beach south france IS friendly??

[silvia]

dear all

having hubby an injury at his knee and being forced to use crutches for a few months,  we are re-planning our summer holidays and, instead of camping in corsica (too rough..) we are looking for a place in which we can rent a flat/mobilehome/bungalow whatever with easy access to a dog friendly beach. so far so good except we wish a place in the med and within reach from London, say  driving in a couple of days..

south france/languedoc/provence are obvious choices , but all the places that I see look no-no for dogs in summer (july/august). We dont need a beach with structures (entrance/bar/beds etc): actually free beaches are perfect for us.

Does anyone know if there is an area along the south coast of france where there are beaches in which we can stay with Oberon in high season?? We are not looking for ghetto dog-beaches with dog animations and the like, which btw aretypically in not-so-nice parts of the coast near town.. just a more natural area ! is this a dream , in high season? what about sardinia, same as before?

thanks and

all the best Silvia

[silvia]

ps: cornelia, i know you where in sardinia, but i am not sure about the situation in high season and also not being able to walk a lot (marco).. we are looking for something with  easy access...

[Cornelia]

Hi Silvia, 

I'm sorry to hear about Marco's problem. Send him our best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery and slobbery kisses from Joy xxx. Yes, we were in Sardinia now over Easter and there were some lovely beaches with easy access and some places that were very dog friendly - however there were others where dogs are a no-go and in high season probably very crowded. I made a photo for ES of this sign but in the end we did not go to this beach, as the road was very bad, long and narrow (not really meant for our small VW California Camper) - and there were other dog beaches where it was quite a walk from the very limited parking place/space!

But we went to many other very beautiful beaches and as it was pre season, I simply did not care about the signs and went on all the 'no dogs' beaches anyway. Who cares when we are the only one's on the beach anyway! This one seemed to be dog friendly - there was no sign and the locals went walking with their dogs: 

The sandy beaches in Sardinia are quite short and the rest of the coast probably as rough as in Corsica, but we loved the place so much, that we are thinking of going back next Spring. As the campgrounds were not open yet, we booked into hotels, holiday apartments and B&B's beforehand (I can recommend a few). People were in general very friendly to Joy and the other dogs also - hmm - she came into season on Wednesday of the first of our two weeks, just when the above photo was taken!!! There were very few stray dogs btw. - just some dogs that went on their walkies on their own, but with a collar or harness on.

You know us - we'd never go to a crowded place in high season (Sardinia has some 2.4 million tourists each year, probably mostly in summer). Empty beaches, most of the orchids in flower and 26° degrees celsius in March were heavenly! But I will have a look through the rest of our photos and see if the needle in the haystack might be found for you in Sardinia. Best wishes, C, S and Joy xxx

[silvia]

wow  so nice to see Joy enJoying such a beautiful and  deserted /personal beach!!! is amazing she manages to sit still ; )))

thanks Cornelia, indeed Sardinia may be difficult in high season, but the island is beautiful i agree completely!

we are still browsing around - south of france is easier for us since we would save money on the ferry so , if there is a good area, we can splash a bit more on a accomodation different from our usual camping , let's see. I will be grateful if some ES french members can advise : )

all the best and thanks!!