Saumur in June - how busy ?

[sueandjohn]

We are going to the Loire in June and wondered how busy sites get , particularly Saumur . We prefer to just turn up without booking. Any advice peeps? You’ve been Scout - what do you think

 

[Howard B]

We went in May a few years back and couldn't get in the Campsite or the Aire on the Island. If i was going again and on a weekend i would probably book.

 

[SVMC15]

The aire can be very busy. The campsite is nice but expensive. There are parking spots which can get quite cosy.

I quite like Amboise and use the municipal campsite on the lle D'or, not too much more than the Aire.

 

[seasideBill]

It’s a popular place but I reckon June is the best month to visit France. In the past I never ever booked to go to France but since the world went mad post Covid it’s wise to do so if you have a specific place to go.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We have been in the Saumur area quite a few times in the last few years in June and never had to pre-book even on busy sites.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[martxer]

We were there for Good Friday and although busy there were still a couple of spaces left, can’t comment on June though.

 

[Barryh]

The trouble with booking is is takes all the spontaneity out of it. You have to be in a certain place at a certain time etc. What if the weather is rubbish? What if ……….? However, we have done the Loire in June without booking anywhere and using all sorts of stops. I’ve looked up the ACSI site at Saumur which gives discount all through June, so that’s an indication of how busy it is. Whatever you do enjoy.

 

[Kups]

Last in gets the crappy pitches with rubber matting over mud. Reception sell these last as they get complaints. I would book and sod "spontaneity"

 

[Barryh]

If it was mud I’d be off somewhere where it wasn’t.

 

[Manxcat]

Always busy. We stayed at the aire about 3 weeks ago having booked well in advance. Totally full. It's probably the most popular aire we know.

If you want an evening meal we would recommend The Bourse or Alchemiste. Both excellent.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[BrochMike]

As you'll see from my Google review, our experience of the Saumur Flowers campsite in June last year was not great. I'd suggest not booking in advance for more than 1 night unless you feel you really must be on the site.

Unless they've changed their policy on group bookings, it might be risky staying at the weekend during football/rugby season.

Can't fault the pool, etc, but hopefully they've fixed the toilet facilities (and found some more friendly/helpful staff) by now...

However, there's a great village aire just down the road if you find the 'island' site/aire to be full.

PS. other than Saumur, we didn't book anything. Plenty of aires and/or sites offering ACSI rates in June and a great choice of free Stopovers all along the Loire.

 

[Scout]

We was there last June as you know, we didn't book, the CCP Aire was full when we arrived, we got on the Flower site but not many pitches left at all, we got mud pitch which was Cra no great and flooded with the rain storm as it was lower than the surrounding pitches. We did get to move to a far better pitch and it was fine. I got the impression if you use acsi card rates you get stuck on a bad pitch, but a bit of moaning gets it sorted. We now have the CCP booking add on so when we go this year I'll book our first night there and maybe go and see what is available on the site, There is a great aire on the south of the river going west its opposite a great ( or was last we time we used it ) restaurant call "l'amuse bouche"

We also went to the flower camping "bell Air" on the Isle de Ria , that was nearly full on arrival too. We were there towards the end of the acsi rate and it got noticeably quit as the rates went up.

 

[seasideBill]

Comment about Saumur Flowers above set me thinking. I visited in June 2017 and recall it wasn’t a good experience. Same kind of problem with large groups of loud and boisterous blokes monopolising the place, particularly the pool and bar areas. Maybe it attracts that kind of customer? Good location though.

 

[Orion]

Our experience of the Flower Camping L’Ile d’Offard, Saumur appears to be different from most then. Doing our usual day-by-day planning I checked the area en-route from Chinon in the first week of July last year, and found they were offering ASCI rates that were comparable to the aire outside the gates! Pitch was good for the 2 nights we stayed, and even the group of French teenagers in a nearby chalet behaved impeccably - going so far as to offer their unused and unopened food and drink when they departed to continue their cycle tour on the first morning - delightful young people.

We had probably the best steak and Malbec for a long, long time at Keating Steak & Wine House situated in the medieval heart of the city. Booking essential.

Keating Saumur | Steak and Wine House

keating-saumur.com

Worth a visit if you appreciate military matters - Saumur is the home of the French Cavalry - are possibly the best AFV museum in France:

Musée des Blindes - Musée des Blindés

Internationalement connu pour sa collection unique de plus de 800 engins, le Musée des Blindés de Saumur retrace toute l'histoire stratégique, politique et

museedesblindes.fr

And the Cadre Noir Cavalry mounted display:

https://www.ifce.fr/en/cadre-noir/