Shop around
Comments
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We have not left the Club, and do not intend to, but we have certainly used far fewer sites than previously, none last year and will be only one this year.
While I agree the Club has lost its USP, deposits have not put us off booking, but the ever increasing prices certainly have. Club prices do seem to have risen a lot more than on many other sites, and that seems to be the main criticism on review sites such as Trip Advisor.
Since we stopped going abroad after 2017, having been used to sites costing only 11-15 euros then, we started using far more CLs, and also some CCC sites at times when we get the discount. With our present van, and being mainly only the 2 of us, we found that we were not bothering to use site facilities, so why pay for them?
We are favouring less expensive sites with no facilities to allow us to go away for as many nights as we want, despite inflation and cost of living crisis, but the Club have very few less expensive sites.
I would think that there must be quite a few other members who are either doing the same, or just cutting down their time away to stay within their budget.
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Except that retained membership, and the highest ever of 385,000 member households this year (which in my view can't all be for non club site use) when multiplied by the membership fee does mean a lot, about £22.7 million.
we had a completely different list the other day to the most recent mailshot.
BB I didn't notice any different sites? Same sites as before, at least on the offers page? Which one have changed? Certainly the ones I'm interested in haven't.
And why not name the site to help out others?
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I've just been to a Dorset commercial site, three adults and two children, EHU for £25...
there's a restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools, bar, multiple parks for different ages of children, right on the beach, 3rd party security, fully manned reception, etc...and a late stay included....
Whilst the "3rd party security" bit would worry me, (really, on a caravan site?) you voted with your feet. If enough people do so then prices might change......
All we have seen on our trips to club sites this year is sites perhaps at 50-60% occupancy on a Monday & Tuesday and then by Wednesday they start filling up for the weekend and by Friday night seem to be full. Sadly I can see no reason why the club is likely to reduce prices significantly overall other than a tweak to pricing early in the week. But even that won't entice many more people, some of us still have to go to work......
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You can whisper it to me, YT, and I won't let on. You ken how well I like a good deal.
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If you want real value for money you really have to shop further afield. 13 euros a night with EHU and good clean facilities for this site. 200 yards to the town center, cafes, bars and shops.
peedee
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But the cost of getting there negates any savings on site fees. Anyway I didn't realise that one can now pay site fees in this country in Euros!!😆
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Thanks for that , YT, but I do not have a clue what your symbols mean. Perhaps it's just me being thick!
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€10.70 a night high season electric hookup, serviced pitch excellent facilities. Five minutes walk to village centre, boulangerie shops restaurant bars. Municipal pool nearby.Quiet.
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Further afield as far as I am concerned is the far north of Scotland or the Kent coast, both about 300 mls from home!!😊 The OP was all about sites in this country so what has "over there" really got to do with it, I wonder?
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Not just the ferry of course YT, the insurance was another £340 and of course it’s about 200 miles to the ports for us and even more for NH. True the sites are a lot cheaper, so far averaging £16 a night, compared to the £42.90 in the UK. This one even has a very nice pool at £17.75 a night. However, the cost of the sites has no bearing on why we come to France. We enjoy it here and would still visit even if they were more expensive. It’s a bonus nothing more and we still like touring in the UK, in particular the far north of Scotland.
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We are in France at present. Saved the ferry cost on less expensive site fees in the first 10 or so days. Two down sides at present; diesel is slightly more expensive on average and the temperature is too high for my liking. GPL (LPG) is readily available at about the same price as in the UK. Grocery prices seem to be slightly higher than in the UK, but I think the quality and choice is better. Eating out is less expensive. Due to the glut of wine the shop price has tumbled despite Macron throwing his toys out because of the drop in revenue.
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It is indeed red pennant for a single trip (as that’s all we are making) and clearly the cost depends on one’s personal circumstances. As to on top of what, I would have thought that obvious as you mentioned the ferry cost YT. However, as I said we don’t go because the sites are cheaper but because we enjoy visiting France.
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We have used Red Pennant for many years, till we stopped going abroad in 2017. Now we are so old (81 and 75) with several existing problems to declare, apparently Red Pennant is either prohibitively expensive, or indeed will not cover us at all.
We hope to go to visit my sister in Norway next year, possibly taking the caravan, so we are looking at what cover we need.
Cover for car and caravan,,,,,yes. But medical cover......can we manage with just EHICs? As a Norwegian citizen, I would expect them to look after me, and OH. Perhaps I am deluded!?
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With your old EHIC or post brexit the new GHIC, you should get treatment identical to that of a citizens of Norway. In theory all you need cover for is medical repatriation and that can be eye wateringly expensive.
I have often searched for just medical repatriation cover but as yet never found it as a standalone product.
Incidentally, have you checked the validity dates of your EHIC,s
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The advantage of Red Pennant (or equivalent) is that not only do they sort out repatriation of people, but also vehicles. They got us a wheel for our caravan shipped out from England, for our German caravan, in Germany!! But also find medical practioners who speak english if that is needed. (as it was when husband hurt his back). Also will deal with any fall out on return. So for example, when my son broke his arm in France and the hospital sent us a bill on return to England (yes we had EHIC) Red Pennant sorted it all out.
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It's not loud enough for me, being a wee bit deaf!😊
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We have annual travel insurance via a Nationwide Flex plus account. Works out at £228p.a. including age related top up(over 70). Le Shuttle return fare £265, total £493. Not sure I could get that covered in 10 days but certainly could in a month. Insurance on the van is the same whether I take it abroad or not.
peedee
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Our old EHICs are expired, but according to the page about EHICs and GHICs, as a Norwegian citizen, with leave to remain in UK granted a long time back, I and my OH can apply for new EHICs. It also said that GHICs are not valid in Norway, which I thought was strange. I will need to look at that again.
We do have a Nationwide account which we could change to the one that offers insurance benefits, so will also be looking into whether we may get travel insurance that way by paying a bit extra.
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https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/get-healthcare-cover-travelling-abroad/where-you-can-use-your-card
this is the page where it says UK GHIC is not valid in Norway
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