CABIN CREW
A trip to the wild Morbihan coast in Brittany delights the whole family
There is also a kids’ paradise with bouncy castles, trampolines, slides and soft play
IN 1984, going on the ferry to France for our annual family holiday was the most exciting event of the year.
Forty years on, I’m amazed to see that it’s Brittany Ferries’ Bretagne we board at 8pm from Portsmouth for the overnighter to Saint-Malo.
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I remember when it first set sail in 1989, when it felt like the height of luxury.
Although it’s soon to be retired, my children Elliott, nine, and Molly, six, and husband Mark love it as much as I did.
Despite it being rocky overnight, the kids sleep well after a slap-up meal in Les Abers restaurant onboard.
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They love revisiting the buffet. No sausage rolls here, though – think langoustines and smoked salmon – while the children’s menu offers nuggets and chips to please fussy eaters.
It’s £36 for adults, which includes an hors d’oeuvres buffet, a main and buffet of cheeses and desserts, and £10.70 for a two-course kids’ meal.
At 6.45am, music in our cabin gently wakes us, and we head to the restaurant for breakfast.
The beautiful walled city of Saint-Malo is a sight for my tired eyes, but we have a date with a market in Vannes, a two-hour drive away.
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This medieval city looks like a film set and we spend the morning mooching around its independent stores, where I pick up a bracelet for £23 at Merci Léonie (Mercileonie.fr).
The market, which runs until 1.30pm, has stalls of the lushest fruit and veg, alongside wooden toys and cheese vans (which I never knew I needed in my life).
Sailing to France is pure magic for family break
What a hoot!
After a takeaway lemon crêpe at Crêperie Au Marché Des Lices, we head to our ecolodge home from home in Ploemel, 25 minutes’ drive away.
Dihan is a 25-hectare site tucked away in the southern Brittany countryside, 15 minutes’ drive from the sea and surrounded by peaceful woods.
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Our whitewashed clapboard ecolodge is small but perfectly designed, with bunk beds that wouldn’t look out of place in Hobbitland and a comfy queen-sized bed.
Later in the week, we move to one of Dihan’s fairy-tale spa cabins built in to the tree canopy.
The kids adore the swing underneath and the hot tub on the terrace.
The views across to the pond – used for standup paddleboarding – and swimming pool (which is open in high season) are calming, and at night we listen to the resident owl.
In the morning, the children are thrilled to pull up a breakfast hamper containing a baguette, croissants, jam, apple juice, coffee and hot chocolate.
For some R&R after brekky, there’s a hammam and sauna, £17 per person, and you can book a massage with Delphine, £75 for one hour.
That night, we have a feast on our terrace bought from artisan baker La Huche À Pain in Vannes, scoffing quiche Lorraine and dreamy patisserie (Lahucheapainvannes.com).
The weather in spring isn’t super-reliable, so when the heavens open, we drive to Domaine De Suscinio, one of the largest castles in Brittany.
Here, the kids are kept entertained by the interactive exhibitions, including full-size projections of former residents.
Entry for adults costs £10.30, and under-10s go free (Suscinio.fr).
Branféré Animal And Botanical Park is another must-visit – we spend our day there with smiles on our faces marvelling at the gibbons’ acrobatics and seeing wallabies with babies in their pouches hop past us.
Entry costs from £17 for adults and £13 for children (Parc.branfere.com).
Big swingers
When the sun reappears, we head to Le P’tit Délire leisure park, a kids’ paradise with bouncy castles, trampolines, slides and soft play.
A water park is open in the summer, too.
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Entry costs £12 for adults and £13.70 for children (Parc-jeux-petit-delire.com).
Up for yet more bouncing around, we then head to Forêt Adrénaline tree-climbing park – like a French Go Ape (Foretadrenaline.com/carnac).
By the end, we’re giving off major Indiana Jones vibes.
Afterwards, we head to the megaliths of Carnac, an eye-popping spectacle of nearly 3,000 menhir stones dating back 7,000 years, before dinner at Bolée Bleue crêperie, where I demolish the Flipper, with leek, smoked salmon, goats’ cheese, spinach and lemon, £11.20.
On our last day, we drive 30 minutes to Lorient to the submarine Flore-S645, where we learn what life would have been like for the submariners in WW2.
Entry costs £8.80 for adults, £5 for over-sevens (La-flore.fr).
It’s then back aboard the ferry, where our Club Plus cabin on the newer Armorique ferry is double the size we had on Bretagne.
We buy a family ticket to the cinema, £25, to pass some time, before agreeing that we’ve all had a ferry nice holiday indeed.
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FYI
Plan your trip at Brittanytourism.com.
Lodges at Dihan sleeping four start from £128.50 per night (Dihan-evasion.org).
Ferries from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo cost from £280.50 each way overnight for a family of four with a car, sleeping in an en-suite cabin (Brittany-ferries.co.uk).
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