L' Eden camp site is located approximately 3 miles outside of the small and beautiful town of Biot (Home to many artists and glass blowers).
In regards to its locational convenience the following may help:
> AIR:
Nice - approximately 30 - 45 mins away (depending on time of year/traffic), Served by all major budget airlines as well as B.A from most UK airports. Both trains and buses leave here frequently in to Biot.
> CAR:
You are better using the AA or Google sites to plan your journey depending on the time of year you wish to travel. From previous experiences July and August are the most horrendous months to be travelling ANY WHERE on the Cote d' Azur.
> BUS:
On the main road outside of the camp, served by buses running to/from Biot, Nice and Cannes, very regularly (1Euro = 3hrs worth of travel). However buses do tend to stop after 7pm!!!!
> TRAIN:
Exceptionally convenient. Biot train station is approximately a 15 minute (most flat) walk away, by the beach. Trains run fairly regularly, however BEST to check trains BEFORE going to the station as the office is CLOSED between 12-2pm for siesta. Not all trains stop here and so run through so please check.
Tickets are exceptionally cheap in contrast to UK service with an adult return to Monaco (1hr away, so furthest you may wish to go) costing around 13.50EURO for adult. Therefore you should make use of something called the Carte Isabelle costing a bargain €12 (£10), this day-long rail pass allows unlimited travel on any of the half-hourly trains that scoot along France's Mediterranean shoreline. There are 30 or so stations between historic Fréjus and the Italian border town of Ventimiglia that make use of this ticket.
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I would stay that if you are a fit and active family of any age then you do NOT need a car due to the convenience of public transport here, however if you are not perhaps as fit as you would like or have health problems or even a very young family you may wish to consider a car (your own or hire once there) as the HEAT more than anything can make a small journey more and more difficult.
OK so the camp site and accommodation............
We booked our mobile home via Liz and Jeff at Sunhat holidays (small independent tour operator), last minute. I have to say they are very personable and friendly from the outset, which makes you feel very welcome, a great start and particularly good if it your first time to a new place, especially if it is your first time abroad/to France, which luckily for us it wasn't.
Liz and Jeff do offer a transfer service to and from the airport at 35 Euro each way. You may wish to use this for your convenience or explore using the train if you are on a tighter budget. Additionally if you have decided NOT to use a car then they will also take you to the supermarket at a mutually convenient time/day for around 15 Euro.
On site there is a VERY SMALL shop that sells fresh bread each morning as well as some meats, milk and cereal etc. However the nearest major hypermarket, Carrefour (Makes Tesco Extra look like Tesco Express) is around 15 minutes drive away, accessed by the major highway - NOT walkable!!
On arrival at the site you notice its size, in comparison to many French tourist sites, this one is very small and exceptionally well looked after!!
Liz and Jeff, as well as their own vans, look after some for private owners as well, which was what our van was. In complete honesty I would say the van was older than I expected and not necessarily as modern inside as one may expect for a holiday let, HOWEVER do not let this put you off as everything worked fine, it served its purpose and therefore was fine overall.
Our van was a 4-6 berth with 1x double room, 1 x twin room, bathroom and combines lounge/kitchen.
Outside each van is a very decent sized patio (often with an area of privacy also) complete with table and chairs (with parasol and sun loungers.
The vans are advertised as having TV and WiFi, however TV will only allow for DVD's to be watched and WiFi can only be accessed at the pool or bar area (If booking through Sunhat) - other operators have their own WiFi facility in each van.
The camp site is super safe with CCTV, barrier gate (staffed 24hrs) and most families were quite happy to let their children mingle around the different parts of the site. You will very soon discover after a couple of hours of being there how wonderfully friendly the site is. EVERYONE regardless of nationality or ability to speak another language will gesture or say "Hello", which is often missing on many commercial sites.
Many of the holidayer's that stay here have been visiting the site for many years and therefore it soon feels like a community for which you fit in to and welcomed. Children soon make friends with other children here, again regardless of ability to speak another language as do the adults with each other.
On site you will find the reception, small children's play area, Boules pitch (Of course!), table tennis, shop and small restaurant & bar by the entrance. This is the hub of activity of a night. Now, not ever night do they have entertainment on, however most residents go to the bar and restaurant simply to relax, watch the kids from afar and enjoy each others company. Becky (English -speaks French also) and Frank run the bar and are AMAZING. They are super, super friendly and hilarious and integral to the success that is L'Eden.
On a couple of nights of the week the bar does host some entertainment such as a Singer and others such as Disco, which Becky is definitely a fan of, strutting her stuff between tables. Additionally the waiting on staff are incredible too! Erica, Beckys daughter (sorry name slips) and Dart are ultra friendly and do an amazing job of ensuring your nights are most enjoyable whilst in the bar/restaurant.
Erica is super awesome with her jokes and stories and you MUST catch her .R.E.S.P.E.C.T song during the Karaoke evening.
Additional to these facilities there is also a large sized swimming pool at the top of the site, which is supervised by a lifeguard from opening (10am) until close (7pm). Now sadly this is the only time/area that disappointed me slightly. Baring in mine that July and August are the hottest months in the South of France, there is barely any shade at all around the pool and certainly NO artificial shade, such as parasols. This too me I felt was unacceptable and no very customer concious as the sun/heat was around 37-40 degrees during our week. The only parasol they have is for the Lifeguard, which is understandable if he has to sit out in it all day.
In contrast a nice and convenient facility they have is a water fountain by the pool to fill up your drinking bottles, nice touch!!
The Lifeguards in my opinion are the most unfriendly of the staff that work there. They are 2 brothers who live in their own ego bubble and dish around rules left right and centre. However they unprofessionally decide at times to just jump in the pools themselves or frolic with the owners wife, hmmmm - professional! - HOWEVER please do not let this small and personal gripe effect your decision to stay here.
Also on the site you will find 2 very large toilet/shower blocks, which is strange for a site with no many tourers/campers BUT they really do help! Showers in caravans are not renowned for their size or power and so these 2 additional blocks really do help and are brilliant. The shower heads are rain heads so powerful and very nice.
L'Eden is a very pleasant and attractive site with van owners spending A LOT of money on their 'property'. In some cases you would hardly recognise there is a van on the plot at all.
OUT AND ABOUT NEAR THE SITE:
BIOT:
This village perched up high dates to 154 BC and overlooks hills covered with mimosas and olive trees. Visiting Biot is to take a real tour through Provençal history.
It's streets and alleys are names accordingly : la Calade, Le Portugon, Le Cul de Sac, La calade des Migraniers, Lei Croûtons, place de l'Airette, rue Rondon, rue des orfevres, place de la Catastrophe (where two houses collapsed on June 12, 1898), and place des Arcades which is outlined on two sides by Romanesque and Gothic arcades.
One can't help but admire the beautiful doors, vaults, stairways, stonework, sundials, cobblestones, and the perspectives from one street to another.
A MUST, MUST, MUST SEE!!!!
You can walk from the site in around 15 minutes, around the corner and up the hill, 5 minutes after the shops there is a set of steps to lead you up in to the village/town.
AQUA-SPLASH / MARINE LAND (Also Far West Land / Crazy Golf and Antibes Land).
Aqua-splash is a large and super brilliant water park - a ten minute walk away from L'Eden. There are endless slides and pools here with something for all the family to do from sunbathing all the way through the mega spine tingling drop slides and water shoots.
Marine Land is pretty much what is says on the tin. It is an Americanised park whereby all manner of marine animals are based for you to see, from Sea Lion to Killer Whales.
Each species has its own pools etc, however throughout the day there are Sea Lion, Walrus, Dolphin and Whale shows, not to be missed. As an animal lover I am not particularly keen to see animals performing, however I was satisfied with their facilities, which look larger than most parks.
A combines ticket to Aqua Splash and Marine Line is around 49 Euros (Adult) that you can use over ANY 2 days in a 6 day period so works out a very good price really.
The above attractions in brackets were not visited by me this year, however Far West is for small children, Crazy Golf is what it says, but a good example of such an attraction and Antibes Land is a glorified fun fair with rides aimed at tiny children up to adrenaline monkey's.
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As mentioned previously you can reach Antibes, Juan le Pin, Cannes, Nice and Monaco/Monte-Carlo from the train station just 5 minutes on from Aqua-splash etc. Also based here is the beach, which is pebbled but not uncomfortable to lie on or swim in.
Finally IF visiting Cannes DO NOT miss out on Isle de St. Marguerite. Walk up to the docks and catch the boat (11.50 Euro - Adult rtrn) over to the Island. Here you will find the mysterious Fort (6Euro) where the 'Man in the Iron mask' was imprisoned for many years .
Additionally there is a woodland area to explore and picnic in. The island has exceptionally low cliffs, of which anyone can pretty much find a place to walk down. Around the 'coast' of the island is littered tiny, tiny little coves that you can use literally as your own (see pics). Here you will be undisturbed as your sunbathe or swim in what feels like your very own piece of paradise. Depending where you chose to sit will depend on how many super yachts also wish to join your for a 'swim'.
ENJOY AND BOOK, BOOK, BOOK for Camp L' Eden!!!!!!
Hope you found this useful, any questions, please email.
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