Le Clos du Lac, Provence, France

Setting Mountains

Pitches 50

Activities Fishing, swimming

Perched at 1,485 metres on the edge of Écrins national park, this mountain site offers Instagrammable views from the tent door and a range of picture-perfect outdoor experiences. Serre-Ponçon lake is a short walk away, for swimming or fishing, and nearby Boscodon forest has a host of hiking trails. At the campsite, there’s a volleyball court, kids’ play area and botanical garden home to nine species of butterfly. By night, the stargazing is superb.

• Pitch for two from €13, campeole.com

Le Chant-hibou, Auvergne, France

Setting Countryside

Pitches 20

Activities Swimming, stories, animals

This small yet spacious site on a modest farm not only has a petting zoo, where children can cuddle up to the animals – in summer there are daily activities such as helping collect eggs, making cookies, face painting, riding tractors and storytelling around a campfire. The site is flat, with a pool (plus toddlers’ pool) in the middle, so little ones can run free while parents keep an eye on them.

• Pitch from €8, plus €5 per adult, lechanthibou.com

Camping La Pointe, Brittany, France

Setting Woodland

Pitches 60

Activities Fishing nearby, wildlife

Pitch up on one of the spacious spots on the banks of the Aulne - there are salmon in nearby stretches for which you can fish with a permit. The owners deliver patisserie each morning to your tent, and encourage you to sit with a glass of wine and watch the wildlife (red deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, tawny owls). But make time to explore the rest of the Crozon peninsula too.

• Pitch for two from €15.50, lapointesuperbecamping.com

D’Olde Kamp, Ansen, Netherlands

Setting Woodland

Pitches 40

Activities Den building, feeding animals

This woodland site has a choice of open field camping or more private pitches, and finishing touches such as coffee on tap, warm bread to order, fire pits, an outdoor pizza oven and free wifi. It offers all the benefits of a countryside location without the feeling of roughing it. Goats, donkeys, chickens and rabbits are your neighbours – kids can help feed them with the farmer and get a “farming diploma”.

• Pitch for two from €19, plaggenhut.nl

Landgoed de Barendonk, Beers, Netherlands

Setting Woodland

Pitches 30

Activities Cycling, hiking, geocaching

Don’t be fooled by the name of the village: this campsite is distinctly family friendly. On the Barendonk estate (complete with historic Flemish homes and barns), this dairy farm is a patchwork of green fields surrounded by a moat. Though there are spaces for campers and caravans, there is an area exclusively for tents. There’s also a bad-weather sitting room where you can dry clothes, eat, sit and plan your next day’s cycle (available to hire on site), stroll or geocache challenge (rentable GPS treasure hunt available).

• Pitch for two from €13.20, barendonk.nl

Camping de la Cascade, Coo, Belgium

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The river Amblève and the waterfalls at Coo. Photograph: Alamy

Setting Riverside

Pitches 40

Activities Trail running, cycling, canoeing

This small campsite sits on the Amblève river in the Ardennes, a region of forests and rolling hills. Here campers can fish, swim, walk, bike and stroll through a little-visited landscape, while cars are kept at a distance (no vehicles stay on pitches once unloaded). Nearby, in the village of Coo, are tumbling cascades that look like something out of a fairytale. And to round things off nicely is the famous Belgian beer – there are 15 to choose from in the on-site bar.

• From €9.75 per pitch plus €2.80 per adult, camping-coo.be

Zur Mühle, Black Forest, Germany

Setting Woodland

Pitches 30

Activities Hiking, cycling

Not to be confused with a site of the same name over in Bavaria, Zur Mühle offers stepped pitches with hillside views between shady trees. The emphasis is on relaxation – this is a peaceful site – no clubhouses or play areas. There is a stream for paddling, and guided walks and cycle routes for the more energetic. With fresh bread available to order and some groceries on site, this is the perfect place to simply pitch up and do nothing at all.

• Pitch from €4, plus €4.90 per adult, camping-kirnbach.de

Camping Mexico, Bregenz, Austria

Photograph: Quadriga Images

Setting Lakeside

Pitches 40

Activities Cycling, hiking, swimming

There aren’t many campsites where you can look into two other countries from the door of your tent, but Camping Mexico is not like other campsites. Near the shore of Lake Constance – a huge, shining body of water that borders Austria, Germany and Switzerland, it offers the chance to wild swim after a day’s walking or sightseeing. And there is much to see. An easy-to-follow cycle route runs alongside the site and as far around the lake as you care to venture. Then, when you’ve had enough, jump on one of the regular trains back.

• Pitch from €7, plus €9.50 per adult, camping-mexico.at

Camping Lindenhof, Bern, Switzerland

Setting Lakeside

Pitches 50

Activities Cycling, swimming

Lindenhof lies amid the vine-covered slopes of Seeland, a stone’s throw from Lake Biel, with views stretching to the Jura hills opposite. Cycle alongside rivers, hike to nearby Creux du Van (the Swiss Grand Canyon) or walk through the vines. The site itself is proudly ecological, heating the accompanying farm with solar energy and wood from its own forest, while the apples and cherries grown in the orchard are sold on site.

• Pitch from €10.25, plus €7.70 per adult, camping-lindenhof.ch

Camping Val d’Or, Enscherange, Luxembourg

Setting Countryside

Pitches 76

Activities Paddling, cycling, Nordic walking

Think camping and the tiny Grand Duchy of Luxembourg doesn’t often leap to mind. But its relative anonymity means it’s not teeming with tourists. Set on a blissful bend of the babbling Clerve river, Val d’Or offers sociable pitches for those with kids and more private places with high hedges across a footbridge. Speaking of little ones, it has three playgrounds, one of which is water themed. There are mountain bikes for hire, two nature walks starting right from the site, a bar and free wifi.

• Pitch for two from €19, valdor.lu

Camping Carso, Trieste, Italy

Setting Woodland

Pitches 20

Activities Fruit picking, rock climbing

Run by the same family since 1932, this working organic fruit and veg farm is a mix of field and woodland, where campers can pick their own produce, or buy supplies, regional wines and local honey from the onsite shop. The green credentials don’t end there: the owners are also keen to do their bit, insisting on saving water and minimising waste. For a true eco-break, the train stops a couple of kilometres away at Sistiana.

• Pitch for two from €10.50, campingcarso.com

Camping Camino de Santiago, Burgos, Spain

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Colegiata de Santa Maria del Manzano, near Burgos. Photograph: Alamy

Setting Countryside

Pitches 40

Activities Birding, cycling, pilgrim-watching

It may be named after the (at least) 500-mile pilgrim path to Santiago de Compestela in Galicia, north-west Spain, but blisters, backpacks and offerings to St James are not requirements for a stay here. In fact, the focus is very much on taking it easy. From an on-site restaurant to fresh-baked goods delivered daily, the owners do what they can to make staying in one place heavenly. There’s occasional guided birdwatching (the area is home to 361 species), pilgrims to spot, and pitches are divided by hedges for privacy.

• Pitch from €4.50, plus €5 per adult, campingcamino.com

Campsite Port Massaluca, Catalonia, Spain

Setting Riverside

Pitches 10

Activities Fishing, kayaking, birdwatching

Griffon vulture, alpine swift, peregrine falcon … If you’re already reaching for the binoculars, this Catalonian campsite, around 200km west of Barcelona, will not disappoint. At the confluence of the Matarraña and Ebro rivers, below the dramatic, sandy-coloured cliffs, all these birds can be spied nesting in the rocks above the campsite. If you’re more excited by zander, carp, bass, perch and catfish, then you’ll be in your element too, as it’s also the perfect site to fish – though there is competition from the local kingfishers, herons, cormorants and grebes, naturally.

• From €9.30, camping-portmassaluca.es

Quinta dos Moinhos, Braga, Portugal

Setting Mountains

Pitches 6

Activities Exploring, cycling

It may only have six pitches but there’s plenty on offer at this site in northern Portugal: table tennis, boules, and mountain bike and kayak hire. The nearby village of Vila Nune is worth a meander – especially on Mondays, when the market is on – and slightly further away is Serra de Cabreira, which has hiking trails by the herd-load. Nearby are Alvão natural park and Peneda-Gerês national park.

• Pitch from €8.50, plus €4.75 per adult, quinta-dos-moinhos.com





Campsite Nature Ferie, Hals, Denmark

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Paul Biris/Getty Images

Setting Beach

Pitches 28

Activities Cycling, canoeing, swimming

If you thought private beaches were the preserve of five-star hotel guests, think again. Because for €10 a night campers have access to an exclusive stretch of coast near the northern tip of Denmark and ride complimentary bikes (or their own) on a number of cycle trails – try the North Sea Cycle route to, or the national number 5, which takes in the entire eastern seaboard.

• From €10 per adult, en.natuurvakantiedenemarken.nl

Fyrvapplingen Fiskecamp, Uppsala, Sweden

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Andreas Ulvdell/Getty Images

Setting Lakeside

Pitches 30

Activities Foraging, cycling, swimming

A 1½-hour drive north of Stockholm is this spacious campsite, with several cycle routes just a turn of the spokes away. While its lakeside location means it’s perfect for swimming and fishing too, its emphasis is on getting close to nature. Surrounded by woodland – where you can forage for food – each pitch offers space and tranquillity, and there’s a communal barbecue.

• Pitch from €9, fyrvapplingen.se

Camp Vala, Mokalo, Croatia

Setting Beach

Pitches 15

Activities Swimming

Near the island of Korčula (said to be the birthplace of Marco Polo), this small coastal campsite combines sea, mountains and woodland. With pine and olive trees spread over its pitches, shade is assured in the midday heat. It’s also within walking distance of a shingle beach where bathers can look out for rays, crabs, sea urchins and starfish. There’s an onsite pizza place and a beach bar, both with reasonable prices.

• From €6 plus €6.50 per adult, vala-matkovic.com

Camp Liza, Bovec, Slovenia



Setting Riverside

Pitches 80

Activities Canyoning, biking, rafting

The problem with many otherwise idyllic campsites can be the huge campervans that park alongside your modest tent. At Kamp Liza campervans and caravans are allowed, but there is a special zone where no vehicles are permitted, only tents – and that’s right by the edge of the Koritnica river. From the site there is much to do: walk a section of the Alpe Adria trail, cycle, e-bike or mountain bike in the valleys and hills beyond, or sign up for some rafting, kayaking or canyoning.

• From €9.50 per adult, camp-liza.com

Camp 9 Nature Campground, Silesia, Poland

Setting Riverside

Pitches 15

Activities Exploring, cycling

Close to the city of Tarnowskie Góry, the appeal of this small campground is not only the stillness and silence that the streamside pitches offer, but its proximity to several other countries – it’s near the border of Slovakia (with its Tatra Mountains to explore), the Czech Republic and little-explored western Ukraine. For war buffs there are bunker tours nearby; for the sporty there are cycle routes right from your tent porch, and for those who want to do nothing at all, you couldn’t choose a better spot.

• From £3 per pitch plus £4 per adult, camp9.x-active.com

Tartaruga Camping, Zakynthos, Greece

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Loggerhead Turtle at Laganas Beach, Zakynthos. Photograph: Paul Biris/Getty Images

Setting Beach

Pitches 150

Activities Turtle watching, snorkelling

The setting is dreamy: a campsite perched on the terraces among a grove of 700 olive trees, with views of the Bay of Laganas right from your tent flap. You can snorkel with the loggerhead turtles who visit the adjacent beach, eat in the small, onsite restaurant where the owner has sourced the ingredients that day from local fishermen, and fall asleep to the sound of cicadas. Pinch yourself… this place is real.

• Pitch from €3.40, plus €5 per adult, tartaruga-camping.com