Acsi - worthwhile? (1 Viewer)

[Wh05apk]

We have previously always used aires/stellplatzs in France and Germany, but wondered whether it is worth joining Acsi? we rarely stay more than 2 nights, but sometimes a "proper" site might be nice. We holiday a lot out of season, which I understand is when the discounts are available? Is there ayway to look at the sites/fees before joining?

 

[Simon Richardson]

You may find a lot of the ACSI Sites closed out of season - we made that mistake.

It was worth the £15 for us though as we had a free night at Merry-Sur-Yonne as we'd paid for 5 and got the 6th night free.

They do have a website you can look at the sites, but haven't looked for so long I can't remember the address!

 

[Wh05apk]

Thank you just found the sites and fees on their website.

 

[138go]

We have found some of the ACSI Pitches that are available rather small. The campsites always seem to have others available though at extra cost.

 

[FIDGET]

I personally , didn't find it advantageous as like your self , I don't stop anywhere more than a couple or three nights and 95% of those on aires ( mostly very reasonable or free) . We bought it this year but only used it once and was disappointed with the site , didn't save very much against there listed price on there notice board , overall lost out on the year deal. but then that was my loss due too me not wanting to use sites.

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[Jenka]

If your away for a long time then it can be worth while especially on the larger sites, but you can equally get a good rate by simply asking ,at one site they discounted when I mention CMH club. Generally I
Think ACSI represents good value.

 

[DBK]

We use ACSI a lot. They don't list sites everywhere, really popular areas don't need them, but they can offer an alternative to aires etc. We usually stay in one once a week to do the laundry. We also find sitting under trees on a site a lot more pleasant than on a shadeless aire if that is the only alternative.

 

[mikebeaches]

Agree with DBK. We like using ACSI sites and generally find they are reasonable value. We tour around, but we also spend quite a lot of time during winter at a site at Palomares, Almeria, where we pay €17 euro (about £15) for a nice pitch, un-metered hookup and all the facilities.

Understand it may not be for everybody, but ACSI is a no-brainer for us and have the 2019 edition on order for delivery next month.

 

[maison]

We use ACSI widely.

Although we use Aires a lot we also like to use sites from time to time.

In March/April of this year we spent 8 weeks touring Spain and found ACSI invaluable as many of the sites (not included in the ACSI book) were busy or full.

Even out of the reduced cost periods the book gives you another source of information to help you decide if a particular site is for you.

We have certainly saved more than the cost of membership each year.

 

[Reallyretired]

SWMBO likes sites so we find acsi useful. The saving is quite small on some sites, the cheaper ones, but some very expensive sites accept acsi out of season. We stayed on one a couple of years ago where the full rate was 50euro, we paid 17 so saved more than the cost of acsi in one night.

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[Riverbankannie]

Agree with those above,you can make the savings in 2 or 3 nights. About once a week we look for a site and if nice will usually stay at least 2 nights. Having a nice big pitch for a while on grass and with trees where we can just stay put and relax is a nice break from touring and sightseeing. ACSI sites usually a good standard.

 

[TinaLes]

Interesting reading this,thanks for posting.
Does the ACSI membership run from the date you join or a certain time like Jan every year?I guess the later if there are sitte books printed out.
I did pick up on a recent Vlog that certain countries like Austria, Slovenia, maybe more even, do not "allow" wild camping is this true, or can a dedicated FLT get by
£15 membership is not bad IF you are going to use it and have a long touring holiday planed I guess.
Thanks
Les

 

[mikebeaches]

Interesting reading this,thanks for posting.
Does the ACSI membership run from the date you join or a certain time like Jan every year?I guess the later if there are sitte books printed out.
I did pick up on a recent Vlog that certain countries like Austria, Slovenia, maybe more even, do not "allow" wild camping is this true, or can a dedicated FLT get by
£15 membership is not bad IF you are going to use it and have a long touring holiday planed I guess.
Thanks
Les

ACSI discount card and guidebook run from 1 January to 31 December each year, so have to buy the books annually for continuous benefit. New books are published in early December.

I think Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia might be challenging for wild camping, unless others know differently. Possibly Croatia too?

 

[busby]

I personally , didn't find it advantageous as like your self , I don't stop anywhere more than a couple or three nights and 95% of those on aires ( mostly very reasonable or free) . We bought it this year but only used it once and was disappointed with the site , didn't save very much against there listed price on there notice board , overall lost out on the year deal. but then that was my loss due too me not wanting to use sites.

Best £17 50 you can spend..Money back in 3 nights,,Never since 2003 have i had a bad site,,,,Would not travel without it,,BUSBY

 

[Pikeman]

We tend to tour for three months at a time. We use aires and camper-stops, but check in to ACSI sites about every ten days to get all the washing done and thoroughly clean the inside of the van. It is quite nice to have a stretch out occasionally on a decent pitch and also use good shower facilities. Some are shabby, but from experience you get to know one's that are superb value for money and very well situated. For example the Marjal at Guardamar is a 19 euro, but the facilities are good, with gym, indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, tennis courts, bar, restaurant etc. all included. I have the app on my phone and always check the reviews before selecting a site we have not visited before.

PS; Marjal also supply TV hook up on your fully serviced pitch.

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[mikebeaches]

Best £17 50 you can spend..Money back in 3 nights,,Never since 2003 have i had a bad site,,,,Would not travel without it,,BUSBY

Oh dear Busby - looks like you've been fleeced...

£13.99 including UK postage from the Camping and Caravanning Club shop:

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/travelabroad/campingcardacsi/

 

[cruiser]

We always use it. We go away for about 2 months at a time. We get some good bargains at the end of season .

 

[Badknee]

We have found some of the ACSI Pitches that are available rather small. The campsites always seem to have others available though at extra cost.

Quite right. We always ask for the sites regular price. If staying perhaps over a week or more the sites price has been found to be cheaper/better pitch a few times.

 

[pandas]

Very good value and we use it for some initial thoughts when planning a trip particularly where we might stay for 3 nights or more. The on-line/off line access for sites is also useful. Take the ASCI membership card as well which is separate and I believe just under 5 euros. And don't forget to take the cardboard Discount card from the flyer within the books as you will not get the discount without it.

 

[Janiemou]

We wouldn't be without ACSI - their sites are usually our first choice. We travel in low season, staying anything from 1-3 nights. Most sites, like Merry-sur-Yonne, allow you to choose any pitch. One or two, like Camping Adriatico in Sottomarina, squeeze you on to the back of the site in cramped positions - they are the exception though. To us, the biggest advantage is in Italy, where sites are expensive and sostas are less secure. It also makes sense in Switzerland where ACSI can almost halve the cost. This year we stayed at both Camping Seehorn on Bodensee, and Riarena near Belinzona. Previously, we've driven through Switzerland in a day to keep the cost down.

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[Conal]

On our trip through France and Spain we found many of the “ACSI” sites where ACSI inspected but not ACSI prices. Disappointed.

 

[maison]

On our trip through France and Spain we found many of the “ACSI” sites where ACSI inspected but not ACSI prices. Disappointed.

I think if you check that you will find that some “ACSI inspected” sites are not in the book. These are the ones that do not offer discounts.

Only those listed in the book normally give discounts which is why the purchase price of the book and card is worthwhile.

 

[Badknee]

Definitely worthwhile if your only stopping a few nights but over seven may not be the cheapest we’ve found.

 

[Conal]

We have the book and did not know that, so thanks. We book some sites but leave gaps for flexibility and used our Garmin Camper SatNav which shows ASCI sites. We never checked these against the book. From your comment I now assume that the App doesn’t differentiate between a full site and one just inspected.
Next year we will have the book handy when we are travelling.

 

[maison]

@Conal
Correct!

We also have ACSI listed on our SatNav. It took us a little while to spot that only those in the book give discounts.

We live and learn and read on here!

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[Lenny HB]

Just about got our money back this year normally we are out of pocket mainly because we hardly ever use sites. When we did Greece 3 years ago stayed on a couple of sites for the odd night, same price with or without ACSI, yes they were in the discount book.

 

[mikebeaches]

On our trip through France and Spain we found many of the “ACSI” sites where ACSI inspected but not ACSI prices. Disappointed.

From memory there are circa 3,000+ sites that participate in the ACSI discount scheme; whereas, there are something between 9,000-10,000 ACSI 'inspected' sites.

The ACSI Camping Card app (ie the one for the discount scheme), obviously only shows the locations that are participating.

 

[EX51SSS]

I'm very happy with ACSI. Great savings. Sure we stayed on was normally €38 but we paid €17 per night, so 3 nights saved us €61.
Also at Ginnes, we got a Premier pitch for €19 per night (plus €1 tax) but still savings of €18 per night.
Although I'd joined ACSI this year, I'd forgotten my book and only had the 2017 book but a phone call to ACSI and they sent me an email with current details on and accepted but ACSI did say that if they don't, get the site to ring them and they will authorise it.
Great value IMO.

 

[Parrot Face]

Its always cheaper if you go directly to ACSI. I think we pay about 12 euros a year. Well worth it. Never a problem with pitch sizes etc. The only thing you have to watch is the tourist taxes. I've mentioned these a lot on this site, I joined ACSI when it first started and never paid any taxes for years but now its getting more evident. We went to a site in Seefeld Austria and had to pay almost 6 euros a night extra for tourist tax.

 

[mikebeaches]

Its always cheaper if you go directly to ACSI. I think we pay about 12 euros a year. Well worth it. Never a problem with pitch sizes etc. The only thing you have to watch is the tourist taxes. I've mentioned these a lot on this site, I joined ACSI when it first started and never paid any taxes for years but now its getting more evident. We went to a site in Seefeld Austria and had to pay almost 6 euros a night extra for tourist tax.

Agree with you about taxes in some countries, though it hasn't been an issue for us in Spain this year. However, what we have found is the electricity metered and only about 4kw per day included.

We have been to one or two places where the ACSI rate includes a 'standard pitch', which is fair enough - but often offered an upgrade to a 'premium pitch for an extra €2 - €5 euro - which we've sometimes accepted to get a front-line view, or a larger pitch etc. But still considered it very good value.

We also like the length of the discount season, which sometimes covers the whole year apart from 6-8 weeks peak summer. And some sites offer 7 nights for the price of 6 etc at ACSI rates. All good.

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