Herault Coast

In June we took at trip out to the south of France for a two week family holiday, the first part of which was with H’s parents. Although most of my phones are of the kids, so few to share here, I thought I’d post a few notes in case anyone finds them useful for planning their own trips.

It was an exciting trip out for Jack, as although he has flown before when he was a baby, it was his first he could experience and enjoy. We flew RyanAir to Beziers airport.

Less exciting was my navigation ability when we landed. A couple of wrong turns onto toll roads with few exits and I managed to add an hour to our journey to our Airbnb in Bouzigues, which should have been a little under forty minutes.

Bouzigues is a nice wee town on the edge of Etang de Thau, a coastal lagoon. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed strolling along the front with small cafes and seafood bars. It was hot enough early in the day that Jack enjoyed pre-lunch ice-creams.

Our Airbnb was just a short ten minute walk from the front, had aircon and a pool. We spent most of the week lazing around and eating delicious food al-fresco. There was a childrens playground in town, which we visited several times.

Meze is a slightly large town south west of Bouzigue along the coast. We went there a couple of times for lunch (Grazie and L’Envie & Belle), enjoying the harbour and the shallow water at the small beach. There was a nearby childrens playpark too. There were several painted boats used for water-jousting - a local sport!

Just a ten minute run from our accomondation was a colony of flamingos, viewable from a pedestian and cycle walkway that runs along the lagoon. I was pleased to see them in the wild.

Sete is a larger city at the eastern end of the lagoon, with canals connecting it out to the sea. We visited on our last day in the area, taking a short boat trip around the coast. It was nice to spend time on a boat with the boys, who were pretty excited. The boat had an underwater viewing area which was fun, but there weren’t many fish about! It went out past the entrance to the harbour, and then a look back in to look at the ships in the harbour.

After the boat trip we had lunch at Creperie la fabrique.

We said goodbye to H’s parents (only to see them again the following day, thanks to a left suitcase), and made our way south west to the Serignan Plage campsite. We stayed at the Yelloh Village branded cabins (there are several brands on the same site). We splashed out on a premium cabin, as it was our first foreign adventure with Rory we wanted it to be as relaxing as possible.

The campsite was excellent. Little cafes and bars, plenty of playparks, excellent pools and splash parks for the boys, birds nesting, a small supermarket, boulangerie and takeaway food stalls - it had everything that we needed.

There was some evening entertainment - but we skipped this, as we wanted to maintain a decent bedtime for the boys. Still, we enjoyed getting fresh food and sitting out on the deck. There was a carousel which Jack enjoyed riding. The site provided two bikes with the cabin, and free rental for a bike for Jack. Although it was bigger than his one at home, he coped really well. I’m proud of how his riding skills are developing.

Most days we woke up and took a stroll, got a coffee and went for a swim. We also spent a morning down at the beach. There was great sand, and the water was shallow for swimming and paddling.

Overall it was a great trip to a lovely part of the world. It ticked the boxes we wanted - some downtime relaxing as a family. I’m sure we’ll be back to the area, and I would recommend the Yellow Village at Serignan Plage for a holiday with kids.