We have been to this campsite for four years in a row!
We went to Brasilia with Cantabrica, the campsite is run by Monsieur Pla who takes great pride in maintaining his site to the very highest standard, Brasilia have quite a good website. It is the cleanest place we have ever been! The toilet/shower blocks are magnificent, surrounded by floral displays worthy of Kew Gardens and immaculately clean. There is no litter.

There are four of us, Ma, Pa and two girls. There is a good range of entertainment and something for all ages. The beach is fantastic, some parts are quite steep going in but it levels out to about three feet and stays that way for quite far out. The waves can be quite high and young children would need to be watched quite closely, the end of the beach beside the river estuary is favoured by naturists but most are discreet. Good for snorkelling in calm conditions, we discovered there were lovely fish living along the breakwater.

The swimming pool is a magnificent 50m, monitored by lifeguards and again is immaculate. There is no food or drink allowed in, although there is a cafe area. There are no slides and large inflatables are disallowed so very good for the kids to play in and also for the adults to have a good swim.

Site shops are quite good, watch out for the Pizza man - fantastic. There is a wive cave, boutique, paper shop, supermarket, fruit, bread and a deli/take away.

Outside the campsite there is a little tram which runs back and forth from the town, costs 1euro per journey. It is a great way to travel but hold on tight! You get to know the drivers and it is quite a laugh. There is also a little boat ride across the harbour, again it costs .50 euro per trip. You can walk in about 20 mins to the start of the town but in the heat of the day it is not a good idea! They really go in for Bastille celebrations in the town with a huge fireworks display which is well worth going into town for. It is a great atmosphere, and if you're lucky you'll get a display from the French Red arrows. If you're eating out that night best to do it in the campsite as it will be difficult to get in anywhere in town. We found a nice wee place called the Galliot, which did a 3 course plat du jour for 7.50e which we can recommend. For some reason the wine jugs seem to be bottomless - strange that.

Places to go: buy a green book for Languedoc Roussillon for directions to places. We travelled by public transport if we didn't go with the campsite reps. Carcassonne is a lovely day out, take the guided tour round the castle to get the best out of your trip. Perpignan, The No 1. bus from the town goes every 20 mins and is very easy to use. It costs about 4 euro each for a return ticket. We have yet to find the tourist info place, even though we've looked four times now! Coillioure is beautiful, we went with the campsite reps the first time and hired a car the next. Very twisty roads but worth the trip.

if you've a car then the place is your oyster, we went to Ceret, Thuir, Maury, Qeribus all by car. Narbonne by train, very simple. Just go into Perpignan by bus, catch a no.6 to the station and away you go. If you get the chance to go to Andorra it is a lovely trip - just a great big shopping centre when you get there mind you but the trip is worth it.

Finally, hope you enjoy your holiday, it is a lovely place which you will want to go back to again. We're off to antibes this year for a change but no doubt we'll go back one day.

Regards,
Anne

thanks Anne your reply is much appreciated. Your comments are very reassuring and have confirmed what we had already managed to find out about the camp.

The beach sounds lovely but i doubt very much that we shall be venturing down to the estuary end of the beach but thanks for the warning. My youngest son is nine and although a good swimmer i shall still have to keep a close eye on him as he likes to think hes better than he actually is.

All the day trips sound interesting, this is our first trip to this area in fact our first family foreign trip so although keen to explore im not sure how brave we will be to travel around on public transport. Were the coach excursions much more expensive than going diy? Did you do the aquapark trip?

We to are travelling with cantabrica and that part of the trip i am abit apprehensive about. I have read some reports on here saying that they prefer other coach operators to Cantabrica did you have any bad experiences with them? How long does it take to get there? and how on earth do you keep the kids occupied for so long

The brochure says that we have to vacate the accomadation at 9am on day of departure yet the pick up time is early evening. Is there somewhere secure to leave our cases or is it a case of just sitting around all day, seems a waste of our last day if thats the situation.

many thanks

sue

In another vein!

I am heading out to a holiday in ELNE next Monday.

First time for me.

Are their beds on the beaches and umbrellas?

Any idea of the temperature?

I realise there are long beaches on the coast there, and I note your comment about naturists. Are there other other areas that they use discreetly?

Kind regards,

Billyboy.

Crusher, you paint a great picture of Canet Plage there! We are off to Spain next week, but we were thinking of heading away somewhere in September, been to Antibes with Club Cantabrica and loved it, but i have been past the Perpignan area so many times and always thought it looked great......im beginning to be tempted!
Glos, we did the Club C journey to Antibes, S of France, it was a pretty good journey, so dont worry! Dont know if they still do it, but they take you through Paris on the way there - down the Champs Elysees (spelling?) It was a good journey, a lot shorter than going to Italy with Club C! The only thing we had on the way home was that we had to change twice, once at the usual hub, but prior to that, we had to meet a coach coming from Spain, in the S of France, to transfer onto that coach. Although that quite smooth, and only because it WAS the end of season, saved them running two half empty coaches!

Unfortnately Club C are no longer going to Canet Plage in 2007. Seems to be a fall out with the owner. It is a fantastic site and if any other coach operator took up the resort I would seriously consider going with them.

Does anyone know if any coach operators go to Brasillia?

You really wont be dissapointed with Brasilia.

I visited the site three years in a row (when I was a lot younger!!) and I had three of the best holidays ever. Im also considering going back there next year with my husband and baby.
The place has an excellent atmosphere, i have honestly never visited anywhere like it!!

At the top of the resort, just by the entrance, you will find the reception which is open 24 hours. If your worried about your passport and money you can purchase a safe for about 20 euros a week. The staff in there speak excellent english and are extreemly helpful and friendly.
There are quite a few shops too. A grocery shop, a bakers, a jewellery and cloths shop, a pizza place and a restaurant and bar amongst many others (there isnt really a reason to leave the site!!
To the side of the shops is a massive tennis court and a huge outdoor pool and sun bathing area.
Also a kids games room and adventure park (there are two of these on site)

The nightly entertainment was just as good, having special themed nights, every night, kids are also catered for in the entertainment too.
Theres a teen disco, for teenagers of course lol, they sell non alcoholic drinks, but its great if you have teenagers with u who want to get away from the parents for a couple of hours!! This is set in the restaurant which has a liscenced bar. Also at the top if the restaurant they sell ice cream in every flavour possible and crepes (pancakes) which are delicious!!!!

When I visited, there were communal showers and toilets, which are well maintained and always so clean, excellent if your camping like we all did!
The site is very well maintained, with flowers and trees, its an absoloutly gorgeous place!!

When I was there, you could goin acess to the beach through the back of the campsite, which will save you a really long walk!! If you walk to the end of the site, and you turn right, there will be a long road, walk down this road and you will come to a really quiet part of the beach. Its really secluded and peacefull (but watch out for the odd nudist as it is a nudist beach!!)

The town is also just as lovely. I believe it has changed from when I was there, but save you walking through the harbour you can get across by a little boat (that only costs about 30 cence) and it takes all of two minutes, or, there is a little shuttle bus that runs every half an hour that is just as cheap. (again check all of this with reception as it has been 4 years since I wa sjtere last!!)

The town lies along the beach (which is very long!!!) and has everything you need. Restaurants, Bars, Shops, Entertainment, it does get quite rowdy after 11 with familys and young couples, but it isnt an 18-30 resort!!! There is also little market (not sure if thats the right word!!) which is there almost every night. They sell little bits of jewellery, nic nacs, ornamnets, they do portraits etc. This really is lovely so try and catch it if you can.

I also recommend that you take a few trips out to local towns etc, these can be booked through the sites reception, or actually in the town itself. My favourites are colliere, a fishing village that takes about an hour on a boat to get to. This village is beautiful, its like something out of an old italian film. I also recommend going to Andora, which is a small country (more like a town) between spain and france. This is about two hours on a coach, but every shop there is a duty free shop.....bargains galore!!!

I think ive rambled on enough, but I really do recomment Brasilia and Canet Plage as a family holiday!!!!!! If I think of anything else, I will repost!!!!

xxx