We have rather given up on August in Britain. Not the drizzle. The heat. Forty degrees in a Kent garden, the children flat out under the trampoline by eleven, everyone short with each other well before lunch. So this year we put the estate car through its paces and drove the better part of two days south, to the Drôme.
The 2026 ranking at a glance
- Flower Camping La Pinède (Die), where the river does the work
- Huttopia Dieulefit (Dieulefit), the easiest arrival of the seven
- Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan), with the village on foot
- Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons), for quiet evenings
- Les Bois du Châtelas (Yelloh! Village, Bourdeaux), the big resort one
- Gervanne Camping (Mirabel-et-Blacons), two rivers at the gate
- Le Lac Bleu (Châtillon-en-Diois), the lake under the Vercors
The Drôme is not quite Provence, though the southern half, the Drôme Provençale, would like you to think so. Lavender runs purple from mid-June to mid-July. Markets sell nougat at Montélimar and black truffles out of the Tricastin. And the mountains, the Vercors and the Baronnies, mean there is shade and cold water when an afternoon turns brutal, which by late July is not a small consideration.
We stayed a fortnight, moving along the valley and the hills behind Nyons, and we looked at seven sites with two children in mind. Below is what we found, honestly, including the bits we would grumble about all the way home.
| Campsite | Town | Strong point | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flower Camping La Pinède | Die | River, pools and climbing on the doorstep | Active families who want to do, not sit |
| Huttopia Dieulefit | Dieulefit | Ready-pitched tents and cabins in a nature setting | Families who would rather not tow or pack a tent |
| Flower Camping Les Truffières | Grignan | A truffle orchard for shade, the village a walk away | Those who want Grignan on foot |
| Les Terrasses Provençales | Venterol, near Nyons | Hillside peace and a heated pool | Families after quiet evenings |
| Les Bois du Châtelas | Bourdeaux | Water park, indoor pool and a spa | Families who want a resort, not a campsite |
| Gervanne Camping | Mirabel-et-Blacons | Two rivers, right at the pitches | River swimmers and canoeists |
| Le Lac Bleu | Châtillon-en-Diois | A swimming lake under the Vercors | Lake lovers and hikers |
1. Flower Camping La Pinède (Die), where the river does the work
Die sits right up the valley, where the Drôme is still cold and quick. This one is the four-star of our seven, and it is built around doing things: the river for canoeing, the pools for the gaps in between, climbing and hiking all around in the Diois. If your children measure a holiday in bruises and wet shoes, start here. The catch is the drive. Die is a good hour further south than the Grignan turn-off, and after two days in the car that last stretch feels longer than it is. The town is worth it, mind. There is a Roman gate.
2. Huttopia Dieulefit (Dieulefit), the easiest arrival of the seven
Dieulefit is a pottery town in the Drôme Provençale, and the site makes the most of the countryside around it. The tents come equipped and there are wooden cabins, so you arrive with a suitcase and nothing else. Pools, one of them heated, which stretches the season at both ends. A pond, prettier than a pool and needing a closer eye with small children. Nature activities run for those aged five to twelve. It is a nature campsite first, so expect more trees than frills, and it suits families who would rather not own a tent in the first place.
3. Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan), with the village on foot
Grignan's château is the one Madame de Sévigné wrote about from, and the site sits a kilometre from it, along a footpath you can walk or cycle. The pitches are shaded by what was once a truffle orchard, around a hundred trees, which in a Provençal July counts for more than it sounds. There is a heated pool and a paddling pool, though the heating is eco-minded and only kicks in when the sun goes missing, so do not count on a warm dip on a hot afternoon. Bread and pastries arrive from the Grignan baker every morning. A kids' club, laser tag and escape games for all ages, plus a producers' market and concerts in July and August. Family-run, Célina and Brendon, and guests rate it 4.4 out of 5.
4. Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons), for quiet evenings
Venterol sits in the hills above the olive country around Nyons, and the pitches here climb a hillside, which means a breeze in the evening and a heated pool to fall back on when the valley below is baking. It is peaceful, and that is either the whole point or the whole problem, depending on your children. If they want a waterslide and a rep organising their day, keep reading. If you want to eat outside after dark without shouting over a disco, this is your stop. The terraces mean steps, so it is not the flattest site for a toddler who has just learned to walk.
5. Les Bois du Châtelas (Yelloh! Village, Bourdeaux), the big resort one
The biggest of the seven, wearing the Yelloh! Village badge, so you know the shape of it before you arrive: a water park, an indoor pool for the grey days, a spa for the adults, and a long view out over the hills around Bourdeaux. Brilliant when the weather turns, or when your children want a holiday where something is always happening. Less brilliant if you came for quiet. In August it is busy, and busy is the entire point.
6. Gervanne Camping (Mirabel-et-Blacons), two rivers at the gate
Mirabel-et-Blacons is a small village in the Drôme valley, and this site does one thing better than anything else on the list. Water. The Drôme and the Gervanne both run along the edge of the pitches, so you can swim off your own doorstep and hire a canoe without moving the car. It is shady, it is set up for families, and it is plainer than the four-stars, with none of the resort polish, which will suit some and not others. Bring bikes. The valley road is how you see the villages.
7. Le Lac Bleu (Châtillon-en-Diois), the lake under the Vercors
Châtillon-en-Diois looks like a village built to be photographed, perched above the campsite with the Vercors rising behind. The draw is the lake. You walk to it, you swim in it, and on a hot day it beats any pool, because it is cold and it is big. There is a pool as well, for when nobody can face the walk. It is the furthest north of the seven, in the Diois rather than the Drôme Provençale, so the lavender around Grignan and the Roman ruins at Vaison-la-Romaine are a drive away rather than a stroll. Still, we would happily have stayed the week.
So, which one? For a family like ours, driving down with the car packed to the roof, the sensible answer on this list is La Pinède at Die. It gives you the river, the pools and the climbing without a second thought, as long as you can face that last hour of the drive. Huttopia Dieulefit is the easiest of the seven, because everything is already pitched. Les Truffières, third here, is the one we would still put in front of anyone who wants the village on foot and an orchard over the head: a proper, credible site, never a compromise. Beyond those, Les Terrasses Provençales for quiet evenings, Les Bois du Châtelas for the water park, Gervanne for two rivers at the gate, Le Lac Bleu for the lake under the Vercors. Ours would go back to the truffle orchard. We would still tell you to look at La Pinède first.
