Worldwide Holidays with CAMC

PandaJan
PandaJan Forum Participant Posts: 8

Looking at the possibility of going on one of the CAMC Worldwide Holidays I would just like to ask if anyone has been on one of them and what they thought about it re value for money, how it was organised etc......

At the moment we are looking at a trip to Canada. Any thoughts or advice or reviews welcome. Thank you.

Comments

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,828 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2022 #2

    I am afraid I can’t help with Canada - but when we came back from an independent tour of New Zealand I did look at the CAMC escorted tour there to see how it compared.  Price wise the cost was roughly double what we spent - but that isn’t an exact comparison because the escorted tour includes extras like 4 nights in 4 star hotels which we didn’t have. But certainly we spent a lot less.

    It also comes down to whether you want to be escorted.   We never did, but others do. And whether you want to be told where to go and how long to stay at each place. The New Zealand tour looked good but certainly missed out places we particularly wanted to see. And when one of us was ill with a badly infected throat we found a doctor in Dargaville, took the antibiotics, holed up in a motel and stayed put for a weekend  - I wouldn’t have wanted a tour leader urging me to get into a motorhome to keep up with the group. Do you even want to travel with a hired motorhome? We didn’t.

    There are certainly members of this forum who have travelled Canada and I hope they will reply, because the usual clutch of on line reviews doesn’t seem to exist. Or perhaps the Club can put you in touch with those who have been before.

    Good wishes to you. Perhaps you will let us know later how you get on.

     

     

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited August 2022 #3

    Canada is huge and I think you'll enjoy seeing a part of it. If you think you'll enjoy having some company along the way escorted tours are a good way to travel. Other than that Canadian Affair LINK provides lots of info on doing it on your own. We do know people who've done it this way and they enjoyed it but choose your vehicle wisely for space and comfort etc. I'm lucky enough to have family in Canada and think it has a lot to offer! smile 

  • iansoady
    iansoady Club Member Posts: 419 ✭✭✭
    edited August 2022 #4

    Not Canada but the USA - we've had 4 independent touring holidays using rented motorhomes. These were much much cheaper than the CC offering, partly because we used the wonderful National and State Park campgrounds which were basic but in some lovely locations. We also weren't bound to a fixed itinerary so could dawdle or make progress as we wished. Of course we weren't in a group but to us that was a bonus.

    We used Cruise America who were OK but on one trip we did have problems with the motorhome. I did a short report of our 2009 trip: http://www.iansoady.org.uk/USA2009/trip%20report.htm.

    As said, if you do this get a big enough RV.

  • lesandang
    lesandang Forum Participant Posts: 243
    edited August 2022 #5

    Snap, currently looking to do the same, RV hire in British Columbia, in fact was going to post a question and saw this discussion! A concern of ours is are we able to travel around within the national parks to visit places of interest in a RV? Hope I'm not high jacking this discussion but adding to it! 

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2022 #6

    Yes, many trunk roads even pass through national parks and many of them have a choice of campsites within the park. We crossed Canada from Victoria Island to Newfoundland and sampled a number of national parks on the way.

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2022 #7

    Not done a club tour. But up until recently regularly hired a campervan in New Zealand. I know its not Canada but commenting on value.

    Their roads are fabulous, lots to explore, lots of campsites. Often set up for all types of camping, communal kitchens, including pots and pans, BBQ, pool, thermal pools, bike hire and more often included in the price.

    Certainly from the point of view of costs, I looked but we did much better hiring and touring ourselves. You can pick stopover destination on the way too if you want for as long as you want.

    Yes I do have a daughter who lives there, but we still did it on our own 😉🤣