A region in west Central France, the Vendée got its name from the Vendée River that runs through its southeastern part. Vendée’s coast is a long 160 km stretch of luxurious white sandy beaches. Because of the region’s exceptionally mild climate, it is now one of the world’s top destinations.

Vendée offers a wide variety of enjoyable activities for locals and tourists alike. Activities for families, couples, and children are provided by the region’s private establishments all aiming to give everybody a good time in Vendée.
So, are you ready to go on your most adventurous experience? Let’s start with those you can enjoy on land.

There are quite a number of casinos that one can find in Vendée. Although some serious gambling rooms may ask for one’s passport upon entrance, other casinos aren’t that strict about this. Casinos at La Faute-sur-Mer, St-Jean-de-Monts, Les Sables d'Olonne, and St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie offer rows of machines à sous with great places to eat even if you don’t plan to gamble. Blackjack and roulette fanatics, however, need to wait until about 10 p.m. when these games are open, but they have until 4 a.m. to enjoy their games.

For those who like to get a good sweat, Vendée offers a coastal cycleway or a sentier littoral (which is almost done) that allows bicycle enthusiasts to ride from one end of the region to the other. Signposts are appropriately put up so you one shouldn’t fear from getting lost around the area. Most hotel packages in Vendée even have services for cycle hire and picnic lunches where brochures, booklets, and maps of great cycle routes of the region are handed out.

As with any tourist destination, golf is one sport present in every must-do list. Vendée is blessed with five magnificent 18-hole golf courses making the region known as tres golfique. Included in the golf packages offered by these courses are restaurants with good food available for members and nonmembers of the clubs. Golf des Olonnes, Golf de St-Jean-de-Monts, Golf des Fontenelles, Golf de Port-Bourgenay, and Golf de la Domangère all have clubs for rent to suit your every style.

Children (and of course adults too) will definitely love to take on the unique go-karting experience in and around Vendée where the go-karting rules are not quite like the ones implemented in Britain. Go to Corcoué-sur-Logne at the north of the region, Challans, Olonne-sur-Mer, Challans, and La Roche-sur-Yon and find many go-karting circuits available for a fun-filled day for you and your company.

For 30F (average) one gets entrance to any of the region’s racetracks. Les Sables-d'Olonne, Challans, St-Jean-de-Monts, and Machecoul are some of the towns where you can find race meetings in the late afternoons and evenings. Normally these meetings will include a flat race, a trotting race, and a steeplechase. Programs are normally given out free. Bets are also accepted, but don’t expect much for every win. They were just put up to spice up the games. Did I tell you that women and children are admitted free to these events?

Try and enjoy the thrilling 4-by-4 quad driving experience at several quad centers in and around the region including the one near Mareuil-sur-Lay, Vendée Quad, which offers trips to the countryside.

“Poney clubs” in Vendée means riding stables as opposed to the pony clubs in Britain. Vendée has various centre équestre or riding schools where instructors hold certificates of competence. Get some riding experience at St Maurice des Noues, L'Etoile, Coëx, and Béatrice and Bruno Ripaud. Most instructors would advice you to gear up with a hard hat for protection, but it would definitely be fun to try riding without those uncool hats on.

For a simpler sports experience, one could always try walking or running in some of the region’s walking or running routes. Running races are also held in Vendée, and if you would like to take part of this yearly event, you need to secure a medical certificate of fitness that you have to present to the event organizers. For a simple training in running, the forest trails are quiet enough to give you enough concentration on your task. If you plan to do some walking in any area around Vendée, it is also equally important to get yourself a map that will show you the region’s footpaths or sentiers de randonnée. This is so you would get to familiarize yourself with the perfect paths to take on your walking trips instead of worrying about getting lost and wondering how to get back to your hotel.

Vendée also offers exciting activities for water enthusiasts. One can go boating with the family or even with a lover at the great waterways of the Marais Poitevin, the Green Venice area. Flat-bottomed boats are also available for rent at some of the villages in Vendée. If you’re into fishing, you need to get holiday fishing permits though to be able to do so. But catching roach, chub, carp, pike to name a few is just something some people would not miss to try. And for those who are more adventurous, surfing is one big in thing in Vendée most especially in the south area along Longeville and La Trance. L'Embarcadero in La Roche-sur-Yon, Point Break in St Gilles Croix de Vie, Bahia surf shop in Les Sables-d'Olonne, Le Palmier in La Tranche-sur-Mer, Extreme in Les Sables-d'Olonne, L'Embarcadero in La Roche-sur-Yon, and Nova Fun in La Tranche-sur-Mer are some shops were surfers could find and purchase the latest and coolest surfing equipment.

For an adventure in the air, nothing beats a balloon ride up in the air. Ballooning is one great experience that is uniquely offered in the Vendée. Montgolfière is the French term for the hot-air balloon. The term is coined from the Montgolfier brothers who made the first models of this transport. With experienced pilot Damien Merceron, one can actually take a 90-minute exhilarating and magical trip over some of Vendée’s countryside.