For several years, we went the ‘self-catering accommodation on family holiday campsite in France’ route for summer holidays. I’ve talked about the site we return to again and again before. They were the perfect solution for two adults who prefer relaxed sightseeing and reading on a lounger that are traveling with a very active youngster who’s prefer to spend the day running around on a football pitch and swimming.
When we started these trips, I’d never been to one of these holiday camps, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The official information provided had a suggested list of items to bring but until you’ve been to one of these sites, you really don’t know what your family will need because everyone’s family is different.
Having been a few times now, I’m more easy-going about prep and packing. I’ve sorted out what to bring to make arrival day as easy as possible (after 5 hours in the car, you want EASY in capital letters) and what to bring to make ‘housekeeping’ quick and easy as well. That’s my mantra for these trips – quick and easy. After all, I’m on holiday.
PACKING SUPPLIES
We’ve always gone the mobile home route – and while we’ve never felt cramped, they aren’t overflowing with extra space either. So, when packing up our stuff, we’ve opted out of using suitcases (which take up lots of room on their own) and pack nearly everything into those large blue IKEA bags. They hold a ton of stuff, make grouping things together easy, and when empty, fold away for easy storage in the car boot.
I’ve also got a couple of large plastic storage boxes for bottled supplies (they slot nicely among the tote bags in the boot) and another for in the car full of snacks, water juice, napkins, etc for the car journey.
PACKING FOOD FOR ‘WHAT IF
Of course we shop while on holiday, stocking the larder fully once we’re onsite – I love French hypermarkets – but we always have a few things with us because ‘stuff happens’ on the road and sometimes that means you end up arriving after the shops are closed.
- Small boxes of cereal, a pint of long life milk, instant coffee or tea (or both) and some sugar.
- Some tinned fruit– mostly just in case of late arrivals since popping tins open on the road isn’t really the easiest way to eat on the move.
- Package of pasta, jarred sauce – this is very handy if traffic delays lead to late arrivals after the campsite shop is closed. Trust me. It happens.
- Basic spices – salt, pepper, onion power, garlic powder, chili flakes (this very much our’ specific spice list. Your mileage may vary).
I go into more details about planning and packing to make feeding everyone on holiday as easy as possible over on Fabulous Foodie. Everyone’s gotta eat but that doesn’t mean making more work for yourself that is strictly necessary.
THE CAR JOURNEY
As our trips take us through France, we need a European driving kit. This means high-vis vests in the car for all passengers, an unopened breathalyser (bring two because if you get stopped and they make you use one – presto, you don’t have an unopened one anymore and they get you for the lack of it – sneaky) and a warning triangle. Also, headlight adapters – to adjust for driving on the other side of the road.
Other things we always make sure to have in the car:
- food: individual size bottled water and/or juice, pretzels, raisins, biscuits in single serving size packets. Crisps tend to create more crumbs in the car so we avoid those during car trips.
- clean up: napkins (or a roll of kitchen towels), loo roll and a couple of bin bags (shocking the amount of garbage that can be produced during a car journey).
- keep-them-busy: music for the car, reading material, activity mags (with pencils) and games.
- just-in-case: first aid kit and torch (with extra batteries).
CLOTHING
This depends largely on the time of year and where you are going but we always to Brittany towards the end of July/early August and we’re very much a pool and seaside type of holiday family. We also have a very active Sprog who throws himself headfirst into any activity the kids’ camps have going on. This means everything we bring is a) casual and b) suitable for warm temps. You know the kinds of thing – t-shirts, shorts, swimsuits, cover up, a pair of jeans, sandals, trainers, etc.
Other items I can’t recommend highly enough:
- Flip flops for in and around your site and by the pool. Yes, I have sandals but if I am just popping down to the recycling or to grab the towels off the hanging rail, easier to shove my feet into flip flops.
- Light cardigan for evening. Trust me, the temps CAN drop quite sharply.
- Rainwear in case the weather goes bad and you’re out and about.
- Hats are a must. Sprog will spend HOURS in the sun at a time and Himself doesn’t have the protection of hair that I do. So, hats are always on the holiday list. Ditto sunglasses.
HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES
This is where my real learning curve happened, IKEA bags aside. These trips were my first experience in self-catered accommodation, and I knew only that there would be basic kitchen equipment and furniture. Beyond that I was at the mercy of the suggested packing lists provided by the company and those, I found via google. While those lists gave me a lot of guidance, it wasn’t until I was on site that I could actually see what I really needed and what I did not.
My best suggestion is skipping the welcome packs of household supplies or bedding packs on offer. Seems silly to pay twice what these things would cost at home. A trip to the bargain stores will save money and time (a bit less time in the local shops once you are on holiday). What to get put in your household supply box?
- household linens: We have a couple of basic sheet sets that we call our travel bedding, which also involves extra pillowcases. Basic sheets always involve quite thin pillowcases and that kinda annoys me. Your mileage may vary. 2 beach towels each. Why 2? They take time to dry and you might want to head back to the pool or beach. They’re also useful for throwing over plastic deck chairs which can get sticky in hot weather. A few flannels, tea towels and a pack of microfibre cloths (great for any sort of clean up and they rinse out and dry quickly).
- cleaning supplies: It sounds obvious but a kitchen sponge with a scrubber side, a roll of bin bags (these were the handiest thing ever), washing up liquid and household cleaning wipes.
- kitchen equipment: A decent knife, maybe two – a good all-around one and a bread knife. The knives provided are always too blunt and if you’re in France a bread knife is a must. A box of matches or click lighter as we love using the BBQ when on holiday.
- electricals: The usual phone and tablet chargers, extension leads since there are never enough actual outlets for us and travel adapters as needed. Note, it’s worth checking what the electrical situation will be at your site. You may NOT need the adapters.
- things to do: Books, deck of cards, tablets, etc. Sprog is an avid reader, so he tends to bring quite a few books but he also reads quickly so extra activities are a must in case the weather goes bad and because at some point, a bit of quiet time can be helpful.
- carry-all: I mentioned the IKEA bags already and you can use one for hauling your stuff back and forth from the pool or beach but for that, I prefer a tote bag I can actually close.
- handful of clothes pins: keeps drying towels and clothing in place should the wind pick up, keeps snack bags closed (and attached to carry all if needed), turns regular hangers into trouser hangers, doubles as a hook for tea towels in the kitchen. So handy and a must have.
TOILETRIES
Again, you COULD buy these things after you get where you are going but I find that I’d rather make the trips to the shops as short as possible and spend more time playing miniature golf or lounging by the pool.
- the usual bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste, brushes, etc. Just swing by the travel size section of your nearest chemist.
- yes, loo roll is generally supplied but … well, look. It’s not the best quality and it’s good to have some loo roll on hand for the journey as well. Some of those rest stops are not restocked in a timely manner … if you get my drift.
- insect repellent and suntan lotion.
All this information was the kind of thing I was looking for when I was preparing for my first trip of this kind – and while Sprog may not have noticed (seeing as he rushed out the moment we arrived to climb things and find the kids’ clubs), it all made his holiday a smoother experience as well.
I hope it has been helpful – and if you found this helpful, you may want to check out my more in-depth look the ‘catering’ part of self-catering holidays from Fabulous Foodie – from the planning and equipping yourself to make sure everyone is fed to the actual question of what to eat. Because holidaying is hungry stuff but shouldn’t become too much work.