Camping Domaine Le Midi Noirmoutier, France: review

Camping Domaine le Midi on the island of Noirmoutier in the Vendee is a great destination for a family summer holiday in France. We stayed at Camping Domaine Le Midi in August 2023 with our two sons aged 11 and 9, as part of a two and a half week summer holiday also taking in Puy du Fou and the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany.

We paid for our stay at Camping Sandaya Domaine Le Midi and overall had a brilliant time.

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Where is Camping Sandaya Domaine Le Midi?

Camping Sandaya Domaine Le Midi is on the island of Noirmoutier in the Vendee region of France. It is in the south of the island, in the village of Barbatre, two minutes walk from a long sandy beach.

The island of Noirmoutier is accessed from the mainland by a toll-free bridge as well as a low-tide causeway (the longest such road in the world) – the Passage du Gois.

low tide causeway through the sea in Vendee France, Passage du Gois, Noirmoutier — Passage du Gois

What is Domaine Le Midi like?

Domaine Le Midi is a medium sized campsite. It attracts mostly French guests – with just one or two Dutch, German and British visitors present when we were there.

Domaine Le Midi is a mix of accommodation and pitches for tents, campervans and caravans. There is a variety of static units – the typical chalets / mobile homes and a couple of more creative options – safari tents and two storey tipis. The units sleep between two and six guests.

Tipi on Domaine le Midi campsite in France — Tipi on Domaine le Midi

Most of the tent pitches are sited close to the beach where there are few trees so this is something to bear in mind if you prefer shady pitches. There are just a handful of pitches under trees in the area where most of the static units are located.

The beach at Camping Domaine Le Midi

We loved the location of Domaine Le Midi – it’s a two minute walk over the sand dunes to an immense sandy beach. The water is calm, and it stays shallow for some time so it’s ideal for toddlers, sandcastles, morning runs and paddle boarders. Even in the middle of August, the beach was incredibly quiet.

It is a five minute walk from the campsite into the little village of Barbatre where there’s a couple of restaurants and shops. It’s rather a sleepy place.

Plage du Midi, Noirmoutier France — Plage du Midi in August, Noirmoutier

Facilities

The campsite has good facilities for children. There are kids clubs for three different age groups (in French). I was impressed by the engagement of the teens in their club – lots of them were playing together in the multi use court, as if mobile phones didn’t exist.

There’s a play area for toddlers and a separate one for bigger kids. There’s also an outdoor gym and a tennis court. Bikes are available to hire at reception. And of course there’s a pétanque area.

Domaine le Midi Sandaya Noirmoutier France — Domaine le Midi swimming pool

There are two heated swimming pools at Domaine Le Midi – one covered. Our kids were delighted that balls were allowed in the pools. The swimming pools were very popular and pretty busy during our visit.

Next to the swimming pools is the village “centre” with nightly entertainment and various eateries open throughout the day. As well as a daily special – chilli, curry and paella featured during our stay – there’s also decent pizzas and various other crowd-pleasing fare available each day at lunchtime and in the evenings.

Our kids loved the sweet stalls – crepes, waffles, candy floss and sweets all on sale.

There’s a decent shop just outside the campsite gates – used by visitors to the nearby beach as well as by the campers. It’s well stocked with bread and pastries each morning as well as general groceries.

Evening entertainment

There was lively evening entertainment each night on the small stage in the village centre. This tended to be external groups who tour the various campsites in the area, performing at a different location each night. They were good fun and really popular with the campsite guests.

Things to do near Domaine Le Midi

Noirmoutier is a quiet and slow-paced island. Life revolves around going to the beach, eating (and harvesting) seafood and, if you’re a local, harvesting salt.

Noirmoutier is a good destination for water sports – windsurfing, paddle boarding, kayaking and sailing are all very popular here. It’s not good for surfing or bodyboarding – you’ll need to head to the mainland beaches for waves.

Looking for a paddle board? Check out my review of the Hydro-Force Oceana SUP.

There are two popular destinations on Noirmoutier. The Passage du Gois is the original road connecting the south east of the island to the mainland. At low tide, crowds gather to harvest shellfish and marvel at the four kilometre causeway and the surrounding seascape. The area is very flat so you can see for miles.

In the north of the island are the picture perfect beaches hidden in the Bois de la Chaise. The Plage des Dames, lined with beach huts and with a pier stretching into the sea at one end, is a fun place for people of all ages to gather. Kids jump off the pier, lots of people go crabbing and boats bob in the sea as paddle boarders explore the waters.

There is one main town on the island, aptly named Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile. It has excellent indoor and outdoor markets which are perfect for stocking up on delicious local produce. The town has plenty of restaurants but they do get very busy so it’s worth grabbing a table early – we struggled to find availability one Saturday lunchtime.

There are one or two minor tourist attractions on Noirmoutier – a butterfly farm, a couple of small museums and a chateau in the main town – but we were happy with going to the beach each day or doing a bike ride across the island (it’s completely flat). There are plenty of safe cycle routes for families.

If the weather isn’t great, there’s no charge to cross the bridge to the mainland where the many tourist attractions of the Vendee await. We didn’t leave the island during our stay as the weather was perfect for lazy days at the beach.

Pros and cons of Camping Sandaya Domaine Le Midi

Without doubt, the proximity of the beach was brilliant. We have a paddle board and the complete lack of waves at the local beach made it perfect for paddling.

I really liked the peacefulness of the campsite. It didn’t feel too busy, but there were enough people staying there to give the village square a good atmosphere in the evening. The kids could wander off and have some independence – including collecting the bread each morning.

Some of the accommodation at Domaine Le Midi overlooks the campsite village centre – if you like an early night you might find the proximity of the evening entertainment a bit noisy. Our accommodation was at the far end of the campsite and it was very peaceful.

The only drawback of Domaine Le Midi is its location in relation to the island’s main town – a drive of around 20 minutes. The campsite is in the south of the island. The traffic was a bit slow at times when we wanted to visit other beaches or visit the town. However, we loved the local beach and also found another beach not far away which had some gentle waves which the kids enjoyed leaping over.

If you’re keen to be in the north of the island, I’ve heard good reports about Camping Huttopia Noirmoutier – you need to book early if you want a unit with en-suite facilities!