Le Touquet & Brittany: The Golf Break You Can Drive To

There's something about throwing your clubs in the boot, driving onto the Eurotunnel, and being on a French golf course three hours later that flying to Portugal simply can't match. No baggage carousel roulette. No waiting for a transfer bus. No hoping your driver turns up. Just you, your car, and the open road.

Northern France has some of the best-value golf breaks in Europe, and most UK golfers have never considered it. That's a mistake. Let me tell you about two options that we book regularly — Le Touquet and Dinard in Brittany.

Le Touquet — £585pp for 3 Nights and 2 Rounds

Getting There

Le Touquet is about 40 minutes south of Calais. Take the Eurotunnel (35 minutes under the Channel), drive off the other side, and you're on the golf course before lunch. From the M25, door to door is roughly 3 hours including the tunnel crossing. You can also take the ferry from Dover to Calais — slightly cheaper, slightly longer, and you get breakfast on the boat.

Eurotunnel crossings run from about £60 each way for a car, depending on when you book. Split between four people, that's £30pp return. Try flying anywhere for that.

The Hotel: Red Fox Le Touquet

The Red Fox is a four-star boutique hotel right in the centre of Le Touquet. It's small — about 50 rooms — which means it feels personal rather than generic. The rooms are modern, well-furnished, and the beds are excellent (proper French mattresses, not the rock-hard ones you sometimes get in budget hotels).

Breakfast is continental but done properly — fresh croissants, baguettes, local cheeses, charcuterie, and strong coffee. The hotel bar does a solid selection of beers and wines, and the staff are genuinely friendly.

At £585 per person for 3 nights and 2 rounds, this is one of the cheapest quality golf breaks we sell. Bed and breakfast, two green fees, no flights needed.

The Courses

Golf du Touquet — La Forêt: This is the main course and it's a beauty. Designed in 1931, it winds through a pine forest with tight fairways and small, well-protected greens. It reminded me of playing Sunningdale or Woking — proper inland golf on sandy soil that drains brilliantly, so it plays well even in winter. The 7th is a stunning par 3 through the trees — about 185 yards with the green tucked behind two bunkers. Miss right and you're in the pines. The course is par 72, about 6,300 yards from the yellows, and it'll test your course management more than your length.

Golf du Touquet — La Mer: The links-style course. It sits right on the coast and plays differently every day depending on the wind. More open than La Forêt, with some cracking views over the dunes to the sea. The back nine is the stronger half — the 14th runs along the beach and the 17th is a long par 3 that plays into the prevailing wind. On a calm day it's a 6-iron; into the wind it's a hybrid.

Where to Eat

Le Touquet is a proper French town, not a tourist resort, and the food reflects that.

• Brasserie du Commerce — on the main street. Classic French brasserie: steak frites, moules marinières, tarte tatin. About €25-30 per head with wine. Exactly what you want after 18 holes.
• Le Paris — slightly upmarket, excellent seafood. The plateau de fruits de mer for two is a mountain of oysters, prawns, crab, and langoustines. Around €40pp but worth every cent.
• Côté Sud — smaller, family-run, incredible duck confit. Book ahead — it's only got about 30 covers.

Dinard, Brittany — £795pp for 4 Nights and 3 Rounds

Getting There

Dinard is further — about 4 hours from Calais via the A28 and A84. It's a longer drive, but Brittany is one of the most beautiful parts of France, and the drive itself is enjoyable once you're past the first motorway section. Alternatively, you can take the Brittany Ferries crossing from Portsmouth to St Malo (about 9 hours overnight), which puts you 10 minutes from Dinard. Sleep on the boat, wake up in France, play golf by lunchtime.

The Hotel and Courses

Our Dinard package includes a four-star hotel overlooking the bay and three rounds at courses within 30 minutes of the hotel. Dinard Golf Club itself is one of the oldest in France — established in 1887 — and sits on a clifftop with views across the Rance estuary to St Malo. It's a links/clifftop hybrid with exposed fairways and greens that slope towards the sea.

The 6th hole plays along the cliff edge with a 100-foot drop to the beach on your right. It's not the hardest hole on the course, but it's certainly the most memorable. The wind off the Atlantic can be fierce — bring a proper waterproof and a good warm layer.

You'll also play Saint-Malo Le Tronchet (a longer, more modern course through parkland) and typically one other local course depending on availability — Les Ormes or Pen Guen both work well.

At £795 per person for 4 nights and 3 rounds, Dinard gives you more golf than Le Touquet and an area of France that feels wonderfully unspoiled. It's quieter, more characterful, and the food is if anything even better than Le Touquet.

France vs Flying to Portugal: A Cost Comparison

On pure cost, France wins comfortably — especially if you're driving from the southeast of England. The Algarve gives you an extra night and an extra round, and the weather's more reliable. But for a quick, easy, no-stress golf break, taking the tunnel and playing in France is hard to beat.

Why Golfers Love It

Every group I've sent to Le Touquet or Dinard comes back with the same three observations:

• "The food was incredible." France is France. Even a basic bistro meal is better than most UK restaurants, and it's usually cheaper.
• "It was so easy." No airport queues, no baggage worries, no transfer bus. Club in boot, drive, play golf, eat steak, drive home.
• "We should do this twice a year." At £585pp, you can. That's the cost of a decent set of irons. Two French golf trips a year for the same price as your annual Algarve trip? Not a bad deal.

A fourball from Surrey booked Le Touquet in March last year as a "test run." They liked it so much they went back in September and booked Dinard for the following spring. "We had no idea golf in France was this good," one of them told me. Most people don't — which is exactly why it's still quiet and affordable.

Ring us on 01277 284284 or get a quote at golfplanetholidays.com. We'll sort the hotel, tee times, and even recommend where to stop for lunch on the drive down.