Huttopia Landes Sud Huttopia

Huttopia Landes Sud is essentially a campsite in the dunes. The soil is light, sandy and undulating while the trees that cover it all are those tall gangly pines that are synonymous with the coast. Pad around in your flip-flops and the familiar feel of sand in your toes makes you feel like the beach is on your doorstep. In fact it’s a 15km cycle ride away and the dunescape seems to go on for miles. After 40-minutes of pedalling, a dip in the sea is all the sweeter.

Cycling is exactly the type of thing this campsite is all about though. It’s an active place and the facilities are plentiful. There’s a heated swimming pool, volleyball courts, petanque, table tennis and a good children’s playground. Plus, a river runs around one edge of the camping area, where you can slip in a canoe or kayak and paddle all the way to the sea – sadly there aren’t any available to hire on site yet.

It’s fair to say that so many options, including organised children’s activities, do give it a slightly commercial feel. It’s staff that welcome you here, not a coupe of campsite owners, and there are plenty of caravans and motorhomes to be found. Yet the Huttopia aim is really to make a welcoming site for everyone. At the far end, smaller, non-electric pitches are occupied almost solely by tents, while glamping options are also available in another area with wood and canvas lodges and oversized gypsy-style trailers.

It’s certainly not a tiny, local farmer-owned place but if you’re looking for traditional camping in the trees and never want to be left thinking of ideas for things to do, Huttopia Landes Sud will be the first to fill the void.