Beach holidays have one small problem. After
you’ve splashed about in the shallows and lounged
about on the beach for a few hours, getting sandy,
salty and suntanned, you really don’t feel like
changing out of your swimwear and stepping
into a car that’s also been gently roasting for a
few hours. The answer is to stay as close to the sea
as possible, and Camping du Letty is the perfect
solution, enabling you to stroll to the showers
before ambling back to your pitch refreshed
and ready for action. Or inaction if you prefer
– Camping du Letty is an excellent place to do
nothing. However, as in many of the other larger
coastal sites, there’s also plenty happening on site
if that’s what you’re after – with bars, a disco,
restaurants and entertainment, and a swimming
pool and aquapark, complete with slides and a
retractable roof.
Yet campers can have a lovely, peaceful holiday
here if they wish. A short distance along the
corniche from the shops and restaurants of the
summer resort of Bénodet, the site is run by two
generations of the Le Guyader family. Marc and his
parents have their work cut out – the site is spread
over 25 acres and has around about 550 pitches –
but their enthusiasm and commitment are plain to
see, and what’s more the site has been established
for decades, so the shade-giving trees are mature
and the abundant hedges give each bit of the site a
real sense of seclusion. In fact it’s surprisingly easy
to forget that you’re in the midst of the biggest
tentopolis along this stretch of coast.
The campsite abuts Plage du Groasguan, a
strip of golden sand along a slinky lagoon at the
mouth of the River Odet. Across the placid water
the Dunes Dominiales de Mousterlin stretch away,
into a sandy horizon that blocks out the sea’s swell.
The result is a choice between a backwater that’s
ideal for paddling while parents can comfortably
lie back on the shore, or a real beach and bigger
waves just a short hike away from the site, where
the beach is overlooked by a lighthouse that winks
flirtatiously at every passing vessel after dark.
As you stroll along the shore, past the colourful
art-deco changing rooms, and then further along
Plage du Trez and around Pointe du Coq, you’ll be
getting closer to the old port of Bénodet, where
you can buy seafood so fresh that it may still be
flapping about – perfect to fry up back at the
campsite in a butter and white wine sauce. Indeed
freshly-caught fish is just another reason to enjoy
being right beside the seaside.