The Vendee takes its name from a river running through the south-east of the department. The Vendee is a department within the Pays de Loire region and is bordered by Loire Atlantique to the north and Charente Maritime to the south.
The famous micro-climate, often described as similar to the Cote d’Azur with 2500 hours of sunshine each year, has been a key factor in the development of numerous campsites including many in and around the coastal resorts of Les Sables D’Olonne (famous for the Vendee Globe round the world yacht race), St Jean de Monts, St Gilles Croix de Vie, Jard sur Mer as well as others situated near picturesque country villages such as St Julien des Landes and Apremont. In the Vendee, we offer Camping La Garangeoire, a fabulous 5-star campsite.
Why Go Camping in the Vendee ?
Affordable Attractions
There are a number of attractions for holidaymakers staying in the Vendee, including Puy du Fou, a historical theme park in Les Epesses, between La Roche sur Yon and Cholet and the second most popular attraction in France after Disneyland Paris. There are 5 separate attractions, including Vikings and Richelieu’s Musketeers, each running for 30 – 40 mins. The main show, Cinescene, takes place in the evening on a huge outdoor stage behind the ruined castle. It reviews 700 years of local history with the largest stage in the world, thousands of actors, hundreds of horses and about 400 fireworks per performance. Not to be missed !
Local Cuisine
In gastronomy, the Vendee has plentiful seafood although the region’s speciality is Jambon-mogettes, a dish of ham and white beans often washed down with local wines from Brem and Mareuil. The Vendee region is also the biggest producer of brioche in France including its speciality, Brioche de Vendee.
Getting to the Vendee
Camping in the Vendee is a major element of the local economy and relies on the influx of holidaymakers from the UK and Ireland as well as the Benelux countries. Happily, travelling to the Vendee has improved over recent years with the traditional ferry /Eurotunnel routes from Dover / Folkestone – Calais and Portsmouth to St Malo / Cherbourg / Caen / Le Havre, Poole to Cherbourg / St Malo, Plymouth to Roscoff being complemented by Irish Sea crossings from Cork – Roscoff with Brittany Ferries, Rosslare to Roscoff/Cherbourg with Irish Ferries and a new Rosslare -Cherbourg route operated by CelticLink Ferries. A popular ferry choice from UK is the 07.00 high speed services from Portsmouth-Caen (arr. 11.30) and Poole to Cherbourg (arr. 10.30) enabling holidaymakers to arrive at their Vendee campsite by mid-afternoon with the children in the pool by tea-time ! In addition to self-drive there are a number of low fares airlines, including EasyJet and Ryanair, operating flights into Nantes and La Rochelle providing a fast and easy gateway to your Vendee camping holiday.
Some campsites combine a country setting with easy access to the 90 miles of fine sand beaches. For example, our campsite in the Vendee, Camping La Garangeoire - a founder member of the prestigious Castels Association – has been developed on a 200 hectares estate around a chateau built in the Directoire style in 1842. Today this famous Vendee campsite has 360 pitches, 240 for mobile homes with 140 always kept for traditional camping for caravans, tents and motorhomes.
