Caravan Club (1 Viewer)

lisassister

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We have just bought our first motorhome and I'm trying to work out if it is worth us joining the C&CC. We will be using the MH in the UK but also in Europe a lot (we have family in Austria and visit every year). Could someone explain to me what the benefits are in terms of the European campsites? Are the rates discounted for members? I couldn't really tell from the website, probably being a bit thick! Thanks.
 
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lisassister

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I've just realised that there are 2 clubs!! I've looked at the website for the Caravan Club only, not the C&CC. Doh. Is one better than the other, for European travel? We have 2 children and I've noticed that the CC has a lot of discounts for members to various attractions in the UK as well so I'm thinking that may be better for us?
 
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Anthea M

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Hello we are members of the CC and use their sites in the uk.
Our first trip abroad withe the van we booked CC affiliated sites , we found them big sites with all the facilities such as bar pool shop reassurance etc. Great for you with children but not for us as we only stayed a night or two.
Now we use Aires and municipal or small sites near towns and villages so we can take in the local life.
The CC sites abroad are expensive but have all the facilities you may want . Peak holiday times are busy and more expensive.good luck

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Badknee

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We are members of both of them at the moment, we like the small sites CL's and CS' which are five or six pitch sites with minimal services. We have more choice being in both clubs and they do offer other things too.
 
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mikebeaches

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We are also members of both - but in fact only use their sites occasionally. There are various benefits however. There are pros and cons of membership of each. So not very helpful advice really.

We use ACSI discounted campsites ( https://www.campingcard.co.uk/ ) quite a lot, but may not be so relevant to you because the reduced prices are only available outside peak season, and I'm guessing you might be tied to travelling during school holidays?

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Badknee

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Oh, and we are living on a CC site at the moment so being a member is a must :LOL::LOL:
 
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Clive

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C&CC can be better if you have children but you need to get into the District Association camping. My 3 boys have been through the Camping Club Jounior and Camping Club Youth, passed their youth tests and have been going to the National & International rallies ever since. My oldest is 22 now but his main group of friends are still the ones he camped with
 
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We are also members of both clubs but only use their sites very occasionally.

Caravan Club sites are very high quality and well organised........perhaps too well organised for some. Facilities are usually very well kept. Could be a bit 'stuffy' for younger families I think.

C&CC take tent campers as well and so their sites feel a little more 'laid back' and informal. Still well looked after and clean facilities though.

Both clubs offer discounts for ferry fares as well as numerous insurance offers but I don't think there is any difference in cost for continental sites. One problem with booking ferries through them is that any changes need to be made through the club rather than direct with the ferry company. That could be a problem if something happens at the weekend and you need to change the crossing urgently.

For many motorhomers the big benefit of being members is that you get access to their large network of small 5 van sites, CL's (Certified Locations) for the CC and CS's (Certified Sites) for the C&CC.

Richard.

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lisassister

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Thanks for all your replies. So how does it work in Europe? Are the prices discounted for members or are the sites only open to members?
 
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Kingham

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Thanks for all your replies. So how does it work in Europe? Are the prices discounted for members or are the sites only open to members?
Most of the affiliated sites I've used are open to all and not always cheaper through the clubs, but they are always a minimum standard for the affiliation.

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lisassister

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Thanks Wargenwolf. So it sounds like there isn't really an advantage to joining in terms of using the European sites? Or have I misunderstood?
 
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We are members of both clubs for Insurance purposes - van with CC and house with C&CC. Why you may ask, well the MH insurance with CC is not so restrictive about leaving the van unattended and was very competitive. C&CC house insurance gives you up to 180 days away with no visits required and has turned up trumps for an expensive bike we need insured as an all risk when we take it away with us.

Also started using the discounts offered these are all C&CC such as 15% off Go Oudoors, 15% of Mountain warehouse (on top of sale prices!), 2 for 1 in some shows (just been to Scottish MH show using that saving £12.00), half price on the M6 tool road (CC) plus access to all the sites! This is not an exhaustive list!

I think we have already recovered our C&CC subs this year!
 
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Clive

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Thanks for all your replies. So how does it work in Europe? Are the prices discounted for members or are the sites only open to members?
They don't have sites in Europe, they use other people's, both have overseas brochures with this in, quite often the same sites. CC always include electric in their price, C&CC it varies depending on the campsite policy. Some years they are cheaper than booking direct because you are paying in pounds, other times they are not, highly dependant on the exchange rate.
In the past when I had a caravan I'd check all 3 for the best deal. In general I've also found CC cheaper on ferry deals because the have DFDS

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Kingham

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Thanks Wargenwolf. So it sounds like there isn't really an advantage to joining in terms of using the European sites? Or have I misunderstood?
It certainly wasn't top of our list of reasons for joining back in the day and once we'd found sites we liked, it usually worked out cheaper to book directly.
 
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funflair

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We pay for our membership of the CC every year with what we save booking the ferry with them.

Martin

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Pia

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There isn't to the best of my knowledge any advantage to being a member when it comes to Continental travel....except you know that the sites affilitated to these clubs will be of a certain standard. The major difference I find between the CC and C&CC is that with C&CC you have to pay 'up front' when booking a campsite which can be disadvantageous if things change...and in busy times you cannot stop for a single night at some of their sites in this country. The CC does not expect payment at the time of booking but the disadvantage of that is that some rather greedy people block book and cancel very late making it difficult to access some of the more popular sites on their network. Both have excellent heated facilities ...but they do, both of them, have lots of rules.
Happy travels:D
 
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suavecarve

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I would hold off doing either or both at the moment if i were in your position geographically.
Maidstone being close to Europe and aires being free (generally) and warmer weather coming, I know that i would be popping over the channel at every opportunity and paying £550 for 10 journeys to (5 trips) to France on the Chunnel.
If you went for 9 days on each occasion (and excluded the diesel costs) you could have 45 days abroad (i m thinking 1 week holidays including weekends for half terms etc) then its about £12 a night you pay out for if you use aires.
You can get campsites in this country for £12 a night but you wont get many facilities as an average and after one journey finding out what its like abroad in a motorhome you (imho) wont be doing too much camping in this country. So, to me the choice is this country or La belle Francais

Others will disagree with me !
 
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Emmit

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I would hold off doing either or both at the moment if i were in your position geographically.
Maidstone being close to Europe and aires being free (generally) and warmer weather coming, I know that i would be popping over the channel at every opportunity and paying £550 for 10 journeys to (5 trips) to France on the Chunnel.
If you went for 9 days on each occasion (and excluded the diesel costs) you could have 45 days abroad (i m thinking 1 week holidays including weekends for half terms etc) then its about £12 a night you pay out for if you use aires.
You can get campsites in this country for £12 a night but you wont get many facilities as an average and after one journey finding out what its like abroad in a motorhome you (imho) wont be doing too much camping in this country. So, to me the choice is this country or La belle Francais

Others will disagree with me !
This one won't.

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suavecarve

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How do you get a crossing as cheap as £55 on the tunnel ?
There is a frequent traveller section on their website. You can buy 10 journeys (5 return trips) for 550 nicker.
What is even better is if you only want to go abroad 3 times someone else can share the other 2 with you and you will find plenty of takers on here.

Alternatively if you have tesco vouchers you get 3 times their value so 30 nickers worth of vouchers gets you 90 quid off your chunnel journey. Very strong rumour that DFDS are also doing this now
 
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