by Victoria Pollitt | Mar 9, 2019 | Accommodation, Brittany
Is Port du Crouesty holiday village, in France, family friendly?
Where is it?
Port du Crouesty holiday village is in a quiet location in south west Brittany – about two hours drive from St Malo. It is sandwiched between a busy marina and a sandy beach at the end of the Rhuys Peninsula.
What is it?
It’s a large holiday village with apartments set between a port and a beach. The resort has hundreds of apartments, two swimming pools, playgrounds, a shop and restaurant. It is run by Pierre & Vacances.
Is it family friendly?
Yes, the resort is geared around family holidays. Our room overlooked the harbour and had a grassy area outside for playing games. There is plenty of space, a lovely beach with sailing facilities, bike hire and a children’s club. It is a very French area so English is not widely spoken.
The rooms
Our family room was on the small side but it was nicely furnished in a dark blue nautical theme.
We had a double bedroom and two sofa beds in the lounge/kitchen area, which was fairly well equipped.
The apartment had a nice balcony with dining table for four. French rooms tend to be smaller than English so consider moving up a grade in your accommodation to get extra space.
Food and drink
There is a cafe open in high season in the centre of the resort and the marina area has at least a dozen options ranging from fancy restaurants to bakeries and takeaway pizza stalls.
Nearby
The beach and marina are the two nearest attractions but it is a 20-minute drive to Vannes, a beautiful walled town with a bustling market. There are lots of beaches to explore within a short drive, and you can catch ferries to nearby islands too.
Our highlights
*Beach. The lovely sandy beach, Plage du Fogeo, borders the holiday village with a bustling sailing club. It boasts golden sands and relatively shallow waters, ideal for family time.
Playing on the beach at our resort
*Harbour. The busy harbour is good for a stroll and has plenty of cafes and restaurants. There are stalls selling crepes and Breton biscuits too. Our favourite restaurant of the bunch was Le Cap Horn on the quayside.
*The balcony. Our apartment had a great view over the marina in the evening and was a lovely spot to eat.
*The space. This is a large holiday village with plenty of green space, two small playgrounds and two pools.
*Walks. A short walk away is the Carin Petit Mont ancient site which was some lovely walks around the headland, a good fun way to burn off a big dinner.
Address
Pierre & Vacances Port du Crouesty, 56640, Arzon, France.
How to book
For more information visit the Pierre & Vacances website.
RELATED CONTENT: Read the whole review of our trip to Brittany here.
RELATED CONTENT: We travelled with Brittany Ferries, read our review of our cross-Channel jouney here.
(We stayed as guests, all views are our own. This article contains affiliate links).
by Victoria Pollitt | Jul 2, 2018 | Brittany, Hampshire, Portsmouth, Reviews
We review a family holiday to St Malo in Brittany and try out Brittany Ferries for the first time
I can’t spell it. I can’t even pronounce it, but the Breton delicacy Kouign Amann may just be the best thing I have ever eaten – it’s buttery, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth heaven.
I buy a whole cake, warm from the oven and it quickly diminishes as I sit on the harbour-side in Port du Crouesty – on the southern tip of Brittany.
Ferry
Getting to this lesser visited area of the region was part of our adventure as we crossed the Channel by ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo.
The Brittany Ferries ship feels huge, with lots to see and do. Once you’ve stood on deck and waved goodbye to England, there are children’s discos and shows, a small soft play area, games room, restaurants and even a cinema.
It’s like a mini-cruise and we make the most of everything on our way back but the outward journey was overnight. So after a magic show we were all excited to get to our cabin and sleep onboard.
The disco onboard
The nine-hour crossing soon passed and we woke up ready for Brittany. (For a detailed review of our crossing with Brittany Ferries click here).
Brittany
Many people know and love this most westerly corner of France, returning year after year.
We were stopping on the Rhuys peninsular between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Morbihan. This is French holiday country – there’s barely an English accent.
And not many speak much English so I was glad my husband’s French is better than mine.
Port du Crouesty is a modern harbour development. We stayed at Pierre & Vacances resort, which is in a winning location.
Sandwiched between a busy marina and pretty beach, there are two outdoor swimming pools and plenty of good restaurants at the harbour, all within walking distance of our apartment.
Playing on the beach at our resort
If you are feeling active, you can hire bikes and there is also a sailing club.
Depending on when you stay, there’s also a children’s club and activities.
Our one-bedroom apartment had two comfortable sofa beds in the lounge. It was on the small side for the four of us but the view over the marina from the balcony made up for it.
The apartment overlooked the marina
Other rooms look over a great grassy area and lovely playground. For a more detailed review of Port du Crouesty, click here.
Surrounding area
If the weather is good you don’t need to go far but we made the most of our wheels to explore the area.
We drove 20 miles to the historic walled town of Vannes. After getting stuck into its bustling market – and more French food – we headed for Vannes Aquarium.
The highlights were some of the biggest turtles we’ve ever seen and a crocodile which seemed to have been found after it ended up in the Paris sewer system.
More four-legged creatures delighted Josh and Jess on another day out, to Branféré Animal park.
This is more of a lovely parkland stroll with added wildlife than a traditional zoo. Wallabies wander freely around, giraffes and rhinos enjoy huge enclosures and birds of all shapes and sizes fly overhead.
In the middle of it all was a series of amazing nets placed among the treetops to run across. A high-level walkway with more than 17,000 square metres of netting. Great fun all round. If you don’t look down.
The Parcabout high-level walkway in the trees
Beaches
The Rhuys peninsular is blessed with beaches. We visited four in all.
Our favourite was one we had all to ourselves – Plage du Goh Velin was a five-minute drive from our apartment.
Armed with nets and buckets, we looked for crabs, collected shells, climbed rocks and even found a cave.
A day at Plage du Goh Velin
In conclusion
And every day we sampled more of the area’s amazing food – delicious sweet and savoury crêpes, baguettes, cheeses, pastries and seafood.
Our trip was during half-term but outside French holidays, which really made a difference, everywhere was quiet.
As we left St Malo in glorious sunshine on the aptly named ship Bretagne, we were lucky there was plenty of fun on the ferry to keep the holiday spirit going.
The ferry Bretagne leaving St Malo
And there was one more surprise to remind us of the region. The chunk of Kouign Amann that I’d sneaked home.
The icing on the cake of our trip to beautiful Brittany.
Accommodation: We stayed as guests of Pierre & Vacances resort in Port du Crouesty, Brittany, France for the purposes of this review. All opinions are our own. For a more detailed review of the accommodation click here.
Travel: We travelled courtesy of Brittany Ferries. See our detailed review of Brittany Ferries here.
(This article contains affiliate links).
by Stuart Pollitt | May 10, 2018 | Brittany, Hampshire, Portsmouth, Transport
Read our report on a Brittany Ferries trip to France
A ferry can be a great way to travel with children – it breaks up a long journey, is (fairly) relaxing, you get to keep your own car on holiday plus you can pack loads into it.
The four of us have used ferries to cross the Channel for holidays to France and Denmark.
Here we review a crossing with Brittany Ferries, which operates between the UK and France, the UK and Spain and Ireland and France. We travelled between Portsmouth and St Malo.
Boarding
Boarding was smooth and quick at both ports. Yes there are a lot of cars on board – our ship, the Bretagne holds 2,000 passengers and 580 cars – but it didn’t take more than 20 minutes to disembark in a well drilled operation.
One word or warning, there can be a lot of steps to climb up from the car park to the higher decks if you have small children.
A four-berth cabin on board Brittany Ferries
The cabins
We booked a four-berth club cabin and our children loved it, it was a real adventure for them.
There were bunk beds on either side (the top one folds back when not in use to give more space), a small television on the wall and an en-suite with shower and toilet.
We found it cosy and very well soundproofed and both children slept well.
Cabins are not just for night times though, it is also worth booking a cabin for a day trip if you have small children. It is good to have a base and somewhere to relax (for parents as well if you have been chasing them around the ferry). Plus they are great if your child still naps.
The food
There was plenty of choice for all budgets. There is an à la carte restaurant, self-service restaurant, cafe, and a bar.
We ate at the self-service La Baule – breakfast on the outward leg and a dinner coming home to England.
The price is reasonable and drinks at the bar aren’t bad value either.
The ferry has children’s entertainment
Children’s entertainment
Early evening shows for children kept ours entertained. There was a children’s entertainer with a good line in balloon animals, a mini disco and in high season they put on a panto.
There are also two cinema screens showing family films. The screens aren’t full size but it’s a nice way to while away a couple of hours.
There is also a video games room and soft play area.
The feeling
We were fortunate to enjoy good weather in both directions and it was fantastic to go out on the sundeck and watch Portsmouth harbour disappearing into the distance.
Our children loved seeing the wake caused by the huge engines, spotting the Channel Islands as we motored past and walking around the outside of the ferry.
The whole trip felt like an adventure for them and a memorable part of the holiday.
RELATED CONTENT: Britain to Brittany with two children and lots of delicious treats
RELATED CONTENT: Revie: Port du Crouesty holiday village in Brittany
We travelled as guests of Brittany Ferries for the purpose of this review. For more information and bookings visit their website.
