SIBLU - France or Spain, expeience

OHNOANOTHERDFW

Hi all, I have alot of Tesdco clubcard points and plan to use them on a holiday for 7 nights with OH, 18 YR old, 13 YR old, and 2 5 yr olds in JULY

Siblu - any experience?

1 - espirit vs elegance vs excellence. The mobile home prices within the parc vary significantly...is it worth it?

2 - destinations. I have narrowed it down to 3 regions

spain - 2 parcs. costa brava and doirada. i know kids love spain, but its 800 miles circa from Calais, so thats a long drive. would stay over half way down. I drive alot with work, but never abroad. Perhaps in the heat this is daft, also petrol, tolls etc etc

languedoc southern france - - about 6 parcs. actually not a lot less than spain 720 miles ish. temperature according to the website is hotter than spain. I thought ice creams, and coffee might be quite a bit more expensive there though?

charhannte maritime and vendee - 4 parcs. This is 330 miles from cherborg, where Ii could get to fairly easily from portsmouth. The plan there would be no stop over....early am start, and foot down!. this is cheaprer for petrol, tolls I guess. My concern here is its on the atlantic and the weather I understand can be a bit dodgy - and the water choppy? also might be a bit rural with nowt to do

As always appreciate any MSE advice :j

farmerpaula

we used clubcard vouchers to cisit la pignade in the charente maritime region. Yes you would save a fortune on tolls by sailing nearer to resort however Siblu booked our ferry crossing and it only cost £9 each way to Calais so it was a question of weighing up pros and cons as they longer crossing was very expensive.
The region is beautiful but for people who are active alot of the beaches are through forest trails and one you have to climb an enormous sand dune, as you get right round onto the atlantic coast yes the water was very choppy when we were there but as it was freakishly hot last june it made a nice change. The water on the nearer beaches was very calm, they were clean and lovely sand (this was darker and coarser on the atlantic)
The twin bedroom in an esprit was 'compact', literally a couple of feet between the beds and you do have to shimmy round the double bed too. But we soon adapted, you only sleep there!
I'd really reccommend the region and we loved la Pignade but we were looking for a quieter park with a 2 and a 1 year old. We will be returning this year.

PS if you do end up stopping over choose a chain you know, we stayed in what looked like a reasonable quality hotel......it would not have been graded as a B&B in the UK....it was dirty, shabby and cost us a fortune!! Needed a stiff drink to face going to sleep!

OHNOANOTHERDFW

la Pignade - I noticed on the website it was referenced as a quiet park....

I have an 18 yr a 13 yrs old and 2 x 5 yr olds.... not sure if it might be a bit too quiet for us

I know what you mean about the £9 ferries, the portsmouth one is like £250- £300.....so big difference from calais....but then I think if in calais, perhaps Languedoc is an alternative. IF, i go that far, I may as well go to el delfin park in costa dorada....

AAAAAAAAAAAH this is getting tough

mrcow

I love Siblu - I've stayed with them many times.

Not been the the parks that you mention - but I have to say that the standard of cleanliness of their accomodation is much better than those of UK parks that I've been to.

The only think with booking with clubcard vouchers is that you have to book at list price - so you don't get the internet discounts that you would otherwise get.

Give Siblu a call and ask for some prices - their customer services are very helpful from what I recall.

OHNOANOTHERDFW

yes they are very helpful at customer sevrices......but need to decide what I want....:beer:

thanks again

dangers

I'd go for the biggest/best you can afford - it will be your home for however long you are there for. If they have decking, then that is to be seriously recommended - extends the living area, especially if the outdoor space is dusty.

isitenough

Haven't been to the parks you mention either, but we went with Siblu using Tesco deals a couple of years ago and didn't have a problem, will go again next year probably. The booking price wasn't that much different to the online price either. Go for the biggest park home you can get, size really does matter! The quality is pretty good whatever home you get but with your kiddies in tow you need a decent one.
Book as early as you can when you've decided (having the deals in your hand).
The regions you mention do depend on how long you want to travel for and to what cost.
Hope you have a great time whichever one you decide.

jackomdj

Decking & air con are a must have. We have always done key camp but are using Siblu this year as the area we wanted to go to did not have the dates/accomodation type/with air con & decking left (& we booked in Sept).

We are going to Languedoc, went to the area last year. We are doing the overnight ferry Portsmouth to Caen, then driving all day with a few toilet breaks & lunch break. OH drives a lot & he enjoys it, I do not drive on the wrong side of the road, so he will be doing it all. We do not notice the heat when driving as we have climate control in the car.

Re Vendee we went here quite a few times & love the area. The Vendee has a good temperature compared to the rest of the coast, can't remember why though!

OHNOANOTHERDFW

thanks guys great advice...

will go for big park...there is one in vendee which is 2 different parcs within half a mile of each other, but you can use both facilities so that sounds good..

if we go languedoc will definite3ly get air con as its hotter down there, and go for a terrace...

vendee is cheaper (slightly) and needs less petrol, travelling time, BUT you cant use vouchers for the ferry so will have to PAY :mad: approx £250 cash

languedoc is free as in I can pay for all of it with vouchers - the calais ferry is apporx £10 but obviously will spend on petrol, tolls etc etc

will definitiely decide tomorrow

cheers again

winnie101

Hiya!

I would recommend Les Charmettes. It is a very big park but it has excellent facilities! There is so much going on the older kids would go in the morning and you wouldn't see them again until dinner time! There is something for the 18 year old to the 5 year olds.

Surrounding area is good too, La palymre zoo is brilliant, you can feed elephants and giraffes. Royan is lovely and La Rochelle is must see day trip.

I would try and get a three bedroomed Elegance. I don't know if the Excellence is any bigger, it might just be more luxurious. Check with siblu and if it isn't any bigger just go for the Elegance.

We have done France and Italy in Mobile homes and they are the best holidays for kids.

OHNOANOTHERDFW

thanks winnie...when i looked at that park I was put off as the beach was 2 miles away....I know thats nothing, but means the kids couldnt go for a short walk along the beach before tea etc etc

thanks