CAMPING MUNICIPAL DU PIN SEC

I’ve been to this camping site before and would recommend it as such, facilities are clean and the site is beautiful, close to the trees and the ocean.However, this year we arrived late and had to leave our licence plate to enable the barrier at the entrance. It didn’t work and we had to sleep at the parking lot. When asking at the reception the next day, they neither apologised nor offered to reimburse us. That is a very unprofessional behaviour!

I camped here in a small camper van, beautiful area with some great little beach side restaurants.the only weird thing was the hygienic areas were mismatched, showers in one area and toilets 30 meters away.But over all its a beautiful area, nice quiet and great surf nearby.

Location is a 5/5 if you want unspoiled beach and not that crowded. Everything else is, at very best, average.The ANPR system on the gate does not properly recognise UK number plates meaning we could not get in/out of the site without getting out of the vehicle, walking to reception, waiting for them to become free and then asking for the barriers to be raised. Not the end of the world, but an absolute pain in the butt regardless.The staff seemed nice enough, although as this was near the start of the season, it felt as if they were new and all in training.Toilets and showers are as basic as it gets in France without being a 'long drop' - no toilet seats, not toilet roll, cleaned once a day at best. Not much space in the shower cubicles and no temperature control so the water runs between cold and hot enough to burn the skin from your body at random times. Washing up facilities are plentiful, but no hot water, so boil a kettle and take it with you.There is no shop for basic things such as milk, coffee, toilet roll, washing liquid etc., not even a van or ordering system for croissants or chocalatines for the following morning's breakfast (although there is an automated bread dispenser towards the beach if you are brave enough to try it), so make sure that you bring everything you will need for you stay (especially of you have a UK licence plate as you'll be locked in (or out), lol) as the nearest shops are a 15 min drive away. There are a few food shacks and also a more substantial bar/resto (that had a great musician playing the nights we were there) near the beach. The burgers at the burger shack are very good, very filling and very reasonably priced (note: not all the places accept card payment either, so make sure to bring cash!)However, back to the location and to be honest, it makes up for all of the minor issues with the campsite; it is indeed, stunning.

We had reserved two camping sites. One paid in full, the other just the deposit. With neither reservation we received a confirmation email. On this we contacted the staff both by phone and email and received confirmation that the two pitches were booked and that they were next to each other. Upon arrival, the owner indicated that we had only booked one camping pitch and that the deposit for the other camping pitch was not paid. On top of that he indicated that the campsite was fully booked. Upon proof of payment of the deposit, we did eventually receive a camping spot (far apart from the initial one) and a very small refrigerator as compensation.The travelers on the camping ground next to us had not yet arrived, so we asked the owner if it was possible to put these people on the other camping ground. At this he began to reproach us, screaming and threaten that we would be expelled from the campsite if we came to ask for anything more.We paid for everything correctly and contacted them several times before our stay to make sure everything was in order. It is unfortunate that the staff responded in this manner when they were at fault. We were told by other campers that there are problems like this at the campground every year. We were targeted by the staff throughout our stay and threatened several times that we would be sent away. We did not feel welcome at all.The campsite itself and the location are very pleasant though. At 5 minutes walk you are at the beach, with several surf shops and bars.

Nearly everything is here on this campsite. You have to walk to collect water or to wash your dishes in cold water or shower in cold water, but it's almost all here accept a shop where you could buy toilet rolls and other important items. The nearest shop is in Hourtin and that's about a 15 min drive away. They do have a band playing nearly every night, restaurants and beech shops. Mostly you have to camp on sand and It's very difficult to get out with a car, caravan or mobile home. They have a tractor and it is often to be seen pulling out caravans etc. For the price , I think it's ok, especially if you have your own toilet and washing up facilities. They should put solar panels on the shower block rooftops that would help. 3 washing machines and dryers which cost 6 euros each wash, you can pay with card . The toilet facilities are not cleaned that often and are definitely not very appealing. The shower cubicles are basic with not much storage space for towel, shower bag and clothes. I think 3 is a good rating , definite no more. The plots are quite close together, at one point we had so many people around and almost on top of us that it became quite uncomfortable. The sea is beautiful and the dunes too. It is a lovely area.