For anyone who likes the idea of an outdoor European holiday but isn’t quite ready to give up their mod-cons and embrace sleeping bags, tent pegs and communal showers, Eurocamps could be the find of a lifetime!
Stay in your own self-contained holiday home in one of the many Eurocamp sites across Europe, and you get the independence of a self-catering break with many of the facilities you’d normally associate with a resort.
Depending on where you stay, that could mean swimming pools and huge waterparks, restaurants and bars, kids’ clubs, sports facilities, playgrounds and organised entertainment, with many parcs also sitting close to beaches, lakes, mountains or some of Europe’s most interesting towns and cities.
Eurocamp currently has parcs across 12 European countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands, and there’s a huge variety to choose from: some are large, lively resorts where you could happily spend most of your holiday without leaving the parc, while others are smaller, quieter bases designed more for getting away from it all or exploring the surrounding area.
Eurocamps are a particularly appealing option for people interrailing or those who enjoy a good road trip, exploring Europe. Rather than spending an entire holiday in one resort, you could head through France, spend several nights near the Alps, continue into northern Italy and finish beside the Adriatic.
About Camping Enmar
If you’re looking to combine lazy pool days, time on the beach and a bit of exploring, Enmar Eurocamp in Pineda de Mar is worth considering. I recently stayed there with my daughter, Evie, and came away really impressed – particularly by how clean and well-equipped the site was and the lovely community feel.
Our First Impressions
We visited outside of the school holidays (early June) and the whole site felt well maintained and cared for and not too crowded, which makes such a difference when you’re spending a good portion of your holiday there.
It’s also bigger and better equipped than I had expected. There are four pools, so we had plenty of choice when we wanted a pool day, plus a poolside bar – always a bonus when the sun is shining!
There’s a restaurant on site too, with live entertainment in the evenings, as well as a shop for picking up essentials and a laundrette. These might sound like small things, but having everything close by makes a family holiday so much easier. You don’t have to leave your Eurocamp site every time you realise you’ve forgotten something or need to stock up.
Our Holiday Home
Evie and I stayed in a holiday home from the Premium range, and chose the linen package, which included pool towels – perfect. The accommodation had a light and airy feel with plenty of sunlight coming in – exactly what we needed for a lovely, comfortable break, including air-conditioning!
The living room and kitchen area are open plan, so we could easily spend time together preparing food and relaxing, and the doors open right out onto the patio, with another big table, lounge chairs to sit out on and a BBQ!
We had our own bathroom and the water-pressure in the shower was good (I always want to know!) and the dishwasher, kettle and toaster were all very handy. Having our own home-from-home space also meant we could do things at our own pace. There’s something nice about coming back from the pool or beach, sitting outside your caravan and having a bit of downtime before deciding what to do that evening.
A Lovely Multi-Generational Feel
On a personal note, and as someone who has clocked up a few campsite stays recently, one of my favourite things about Enmar camping was something I hadn’t really expected: the multi-generational atmosphere.
There were so many family groups, with young children, parents and grandparents all staying on-site. When we got chatting to the people next door, they were delighted with the flexible nature of the accommodation (the site also accepts caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents) and their grown-up daughter was staying opposite them in her camper with her own daughter.
How lovely to be next door to three generations holidaying together, while everyone still had their own accommodation and independence. I thought that summed up the site really well.
Sitting outside chatting to the neighbours was an evening’s activity before sprucing up and heading to the restaurant for a bite to eat and to see the entertainment. It felt friendly without being intrusive. The whole site has a very friendly vibe.
Beach Days and Barcelona
Location is another big advantage to Camping Enmar. The beach is really handy, so it’s easy to swap the swimming pools for the sea when you fancy a change of scenery. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in the town and along the seafront too, many of them catering specifically to British tourists.
I enjoyed having that choice. Some days you might want the convenience of staying around the pool, knowing you have the bar and other facilities close by. On another day, you can head down to the beach and enjoy being by the Mediterranean.
Pineda de Mar is also really convenient for getting into Barcelona by train. This had a big sway in our choice of campsite, and it added a whole new dimension to our stay. It’s super-easy to have a day exploring Barcelona without needing to hire a car or worry about driving and parking in the city. A return journey is less than 12 euro, the train journey is just over an hour and there’s a frequent service throughout the day.
Would We Go Back?
Absolutely.
Enmar Eurocamp isn’t trying to be a five-star luxury resort, and that isn’t what we were looking for. What it delivers is clean and comfortable accommodation, excellent leisure facilities, including four pools, food and entertainment, a shop when we needed something, the beach close by and easy access to Barcelona.
Most importantly, it felt like somewhere where Evie and I could simply relax and enjoy being away together.
For those who like the freedom of a camping-style holiday but still want the comfort of a holiday home and plenty of facilities on the doorstep, I think Enmar Eurocamp in Pineda de Mar gets the balance just right.
Article written and images by Sally Bendall @girlabouttravel and @girlaboutyorkshire
