toilet paper nor soap.
27. Annecy
| ποΈ Domaine de la caille |
|---|
| π https://www.domainedelacaille.com/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/wyRyH6w5higGSpe87 |
| π° 24β¬/night β‘ |
| π’ will come back |
- big pitches and mostly all with big shadows. Number 2 is the best. Not leveled.
- toilets are old, ok and clean. No toilet paper nor soap.
- feels like it is used as a cheap hotel, workers come to sleep and leave early.
- great swimming pool. The children one is literally inside the adults one, great concept, infinity pool style. Hanging out area around made out of a rubber floor layer and a artificial grass above.
- has a bar/restaurant. No supermarket. The village is far and down the hill.
- good for one night, or for a single relaxing day.
28. Freiburg
| ποΈ Campingpark Oase |
|---|
| π http://www.campingpark-oase.de/ |
| π https://maps.app.goo.gl/onqUgLMZWGhZHwYN7 |
| π° 28β¬/night |
| π’ will come back |
- grassed and leveled medium to big size pitches.
- the public swimming pool next to it can be very noisy (it was closed when we stayed)
- amazing toilets and showers
- calm, peaceful
- there is a bar / restaurant inside the camping, working, pizzas also to go, nice terrace area for it