We took a family campervan holiday in France and stayed on farms for free

Worrying about being rejected by a pig farmer was definitely not on my 2026 summer bingo card, but here I am, a bundle of nerves on the approach to La Ferme des Cedres Bleus in southwestern France. My family and I have just picked up a four-person Adventure Campervan from Toulouse, booked through CamperDays. My husband is learning to navigate rural French roads with this extra weight while I rely on Google Maps to get us to the farm without having to execute tricky manoeuvres, like reversing up one-way streets. I hope that when we arrive, the farm won’t be closed or turn us away – we haven’t booked, after all. Here in the southern part of Gers department, it’s not like there are other camping options just around the corner. In fact, from what I’ve seen, there’s little settlement amid the landscape of gentle rolling farmland and glassy lakes. The children were drawn to the rare-breed Gascon pigs at La Ferme des Cedres Bleus (Photo: Chrissie McClatchie) Fortunately, as the crunch of gravel rings signals our arrival, a woman comes out to greet us with a welcoming smile, pointing to a shady pitch under the blue cedars that give the farm its name. My husband parks up while she introduces herself, Nicole, and her son Eric, the farmer. My daughters, aged 10 and eight, run off to see the cute and cheery little Gascon pigs that are intrigued by our arrival. This is one of the generations-old family farms keeping the breed – one of the oldest and rarest in France – alive. No reservations is a key part of using France Passion, a members’ app for which we paid €33 (£28) for the year. In return, we have a guide to 2,200 farms and artisanal producers across France where campervans can stay overnight for free – and because these are working farms, spaces are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The other rules are that your campervan must be 100 per cent autonomous in terms of waste, water and electricity, and that you can only stay one night at each location. In this era where booking hotels in advance seems essential, not having confirmed accommodation is the aspect of the trip I find most nerve-wracking. But it also gives an incredible sense of freedom. When we started planning our journey from our home just outside Nice, we had a checklist of destinations we’d like to go. All were within a realistic radius of Toulouse, where we spend summers at a family house: Biarritz, Bordeaux, the Ile d’Oleron. Places we’d never visited before and would usually have to fork out a fortune to sleep a family of four in summer. We hoped the campervan would offset the cost, particularly if we weren’t paying to park, as campsites can still add upwards of £40 a night. The coastline between Bidart and Guéthary, just south of Biarritz in the French Basque Country (Photo: Ludwig Deguffroy/Getty) The temperatures rose in the weeks before we set off, when we still hadn’t finalised our route. Bordeaux topped 39°C the day before we left, and the nearby area of Gironde has since experienced devastating wildfires, while Biarritz was a more bearable 30°C. Our decision became an easy one: we’d be heading for the French Basque Country. The France Passion app showed plenty of stops en route, from armagnac producers to foie gras farms, both typical of the region. La Ferme des Cedres Bleus stood out thanks to its great reviews and – crucially for campervan novices like us – facilities such as toilets and water. Once we’ve parked, the family opens the shop so we can buy some homemade sausages to cook for dinner and invites us to use their “baby-foot” (table football) and ping pong table. None of us stirs when Eric sets off on the tractor at 4.30am. By mid-morning we’re on the road to the beaches near Biarritz, having said our goodbyes to the family and piglets. Half an hour’s drive inland from Guéthary, where we’ll be spending the day, is So’Miel honey farm, where we’re hoping to stay tonight. Getting into the swing of these last-minute arrangements, I shoot off a text to the host, Sophie, to inform her of our intended arrival, as the listing on the France Passion app requests. “Sure, come over around 6pm” is the cheery reply I get soon after. At So’miel, Sophie talks to Chrissie (left) and her daughters about the different honeys she produces Guéthary is a delightful spot with a laid-back, coastal vibe, and after lunch at breezy beach shack Chez Nadyne, we cool down in gentle waves on Plage de Sénix before heading off towards So’Miel. Sophie is out to greet us as we pull in at her Basque farmhouse. She tells us how she became a France Passion host to share her passion for bees. Whether it’s a vigneron showing you their vines or, in this case, a beekeeper and her honey, the opportunity to learn about their world is a key part of the whole experience. Her range of honeys, from light spring to deeper chestnut, are delicious and we buy a few jars that we open at breakfast the next morning. Another day at the beach is in order, this time along the wide, sandy surf spot of Ondres. With height restrictions, we can only park in a municipal camping car park, paying €24 (£20) for the privilege, which gives us the right to stay overnight. We can plug into electricity, and there’s an area dedicated to emptying the waste water, but it feels so soulless compared to the settings of our two previous nights. Plus, I’ve earmarked a goat farm an hour away in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port; the reviews rave about the young 26-year-old farmer, Mattin Esponde, who rears 50-odd goats and makes cheese at the foot of the Pyrenees. So, we bid farewell to Ondres and head instead to Chevrerie Mattinka. Mattin Esponde with some of the dozens of goats he rears (Photo: Chrissie McClatchie) We’re clearly not the only people intrigued by Mattin’s story, since seven other campervans are already parked up when we arrive. Fortunately, the farm is enormous, and we all have plenty of space to carve out our own areas. There’s even a refreshing creek running beneath, which my daughters waste no time wading into. At 6pm, Mattin invites us to tour the farm; it’s a chance to meet his cute goats, which range from a few months to five years old, and pick up some of his excellent artisanal cheeses for dinner. On our last full day, we start the journey back to Toulouse. Close to where we have to return the campervan is a vineyard, Domaine Bois de Devès, where we can park up beside the vines. We’ve lucked out with our timing, as the vineyard is hosting an event that evening: drinks in the garden. The family relax in the garden at Domaine Bois de Devès (Photo: Chrissie McClatchie) The owner, Nicholas Smith, is an English winemaker who’s making a mark in that most French of industries, if the crowd of locals that turn up is anything to go by. We sample his reds, made from the local négrette grape variety, before returning to the camper to watch sunset from the vines. We’ve had four nights of friendly hosts and memorable stops, featuring pigs, bees, goats and wine. Instead of paying for municipal campervan parking areas or sprawling soulless campsites, following the France Passion map not only eased pressure on the budget but created memories firmly rooted in the destinations we visited. How to do it CamperDays offers campervan hire from Toulouse from £100 per day.