Camping Les Logeries Waterside campsite in Vairé

Camping Les Logeries is a small, family-run 3-star campsite in Vairé, in the Vendée countryside. Its 70 pitches are spread over 1.3 hectares among hedges and trees, and owners Michel and Valérie welcome every guest in person.

Water shapes the whole stay. Les Grenières pond, right next to the campsite, is a few steps away on foot, rod in hand. Lac du Jaunay is a 10-minute drive, and the ocean around fifteen minutes away, with the beaches of Brétignolles-sur-Mer, Sauveterre and the Grande Plage of Les Sables-d’Olonne.

For accommodation, choose between grassy pitches for tents, caravans or motorhomes, some with private facilities, mobile homes with 1 to 3 bedrooms, a Lodge, a large chalet for 8 and a wooden Tiny House. There is no amplified entertainment: in the evening, you mostly hear the birds. The site holds the Camping Qualité label, checked against more than 600 criteria.

The bar at reception opens from 8.30am to 10pm and serves ice cream and waffles all day. In summer, a snack bar takes over in the evening from 7pm to 9pm, for a simple meal after fishing or the beach, on the terrace overlooking the pool.

Every pitch has its own parking space and a 10-amp electric hook-up. The toilet block includes an accessible cubicle for people with reduced mobility, and there is a laundry. For families, reception lends a travel cot, high chair and baby bath.

Wi-Fi is deliberately limited: paid, low-speed and only at reception, to keep the site a place to unplug. A bakery, grocer and newsagent are nearby. One pet under 10 kg is accepted on a lead.

Some pitches have private facilities. Reception is staffed from 8.30am to 7pm in July and August, and an outside car park allows a quiet arrival after the barrier closes.

Days revolve around the water. Start at Les Grenières pond with the children, a perfect spot for a first catch, then head for the ocean: Brétignolles-sur-Mer is 9 km away, Sauveterre beach 11 km and the Grande Plage of Les Sables-d’Olonne 13 km, for swimming, surfing or shore fishing.

In Les Sables-d’Olonne, Tanchet beach and the Île Penotte, a lane decorated with shell mosaics, make great outings. The salt marshes of Île-d’Olonne can be explored on foot or by bike, as can the Olonne state forest with its cycle paths. Reception provides maps and routes.

Further afield, the Puy du Fou is about an hour away, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie some twenty kilometres, and the rail bikes of Commequiers fill a family afternoon. Sea anglers set out from Les Sables-d’Olonne, and the canals of the Marais poitevin, in southern Vendée, make a lovely day trip. Back at the campsite, the playground with slide, summer bouncy castles and the pétanque pitch keep the children busy.