The Drôme is two holidays wearing one name. In the south you get the Drôme Provençale: lavender in bloom from mid-June to mid-July, the markets of Grignan and Nyons, nougat from Montélimar, black truffles from the Tricastin. North of there, the same river runs through the Drôme valley and the Diois, where the evenings are cooler and swimming usually means a river rather than a pool.
The 2026 ranking at a glance
- Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan)
- Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons)
- Flower Camping La Pinède (Die)
- Les Bois du Châtelas (Bourdeaux)
- Le Couspeau (Yelloh! Village, Le Poët-Célard)
- Gervanne Camping (Mirabel-et-Blacons)
Your base decides most of the trip. Grignan puts you under the château, a short drive from Vaison-la-Romaine. Die and Saillans put you in the Diois, with the Vercors on the skyline. The Baronnies, the hills around Dieulefit and Bourdeaux, are higher and quieter and further from everything, which is either the point or the problem.
All six sites below work for families. I have ordered them by what a family needs in mid-July: shade, water, something for the children to do, and how far you have to drive for bread. It is a family order rather than a star order, which is why the first entry is not the one with the most stars.
1. Flower Camping Les Truffières (Grignan)
Three stars, human scale, and pitched in an old truffle orchard where about a hundred trees keep the tents and mobile homes in shade. The accommodation spreads wide for a site this size: mobile homes, lodge tents, cocoon barrels for anyone who wants an odd place to sleep, and pitches for tents, caravans, vans and motorhomes.
Grignan is a kilometre away along a footpath, on foot or by bike, with the château of Madame de Sévigné at the end of it. The pool is heated, but only when the sun is not doing the job, and there is a paddling pool for smaller children. Bread and pastries come up from the Grignan baker every morning, and July and August bring a producers' market, concerts and a kids' club.
No dogs, though.
2. Les Terrasses Provençales (Venterol, near Nyons)
A four-star site built into a hillside above Venterol, with a heated pool and a great many terraces. What you get in exchange for the gradient is quiet. This is the calmest entry on the list.
Nyons does the heavy lifting for days out: the old town, the olive mills, the market, with Vaison-la-Romaine and its Roman ruins an easy run. The hillside is the catch. Pitches and pools sit on different levels, so you walk up and down more than you expect, and villages, markets and restaurants all mean getting in the car, which stops being charming somewhere around the third evening.
You will need that car.
3. Flower Camping La Pinède (Die)
Four stars, on the Drôme just outside Die, and built for families who want to be in the water and on the rock. Pools on site, canoeing on the river, climbing and hiking straight from the gate, with the Vercors and its marked routes right there.
Die is a small town with a market and a name for its sparkling wine, Clairette, and Saillans is up the valley for a slower afternoon. The river is the real draw: shallow enough in summer for children to paddle, deeper further along for a proper swim.
It gets busy. Families with very small children may find the river crowded and the evenings louder than they would like, and the Diois is a longer drive from the lavender than Grignan or Nyons.
4. Les Bois du Châtelas (Bourdeaux)
A Yelloh! Village site in the hills above Bourdeaux, and the one to pick if the weather is what you cannot plan for. There is a water park, an indoor pool for the days when the sky gives up on you, a spa area for the adults who have had enough of both, and views over the hills that explain why people book this one a year ahead.
Bourdeaux sits in the Roubion valley, close to Dieulefit and its pottery workshops, and the roads around it climb through some of the prettiest country in the Drôme. You are inland and high, though. The lavender fields and the big Provençal markets are a drive away, not a stroll, and the site is large and busy in August.
5. Le Couspeau (Yelloh! Village, Le Poët-Célard)
Five stars, terraced into a hillside at Le Poët-Célard, with panoramic views and two pools: an outdoor one and a heated covered one. The slides settle the argument about where the children will spend the afternoon, and the covered pool is what makes this site work in a cooler week or at the edges of the season.
The views are genuine, and the setting is high and green, above the Roubion valley and within reach of Dieulefit and Bourdeaux. What you pay for it is price and gradient. Terraced means steps and slopes between your pitch, the pool and the shop, which is worth knowing if you are pushing a buggy or carrying a tired four-year-old.
It is remote, too.
6. Gervanne Camping (Mirabel-et-Blacons)
Down on the valley floor, in Mirabel-et-Blacons, where the Gervanne meets the Drôme. Two rivers within walking distance of your pitch is the whole offer, and in a hot July it is a good one: shallow swimming, canoeing, cycling along the valley. The site is shady, family-oriented and unpretentious.
Saillans and the market towns up the valley are close, and the Diois starts as soon as you head upstream. There is less here than at the big sites in the hills. Not many slides, and nobody organising your afternoon. Families who want their days filled for them may find it thin. Families who want to swim in a river and eat outside will not notice.
The six at a glance
| Campsite | Town | Strong point | Best for | Feel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flower Camping Les Truffières | Grignan | Truffle-orchard shade, village on foot | Families with young children | Small and green |
| Les Terrasses Provençales | Venterol, near Nyons | Hillside calm, heated pool | Families who want quiet | Terraced and peaceful |
| Flower Camping La Pinède | Die | River swimming and canoeing, pools | Active families | Lively and outdoorsy |
| Les Bois du Châtelas | Bourdeaux | Water park and indoor pool | Families who want the water to do the work | Large and animated |
| Le Couspeau | Le Poët-Célard | Panoramic views, slides, covered pool | Families who want full facilities | Terraced and upmarket |
| Gervanne Camping | Mirabel-et-Blacons | Two rivers at the gate | River days and cycling | Shady and simple |
When is the lavender in bloom in the Drôme?
Mid-June to mid-July, and it is short. Around Grignan, Nyons and Dieulefit there are fields near most of the sites above. Book early for that window.
Do I need a car at these campsites?
For five of the six, yes. Les Truffières is the exception: Grignan is a kilometre away on a footpath. Everywhere else, markets and restaurants are a drive.
Which is best if you would rather swim in a river than a pool?
Flower Camping La Pinède and Gervanne Camping, both on the Drôme. La Pinède has pools as well; at Gervanne the rivers do most of the work.
