Tourism Ambassadors 2023 – Camping Mediterraneo

Once again this year, as is tradition, the Municipality of Cavallino Treporti has decided to award the most loyal guests of the Campsites in its area, who have demonstrated a particular attachment to the facilities, with the title of Tourism Ambassadors. An award aimed at the internationality of those who stay and who, by now, can be considered part of the large family that these Campsites have built over the years, crossing Italian borders.

This year, receiving the title for Camping Mediterraneo are Messrs Manja Volmer Van Der Luis and Ronald Volmer, from Purmerend, north of Amsterdam (Netherlands).
We went to interview them in their beach-front house to learn more about their story and how they came to Camping Mediterraneo more than forty years ago. A love, that for camping, which is a true lifestyle and a meeting point for many friendships cultivated over time.

Dear Mr and Mrs Volmer, thank you for welcoming us this morning.
We have had the pleasure of having you with us, every season, for many years now. How many to be exact? And how did you get to know Camping Mediterraneo?

It has been a long time since our first time here. We have been coming every summer for more than 40 years now. In the past, my brother and I suffered from severe colds and the doctor advised us to go on holiday somewhere sunny. A friend of ours had a flyer for Camping Mediterraneo. We called and our adventure here began. We came with our children who started to make friends with their peers and have been asking us to come back ever since.

First of all, we want to know something about your day. Tell us a little: how do you spend your time?

Every year has been and still is different. In the beginning, when the children were small, we went to the pool every day and played a lot of sports: mainly football and tennis. At the time, challenges were organised between teams of different nationalities on the camp site, which ended with an evening prize-giving party. During our days, the beach could not and cannot be missed, of course. In recent years we prefer to relax. My husband occasionally goes to the gym, we go shopping and we go cycling. We dedicate ourselves completely to relaxing, especially on our veranda.

Do you have any favourite places on the camp site to which you are particularly attached or where you have created the fondest memories?

The beach is definitely one of them, we really like it. We have a fantastic pitch, which we have been able to book every year for many years and it is right on the seafront. Every day we say goodbye to Croatia when we wake up. This place is like our second home. Everything is very clean and well looked after.

How much time do you spend at Camping Mediterraneo?

For the past few years we have decided to stay here for two months, May and June, and then return in September and set up the caravan for the winter. Now we travel from Holland to Italy by plane, for convenience. In the early years, however, we arrived with the car and the caravan, then only with the car, leaving the caravan in storage during the winter season.

What change in recent years has affected you most?

We know that the pools that were there before 2020 were in need of change, but we were fond of them and had memories of hours spent swimming with other campers. Now the pool area has been completely renovated and a beautiful water park has been built for the needs of families, but where you can still swim.

You have been here with us for a long time; how many friendships were born during the summers here at Camp Mediterraneo? How have you maintained contact?

We have had the opportunity to get to know so many people over the years. As soon as we arrived, everyone greeted us despite our different backgrounds. We are known as the ‘Dutch’ because there are not many of our compatriots here at the Mediterraneo. We speak a little German and a little Italian to communicate, but we manage to understand each other. Hardly anyone speaks Dutch, even in Holland they speak it very little now; in Amsterdam you only hear English! During the winter we keep in contact with our friends from the camp via telephone and email.

Does your family join you during the summer? Do you have activities that you all like to do together?

My son joins us every summer with his family for a fortnight and has the pitch next to ours. Together we like to go to Venice or go for a bike ride around the lagoon. Then every day we meet at the bar for a coffee or an ice cream.

The area outside Camping Mediterraneo certainly has a lot of interesting places to discover. Which ones have you enjoyed visiting and where do you return to most often?

Almost every year we go to Venice and by bike to the lagoon. During our time in Cavallino we also went to Lake Garda, Lucca and the Cinque Terre, where we spent a few days.

One last question: what would you recommend to a camper arriving at Camping Mediterraneo for the first time?

Definitely to have mosquito spray! Joking aside, to visit as much of the surrounding area as possible. A lot depends on how you arrive and whether you have the possibility to move around by car. Both the camp site and the region are very beautiful, the pitches are large and comfortable. The facilities are very good and we always met people who were friendly and ready to help, especially the staff working on the site. Everyone is very nice and friendly. We still have contacts with people who worked here years ago and who are now scattered around the world.

The interview is over and we thank you again for your time. We can only wish you another fantastic summer here with us!