FAQs

Yes, you can! We do our best to fulfil requests, but they can never be guaranteed.

Allocation happens roughly two months in advance, but things can change at the last minute.

Booking early gives you the best chance of getting what you’re hoping for!

Only guide dogs, hearing dogs and other assistance dogs are allowed at Le Pas Opton, with prior approval from the park manager (speak to customer services).

You must leave your holiday home by 10am on your day of departure (normally a Monday or Saturday).

All rubbish must be removed, all crockery and cooking equipment left clean and your accommodation left as you would wish to find it.

Our holidays are designed to run Monday to Monday, except half term. That's when the speaker and worship leader will be there. But we know that some people need to start and finish on a Saturday so that option is available.

You can add up to three extra nights to your holiday during certain periods outside high season.

Whatever your dates with us, we can arrange ferries/Eurotunnel on other days if you have plans before/after your time at LPO.

Please aim to arrive after 3pm (no earlier than 2pm) and ideally before welcome drinks at 7.30pm. Reception will close at 8pm on Mondays and 6pm Tuesday-Sunday. Your accommodation will be ready from 5pm. If you are bringing a tent, caravan or tourer, please allow time to have your home ready in daylight and so as not to disturb other guests.

The park gates are locked between 10:30pm and 7.30am so if you arrive late your vehicle will need to be left in our car park overnight. If you know that you will be arriving after 8pm, please contact us direct on (0033) 251551198, ideally before 6pm.

If you need to pay by bank transfer, that is fine. You can phone us or email us to set up the booking, or start a booking online, and then when the payment is required email us and we will send you the invoice which has details for you to pay the deposit by bank transfer.

We are not able to provide travel insurance, or offer recommendations of specific insurance companies.

However, we do strongly insist that everyone be adequately covered by insurance for the duration of their holidays with us. There are countless insurance options available, so please explore some and ensure that you choose a policy with a level of cover that you are happy with.

There’s a very good and impartial answer to this question here, by the Money Advice Service, so please do read that!

Please be aware that the EHIC/GHIC does not cover all potential medical expenses that could be incurred while abroad.

The European Health Insurance card (EHIC) is gradually being replaced by the UK's Global Health Insurance card (GHIC). This proves that you are entitled to reciprocal healthcare arrangements in European Union countries.

Please do ensure that your EHIC/GHIC is still in date. You can continue to use your valid EHIC, but when it expires you will need to replace it with a GHIC. If you need to apply for an GHIC, you can do so here. Make sure you don’t use a website that charges you, as the GHIC is free!

If you are applying at the last minute and the physical card doesn’t arrive before you travel, you can phone +44 191 218 1999 for health care while away.

To request a replacement for a lost card, call the NHS Helpline on 0330 330 1350.

We offer Level 1 (3 kW) charging through a UK or EU domestic socket - make sure to reserve your Electric vehicle charging kit (Level 1: domestic plug) with Customer Services, and just bring your normal cable.

France has many EVs on the road, please consult your usual charging point apps such as Charge Point or A Better Route Planner for up to date information. Reception will be happy to point to you a local charging point in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie or Challans.

The address of the site is:

Le Pas Opton
1335 Route du Pas Opton
85800 Le Fenouiller

GPS: 46.730276, -1.877267

The basic directions you need are Rennes, Nantes (Bordeaux), La Roche sur Yon and Challans. For full driving directions based on driving from Caen via Rennes and Nantes, see here.

To plan your route, taking into account toll roads, you may want to use autoroutes.fr. It recognises ‘Le Pas Opton’ as a destination.

For a full and detailed list see the RAC website here (under ‘Things to take’), but the most important items are a reflective jacket or tabard for each passenger, UK sticker (GB is no longer correct), headlight deflectors, warning triangle and spare bulbs.

If you want to travel out earlier or come back later than the standard Monday/Saturday dates, we can often arrange this - although it's more difficult in the peak period of late July and August. It should only cost more if travelling at the weekend, but it doesn’t take long to check prices and availability so please do call us and get a quote for the arrangements you would like to make.

All you need when you arrive at the port is your ferry booking reference. When you give the check-in attendant your passports, the easiest thing to do is simply hand them a piece of paper with the booking reference clearly written on it. If you forget your reference they can look up your booking by other means, but this will take longer.

If you can't find your invoice from us that shows your ferry reference, you can always download the latest version from SHH Pay.

Generally speaking, for travel to and from LPO, a Crit'Air sticker is not necessary. It applies to clean air zones in large cities including Paris and Rouen but not Nantes. If you are travelling elsewhere in France or would like more detailed information, check this article from the RAC website: Crit'Air clean air stickers - need to know for driving in France | RAC Drive.

No - you will need to book in sterling in order to request ferries.

To save time at the port, the crossing providers all require guests to provide Advance Passenger Information at least 24 hours before travelling. You can do this as soon as you've booked:

P&O: www.poferries.com/advanced-info

Eurotunnel: See the confirmation email Eurotunnel sent you. Let me know if you need it re-sending.

Brittany Ferries: www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/advance-passenger-information/access

DFDS: www.dfds.com/en/passport-id

If you have any trouble, make sure:

- you're using your ferry booking reference (shown on your invoice, in the ferries section), not your Spring Harvest Holidays booking reference

- you're entering just the surname, not your full name

Occasionally there may still be a problem and the API system may not work: this won't prevent you travelling, but please do make every effort to accurately submit the API if you can.

TV is provided in the villas but not in the mobile homes or tents. However, our bar has satellite TV which we use to show major sporting events at the park manager’s discretion. Evergreen deluxe mobile homes also have a CD player and radio.

Each emplacement has space for one car. Additional cars need to be left in the car park at the front of the park. We encourage you to leave all cars in the car park after unloading as it’s safer for all park users and gives you more space.

Touring emplacements vary in size, starting from about 80 square metres. A limited number of Premium and Premium Plus emplacements are available.

Mobile homes have duvets and pillows provided, so you need to either bring or hire sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases and towels (see hire items). The beds are standard size (except the new Pinewoods have Queen-size double beds).
Tents have pillows provided, so you'll need to bring pillow cases plus sleeping bags, or you can hire duvet packs from us.
Villas have all bedding and towels included!

Our accommodation is equipped with crockery, utensils and other implements. You may find it useful to bring a dish cloth, tea towel and washing up liquid as these are not provided. You will also need to bring your own bedding, linen and towels, depending on the accommodation you are booking, although these are available to hire from us. Take a look at the accommodation pages to see what's provided.

We certainly do and we’re aware that “special needs” can mean a lot of different things! Our aim is to create the very best holiday environment for families that include children with all kinds of special needs.

• You can request a location for your accommodation that is in a quieter area or has other specific features and we’ll do all we can to meet that request.
• The park has spacious green areas so that even at busy times there is usually somewhere for peace and quiet if that’s what is needed.
• You can find out more about our provision for people with mobility difficulties here.
• There’s a mobile home set up as a sensory room which can be made available to parents at any time (tea-making facilities included!).
• We are not able to offer one-to-one care due to the limited number of team working in each age group, but we will do our best to accommodate your child. We encourage parents to stay with their children until both they and our programme team are confident that the child can be properly supported. If your child is likely to need any kind of special care, please talk to us in advance. An email to [email protected] will put you in touch with Forest Paget our programme manager.

Yes: this is especially popular on Sunday mornings when they can join the worship and communion. Just ask them to park in the main car park and sign in and out at Reception. Local regulations do not permit visitors to use the swimming pool and we can't admit visiting children to our children's and youth sessions.

We will email you about a month before you go with all the essential info you need for your holiday with us. If you want to get a head start, you can read the current version here:

springharvestholidays.com/le-pas-opton/essential-holiday-information

Yes, but only in the Bar area. We make a charge for access to the WIFI network. Local broadband connections are not of the highest quality so you may want to use your mobile phone connection for some functions.

The shop stocks a range of store cupboard foods and basic fresh food such as milk and fresh bread. If you want to do a food shop for your whole stay, there are a number of supermarkets within a short drive of Le Pas Opton.

Our bungalow Le Printemps is ideal for wheelchair users, with a specially adapted bedroom and bathroom. We have two fully adapted mobile homes, the Beechwoods, which include a ramp to the decking and a layout that is suited to wheelchair users. We also have accessible toilets in our main building, swimming pool area and one amenity block, and accessible showers in the amenity block. For more information, see our accessibility page.

The pool is open from mid morning to around 7pm daily.

There are no banks or post offices within walking distance that will exchange money.

You will be able to make card payments using your normal debit or credit card in most cases, including for purchases at LPO.

There are plenty of ATMs in nearby towns; the nearest one is just five minutes’ drive away in Le Fenouiller village. Your debit card will enable you to withdraw cash at French ATMs. It’s advisable that you notify your bank that you are travelling overseas.

The Vendée enjoys an excellent micro climate with 2500 hours of sunshine each year, but it does rain sometimes so we can’t always guarantee brochure weather!