INTRODUCTION Pachacaid is a medium sized mobile home site
with just over 400 plots. It is a lively site with
lots for kids of all ages to do during the day and
the evenings.
It is quite possible though to avoid all the
hurly-burly of life and simply enjoy the stunning
views all around. The site is set in a pine forest
on the edge of a relatively steep hill. The
development has been achieved with minimal
disruption to the beautiful landscape.
Sit around the pool and you are surrounded by
pine clad hills as far as the eye can see. A truly
stunning setting.
As well as regular day time events during the
day, evening entertainment is provided although
adults will find the quality dramatically different
each day.
GETTING TO PACHACAID
The nearest airport to the Pachacaid site is Nice,
roughly a 62 minute journey from the airport to
Pachacaid. But beware some of the roads are
mountainous and not wide enough for two cars, stick
to the main roads even though they may appear to
take a longer route round. Distance from French
ports to Pachacaid are approximately Caen 693miles,
Calais 730 miles and Cherbourg 767 miles.
THE SWIMMING POOLS AND
SLIDES AT PACHACAID
Central to the site is the large swimming pool. The
shallow end is OK for all except toddlers and the
deep end is very deep, sufficient for diving off the
edge. There are two islands in the pool and
youngsters use them as a jumping off point.There are
more than enough chairs and umbrellas for everyone
and these are available for hire at
€1 for
deckchairs and €2
for umbrellas - this is for a day's hire. Simply
leave a towel over your chairs if you want to leave
the pool area during the day.
The chairs are long enough to lie on but they are bare
plastic and slightly uncomfortable even when lined with a
towel. A blow up cushion would have made life easier.
No food or drinks at all are allowed in the pool area and
this is strictly enforced. A major attraction for the kids
are the slides which all end up in their own small pool. You
climb the steep steps with a foam mat and at the top take
your choice of the single slide, the two lane slide or the
four lane slide. The multi-lane slides are ideal for racing
against friends.
The system is simple and it works well. You join the
queue and when it is your go just wait for the bell and off
you go. The slides are made of concrete which may sound
slightly hard but it all works safely. Adults can go down
the slides with younger children. Best of all, it's
absolutely free! Waiting times in peak hours is about 10
minutes but at less crowded times there is very little
waiting time at all.
As well as the main pool and slides there is a also a
pool for toddlers with lots of playthings in it. For the
slightly older kids there is a rock climbing pool. Try to
get from one end to the other without falling off. If you do
fall off then the water below will soften your fall!
After a day's hard swimming and sliding, have a go in the
on-site Turkish Baths, over 16s only allowed.
SPEEDO SWIMMING TRUNKS AT
PACHACAID CAMP SITE
The French rule about men wearing "speedo" type swimming
trunks in the pool is enforced at Pachacaid camp site. But
this does not mean you need to wear tiny speedos as some
very overweight men seem to think. Close fitting trunks are
perfectly acceptable.
The reason given for enforcing the speedo rule is
hygiene. The theory is that longer, loose-fitting swimming
trunks are worn all day by many men and they collect dirt
which will be washed off into the swimming pool. Sounds
reasonable if it keeps the swimming pool water cleaner.
THE MOBILE HOMES AT PACHACAID
CAMP SITE
The mobile homes at Pachacaid range cater for four to eight
people depending on the model. Most are modern and
well-kept. Our version was a two bedroom mobile home each
with its own en suite bathroom - impressive. Space in the
main living area is large and the mobile homes comes well
equipped. Ovens, fridge-freezer, kettles, utensils all come
standard. We weren't particularly impressed with the
cleaning of the caravan after the last occupants but it was
not too bad. Our mobile home was air conditioned and we
would recommend this option.
The caravans are arranged up the mountain in eight tiers.
If mobility is a problem then insist on one of the lower
teir mobile homes because the slope up the site id steep.
Pictures tell more than words so we include a video of
our caravan exterior and interior followed by some
additional pictures. No trick photography here, so please
excuse some of the mess in the mobile home!
VIDEO OF THE CARAVANS AT PACHACAID CAMP
SITE
FOOD AT CAMP-HOTEL
PACHACAID The campsite has a smallish
shop which stocks most of your daily food needs
albeit at inflated prices. Other options mentioned
in the site literature include Leclerc and GEANT
supermarkets about 13 km away. What they don't tell
you is that there is a very good SPAR supermarket in
La Mole only a couple of kilometres away. Whilst
nowhere near as big as the other two supermarkets,
it does stock a very good range food, both French
and English brands.
The main restaurant at
Pachacaid campsite serves good quality food at
rather high prices. An average price for two adults
taking a main meal and a drink each is around the
€30 to
€30 price.
Typically this might be a burger for one person and
a veal escalope for the other.
As well as adult meals the restaurant serves kids
meals with a main course, ice cream and a drink all
included. The restaurant is situated in front of the
stage where evening entertainment occurs and is
uncovered.
A smaller snack bar is on site which serves chips, snack
meals, ice creams and drinks. The prices here are cheaper
but still pricey for what you get. It has a large plasma TV
which shows mainly sporting programs. If football is
important, coverage of the English Premier League is
frequently shown. The snack bar / drinks area is not
particularly attractive and often it is littered with food
debris and general rubbish.
If you go outside of the cam site for your meals then the
nearest town La Mole offers a choice of four restaurants. We
visited two and were not impressed. They were hardly cheaper
than the main restaurant at the Pachacaid camp site and the
quality of food was not as good. Service was particularly
haphazard in La Mole and and at times downright poor.
EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
AT PACHACAID CAMP SITE
The evening entertainment at Pachacaid is free
although the best seating is reserved for those
eating meals at the main restaurant. The quality of
the entertainment is extremely variable, the worst
of which is shown in our video below.
The
entertainment however is aimed at the kids and they
do not mind that the opening act is totally out of
tune. Other live music acts on different days varied
from appalling to very good. If you approach the
entertainment with an open mind and low expectations
your will probably not be disappointed.
THE WORST CABARET ACT EVER?
DAYTIME CHILDREN'S
ENTERTAINMENT
There are morning and afternoon clubs for the kids. When we
were there the older kids club seemed to consist just of
football and tennis.
Aqua Aerobics is held in the pool each
morning - more fun than it sounds. In the afternoon water
polo games are held.
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
Although the Pachacaid camp site is isolated, there
are nearby attractions for all interests. This is
our personal opinion on the outside attractions we
visited.
Approximately half an hours drive away is
the town of Port Grimaud. Sometimes called Little
Venice because of its canals.
Click here to go
to our page devoted entirely to Port Grimaud.
Another worthwhile trip is the boat excursion to St
Tropez. It leaves around 4 in the afternoon and gets
back around 9. You will have two hours to walk
around St Tropez.
The beauty of this trip is that you get to see St Tropez
without waiting in all the traffic queues. The drinks on
board the boat trip are free and the commentary is very
funny, just don't believe all they say! Booking in advance
is essential, leave at least a couple of days to be sure of
a place.
PACHACAID FACTS AND REFERENCES Chemist: Cogolin and at most GEANT supermarkets Bank: There is no currency exchange / bank facilities
at Pachacaid. Nearest bank is BNP Paribas in Cogolin Doctor: Dominique Villemin, 1 Rue Gambetta, Cogolin.
Telephone 04 94 54 50 50 Post Office: La Mole Petrol: Nearest is in the centre of Cogolin.
