Is this the most expensive site?????

Bulletguy

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Returning back from a recent three week tour around East Germany, Czech, and Poland, after leaving Berlin i was heading back toward the coast in order not to be under too much pressure to do a last minute long haul dash for the ferry port.

Drove from Berlin to Arnhem and then the following day into Belgium. Spent some time in Ostende before thinking about where to make an overnight. Before getting my ferry the next day, i wanted to visit a couple of places close on to Calais, so i began a slow drive along the main road which hugs the coastline towards Middelkerke.

Then i spotted a sign.....CAMPING. So i turned in, found the reception and asked about overnight fees. One person...with one small campervan.....for one night only. No hook up needed either.

Price?

25 euro!!! :Eeek::Eeek:

I looked staggered at the guy and asked him if he was really serious or just havin' a laugh. So he pushed the list of charges in front of me and attempted to justify the high charges by explaining they had a bar and you could also buy a 'meal' (hot dogs or burgers).

Thats almost twenty quid.......for one night!! I didn't even bother to ask how much electric hook up would have been. This site wasn't within walking distance of Ostende either, it was a good few miles away from the town.

I've seen threads on this issue before so for those who tour about a bit why not have a Top 10 listing of the worst....and the best?
The highest charges, and the lowest.

I'd been paying between 8 and 10 euro a night on sites in Germany.....with electric. One i stayed at for four nights, the shower and wc block was like something out of a 5 star Hotel.....marble topped surround to all sinks, fully tiled walls and floor throughout, and shower cubicles big enough for two people. And of course.....all scrupulously clean.
 
Hi Bulletguy

Thats well OTT especially when there is an abundance of free overnight parking along the N34 coast road <<here>>
 
Hi Bulletguy

Thats well OTT especially when there is an abundance of free overnight parking along the N34 coast road.
Exactly. And thats what i did.

No idea how these site owners manage to get punters in at prices like that. It wasn't a grubby dump, but neither was it anywhere near the standard of sites i'd been on in Germany at less than half that price.
 
I look to go to Perinporth Cornwall in August, it was over £300 for a week. I voted with my feet. I realy dont understand why people pay the high prices.
Andy
 
So what would be a sensible average price for 1 night, 2 people on a site in GB and the same for continental? As complete novices we would probably have paid the 20 euro because we wouldn't have known any better.
 
hi not buy a long way we pulled into a site in Portugal and asked how much for a night and where told 31euros for a pitch + 10euros for each person +20euros for elect and if we wanted a shower that would be an extra 5euros each
we sbent a nice quiet night on a nearby beach
 
hi Beeza

There is no such thing as an average price because there is no such thing as an average pitch - as the saying goes "It's horses for courses!.

On a full blown holiday site with evening entertainment every night, a bar, restaurant, swimming pool, kids creche, games room and pitched on a super pitch with electric, water, sewage drainage and WiFi etc., etc., etc then you could pay anywhere between £20 to £40 per night

On a Caravan Club Certified Location with no electric or toilet block or any other facilities other than a fresh water tap and a black dump - then you could pay between £5 and £12.

That is not to comment on the 'long' deal stays such as seasonal pitches etc which can work out very, very much cheaper than an overnight pitch but if you have a motorhome - do you want to be tied down to one pitch for many months at a time?

The only difference on the Continent is that you pay in Euros - what you pay here in £s BUT you can and often do get good discounts for 'very' long stays
 
So what would be a sensible average price for 1 night, 2 people on a site in GB and the same for continental? As complete novices we would probably have paid the 20 euro because we wouldn't have known any better.
£8-10 max with electric. There are some costing less if you look around though in the UK.....not many!

To give you some idea of what you should expect for that here is a link to a site i stayed at last week on the outskirts of Berlin.

Link Removed

Entire site is immaculate and well organised. Huge purpose built fully tiled wc and shower block (all sinks set in marble top). Restaurant meals onsite available. Scrupulously clean throughout.

I paid 32 euro for four nights with electric (single person - one campervan).

The site near Ostende asking 25 euro a night without electric was way ott and for me a total non-starter.

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There is no such thing as an average price because there is no such thing as an average pitch - as the saying goes "It's horses for courses!.

On a full blown holiday site with evening entertainment every night, a bar, restaurant, swimming pool, kids creche, games room and pitched on a super pitch with electric, water, sewage drainage and WiFi etc., etc., etc then you could pay anywhere between £20 to £40 per night.
Anyone daft enough to park up a mh or caravan and pay those kind of prices either has too much money....or little common sense.

During my recent trip, the brake master cylinder on my van packed up at Dachau and had to be taken in to a nearby Ford dealer to have a new one fitted. Fortunately my breakdown cover arranged an overnight in this Hotel.

Willkommen im Altstadt-Hotel Zieglerbräu

Price including breakfast? £38 which the breakdown paid for.

And thats a Hotel.....so there is no way on planet earth i'd ever pay £40 to kip on a field, even with drainage and a kids creche!
 
We've been touring a year now and our average UK overnight pitch price including electric etc was £9.45 (call me sad, but I worked it out). Some club sites at peak prices included in this and some pretty fantastic CLs and CSs also. OK, own facilities (shower) needed sometimes, but that's part of the fun. No need to pay the earth - we leave that to the rich holidaymakers!
Jan
 
We've been touring a year now and our average UK overnight pitch price including electric etc was £9.45 (call me sad, but I worked it out). Some club sites at peak prices included in this and some pretty fantastic CLs and CSs also. OK, own facilities (shower) needed sometimes, but that's part of the fun. No need to pay the earth - we leave that to the rich holidaymakers!
Jan


Thanks for that info, its just what I was looking for. It seems that having an MV isn't exactly the cheapest hobby/holiday whatever, but also seems value for money in that you are not tied to any one place, so if its not your cup of tea, you move on. Our holiday villa in Turkey is cost effective to run and makes for cheap holidays, but having had it 5 years, we now feel we want to see something different.
 
Thanks for that info, its just what I was looking for. It seems that having an MV isn't exactly the cheapest hobby/holiday.....
Paul & Stella

Like caravans (or tuggers as you will see some on here refer to), mh'ing can be cheap though you have to remember when buying a mh/campervan, unlike a caravan, you are also buying an engine and gearbox!

I bought my campervan without MOT. I took a gamble but was prepared to have to spend money on getting it back on the road. Mechanically it sailed through the MOT.....but failed bodily needing quite a bit of underfloor welding work done. Many mh's and campervans even those newer than mine suffer the same fate simply because a large percentage of them spend their lives standing in a driveway for 95% of the year. Thats ok if the owners take every precaution to fully protect them against the weather....but they don't, so rust and rot soon takes hold.

My campervan is now in use 365 days a year as it has to get me to and from work as well as holiday use. As it's an older model Transit the engine is direct injection diesel. Not as 'torquey' as a turbo diesel but returns 40+mpg which for a van weighing two and a half ton unladen, isn't bad. It will easily go up to 70 or 80mph but i tend to drive it around 50-60mph for best economy.

Ford parts are very cheap and plentiful. Also easily available in many countries outside the UK.

Though the previous owners of my van were a couple, personally i would consider it a bit small for two people on a 2/3 week holiday, so you might need to look at something with a bit more room. For me as a single guy, it works ok for holiday use, plus of course parking anywhere is not a problem.

So mh'ing can be done cheaply as long as you are prepared to spend a lot of time shopping around (more difficult to find a bargain price one than a car!), and also prepared to do without certain luxuries other friends vans may have.

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Thanks for that extra info Bulletguy. My husband has an Iveco high-top extra long-wheel based (about 22 foot) van for his work which does about 30 mpg fully laden, I think its about 5 years old now. He's so used to the size of it that he automatically jumps in it just to go to the supermarket and rarely drives the car.
We plan to purchase an MV of about the same age, and as I am an artist, we would like to travel in the MV to attend more art exhibitions and craft fairs around the country, as well as for holidays etc. The thread was interesting because we hadn't actually thought about the cost of sites, but the way air-fares are going through the roof at the moment, I think we could buy a fair bit of MV fuel and a good few nights on sites for the same cost as a couple of tickets to our usual destination at our house in Turkey.
 
Thanks for that extra info Bulletguy. My husband has an Iveco high-top extra long-wheel based (about 22 foot) van for his work which does about 30 mpg fully laden, I think its about 5 years old now. He's so used to the size of it that he automatically jumps in it just to go to the supermarket and rarely drives the car.

We plan to purchase an MV of about the same age.......
Your husbands van will have power steering which mine doesn't. Even though mines a swb Transit that still makes it a bit of an arm ache job when manouvering in or out of tight spots, but once going at a normal speed, you don't notice any difference.

For what you want to carry about it does seem you will need a large van though pictures/paintings only equate to bulk rather than weight.

You will find via AutoTrader website etc, mh's based on the Iveco. A 5 year old Iveco commercial van will sell at a lot less than a 5 year old Iveco (or equivalent) professionally converted or purpose built mh. As an example, the company which built my conversion charges £7k just for the interior fitments and roof. If starting to search using AutoTrader, one of the best times is around September through till February/March. End of 'season' and people sell for a variety of reasons, but it's a bad time to sell which makes it a good time for the potential buyer! Prices will be lower than pre-season. The amount up for sale will gradually dwindle but you still have to search regularly because thats when you will get your bargain price van. And believe me you have to be ready to move very fast! I missed out on two others by not being ready to go. Also, be prepared to travel. The right van at the right price will undoubtedly be a couple of hundered miles away from you......but if you don't go you will never forget about it!

Base your site costings against how much a really cheap B&B would cost here in the UK. You should be paying at least 50-60% less. After all, basically all you are doing is parking a vehicle in a field.....you are providing the accommodation. Any on site facilities such as wc's and showers should be cleaned daily and of good standard. If not, don't stay there! Some folk want Pub's, Clubs 'n Disco stuff......and will pay for it. Personally i don't want that so avoid sites with all that tat. UK sites like that tend to attract the rowdy lot guzzling gallons of booze whilst the screaming offspring run riot. Thankfully this type of site is rarely found outside the UK!
 
Waiting for a ferry port in the uk

If you where waiting: for a ferry port in the Uk you could have downloaded at Motorhome Parking

My database of one night stops. You would need to take a laptop and where ever you were in the uk you would be aware of a place to stop for a few hours while waiting for a ferry etc.

If you do not have a laptop your a little stuck however you can pick up a cheap one these day for next to nothing.

The other alternatives are CL's or the 15 to 30 pounds a night on a camp site. However if you have not pre-booked you may have a problem at peak season.

Last time we went on a ferry from the uk I stayed in a Travel Lodge for around about 25 pounds special offer, it makes you wonder.
 
The other alternatives are CL's or the 15 to 30 pounds a night on a camp site. However if you have not pre-booked you may have a problem at peak season.

Last time we went on a ferry from the uk I stayed in a Travel Lodge for around about 25 pounds special offer, it makes you wonder.
The only thing which makes me wonder is just how many dummies are around who willingly shell out £15-30 a night to park up a van in a field?

Incidentally, free overnight mh parking on the sea front at Dover is quite common, tolerated as the residents dont get any mither, and just a two minute drive from the port itself.

Here is a site from one of my favourite areas of Scotland, Wester Ross. Note the site fees!
Link Removed

There is an even better 'site' which overlooks Lochcarron. No hook up, no facilities as its simply a carpark.....but with breathtaking scenic views.
 
There is a nice CL Link Removed is Cornwall that only charges £6.00 a night.

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