For most of my life I have perceived camping as something to be endured not enjoyed. This statement may prove inflammatory to those who like nothing more than sleeping in discomfort, washing infrequently and eating inadequately – but creature comforts are a holiday non-negotiable in my eyes, and consequently said eyes have always viewed camping suspiciously (and from afar).
Yet after taking my family to a Eurocamp in Dordogne, France this summer, I now realise that ‘le camping’ and ‘la belle vie’ are not as mutually incompatible as I had previously believed. Here’s why…
Ease of travel
We did briefly consider the more conventional French camping pilgrimage of ferry followed by lengthy car journey, but the prospect was unappealing given the tender age of our children. Plus we live a short drive from Stansted, and from there we were able to hop on a plane for a blink-and-you-miss-it Ryanair flight to Brive-La-Gaillarde airport.
From Brive we picked up a hire car courtesy of Europcar and embarked on the 45-minute journey to the campsite. While retraining one’s brain to handle driving abroad from the 'wrong side' of the car and revelling in the scenery aren’t mutually compatible, I can reliably inform you that the scenery was very much revel-worthy.
First impressions
Given the Dordogne Valley is the sort of place which feels like it should be set to the soundtrack of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, it is hardly a surprise that our Eurocamp of choice – Domaine de Soleil Plage – ranks highly for picturesqueness! Set on the sinuous banks of the Dordogne (river), and shaded by towering chalky cliffs and a carpet of trees, the campsite is truly idyllic. The sort of place where time – if you so were minded – could be paused for days on end as you sit and watch the river lap past.
Checking in
Upon arrival I headed to reception to check in. The reception team wear badges to indicate the languages they are proficient in, and it became quickly apparent that despite having sat A-Level French 20-odd years ago, I did need to speak to someone who spoke English. My linguistic reality check aside, the check-in process is very smooth and clear. The map provided also gave an early glimpse of the size of the site which – while not one of Eurocamp’s largest – is by no means inconsiderable.
Family (and teenager) friendly
The chalet wasn’t quite ready so we adjourned to the site’s bar where we tucked into some very reasonably priced and tasty snacks. Bellies full we decided to get the lie of the land and wander/hike round the site. Immediately noticeable was how intimate it felt, belying its size. Related was just how safe and friendly an atmosphere pervaded.
The site was of course awash with families but being family-friendly in theory doesn’t always translate into reality. Domaine de Soleil Plage lives up to the billing and more. Even the marauding teenagers – many of whom clearly had met on holiday – were in no way threatening and clearly having the time of their lives. I certainly felt a few pangs of envy as I reflected how much I would have enjoyed such a place at that age: not old enough to be pining for an adolescent hellhole on a Greek island, but old enough to want a little bit of distance from parental clutches while on holiday.
The air necessities
We arrived in the Dordogne with temperatures forecast to hit nearly 40°C in the days to come. We were thus blessed to be staying in one of the site’s air conditioned premium chalets, and I would certainly advise anyone booking over the summer months to make this a prerequisite, particularly if a family.
Another factor to bear in mind is less the chalet's spaciousness but more its design. Our youngest had just started toddling when we travelled, and our chalet’s narrow doorways and sharp edges meant we had to remain even more vigilant than normal.
That being said, the beds were comfortable, the bathroom and shower exceptional, and the kitchen extremely well equipped. And of course you aren’t going to a campsite to stay cooped up inside 24/7, so enter stage left the undisputed star of the chalet show: the private decking area replete with state-of the-art gas barbeque. Over the course of our stay it provided a wonderful setting for family meals and fun, as well as a restful place to sit and enjoy some vin rouge at the end of a fun-packed day.
Making a splash
While the private decking was my sedate highlight, the heated pool complex was my daughter’s active one! Despite being encumbered by bandaging, she was able fully to enjoy what was on offer courtesy of one of those bizarre looking waterproof bandage covers. We were particularly lucky to arrive when we did as the offering had recently been completely revamped to comprise two new super-long slides and more pools – including a heated covered pool with enhanced accessibility features.
The aesthetic was also pleasing with palm trees and fountains seamlessly placed around the area. It’s not the sort of pool complex where anyone is going to bash out a quick 50 lengths, but for general water-based fun it is faultless. Oh, and an added bonus was the complete lack of sun-lounger reserving that blights all-inclusive hotels across the continent.
Doing it for the kids
I’ve already discussed the appeal of the campsite to older children but Eurocamp has something to offer for children of all ages.
If you’re after a spot of pingpong, volleyball, basketball, mini golf or the more culturally appropriate petanque, then the campsite obliges. The surrounding countryside also make it the perfect place for leisurely strolls or bike rides. Take a look at this video carousel for a quick tour.
There’s also an almost perennially inflated bouncy castle and an indoor softplay barn should the day’s rays become too much to bear for the young ones.
While we didn’t take advantage of the kids’ club, there is one onsite should parents of children not old enough to fend for themselves seek some time off. And of course the obligatory kids’ disco is on almost every evening too in the campsite’s restaurant and bar area, meaning you can pair your frites with some Baby Shark, should you so choose...
Amenable amenities
Alongside the restaurant and bar, the campsite has a small groceries shop which serves as a perfectly adequate supplement to the larger supermarket trip required should you be staying at the site for any length of time. The smell of freshly baked baguettes and pain au chocolat emanating from the store each morning meant I was a regular patron.
Messing around on the river
Next to Domaine de Soleil Plage and run by a jovial French man (who looks like a viking but happily doesn’t act like one) is a watersports shack where you can hire canoes and kayaks and get out onto the Dordogne for a whole new perspective on the region’s beauty.
My daughter and I took to the water for a kayaking expedition after being driven out to a nearby starting point. It was more me kayaking than her, in truth, but her effort was sterling and it was genuinely lovely just to be together for an uninterrupted hour. At one point we kayaked right underneath a clifftop chateau and both of us were so transfixed we forgot to kayak and started to drift towards the riverbank.
La belle vie pour la jeune famille
In recent years I have been on a couple of the all-inclusive holidays so beloved of young families. They have many benefits and not having to think about food preparation is a holiday in its own right. However, the glaring disbenefit of the model is that it does exert a rather centripetal force on those who choose it. Why leave the hotel when you don’t have a car and a smorgasbord of culinary delights confronts you at every turn throughout the day?
Staying at a Eurocamp provides many of the advantages of the all-inclusive for young families without tethering them to the location. While I wouldn’t exactly say we explored the Dordogne during our 10 days there, we did get out and about a fair bit.
Among the highlights were trips to nearby Sarlat and Domme, the latter a bastille town perched on a hilltop of such immeasurable quaintness I half expected the locals to communicate via the medium of song.
We also went to the Lascaux cave network, home to one the best preserved examples of prehistoric parietal art, and La Parc du Bournat, an amusement park with a twist – it’s set in 1900.
Of course, if you would rather just stay at the site throughout the course of your holiday, then you certainly won’t get bored – the joy of camping is that it provides the flexibility to tailor your vacation as you see fit. Indeed the fact that I am using such a phrase as “the joy of camping” is a sure sign that our holiday at Domaine de Soleil Plage has gone some way to erasing my aforementioned camping scepticism!
A medical footnote…
My daughter had a freak accident (I’ll spare you the details) before we went on holiday and we had been told she would need the bandaging removed and the injury inspected by a medic a week into our stay. The first receptionist we spoke to wasn’t massively helpful but after we had secured a list of nurses in the region from a local pharmacy, we returned and the receptionist who dealt with us on this occasion was brilliant. She phoned up the nurses on the list and secured an appointment for us on the required day, with the medic even coming to our chalet. The moral of the story is to choose your receptionists wisely when it comes to matters that require more attentiveness than a run-of-the-mill request!
Book for 2025 at Eurocamp now and save up to 20% with a deposit of just £99. Seven-night chalet stays at Domaine de Soleil Plage and Eurocamp's numerous other sites across Europe start from just £200.
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