Camping Le Capanne

The restaurant service was atrocious, though I’ll review that separately. The pools are fabulous, but there isn’t much else for kids, and they can’t spend all day there. During our stay the beaches were closed over possible pollution, but the beach bus kept running and there were no warnings. We only found out from a nice older Italian man in San Vincenzo. I stayed in a mobile home and wouldn’t return. On arrival I was told my car could only be on site on arrival and departure days, even though guests on touring pitches could keep theirs there. I had to leave it in an unsecured field opposite and carry all my shopping to a pitch at the back of the site. When I asked why, they couldn’t give me a sensible explanation. There were lots of pine needles and bits of tree bark everywhere.

The pools are lovely and the children had plenty of fun activities throughout the day. The mini disco was enjoyable too, though it starts rather late, at 9 PM. Evening entertainment carries on until 11 PM, so it can be noisy if you’re near the main area. If your spot is further from the pools, scooters or bikes make it much easier to get around. We were disappointed with the Casale mobile home. Its veranda was partly rotting, the air conditioning wouldn’t go below 26°C, and the beds were extremely hard. The kitchen was missing a lot of essentials, and there was significant mold in the bathrooms. Even so, we had a great time at the campsite.

The food was good, but the extra charge spoiled the evening. We’d come to have dinner with friends at the restaurant, and were stopped at reception on arrival. If we stayed longer than an hour, they said we had to pay €19 per adult and €9 per child. We explained we only wanted to eat, but staff wouldn’t make an exception. It came to about €50 on top of the meal. I understand charging day visitors to use the campsite facilities, but it seems odd to pay that much just to dine when we weren’t using them. It didn’t feel customer-friendly and came across as all about money, especially as we were there to spend at the restaurant. It’s a shame and unnecessary. I’d suggest letting outside guests come in to eat without this relatively large fee.

We had a really nice time, and the kids loved it. The restaurant was lovely, the swimming complex was fabulous for all ages, and the campsite was in great condition. There’s an artificial turf football pitch, crazy golf, tennis, bikes for hire to explore, and entertainment every evening. Staff were really nice too. It’s about 45 minutes by car from Pisa airport, with an easy drive along the motorway for most of the way. We’d definitely return.