As the costs of holidays soar Eurocamp offers a family-friendly getaway with prices from £379 per group

Ahead of a spectacular summer of sport in France, I took the family off on a budget-friendly Eurocamp holiday on the outskirts of Paris to see what the country, and the capital had to offer.

Thanks to Covid and then a cost-of-living crisis, it had been years since our family had taken a holiday so when the opportunity for a cost-effective break in France came our way, we jumped at the chance. And it seems we’re not alone in this sudden desire to get away as demand for holidays has jumped since the start of the year.

Sadly, so too have the prices, as operators cash in on a post-pandemic appetite for a well earned holiday. Which means finding options that won’t break the bank is even more important.

However, tightening the purse strings could lead to a lacklustre break. But fear not, I think I’ve found the perfect solution, one where the accommodation is effectively a home-from-home, and the location offers everything from the big lights of the city to a beach-side resort. And you won’t need to remortgage the house to get there either.

I am of course talking about Eurocamp, the UK’s leading European outdoor holiday specialist. We headed for Paris, but with locations all over the continent offering family-friendly holidays that will keep young and old entertained from dawn ‘til dusk, their parcs are definitely worth investigating, wherever you’re thinking of visiting.

France had been on our family bucket list forever, the place my husband and I got engaged and a country so full of culture and fantastic food I shall never tire of going there, it was a place I’d long hoped to take the children. There are 160 Eurocamp options in France alone but finding the perfect location was a doddle via their website where you can filter the list by region, price, facilities, and more.

We opted for La Croix du Vieux Pont in Berny-Rivière, Paris. Just northeast of the city, it offered a rural getaway, close enough to the capital to enjoy a day trip there. And avoiding the stress of the airport, we took the car and travelled over on P&O’s Dover to Calais ferry.

We travelled on a sunny Sunday morning and from the ease of getting aboard, to the swift and pleasant crossing, the start of our trip was a calm and peaceful one. It seemed like we had only just waved farewell to the White Cliffs before we were being greeted by the beach at Calais. A real bonus when travelling with two primary-aged children.

We took a leisurely drive to the holiday parc, stopping en route for some lunch and practising our French at every given opportunity. Marvelling at the quality of French roads as we went, driving meant we were able to enjoy the landscape and, seeing the many war memorials and cemeteries in this region, to both French and British heroes, was particularly poignant just a few days after the D-Day anniversary events had taken place.

A warm welcome was offered on arrival at La Croix du Vieux Pont and we still had plenty of time left in the day to take a dip in the pool. But first we headed around to our accommodation - a premium holiday home with three bedrooms and a covered decking.

Primarily this trip was for us to really relax - somewhere the kids could enjoy themselves while mum and dad took the very rare opportunity to kick back a bit. And the parc provided the perfect location for doing just that. 

Over the course of the week we enjoyed the four swimming pools over and over again, complete with brand new, giant twisty slides, the beach-fringed lagoon, ten-pin bowling, the games arcade, boating lake and mini quad bike track. Many of these activities involved the children having fun while us parents looked on, glass in hand. Bliss!

Back at the lodge, with our decking area overlooking the river, it was a beautiful and tranquil spot to chill out in the evenings with a book and a glass of wine while the children slept like logs after their action packed days.

However, with the hidden charms of the Aisne Valley, complete with gently flowing rivers and sleepy towns, all around us, some days we did opt to venture slightly further afield. The town of Compiegne was a highlight. Little over half an hour from Berny-Rivière, it is a great place to partake in a little retail therapy and is also steeped in history.

Most notably, the Palace of Compiegne can be found there, famous for housing members of the French royal family before the revolution, including Louis XVI, and later home to Napoleon. We also took a look around the Church of Saint-Jacques, the place Joan of Arc, who defended the town, was said to have gone to pray on the day she was captured in 1430.

Of course, so close to the capital, we couldn’t resist a day trip to Paris and a whistle-stop tour of some of the sights including the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, of course. Taking a train from the nearby Villers-Cotterêts, we arrived at the Gare du Nord in under an hour.

We timed our visit just right with a special exhibition taking place at the Musée d'Orsay, celebrating the first impressionist exhibition which opened in Paris 150 years ago, orchestrated by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Cézanne. A real treat for art lovers to see many of the paintings from the original exhibition, reunited for the first time in a century and a half.

Being in France, there was no shortage of great food. Each morning we ate freshly baked pastries from the on-site bakery, and enjoyed a number of baguettes during our stay for an easy and budget-friendly lunch.

There is a more formal restaurant at the parc but with tired out kids we either opted for the takeaway (which had the most delicious pizzas) or grabbed food from the mini supermarket, next door to the bakery, and whipping something up in the well-equipped kitchen back at the lodge.

All too quickly, our departure day rolled around and we took another leisurely drive back to Calais with a quick detour to Dunkirk to see, first hand, the location of the historic events which played out there during World War II. But this was not goodbye to Eurocamp but au revoir as there was so much more we wanted to see and do at the picturesque La Croix du Vieux Pont.

On the holiday parc itself, we never did get around to laser tag, mini golf, archery, tennis or canoeing on the lake. And with the thrills of Disneyland Paris just a shuttle service away, the children won’t let it drop until we go back and tick that off the bucket list too.

Whether you’re looking for family fun, history, culture, or just great food and wine, this region of France has it all, and Eurocamp allows you to experience it all without compromise - and just as importantly, without costing the earth too.