Au Petit Port de l’Houmeau

At the Port de L’Houmeau, in L’Houmeau (Charente-Maritime), the campsite is less than 5 km from La Rochelle and about ten minutes by car from the Île de Ré. The nearest beach is 800 m away. The 3.4-hectare site, wooded and green, is rated 4 stars and belongs to the Camping Paradis network.

Accommodation consists of mobile homes of 17 to 40 m², with one to four bedrooms and room for up to eight people, including a two-bedroom model adapted for guests with reduced mobility. The campsite puts the emphasis on in-season entertainment, with a kids’ club, show evenings and a water park with a heated pool.

The campsite is open all year round, and so is its reception. Off-season, from September to April, it lets mobile homes by the month to students (from €500 a month including charges, subject to application) and to professionals travelling for work; the site states that it imposes no minimum length of stay. The mobile homes have electric heating in every room. The washroom blocks, however, are described as accessible in high season, which remains to be confirmed for a winter stay.

In July and August, reception is open from 9am to 7pm every day; from September it is open from 9am to noon and from 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays.

Shore fishing, cycling to La Rochelle and the Île de Ré, La Rochelle aquarium and museums 20 minutes away.

The water park is built around a heated outdoor pool, two slides that end in a second pool, a paddling pool and a jacuzzi for six people surrounded by sun loungers. In 2025, the pool was open from 5 April to 30 September, from 10am to 6pm in mid-season and until 8pm in high season; lifeguards supervise the pool five days a week in July and August. It therefore does not operate in winter.

The bar-restaurant serves brasserie-style food (pizzas, burgers, salads), dishes of the day and takeaway meals. In summer it serves non-stop from 11am to 10.30pm; in low season it opens every evening from 6pm to 10pm, but only until 15 September. Mussels and chips or paella evenings and bingo nights punctuate the summer.

Wi-Fi is free. A laundry with washing machines and dryers (paid) is on site, and reception sells local products such as salt and postcards. You can hire sheets, towels and baby equipment (travel cot, high chair) there, as well as Dutch or electric bikes from a partner. Cleaning is extra. Pets are allowed for €9 a night, and a digital welcome booklet is sent after booking.

On site, campers have a pétanque court, a beach volleyball court, table tennis tables, outdoor fitness equipment and a play area with a slide and swing. Equipment is lent out. The kids’ club is for 4 to 14-year-olds, with creative games, workshops and tournaments. In season, “Paradis des Stars” evenings with concerts and comedians and a weekly Fiesta Boom Boom round off the programme; tasting outings and paid guided walks are also offered to adults.

Nearby, the pebble beach at Pampin looks out over the bridge to the Île de Ré, the Port du Plomb is known for its seafood huts, and Châtelaillon-Plage offers water sports such as paddleboarding, kayaking or catamaran sailing. Shore fishing lets you gather cockles, clams and shrimp.

La Rochelle, with its Old Port, its three towers, one of the largest aquariums in Europe, the Maritime Museum and the central market, can be visited at any time of year. The Île de Ré offers more than 100 km of cycle paths, the Phare des Baleines lighthouse and Saint-Martin-de-Ré, whose fortifications are UNESCO-listed. These outings also suit the low season, as do the cycle paths towards the marshes.