A Tough Decision
Comments
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In ten years with a motorbike and tent and the last 15yrs with my m/home I've never booked a foreign site and never been turned away. I don't tour abroad in August though.
Mind you, that's one of the reasons why I chose a m/h as I can always find somewhere to stop overnight, but tbh I don't think I would be so cavalier/relaxed if I was towing a caravan.
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Nor us - and we've been 'winging it' with our caravan in tow for the last twenty-five years. We booked one holiday eighteen years ago, because our seventeen year old son and his friends wanted to come with us to a particular site - apart from that we haven't booked a single night, and have never had to find our 'Plan B' site because there was no space.
We holiday in May/June and then August/September, but this year broke the mould and spent the last week in July and the first three weeks in August in the caravan - again without booking a single site, or even ringing up first to find if they had a pitch. Nowhere did we find a site full, one a few kilometres from the Med was busy, but there were still plenty of pitches to choose from, and one site was very quiet indeed. I posted about how quiet it was on this forum because we were one of very few occupied pitches on the site!
Sometimes we head for a particular site, sometimes we just 'go' in whatever direction we've chosen, and then when we're tired of driving we find a place to stop. We've generally researched areas, so we know what we will find there, but sometimes we go 'off piste', perhaps after having read a poster or something in a newspaper, advertising something we fancy, and head in a different direction entirely.
One of the hardest things to convince people heading to Europe for the first time is that it is possible to go without booking, and it's amazing how many first-timers remain certain that they won't find anywhere to stay unless they book first.
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In ten years with a motorbike and tent and the last 15yrs with my m/home I've never booked a foreign site and never been turned away. I don't tour abroad in August though.
Mind you, that's one of the reasons why I chose a m/h as I can always find somewhere to stop overnight, but tbh I don't think I would be so cavalier/relaxed if I was towing a caravan.
You would because I have never been turned away either
That's worth knowing, thanks. I'll bear it in mind if I change to a 'van.
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It's also perfectly possible to "wing it" in the UK - we toured Scotland last May/June for 5 weeks and not a single site was anything like full and that was without using CL's - it is one of the great myths of this forum that all CC sites are booked up months
in advance. Whatsmore if you are happy using the CL network touring unbooked in the UK is no problem at all even in the busier months.0 -
Afternoon Ian
Nice to hear from a forum member who likes to pre-book!
Can you tell me which site you are looking to book in Holland and for what dates? I would like to check why we are more expensive than booking direct.
Thanks
Hazel
Hazel
There is another Ian here that doesn't have a problem with pre booking in low season. I'm OK with those that want to wing it but for me if the price suits then why not book - often necessary to ensure a fully serviced pitch anyway. On the question of site
cost - when I organised our foreign touring for 2016 during the tag end of 2015 I looked at Caravan Club cost against booking direct and also ACSI for low season.Last year I purchased my Euro's at €1.42 to the pound sterling - last time I looked this year €1.23 looked to be the going rate. I don't use credit cards or "pre loaded" cards preferring to use cash.
At the time of completing my calculations in December 2015 I projected my best guess on exchange rates and at what point it became financially advantageous to book through the CC. (A few free site night deals as well) This sounds very nerdish but in time
taken, an hour or so with a calculater, made it clear that booking through the CC was a few bob cheaper than paying the site on arrival. On three sites in low season (June) by the time I factored in serviced pitches and extra costs for twin axles - ACSI and
CC pitch costs were similar - assuming the ACSI sites selected charged additionally (above) the pitch headline rate for on pitch water and waste (and extra for a twin axle) as we have been asked to pay in previous years. (Big ACSI plus one dog is included
in the pitch price) Last year (2015) with the exchange rate at €1.42 it was a lot cheaper to book the sites direct and pay on arrival. ACSI was many £'s cheaper. So what's a lot - enough for a couple of good quality meals for the two of us in decent restaurants
over eight weeksSome of course don't want the restrictions of a "booked" holiday and want to go as and when and where the spirit moves - I understand that but others have a good idea of what and when they want to do It. My research in December 2015 on the 10 or 12 sites
we were to use in 2016 indicated that booking through the CC was cheaper than booking direct or just turning up. Of course if the £ strengthens against the € then it all changes - that's the chance you take. So do I have a crystal ball - no - I have a son
who buys product in Euro's and sells in other currencies so he has a working knowledge of the exchange rate mechanisms. It was his view that the uncertainty over the referendum would adveresly effect the £ which it looks like it has.Having said all this I am really not that bothered if our foreign touring costs a bit more or bit less here or there. Like most I don't want to pay more than I have to and I quite enjoy the exercise of doing the financial calculations. Having got the
"facts" an informed decision can be made to suit ones needs and prejudices.Ome "n" Dri
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When we had to holiday in the school holidays, we always booked our main sites abroad via the Club, but now we never book.
We have been turned away from 4 sites in 10 years, 2 in the south of France that were full in late October (we did find a much nicer site in the end), and 2 in Switzerland, one on a national holiday weekend. Again we found alternatives nearby.
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Years ago we never used to book, even going during the main season. However, we did have problems in getting a pitch where we wanted one year, in a popular coastal area. We ended up by trying a handful of sites before getting one we were happy with. This
encouraged us to book our 'main seaside site'.These days I tend to plan things out in fine detail. If I know I am going to stop at a particular site, then I book it. I've no intention of stopping elsewhere so there is no point in not booking. If you want specific requirements then there is no problem
with booking. Each person will approach things differently so either method is good.One site we are stopping at in July has wi-fi just near reception, where the pitches are really spacious. It suits us to have a large pitch with wi-five, so I book it. I know I would get a pitch if I just turned up, but without booking I might quite easily
get a smaller pitch away from reception and the toilet block.Another site, in Italy have some large pitches with a seperate 'personal toilet and washroom' on the corner of the pitch. I've booked it - the last pitch of its kind for our dates. Should I have turned up on spec, no doubt I would get a pitch, but not
necessarily a large pitch with a 'built in' toilet block.I've booked all my sites for our 7 week visit to France, Germany and Italy, but I appreciate that those with less specific requirements can get pitches but the chic could be more restricted.
David
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......following on....
I think there is less chance of coming across a problem in France during the peak period, but possibly more of a risk in Italy, especially if you want a decent sized pitch. My experience in Italy is that pitches can be smaller - unless I've just been unlucky.
Incidentally, I have booked one site through the Club as the price was better than booking direct.
These days, I just feel that I don't want the bother of trying more than one site at the end of a long journey.
Should I go outside July and August, I may well change my mind on booking, but at present, going in July/ August, I will probably continue to book.
David
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Just to put some balance in, I recall being turned away from a full site in July down near Bezier some twenty odd years ago. There was however an alternative across the road adjacent to the beach a few hundred metres further on.
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We holiday at the same time as Val and never book. Last year ago we just squeezed on Camping Cissano on Garda but did not realize it was the German Pentecost holiday, so first night 'wrong' side of the road and moved next morning to a pitch by the lake - this period is now taken into account if heading for N Italy. There is one exception to this; when we visit my Brother in Law near Darmstad in Germany there is only one small site near him so we (well he does it for me!) give them a call a few weeks before to ensure we get a pitch. Other than that, armed with the ACSI book and CC Guides, we look for a site mid afternoon.
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Morning IanBHawkes
Thank your for highlighting Rudesheim and Rhine, I have passed on the details to the Contract Manager as it looks like the prices we have on our contract are in-correct!
Omendri
Thank you for your post
It is always worth checking all the options for the best price, but as you say without a crystal ball and
knowing what the exchange rate is going to do it is impossible to know what the best price is going to be. The one thing we can say for certain is the CC prices are fixed for the whole year0 -
Thank you Hazel, if the prices are in-correct in which direction are they wrong!
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Membership benefits:-
'We also have a range of overseas
sites for you to explore plus many more benefits.'Camping La Yole Valras Plage 2/06/16 – 24/06/16 21 nights booked direct with the site
euros 312 = £253.09 booked with the CC booking service (on line) £352.83 = euro 447.50For the inexperienced member on a first trip overseas not much of a benefit. The more seasoned members have the experience
not to fall for this. Pass you knowledge on to the newbies and save them some hard earned pennies.0 -
Membership benefits:-
'We also have a range of overseas sites for you to explore plus many more benefits.'
Camping La Yole Valras Plage 2/06/16 – 24/06/16 21 nights booked direct with the site euros 312 = £253.09 booked with the CC booking service (on line) £352.83 = euro 447.50
For the inexperienced member on a first trip overseas not much of a benefit. The more seasoned members have the experience not to fall for this. Pass you knowledge on to the newbies and save them some hard earned pennies.
I agree,, and at least through this forum we have the opportunity to keep passing on this message. The problem is that the 'Club' aspect of the Caravan Club (ie members helping other members and benefitting from 'bulk buying' discounts) has been offset because the Caravan Club is now a business, making a profit, and so wishes to keep 'core' business, rather than direct members elsewhere.
I'm not sure that the Caravan Club will think this forum was a good idea in a few years time!
I do understand that there will always be people who wish to pre-book, however - but I think there are probably many more people who would like to at least be able to find out about other options - so that they can make an informed choice.
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Whilst not wishing to get embroiled in a debate/discussion/argument on Caravan Club foreign touring pricing I do think it is of benefit to try and understand the why's and the wherefor's before condemning the organisation.
Looking on the La Yole website it appears that there is a "deal" price at the moment for the low and shoulder seasons. I have no idea at what date these prices were implemented or how long these will last. From a very brief look it appears to me that anyone
booking with the site at the original prices (that's the ones with the slash line through them) would have paid a lot more than booking with the Caravan Club. If the £ to € rate dives to parity (as some are suggesting) later in the year then this will of course
throw "it" all up in the air.As Valda has said the Caravan Club is a big business (and has been a "big" business for many years). Some of us regret the passing of "our" Club but that's progress. For a big business to remain a player it has to be competitive which means monitoring what
is going on in the market place. It appears to me that it is this where the CC is deficient. UK supermarkets have woken up to the need of doing this on an almost daily basis. I have no idea of the standard contract that the CC agrees with sites in Europe but
surely within the contract there will be a clause about site implemented special offers - or perhaps not - I don't know but for sure the pricing circumstances as described at La Yole makes the CC not just uncompetitive (at this site) but almost off the page
in these days of Internet booking.As you do when these issues are flagged up I have checked all my site booking made with the CC for 2016 and I remain happy with the financial benefits (to me) of using the booking service - I have saved a few bob by not booking/paying direct to site. At
the end of this year when we plan for 2017 I will do my normal price comparisons (CC to direct booking) and make the appropriate decisions.It would be interesting to know how any members that have experienced this sort of pricing issue have been dealt with by the Caravan Club in the past. I am sure this must have happened before because that's life. I would have thought with the acquisition
of the Alan Rogers group the CC would have inherited some sort of site pitch price monitoring system.I cannot believe, despite some that will hold a contrary view, that the CC have deliberately set out to excessively profiteer at the expense of the membership. In my experience of over more that 35 years the CC doesn't work in that way.
Ome "n" Dri
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Morning all
IanBHawkes - The prices that the site gave us does not match the price on their website - the prices we have been given are higher. I have asked our contracts manager to look into this, and if the campsite has made a mistake we will adjust our prices.
With La Yole: We only have one offer - book 7 nights or more and get two nights free. A seven night stay on site will cost £92.85 booking with the Caravan Club.
We do not have the offer of book 20 nights and get 8 nights free, so if you are booking 20 nights then it is cheaper to book direct.
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Morning all
IanBHawkes - The prices that the site gave us does not match the price on their website - the prices we have been given are higher. I have asked our contracts manager to look into this, and if the campsite has made a mistake we will adjust our prices.
With La Yole: We only have one offer - book 7 nights or more and get two nights free. A seven night stay on site will cost £92.85 booking with the Caravan Club.
We do not have the offer of book 20 nights and get 8 nights free, so if you are booking 20 nights then it is cheaper to book direct.
Thank you Hazel, but as I have already booked directly with Herr Richter I will honour that booking. Hopefully, the Euro will not fluctuate too much.
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