Plan d'Eau du Lambon (Lambon Lake)
At around 15 minutes drive, this is the closest place to the La Groie gîte to go swimming. It is a man-made lake with a real sand beach with supervised swimming during the summer.

There is also a picnic and games area, kayak and canoeing, mini-golf, pedal boats, wind sailing, fishing, tennis and a restaurant.

Île de Ré
There are long strips of fine sandy beaches surrounding the 10 villages on this island lying offshore from La Rochelle. Some of the beaches have been awarded the European Blue Flag, and the villages of Le Bois-Plage, La Couarde, La Flotte and Les Portes all have kids' clubs during the summer with swings, trampolines and games, etc.

Châtelaillon
A few kilometres to the south of La Rochelle lies the bustling seaside resort of Châtelaillon with a vast beach of fine sand that stretches over a distance of almost three kilometres between Plage des Boucholeurs and Plage de Saint-Jean des Sables. The beach is considered to be one of the safest on the Atlantic coast. There is a water complex with a giant flume, and during the summer months kids clubs and a sailing school.

Île d'Oleron
Further south is the island of Oleron with vast beaches of fine sand on all sides. Backed by pine forests the beaches are sheltered from onshore breezes. A number of beaches have been awarded a European Blue Flag.