Over the May half term, we visited St-Jean-de-Monts in the Vendee, France, to spend a week at the Siblu camp site Le Bois Dormant. This was the first time we had tried a Siblu holiday, and the whole family enjoyed it a lot. I was very impressed with the standard of the Siblu site and the facilities that were available and the location was brilliant too, in terms of things to do nearby – some of our favourites were Le Puy du Fou and Chateau des Aventuriers
The Vendee region is on the west coast of France, and is known for having plenty of sunshine without the longer journey to the south of France. We travelled over by Brittany ferries with a fairly short trip from Portsmouth to Caen of around 5 hours, and then a couple of hours drive to Le Bois Dormant. We always find our kids enjoy the ferry ride, so it’s a very easy way to travel especially since you can bring your own car and won’t need to hire one.
At Le Bois Dormant, unlike other campsites we have stayed in in France before, the whole site is owned and run by Siblu (rather than being split between several different companies), and there’s also a sister site just across the road (Le Bois Masson) which means there are twice as many facilities available for guests as you can access both sites during your stay.
During our stay, our accommodation was one of the three bedroom mobile homes, which we found spacious enough for our family of five, with three toilets and two shower rooms – so plenty to go around.
It was very clean, modern and comfortable with everything that we would need to cook and eat there in the mobile home, or have a barbecue and relax outside.
They also have space for you to bring a television and set that up – something that wasn’t available in other sites we’ve stayed at (however we didn’t realise in advance so didn’t bring one, but it’s good to know for the future!)
We found the beds comfortable enough, and all had a good nights sleep each night. The two smaller bedrooms have two beds each, so you can easily bring four children.
On arrival, we were greeted by a lovely welcome pack with all the essentials you’ll need for the first few days, which was a really nice touch too, especially as you may arrive late after your drive down (we did, but if you arrive later than the check in time, the key will be kept for you in a safe place)
The feature that my boys enjoyed the most at Le Bois Dormant and Le Bois Masson has to be the swimming pools. They have indoor and outdoor pools (depth is 1.20), plenty of water slides, and a smaller shallower toddler area too if you need it. These are all free to use with your Siblu fun pass, and as I mentioned, you can use the pools at both sites not only the one you’re staying at.
The boys also enjoyed the playgrounds, and the arcade and restaurant on the Le Bois Masson site.
The restaurant has wider opening hours than some of the other local French establishments, useful if you happen to miss the typical 12-2pm slot in other venues! The restaurant does have good quality French food and a wide range available, so it’s a great option.
There are kids clubs running at both sites too, but we didn’t get chance to try these out because we were so busy with all of the other facilities and local attractions. I did notice that they have daily sessions in both morning and afternoon though, even in the lower season outside of the school summer holidays.
I would definitely recommend this particular Siblu site, and a family holiday in this region of France. There is so much to do nearby, and it’s a lovely family friendly area. I will be writing another post with all of the place we visited, as it’s just too much to cover in one blog post! There was lots more that we didn’t get chance to do within the week too, so I can understand why a lot of families go back to the region year after year. My boys have mentioned that they would love to go back to the same place another year – and maybe we will! I will definitely look into other Siblu sites in the future too, as they have campsites all over France.
This type of holiday is perfect for kids of this age group, and is very reasonable in price which always helps when you have multiple kids, or are on a budget. You can get a week’s stay for a family for around £300-400, plus the cost of your ferry travel, and there are often offers available with Siblu.
Visit the Siblu website to find out more about their holidays.
We stayed in Le Bois Dormant as a press trip
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Oh wow, what a lovely caravan you stayed in. It looks really modern and very clean too. Sounds like a great place for families.