Camping Tohapi La Côte Sauvage **

The seaside walk to the lighthouse and salt marshes was lovely. We had a shaded, spacious pitch, mostly under pines, and the showers were clean. Bike hire and the on-site pizza were both good. With ACSI out of season, this is much nicer and better value than the crowded motorhome stop up the road. Good campsite, close to the beach.

The girls at reception were really pleasant and spoke good English, and the free 30 minutes of Wi-Fi at the Snack Bar actually worked. We stayed three nights and paid €16 a night with our ACSI camping card. If you want water on the pitch, though, you can’t use the card, and they wanted €27 a night for us and our two dogs. No thanks. We found a nice spot, P012, handy for the showers, toilets, water and table tennis. The beach and woods made a great morning dog walk, and biking was great too. There’s a daily market at Ars-en-Re. We arrived on I’ll de Re on Thursday after finding our chosen campsite full. When I called around, all the others were full too, except this one. There was nothing actually wrong with it, apart from being on sand, which was a pain with two dogs.

There’s plenty to do on site or nearby for free or next to nothing, with just a small charge for some things, so kids can play and you can be tranquille. The place keeps improving and is consistently excellent. Everything you need is on site at a reasonable price, and the staff are lovely, especially the joyful snack bar team. You know who you are, and I know who I am, even though I look very different from when we came a few years ago. It’s high quality and eco-friendly without feeling sparse or serious. You can pick and water free herbs in lots of places around the campsite, from near reception to what feels like the wild Atlantic coast miles away. Worth trying, but book in advance, there are many returners. The place and the people, everything!

The staff worked really hard, and the whole campsite stayed clean and tidy. The bar and food were very good too, so there’s no need to look elsewhere.