La Croix Du Vieux Pont | Eurocamp in France

Inside: Review of La Croix Du Vieux Pont resort in France. Press trip.

As a child I went on a lot of Eurocamp holidays and when I had my own children I knew it was something I wanted to do with them too. I didn’t fancy flying anywhere so we decided it would be easiest to cross the channel and go to France for our first holiday abroad (2015).

Eurocamp have lots of resorts and La Croix Du Vieux Pont is one of the best ones I have ever been to. Just north east of Paris, you can travel down to Disneyland Paris for the day as well as making good use of the resort itself.

Staying at La Croix Du Vieux Pont

After a quick journey on the Eurotunnel, we were greeted by staff at the main reception point and told our tent would be ready within the hour. They took our phone number so they could let us know when it was done so we set off to explore while we waited.

La Croix du Vieux Pont is an absolutely gorgeous resort, when you look at photos in brochures you are never sure what places will be like in real life but this was even better! The grounds are kept so well and being in the north of France it isn’t too dry so everywhere was luscious and green.

Our tent was soon ready and one of the Eurocamp reps lead the way on their bikes. This made me smile as I can remember this from when I went as a child and it is nice to see some things haven’t changed.

The safari tents are awesome! I am so glad I picked them over a caravan as they are just so spacious! As you can see it is on decking which is really lovely, I laid down a picnic blanket at the front so the girls could do their crafts.

The beds were pretty comfortable- better than sleeping on the floor like traditional camping anyway right? The curtains can be let down to divide the master bedroom from the kids’ room too as well as the front curtain at night or when you leave your tent in the day.

Included in the tent:

• Beds
• Gas stove/ grill
• Plates, bowls, cutlery, pots, pans, kettle, cups, glasses, most kitchen utensils, mixing bowl – pretty well stocked cupboards to be honest!
• Table and chairs
• Fridge-Freezer
• Cool box
• Deck chairs
• BBQ and coals
• Broom, mop and bucket and dustpan and brush
• Baby Bath
• High chair
• Booster seat
• Bed guards
• Changing mat
• Potty

Optional extras (£)

• Beach towels
• Buggy
• Linen and duvets
• Rumble truck
• Welcome pack- with a few essentials like water, coffee, tea, biscuits and a couple of bottles of wine- fab!
• Essentials pack – this was great as it had washing up liquid, disinfectant, sponges etc..

We couldn’t have done without our rumble truck, it was so handy to be able to strap the girls in and wheel them up and down the resort!

Our view was of the beach area too so we were really lucky with that- the perfect location for a family! We were able to skip across to the water without towels and race back when we wanted to dry off.

I will say though, that although it is a great location in the day but come the evening it is very noisy and so if like us you have a little one then you may prefer to stay further away from the beach hut. There was only one night when the music went on until 11pm but Little L wasn’t impressed at all and slept in our bed for comfort.

I was really impressed with the facilities, the fact we were inland meant we couldn’t go to the beach but having the man made beach area was ideal and actually better than the seaside as there was no tide!

There was also a pool and that in itself was brilliant! It had different pools for different ages, a splash zone for the babies, a heated shallow pool for the toddlers, a 1M- 1.4M depth pool for those who wanted a swim and an outdoor pool for those brave enough to have a dip in the cold water!

Must just mention the bathroom facilities as they were kept so clean, I saw cleaners there twice a day every day we were there. At times the loo roll had run out but I always took my own just in case. The showers were clean and we never once had to queue. Obviously it isn’t ideal not having a loo in your accommodation but this is camping after all!

Things to do

The kids club was really fun, Little G absolutely loved the staff and had a lovely time each and every day! They have different tents for different age groups and for those over 4 years you could leave them for the afternoon if you wished.

We went during off peak season so it wasn’t too busy and some days there were only a couple of kids. It was nice as they got more one to one time with the leaders but there was so much to do it wouldn’t matter if there were more kids.

Little G really wanted to go on the pedalos so we went on our last day and it was great fun. Tricky to manoeuvre around the fishermen at the side of the lake but enjoyable nonetheless. I think it was €8 for us to go on for half an hour but prices vary depending on the size you need.

The had a fun race track for over 4’s to have a go on the quadbikes. €2 for quite a long ride, worth every cent for the smile it brought to her face!

They also had various climbing frames dotted around with swings and slides and near the main swimming pool I spotted a bowling alley- perfect for older ones!

Places to eat

We went to the restaurant for Mr F’s birthday and had a great time. The staff were so pleasant and made us feel right at home. It was reasonably priced and the portions were decent.

We didn’t eat at the beach bar cafe as it seemed a little over priced to me but it seemed a very popular with others. We did however act very British and get takeaway the night before we left! There is a takeaway bar near the pool and it serves pizza and burgers etc.. really cheap and nice food. Must also say, try the big Cornettos they sell- so tasty!!

There is a shop and bakery on site, not the best selection of food to be honest but it wasn’t any better off site either. I think it is just what the French eat! Quite a bit of junk food which shocked me so we just lived on French sticks and salami sausage meat platters for lunch and croissants for breakfast!

Things to note

• The tents can get very warm during the day, there is a fan but it doesn’t make a dent. By the middle of the night it can get quite cold though so pack nightwear to take that into consideration.
• Ants are everywhere! Take tupperware and zip bags with you so you can store your food safely (they still find a way into the fridge). Disinfectant spray is a must!
• If you are in a tent you may want to bring loo roll with you just in case they run out in the toilet blocks.
• Bring plug converters!

I think that is it! We had such a great week and thankfully plenty of sunshine! The weather is crazy in that part of the country though, one second it is blazing sunshine and the next you have a 1 minute rain storm. I guess that is why it is so luscious! I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

Have you had a Eurocamp holiday before?

Although we stayed as part of a press trip, all thoughts and words are my own. A huge thank you to Eurocamp for having us!