Camping Les Ecureuils

The beach a short stroll from Camping Les Ecureuils belongs to La Bernerie en Retz, a comely Loire-Atlantique seaside town between Pornic and Nantes. It's grown from a small fishing village to a swish Atlantic coast resort, with bars, restaurants and shops aplenty alongside its family-friendly beaches, award-winning clean waters, peaceful coves and its lake sea with safe swimming even when the tide is out. Sailing and watersports lessons are available on the lake too for sea dogs keen to hone their nautical skills. Another excellent coastal spot is the port and shipbuilding town of Saint-Nazaire, about 35 minutes' drive north on the right bank estuary of the Loire river, on the edge of the famed Brière marshes. On the way, stop off at (or have a separate day) at Pornic, among its harbours, beaches, castles and medieval Old Town. The couple of hundred species of the safari and marine park of Planète Sauvage live about 25 minutes' drive away at Port-Saint-Père; animal aficionados keen to see critters in the wild should venture additionally with their field guides to the Guerande salt marshes and the Brière Regional Natural Park.