We're a Dutch couple, and we travel with a campervan. Of all the places in France we could have picked for a summer, we keep ending up in the Drôme. Lavender from mid-June, a cold river by the afternoon, a market on Tuesday and a pitch where you can sleep with the back doors open.
The 2026 ranking at a glance
- Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan), where the trees do the work
- Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons), the quiet hillside
- Les Bastets (Marsanne), space and a wide view
- Le Couspeau (Yelloh! Village, Le Poët-Célard), five stars, two pools
- La Source du Jabron (Comps), built around water
- Le Lac Bleu (Châtillon-en-Diois), a lake at the foot of the Vercors
- Flower Camping La Pinède (Die), a base for the active week
- L'Hirondelle (Menglon), fourteen hectares of trees
Picking a campsite is not like picking a hotel. A hotel is judged on the room. A campsite is judged on shade at four in the afternoon, on whether the pool is warm enough for a nine-year-old in early July, on the ride to the bakery, and on what happens at eleven at night. A site can be lovely and still fail on all four.
We have no sponsors and nothing to sell. This is simply the order we would give them in 2026.
1. Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan), where the trees do the work
For a campervan in July, shade is not a detail. Les Truffières was laid out on an old truffle orchard, and around a hundred of those trees still stand over the pitches. The site lies about a kilometre from Grignan, reachable on foot or by bike along a footpath, so bread and pastries from the village baker turn up every morning without moving the van. Pitches take tents, caravans, vans and motorhomes. The pool and paddling pool are heated, though only when the sun is missing. Célina and Brendon run the place themselves. One warning: no pets allowed.
2. Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons), the quiet hillside
Venterol sits in the hills above Nyons, and this is the quiet end of the Drôme provençale. Four stars, a heated pool, very little noise. Hillside means the pitches step down the slope, so you look out over the Baronnies rather than over somebody else's awning. Take it in early June or late September, when the heated pool earns its keep from morning to night, the olive groves around Nyons are worth a day out and nobody is queueing for the showers at eight in the morning. In August, if you want waterslides and entertainment, look further down this list.
3. Les Bastets (Marsanne), space and a wide view
Marsanne sits at the northern edge of the Drôme provençale, closer to the Drôme valley than to the lavender, and Les Bastets makes good use of its hillside. The pitches look out across a wide sweep of country, which is a fine thing at seven in the evening with a cold drink and nothing left to do. That position has a cost, though. You are a longer drive from the Provençal markets at Nyons and Dieulefit, and the country is greener and less Mediterranean than the postcard in your head. If you would rather have space than a postcard, start here.
4. Le Couspeau (Yelloh! Village, Le Poët-Célard), five stars, two pools
Five stars on a terraced hillside at Le Poët-Célard, with the panorama those terraces buy, an outdoor pool and a second one indoors and heated, plus slides. The covered pool is the bit we would care about. A wet morning does not have to become a lost day.
Be honest, though, about what the Yelloh! Village name means in high season. This will be the liveliest site on the list, and the terraces mean a walk to the pool rather than a stroll.
Book early, and know what you are buying.
5. La Source du Jabron (Comps), built around water
Comps is a small village in a green valley, and La Source du Jabron is built around water: several pools, a paddling pool for the little ones and slides. For a family with children between four and twelve, this is probably the easiest holiday on the list, because you never have to drive anywhere to keep them happy.
That is also the catch. Several pools with slides pull in noise, and in the school holidays the water area is where everybody is, all day. We would still go. We would book a pitch well away from the pool and treat the mornings as the quiet half.
6. Le Lac Bleu (Châtillon-en-Diois), a lake at the foot of the Vercors
Direct access to a swimming lake at the foot of the Vercors, plus a pool on site for the days when you cannot face the walk. Lake swimming solves the August problem: no lounger politics, just cold water and a mountain behind it. The Diois runs a couple of degrees cooler than the Drôme provençale, which matters more each summer, and Châtillon-en-Diois is a proper village worth an evening. There is one thing to weigh up, and it is the drive. You are a long way north of the lavender fields, so if that was the plan for the week, plan a day out.
7. Flower Camping La Pinède (Die), a base for the active week
Die is the natural base for the Diois, and La Pinède sits on the Drôme river with pools on site and canoeing right there. Climbing and hiking start close by. Come here if you want to be tired by dinner. We would take it in the shoulder season, when the river is still warm enough for a proper swim and the walking is comfortable, and leave the van parked for a few days.
8. L'Hirondelle (Menglon), fourteen hectares of trees
Fourteen wooded hectares along the river, and large pitches. If you have ever spent a July night wedged between two awnings, that phrase is worth more than the fifth star. Menglon is in the Diois, and L'Hirondelle has the scale to let you disappear into your own patch of trees for a week. Sites this size also mean a longer walk to whatever sits at the middle of them, so ask where your pitch is when you book, especially if you have no bikes. Five stars, used quietly.
Here are all eight side by side, if you like your answers in a grid.
| Campsite (town) | Strong point | Best for | Atmosphere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan) | Around a hundred orchard trees over the pitches | Shade, and walking into the village | Small and family-run |
| Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons) | Heated pool on a quiet hillside | Couples, June and September | Peaceful |
| Les Bastets (Marsanne) | Wide views over the valley | Space and open country | Rural, unshowy |
| Le Couspeau (Le Poët-Célard) | Outdoor pool, heated covered pool, slides | Families who want a full programme | Lively |
| La Source du Jabron (Comps) | Water area with several pools and slides | Families with young children | Busy in high season |
| Le Lac Bleu (Châtillon-en-Diois) | Direct access to a swimming lake | Lake swimming, cooler days | Green and quiet |
| Flower Camping La Pinède (Die) | River, canoeing, climbing, hiking | Active weeks | Outdoorsy |
| L'Hirondelle (Menglon) | Fourteen wooded hectares, large pitches | Room to spread out | Wooded and spacious |
Our order changes with the month, which is the honest answer to the question. In July we would take Les Truffières and sit under the truffle trees until the heat went out of the day, because no pool makes up for a van that has been in the sun since noon. In June or September we would drive further north and choose between the lake at Châtillon-en-Diois and the big pitches at L'Hirondelle. Pick the site that matches your week.
