I've holidayed with Eurocamp for a number of years now, with my idea of a trip overseas changing somewhat since becoming a dad in my late 20s.
Gone are the solo trips for my wife and I to the likes of Rome, where we racked up more than 100,000 steps in five days. The same goes for when we spent a month in Australia heading from city to city.
Instead, it's all about the family friendly locations that have something for us and our now three-year-old. So when I was invited by the company to sample some of the best that they had to offer, I couldn't say no.
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And with the choice of location up to us, my wife and I had eyes for one place on earth that we love visiting: the south of France. Having visited the region four or five times by this point, it's got everything that we love. Good food, wine, history and sunshine. It's a recipe for success; and something that created another melting pot of fun for two weeks.
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Camping Le Club Farret - facilities
With my three-year-old lad in his final year of nursery, we took advantage of not having to holiday in term time by flying in early September from Manchester Airport to Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport.
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After landing and getting our bags, the airport is only a 10 minute drive from Camping Le Club Farret. This is a holiday site that Eurocamp has cabins on, with other similar holiday businesses running their own section of the site.
It is a five star resort at Vias Plage, a small seaside town minutes from the main town of Vias itself.
Given its rating, the facilities are as you would expect for a five star set up. We're talking two main swimming pools, each with their own children's pool that's no deeper than an adult's shin bone.
If you're a family who loves the beach and pool, this one if for you. Likewise, if you're a bit split, it is a perfect choice. That's because Club Farret quite literally backs on to the beach, with the walk from the sands to one of the main pools just two minutes (check the image above to see what I'm talking about).
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It's a great set up, and makes it really easy to do both the beach and pool in the same day. Anyone with kids knows this is a bit of a gamechanger when it comes to keeping their children from the fateful 'I'm bored' chatter.
The beach is probably the best beach I've ever been to because the depth of the water stays shallow for what feels like forever. I'm almost six foot tall and the water goes no higher than my thigh for around 30 metres out, which is a real confidence booster if you've got children who can't quite swim yet.
Our lad used to be terrified of the sea but absolutely flourished during this visit.
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As well as the pools and beach, there is an indoor spa, jacuzzi, and Turkish baths, which my wife took full advantage of. For the children, there are three play areas to keep them entertained throughout the days you stay there; something my lad absolutely loved. Sports wise, you can play a bit of padel if that's your thing.
If you don't have a car during your visit, you can easily get by with the on site supermarket. Unlike other holiday sites I have been to, it's not ridiculously priced and has everything you need for your essentials.
Camping Le Club Farret - food, restaurant and bar
Club Farret has a fair few bits on offer when it comes to grabbing a bite to eat. Whether that is a full meal, snack, breakfast, beer, cocktail, or ice cream, it has your back.
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For the adults, you're talking €5.50 (£4.60) for a large beer (500ml) and around €11 (£9) for a cocktail. And from the fair few that my wife and I sampled, the value for money is superb. For the kids, ice cream is €3 (£2.50) a scoop, with the cost per scoop getting cheaper the more you get (three scoops will set you back €6.50).
You can eat at the bar area, which is a more casual experience. The menu included items such as pizza, which cost me roughly €14 depending on what toppings we were getting. You could also get mussels for a similar price as well as the likes of tuna steak with rice and vegetables. An eclectic mix that kept us happy every time we ate there.
A more formal restaurant set up exists upstairs in the food and drink area of the site, where prices reflect the setting a little more accurately. The food is great, though - just expect to pay a little more.
Camping Le Club Farret's Eurocamp accommodation
We stayed in one of Eurocamp's premium three bedroom units. Sleeping six, it had a hairdryer, air conditioning, smart TV, dishwasher, a full oven and four-ring job, microwave, coffee pod machine, and decking area with table and chairs. There was also a gas barbecue, which we took full advantage of.
With us only using two bedrooms, the third we used for luggage to keep things out of the way. I'd recommend booking a bigger unit if budget allows for this reason.
One thing you need to remember with Eurocamp is that you do not automatically get bed linen and towels (both shower and beach), it is an additional cost. Obviously, if you have the space to bring it with you go for it, otherwise you'll need to pay to add this.
Eurocamp can also provide you with a Welcome Pack for a small fee (around £13), which for us included coffee, tea bags, wine, sugar, salt, olive oil, pretzels, olives, jam, bottles of water, and electrolyte powder sachets. Given what it'd cost to buy all of these there, knowing you won't use them in full and can't bring them home with you, it's something to definitely think about adding on.
Eurocamp will also give you a free welcome pack that includes washing up liquid, multi-purpose cleaning liquid, a single toilet roll, sponge, cloth, and one bin bag.
From experience, Eurocamp ask you to clean the unit before checking out. But given this was a premium unit, a lot less was asked of us, with a proper clean by staff clearly included in the price.
Camping Le Club Farret - entertainment
Every night at Club Farret saw the children's entertainment staff hold a 'mini disco' for the kids, something our boy loved, while his mum and I could relax during with a beer while we watched him. The staff are so good with the kids and I am in full admiration of them doing that day in, day out.
There was also entertainment on after this, ranging from casino nights to karaoke and dancing. A lot of the kids disappear after the mini disco given it's usually around 9pm local time, so you can enjoy the night in a more adult-friendly environment.
Camping Le Club Farret - nearby attractions
If you enjoy exploring your surroundings as we do, there are a fair few places you can visit that aren't too far from Club Farret.
Give we had hired a car, we drove to the historic city of Carcassonne (70 minutes), which is home to a medieval citadel that has an entire town (Cité de Carcassonne) within it. This was my third trip to the citadel and was just as stunning as the first time; truly worthy of its UNESCO World Heritage Site listing. It's also where Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was filmed; a classic.
Closer to Club Farret is the town of Beziers (25 minutes), which is equally as rich in history with its own stunning skyline. There is also the port town of Agde (15 minutes), where you can enjoy a nice bite to eat on the harbour that is full of boats.
But the place that left me quite literally opened mouthed going 'wow' was Sete (40 minutes). Known as the 'Venice of Languedoc', its port and canals are lined with colourful buildings, cafes, and restaurants for the perfect day out. Having been to this part of the world previously, I was more annoyed at myself for having not visited earlier.
Camping Le Club Farret - price
A seven night stay at Camping Le Club Farret with Eurocamp will cost you around £398 for a party of four.
That is for a Comfort XL three-bedroom cabin, sleeping six in April 2025. Prices will vary depending on what cabin you book and when you want to visit.
Les Prairies de la Mer - facilities
After checking out at Club Farret following a fabulous week in the sun, we drove three and a half hours across the south of France to Les Prairies de la Mer, which lies in the stunning and famous bay of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. Like Club Farret, this is another of Eurocamp's five star resorts. It is also a site shared by Eurocamp and other holiday home companies.
It is a physically huge site, with accommodation a lot more sprawled out. You definitely feel like you have your own spot here, that's for sure. Here, there is just the one pool, but it is probably the best pool I've ever been to. Visually it is stunning, with high quality sun beds and a bar area where you can get a coffee, beer, or bite to eat before bringing it back to where you've set up for the day.
There is a kids pool directly next to the main pool, too, which is perfect if you've got tiny ones. With our boy Henry being three and a half, he spent most of his time in the adult pool with us and absolutely loved it despite not being able to properly swim yet (putting his Spiderman armbands to good use). Alongside the pool, the site has leisure facilities that include a gym, Turkish baths, and jacuzzis.
The beach at Les Prairies de la Mer is roughly 10 to 15 minutes away by foot, backing on to the stunning Bay of St Tropez where you can see multi-million pound yachts anchored up. Les Prairies de la Mer has a number of beachfront bars and restaurants you can eat or drink at, something I definitely recommend with the caipirinhas being stunning and reasonably priced at €13 (£11), if I remember correctly.
Les Prairies de la Mer also has a kids club, running every day and advertised as being for children who speak English, French, German, and Italian. It's from age five up, though, so not useful for us on this occasion, but definitely one to consider if you have old ones.
Les Prairies de la Mer - food, restaurant and bar
As I mentioned above, the beach bars at this site are fantastic. When the sun is glowing and the wind has died down there aren't many other places I can think of that would be a better location to enjoy a coffee or cocktail.
There is also the pool bar that I briefly touched upon, which has everything you need for lunch or a drink in the morning or middle of the day.
The busiest place to get food on site was a location called the Pic Nic bar, which you can also order to your cabin for a €5 (£4.10) delivery fee.
It had a full spread for every meal of the day. We're talking overnight oats, fruit salads and pastries for breakfast, freshly made sandwiches for lunch, and the likes of pasts and curries for the evening. It also did pizzas and rotisserie chicken, so you can understand why so many people were eating there give the choice. We enjoyed everything we got from there, which included the likes of prawn linguine, pepperoni pizza, and the overnight oats.
Next to Pic Nic is the main bar and drinking area, called the Long Bar. A really chill location, with live music on an almost daily basis. There was also a mini disco for the kids, which was on twice a week during out stay.
The price of drinks was a little steep, but nothing too outrageous for a holiday. We're talking €11 for a large beer, €15 for half a litre of wine, and around €15 for a cocktail. Plan your trip well, though, to make the most out of happy hour from 7.30pm where beer and wine is half price.
Les Prairies de la Mer's Eurocamp accommodation
We stayed with Eurocamp in a Comfort XL cabin, with three bedrooms and sleeping six people, it was spacious.
My sister joined us for the second week, so the extra space was needed so that she could have her own room and space away from her nephew who gets more and more obsessed with his auntie as he gets older.
The Eurocamp cabin came with a large outdoor decking with rain cover, which was much needed given it chucked it down for one of the days we were there. There was also a barbecue outdoors, which we took full advantage of.
Inside there was your usual mod cons; a fridge-freezer; coffee maker; kettle; oven; gas hob rings; and air conditioning.
As with Club Farret, we had to order linen and towels, which are not free. We also got the Welcome Pack for a small fee, as well as the complimentary cleaning kit with washing up liquid, multi-purpose cleaning liquid, a single toilet roll, sponge, cloth, and one bin bag.
Unlike Club Farret, we had to give this more of a proper clean when checking out. That included giving the shower a wipe down, the toilet a scrub, wiping down all sides and sweeping the floor ,before a final job of mopping after we had cleared the place of all our belongings. After experiencing the Club Farret version where it was more like a hotel on check out, I can't say I enjoyed having to roll my sleeves up on holiday. A little thing and, objectively, a ridiculous moan, but you're on holiday after all.
Les Prairies de la Mer - nearby attractions
As we've mentioned, Les Prairies de la Mer is located in the Bay of St Tropez. It is actually located at Port Grimaud, which is a lovely little harbour full of canals you can explore, with shops and restaurants to peruse as well as a weekly market.
From Les Prairies de la Mer, you can also visit the nearby village of Grimaud, located a short journey from Port Grimaud, which you can get to via a company called Le Petit Train; a tourist train. It is a steep journey to Grimaud but absolutely worth it for its 11th century castle. You've earned your beer after letting the calves burn on the climb up, that's for sure.
Back at Port Grimaud, you can get many a boat across the Bay of St Tropez to St Tropez itself, which is full of high end fashion shops and yachts worth millions. If you've never been, it is definitely worth a trip. Given the reputation it has, though, don't be shocked at the prices you encounter.
Across the way from St Tropez is the town of Sainte-Maxime, which for me is the best thing about the Bay as a whole. Lovely side streets with authentic restaurants and shops, it ticked our boxes when it came to exploring somewhere new that we'd definitely go back to.
As a I mentioned, my sister also joined us for this week, flying in to Nice. Being the nice big brother that I am, we drove the 90 minute or so drive to the city to pick her up. But before that, we explored the city in the limited time we had.
The city lives up to its nickname of 'Nice la Belle', with the side streets absolutely stunning. The food we had on the beach was also lovely, with the local ice cream, also fantastic. A location we'd definitely head back to in its own right.
Les Prairies de la Mer - price
A seven night stay at Les Prairies de la Mer with Eurocamp for four people will set you back around £621.
That is for a premium two bedroom holiday home in late April 2025. Prices will vary depending on what cabin you book and when you want to visit.
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Tom Earnshaw