Camping Côté Plage

As well as all the (many) spectacular beaches nearby, this is a forested and a biking area too. Camping Côté Plage's setting between the island of Noirmoutier and another seaside resort at Les Sables d’Olonne (both fab, both famed) is between maritime pine forests and high golden dunes, with access to some of the Vendée's hundreds of kilometres of cycle paths running through the local woods and marshlands as well as along the coast. Hire a bike on site to see how far you can get, or content yourself with peaceful rides around Saint-Jean and Saint-Hilaire. Also famed in the region and within easy reach are boat trips around the local salt marshes (access them from Marais Salants de la Vie in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez) and to the island of Île d'Yeu, 60 minutes' ferry ride from Saint Gilles. Noirmoutier, less than a kilometre from the coast, is reachable within half an hour of the site, via the bridge of the Passage du Gois from Beauvoir-sur-Mer.