Camping Bois de la Chasse

A public pool is close by in Cozes for when you need to cool off, and a horse riding centre is within a few minutes’ drive too for swell countryside hacks. When you fancy amping up the adrenaline, plenty more is in store in the local area too, with the likes of land yachting, windsurfing, paddleboarding and surfing in Royan, a mere 20 minutes’ drive away. There’s also heaps of choice when it comes to sand-and sea-themed days out: the beaches of Talmont-sur-Gironde and Meschers-sur-Gironde are within 15 minutes’ drive, or if you’d prefer to travel sans car, you can hire bikes in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, eight kilometres from base, and use throughout your hols for highly scenic pedals along the coast and through local countryside. Further afield, the beaches, salt marshes and famed oyster farms of Île d'Oléron can be reached in an hour and 20 minutes for seafood sampling, wildlife watching and yet more bouts of sandcastle building. When it comes to kid-friendly day trips, Palmyre Zoo is an easy half an hour away, and the lush lands and highly climbable trees of Marais Poitevin Natural Regional Park are around an hour’s drive away, and if you’d like to squeeze in a spot of local histoire, the beaut coastal Régulus Caves and the 17th-century citadel and fortifications in Brouage are both well within an hour’s pootle.