A typical week for a family with two children aged 8 and 13 at the Saint-Disdille campsite in Haute-Savoie.
When it comes to vacations, we generally prefer destinations that offer activities such as walking in exceptional landscapes. This year, our choice fell on Lake Geneva and the Saint-Disdille campsite located just 200 meters from the lake. This 3-star campsite ticked all the boxes for our family vacation:
- This is a campsite with lots of activities, both on site and in the surrounding area.
- The Saint Disdille campsite enjoys an exceptional setting, just 5 minutes from Lake Geneva.
- It offers entertainment and activities for all ages
- This was not one of our criteria, but it was a real plus: the campsite has a small train that makes it easy to visit Thonon-les-Bains.
We had our doubts about the quality of the campsite, having only been awarded 5 stars. But we were quickly reassured, as the level of service was on a par with that of a 5-star campsite. Except for the price, much more affordable for a family vacation.
There’s plenty to do on and around the campsite. There was always something to keep us busy, depending on what we wanted to do and how motivated we were that day. The lack of a swimming pool was never a problem, as the lake offers a magnificent swimming area in a sumptuous natural setting. And the water never dropped below 24° during our stay in July. The campsite isn’t right on the lake, but you can get there in just 5 minutes on foot. On the lake, you can rent paddleboats and pedalos. The beach, with its guinguette atmosphere, also has a play area for young children. A footpath leads along the lake to Plage de la Pinède (2 km) and the port of Thonon-les-Bains (3 km). On the campsite side, the list is long, with play areas for children, a mini-club and a teen club, sports fields (beach volleyball, tennis, pétanque, etc.), an educational beehive to discover the world of bees, ping-pong tables, a night market, and more. The campsite also offers guided hikes and mountain bike rides to Yvoire.
We had opted for private sanitary facilities on the pitch (shower, toilet and kitchenette). And I have to admit, it’s a luxury we’ll find hard to do without from now on. Especially for family vacations. The pitch was spacious, right next to the nature reserve that adjoins the campsite. Suffice to say, it was a very quiet environment. In addition to individual sanitary facilities, we also had a covered terrace, which was a great place to relax in the late afternoon.
The campsite offered plenty of entertainment. This not only gave the kids a great time, but also gave us plenty of opportunities to do activities together. Our eldest, aged 13, particularly enjoyed the teen club, where he was able to make new friends. Pizza night was undoubtedly one of his favorite moments of our stay at Saint-Disdille. And the family got together for sporting activities such as archery, beach volleyball tournaments, fitness sessions and more. And of course paddle and pedal boats on the lake.
The campsite has a tourist train. This free little train runs between the campsite and Thonon-les-Bains. It’s both practical and fun: the kids love riding it, so it’s a great incentive to take the kids on a tour. We used it on every one of our outings to Thonon-les-Bains. Particularly on Thursday mornings, when we went to the market (it cost €3). At the market, you’ll find many regional specialties, such as Abondance, a cheese produced just outside Thonon-les-Bains, and Rillettes de Féra, made from lightly marinated lake fish.
With everything we bought, we treated ourselves to a picnic by the lake at midday. A simple, gourmet moment that the whole family loved. How could it have been otherwise? An idyllic setting, delicious local produce and the whole family together!
We then set off on a magnificent hike, on the advice of the campsite team: the 3 Clos. A 35-minute drive from the campsite, this hike takes about 4 hours. The walk is superb. We even caught a glimpse of ibex and marmots. The hike takes in one sumptuous landscape after another. Here a view of Switzerland, there Mont Blanc and finally Lake Geneva from above. It’s simply breathtaking. The hike ended at an alpine chalet offering food and drink, where we paused to refresh ourselves. A well-deserved reward after all that effort!
In the evening, we enjoyed a magical moment as a family. We had chosen to embark on a gourmet cruise on Lake Geneva at 7pm. Aboard a cruise boat privatized for around sixty people, we made several gourmet stops to taste cheeses, wines and charcuterie from Haute-Savoie. All this while watching the sun set over the lake. A moment out of time. And the price was very reasonable: €30 per adult and €20 for children under 12. We had decided to take this cruise on the last evening of our vacation. A great way to end a few days at the Saint-Disdille campsite, as from the lake we were able to revisit all the places we’d visited during the week: Évian, Thon-les-Bains, Yvoire, etc. A magnificent conclusion to an equally magnificent week.
It was too short a week, because there were a lot of things we didn’t get to do, such as scuba diving in Lake Geneva, Avully castle with activities for children in summer, the Pont du Diable gorges (15km), Lake Montriond or the Chablais Geopark (32km). These are all visits that the campsite team recommended to us, and which we may have the opportunity to make on a future visit. Especially as my husband and I would like to come back as a couple to try the Thonon-les-Bains thermal baths.
Leave a Review