Mother and daughter camping recommendations - Europe!

[Billyberry]

I am a single mother and would love to take my eight year old dd camping in Europe this summer but my brain is complete mush at this stage from trying to figure out which campsite/region/country to choose!!

I am open to anywhere warm really - France/Italy/Spain/Portugal/Croatia . We camp in our own tent in very basic but beautifully located campsites at home but would like a pre-pitched tent (rather than mobile) in Europe as we will be flying. Ideally I would prefer to be car-free but not if that is going to be very limiting in terms of, well, everything really!

We have camped at Lake Garda with Eurocamp when she was four and loved the setting but found the campsite a bit ott in terms of all-singing all-dancingness. Now that my dd is older though I really feel I need to choose someplace with a kids club or at least a reasonable chance of meeting other English-speaking children to play with. I have great memories of making friends on French campsites as a child.

So my criteria (if possible!!):
beautiful location (we love mountains, lakes, seaviews, long beaches, unspoilt beauty...)
sunshine
English-speaking playmates for dd - kids club?
good food

I would really love some suggestions!

[cleef15]

I've just booked a canvas tent on a site in Tuscany. We are flying to Florence, spending a few nights in a hotel there and then taking the train to the nearest station to the campsite and then either public transport, taxi or see if the campsite will pick us up. It will just be me and my two children. PM if you want more information.

[Billyberry]

Thank you for responding, cleef15. Your plan sounds really great. I love Tuscany, and the mixture of city and campsite is very appealing! The trains around Tuscany are great too and go to lots of teeny little towns. Perhaps next year...

I ended up throwing a lot of my criteria re kids' clubs etc by the wayside (I just couldn't get excited about the campsites that were big enough to host kids' clubs) and booking a (hopefully) beautiful and quiet little campsite on a vineyard in the south of France. DD really wanted to go to France this time. We are going to fly and then rent a car, as our return flight is too early for public transport (driving without a navigator in Italy would have freaked me out but I can totally cope with France..).

I hope your holiday works out beautifully for both you and your children.