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14 Ultimate Tips For Your First Eurocamp Holiday

We have inadvertently become quite knowledgeable when it comes to a Eurocamp family holiday. Having now been going on them for eight years and visiting a selection of holiday parks over the years. We have stayed in a total of nine so far across four different European countries and have plans to visit our tenth this year and our fifth country with them – Spain. All our visits have been during the school holidays and we have picked up a few Eurocamp tips along the way to make the most of your holiday but also to get the best price possible.

Please note this is not a packing list! If you would like a packing list then you can find one here – Eurocamp the ultimate packing list.

Table of Contents

14 Ultimate Tips For Your First Eurocamp Holiday

To give this post some extra credibility please find links below to all of the Eurocamp destination we have visited over the years;

Gironde Atlantic Coast – our first time in May 2016 – Cote D’Argent Hourtin-Plage
South of France – Esterel Camping St Raphael
Italy near Venice near Levino – Union Lido
Lake Garda – review coming soon
Interlaken in Switzerland – we stayed with sister company Canvas which is now part of the same group – Manor Farm Camping
Britany in France – Eurocamp L’Atlantique in Brittany
Leiden in the Netherlands – Duinrell which is one of the ones with theme parks which we visited last year in May 2023.
Gironde Atlantic Coast – our most recent visit in May 2024 to Atlantic Club Montalivet Campsite
Vilanova Park in Spain – Vilanova Park Eurocamp Review – Read Before You Go

We have also stopped overnight at La Croix du Vieux Pont which is close to Paris and a popular campsite for those looking to make a day trip to Disneyland Paris. As well as a rather impromptu stop at one in the Loire Valley after a flat tyre (see below). All of which we stopped at during our visit to the South of France, which is a very long way. In hindsight, I wish we had considered flying to that one! Although we did manage to drive the Monaco Grand Prix circuit in our own car, earning a second flat of the trip.

Sign up for mailing lists

If you are looking to get the best price (and who isn’t) then the best thing to do is to sign up to the mailing list on the Eurocamp website. Eurocamp quite often offers discounts on certain parks or accommodation options. Normally at the beginning of the year, there will be a January sale. I brought our most recent trip in May 2024 for half term for £335 for the top-of-the-range accommodation for the four of us. So it is possible to pick up a real bargain. Although I suspect this was such a good price because it is a new campsite for them. Eurocamp will also reward you with an additional 5% loyalty discount if you have booked with them before.

Book well in advance

If like us you are limited to school holidays then book well in advance. It is likely you will get the best prices early on in the season. Or book last minute if they are struggling to fill some of the parks then you may see additional discounts. From my experience, it is likely that these will be family holidays in France since there are so many different options there.

Popular parks go quickly

Booking early is even more important if you want something more unusual during the high season. Such as Duinrell which we visited last year had a theme park and waterpark attached. There are others with a safari park attached, or if there are particular locations, Venice, Rome, and Lake Garda are all popular. Croatia is a relatively new addition but with lower-cost flights and now that it is part of the euro makes it more attractive.

It is also unlikely that you will get deals on these but, booking in advance will at least allow you to pay it off slowly. I tend to pick ours based on what the swimming pool complex looks like and water slides. The bigger the better as far as the boys are concerned, now they are older the need for a heated pool has lessened. I also check that there is at least one restaurant on site, a grocery shop (is a must) and one that allows BBQs. Depending on location, not all Eurocamp parcs allow BBQs but we find we much prefer to do this when staying with them.

Check school holidays at the country of destination

This will give you an idea of how busy it will be. It will also give you an indication of when the better prices will be. Sometimes changing your arrival dates will give you a much better price since you fall out of the school holidays in the country of destination. However, be mindful if you visit in the quieter times that not everything will likely be open. For example, the French May half term is at a different time and their Summer holidays also finish before the end of ours do. Which normally means the end of the Summer holidays can be cheaper/less busy.

Consider shoulder seasons

I generally think that a Eurocamp holiday is great value during the shoulder seasons in the May and October half term. When you tend to find the cheapest weeks. Quite often you can not get a break in the UK for the cheaper as you can get a break with Eurocamp during these school holidays. Making them great value for money, especially when coupled with early booking discounts.

Additional charges

Keep an eye out for additional charges. This would normally apply to bed linen and towels and it can mount up quickly. This year we have tried out their Ultimate holiday homes which means that not only is linen included but the beds are already made. It was a game-changer after a long drive. You can of course take your own bedding and towels to keep the price down. We are considering a top box for the car which would make this more feasible for us in the future. If you are flying then you will be pleased to know duvets and pillows are included, you would just need covers.

Another additional charge could be the welcome pack. Which includes some essentials such as a tea towel, washing up liquid, dish sponge, plastic bag and a round of drinks. To be honest it is not needed and you can bring all of this with you if coming in your own car.

A number of parks are not owned by Eurocamp, instead, they just effectively rent out the mobile home. In these instances then there could be other additional charges. For example, the swimming pools tend to be free entry. But Duinrell because of what it was we only had discount vouchers. There will be other parks that operate similarly so it is worth checking this before booking. If in doubt then ring customer services.

Research day trips and activities ahead of arriving

I will come onto wifi in a minute but it is a good idea to try to do some research on what you may want to do and see. For example, if you want to get into Venice without driving like we did, how that will work etc. Or if there is an activity you want to do, a local town, opening times etc. We came a cropper with this on our last break, not realising the adventure park we wanted to do was only open half days at the weekend. The reason for this is that quite often data is not as good as you would expect it to be. Making searching the interest more difficult.

Expect to pay for wifi

The alternative is to pay for wifi. Most of the campsites we have been to, such as the one last week have wifi. But you need to pay for it. We tried to make so without but in the end gave up and purchased it. The best value would have been for 7 days as discounts are usually offered for longer periods. Be prepared that even if you buy it the wifi may be patchy and work better when fewer people are likely to be online.

Eurocamp Reps

If your Eurocamp accommodation has a Eurocamp reception then it is worth having a good look around. Normally you can get extra information about things to do in the local area, they can also share their top tips for a stay. We have had some brilliant reps over the years who have gone above and beyond with useful suggestions. Plus some have outside toys you can borrow or offer other useful things you may have forgotten such as travel adaptors.

Borrow Baby Kit

Normally you can add to your booking an extra baby kit such as a baby bath, high chair and bath mat at no charge. Not only does this mean you do not need to bring it with you but it should be there waiting for you when you arrive.

Speak to customer services

If you have questions then it is always worth speaking with customer service over the phone. They always try to help and get answers to your questions. Not only that but they are really helpful when things go wrong. For example, when we lost a tyre on the way down to the South of France they managed to find us an overnight stop on our way down. Since there was no way we were going to make it before the campsite closed for the night.

Take bikes or scooters

One of the best things we did on our most recent trip was take the kid’s bikes with us. They loved the freedom it gave them to go and get bread in the morning and get around the campsite. It saved having to spend additional costs on hiring them and we knew their bikes all fitted them fine. Although it did cost an additional £51 on the Le Shuttle so it probably works out price-neutral. They now want to take them on every future Eurocamp break. However, since we are flying to our next stay in October I think bikes may have to wait until next year.

Travel & Car Insurance

I know I am preaching to the converted but if you are driving down then make sure you have all the necessary kit with you. You can read more about what you need for driving abroad on the RAC website. You need both breakdown insurance and car insurance that allows you to drive abroad. And since we have experienced first-hand a breakdown while travelling in Europe this is something that I would not leave home without. I also keep a first aid kit in the car.

Tyreweld

The other thing is tyreweld. Although our cars have run flat tyres, having experienced two flats in one trip. Tyreweld is something I don’t leave home without. You squirt it into the tyre and it seals the hole/cut from the inside long enough to allow you to get it replaced. This would have made all the difference on our trip when we lost a tyre as it was waiting for hours for the breakdown people to arrive that really caused us the issue and meant we were too far away from our holiday parc to each it on that day. You can purchase it on the Halfords website here.

Swimwear

If you are considering a French Eurocamp park then you may see hidden in the small print that they operate a traditional swimwear policy. Which means speedos for the boys/men and plain costumes for the ladies without skirts. In our experience, we have found that this is not always the case. So I tend to take a set of both and leave the tags on the Speedo versions in the hope they never get used. Sometimes the pools are stricter the busier it gets but others don’t enforce it at all despite the small print. You can also check for recent photos on TripAdvisor to give you an idea.