The easiest way to make touring cheaper
The easiest way to make touring cheaper is not to use CC Cub sites! I haven't used one for over three years now, and use small commercial sites for out main Holidays (Absolute Max of £17 per night) but mainly CL's at about £12 per night usually including EHU..
Have just spent 7 Nights on a CL in Suffolk, EHU,full service pitches for £12 per night (£84 total) Beautiful site with no houses visible and grass well maintained ! So why pay double that and more for a CC Club site?
TF
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Totally agree TF - we always look first at CLs and Cs's when going somewhere new. The only thing that puts me off some is accessibility. With a large van and towcar, I tend to shy away from those that might throw up unnecessary hazards when towing. In this connection, Club sites (of either Club) tend to be more attractive - but not always the case.
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I would rather go a a site with a known good quality,as with mostly both clubs ,than as we have found in the recent past when using other types of "unknown quality"sites and cost is secondary to our time away,
And when our outfit and many others have cost many thousands of pounds an add £84 off peak is not a problem
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Each to their own. I don’t have any hard and fast rules about where I stay but pick the site most appropriate to my needs at the time.
My recent trip to a non-fac club site gave me change out of £15 p/n and let me benefit from decent service points and all else that club sites provide, except a facility block. Therefore, I don’t see the logic in dismissing club sites out of hand.
It strikes me as a little strange that people will strive to save a few quid a night when they will pay many, many thousands of £s for their outfits.
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TW & JVB I understand and accept your point about quality etc after paying many thousands of £s for the van etc. But in a way you are also making my point too, because two of three years ago I would have unreservedly taken your stance. But in the past few yours many CL's have really stepped up their game and are very good indeed! Yes they vary,of course they do but some are now very good indeed - and it is them that I use very happily indeed!
I can assure you I expect very high standards, and more and more often I find them!
TF
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But why dismiss using club sites when bargains can be had, even on full facility sites?
No way would I limit myself to only using club sites so it seems rather dogmatic to uphold the reverse, especially when location and cost may be to your advantage.
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Touring cheaply begins way beyond the sites. It starts with a cheap secondhand caravan, pulled by a reliable, suitable secondhand car. Or a decent secondhand motorhome for a fraction of the cost of a new one. Then you start to look at the cost of pitches, and what represents value for money, and fits the bill of your needs and where you want to stay. We use all sorts of sites, and hope that a trip away will average no more than £18-19 per night. But on that trip we may use a pitch at £20+, another at a fiver, depends on what we want. If you tour extensively like some do, then finding decent decent pitches at a good price keeps you on the road more. We used to be away an average of four months in a year. We couldn't do that at Club Site prices, except in Winter months, but easy using CLs. Now our trips are less due to personal circumstances, but we don't mind paying a bit more. Just done eight days away, HS, EHU, cafe on site, gorgeous location, total of £98. Money saved will pay for a cottage later in year!
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TDA, for you the site choice is part of the whole package and you'll consider anything if it suits your needs. You don’t automatically dismiss anything and that’s the way it is for most of us. It’s whats right on that particular occasion.👍🏻
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TW, What makes you think that I automatically dismiss club sites? I don't and when I see one under £20 per night I will most certainly consider them. Indeed I have often made use of Englethwait Hall on my way North, and sometimes The Wellington Site too. I just haven't needed them in the past few years.
You speak of personal freedom, and of course it is my personal choice not to pay more than £20 per night for any site unless it offers a spectacular advantage such as may be offered by Bunree and Onich and Trewithet. There will of course be others too. But in each case I do exercise my right to research other sites in the same area. Part of that reason is because I very much dislike the rigid regimentation that CC sites now enforce. Again I do understand the reason for such regimentation, but I would submit that that in turn followed on for the CC decision to make use of every square inch of club site for more pitches! The new almost overcrowding resulted in none awning pitches, awning pitches etc etc. Remember the less crowded days before they came about?
There are those who point out that having spent many thousands on their vans or motorhomes that they are happy to pay whatever the club asks to use club sites. Thats fine, I'm happy with that and do not criticise their decision. I too have a van costing many thousands and I choose to make full use of the facilities it has to offer. on one of the new CL's offering much the same as a Club site except the Toilet block. I have my own!!
Best regards
TF
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So why pay double that and more for a CC Club site
the same argument could be made as to why did you but a Mercedes car when you could have bought a much cheaper car that does much the same as your present car? Because you wanted to? It was best or first choice for you?
I personally want to pay for a club site as it gives me what I want. I have looked at CL's and for me they do not. CL's are second best for me, that's not to say they are second best for others, great they are best for you but you seem to be questioning what is right for myself and others. I wouldn't use a CL but I don't question your choice at all.
Sorry TF but a strange argument to say the cheapest way to tour is to stop using club sites, the cheapest way to do anything is to stop using that particular product or buy it cheaper, if you, or one, is happy about what you are buying.
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Thanks for elaborating, TF. I definitely got the impression that you were shunning club sites regardless of all factors but it seems that’s not the case.
We're not actually a million miles apart although your OP caused me to think the opposite.
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Anyone remember the old adage "take care of the pennies..."?
Whilst the cost differential over a seven night trip may not be significant, for anyone touring for 70-80 nights plus the amount soon mounts up and the choice to use CLs or similarly priced sites can result in a saving of over a thousand pounds in a year's touring, if not more. For those of us whose surname isn't Rothschild that is not insignificant.
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Well Mrs M reckons I'm tight - I call it frugal! But always on the lookout for a bargain. To be honest, location comes first every time, then we'll look to see what's available. Because the shower area in our van is of necessity used for storage, we usually look for sites with facilities, although for a stopover we're quite happy with non facility sites.In low season, when we're likely to stay close to home it often turns out to be a club site, but in higher season it's usually a CL, particularly if they charge the same rate all year. The one exception is when we have a specific event and want to guarantee a good standard. Next week we'll have a few nights at Chatsworth, yes expensive, but worth it for us.
We've been too often disappointed with commercial sites which look good on paper and a glossy website but turn out to be nothing special when we arrive.
At the end of the day a site is only good value if you're happy to pay the going rate.
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and that's great if you want to save that money but otherwise don't question those that want to spend their money on what they want to enjoy their life.
Am I'm pretty sure club sites are not full of Rothschilds but rather people who just want to pay for what they think is best for them. Why they should face questions about why they use club sites when they could save their money is beyond me?
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There’s an argument in there, CY, that suggests if people can’t afford to pay for the number of nights they want to be away, then maybe they’re trying to live, or holiday, beyond their means. There are two ways of looking at it.
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I thought this was the 'tips for making caravanning and touring cheaper' section, where I fully expect to see posts about 'saving money', and using CLs (or other cheaper alternatives) in lieu of (either) club sites, seems pretty good advice.
...as is CY's, where most of the 'longer term' touring members (and I could name a few) generally choose to make use of CLs, Aires, discounted deals etc, to enjoy their holidays.
there aren't many who spend (say) 20-35 weeks a year in their vans and yet stay wholly on club sites....it would be too expensive for many.
these longer term tourers are pretty savvy at eking out their season based on using 'cheaper' (than Club) sites....
yes, perhaps those who spend just a few weeks away might use club sites all the time, but these aren't the folk I'm thinking of...
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We don't spend enough time away to think too much about costs so we pay a variety of prices. In the height of the season this year we're planning on THSs which will certainly reduce costs but they're not for everyone. We're also using a CL in June, but it's not cheap and we've paid upfront for a place we want to visit. Also a week long rally with the club in July. There are some bargains out there, something for everyone.
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As a "long term tourer" ( 250+ nights per year) cost is a major concern for us. We could probably afford the addional £2-3000 a year it would cost us to use club sites but would not then be in a position to change our van or car when we feel the need to do so. Hence we limit our cost per night to a maximum of £15 apart from exceptional circumstances, and we are able to find sufficient sites to suit us throughout the country, be they CLs, small Commercial sites and certain CC sites at specific times. We could of course tour less but that is not what we choose to do while we still can.
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Like Nellie, though we are not away as much, we limit our average site night fees, we aim to be well under £20 per night on average.
As I seem to remember, BB has said before that many of us have 2 budgets, the capital one and the ongoing one, so the large cost of a new van/towcar/MH comes out of savings while site fees have to come out of income.
In our case, if we use savings we aim to replace that from income over a certain period. To do this we need to limit what we spend on site fees.
So I would agree with TF's main point that if you want to save on site fees, you can do so by mainly using CLs.
Yes, the no facs Club sites can offer good value, and we also use them, but the really inexpensive ones are pretty limited.
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Yes there is certainly no argument about saving money on anything by using a cheaper product, and you do whatever you want according to your wishes and funds, this section is about saving money but I wonder why TF felt the need to ask that last question in my view a rather disparaging manner? And having asked a question will you not get answers?
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I did not see anything disparaging in what TF said.
There can be no doubt that touring for example as Nellie does, would be far more expensive if he used only Club sites.
If you want or need to keep to a limited budget there can be no doubt that you need to mainly avoid full Club sites.
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CS, I do not intend to enter into any argument with you over this, but I have just re read my OP and all subsequent posts that I have made, and I did not find anything in any of them, that could be classed as disparaging. I have made it quite clear that the decision on what class of site that any caravaner chooses is entirely his or hers to make. And I do not make any judgement on that decision, because as has been made quite clear in the discussion, there are numerous factors that will influence that decision.
But there remains one point that I must add, and that is this. - If we all meekly pay whatever increased sums that the club deems fit to demand of us for pitches, - Where is the control? At what point does the membership say whoa ! You've crossed the line! Or do we say nothing and just pay up?
TF
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A canny housewife might shop in Lidl rather than Waitrose. Neither is "right". It's a matter of choice for the individual. This thread has pointed out, as was its original intention, methods to save money or in the words of a certain seaside character "that's the way to do it".
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we all meekly pay? Or do we say nothing and just pay up? yes nothing disparaging about that at all TF.
You're making it sound like those that use club sites are simple folk who go onto club sites, actually in my view use of the word meek implies we are forced to go, and then rather timidly because we are meek as you say, and afraid of the club simply pay up, in fact say nothing and pay up.
Is the club running some sort of extortion racket? (No doubt some will post and say yes
). Why can't you admit that perhaps, just perhaps, those that use club sites have actually weighed up the cost and thought it at least acceptable and at the best good value? rather than say we are meek?I'll say it again, no one is forced onto a club site, there is no monopoly. Other sites and prices are available. There is the control you speak about right there. That is when members say no I'm not going, but to suggest we all just carry on paying whatever the club sets , not to consider the cost when booking, is just plain offensive? I have a higher view of those that book club sites.
PS so why did you buy a Mercedes? plenty cheaper cars that do the same and are better?
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I really don't really think so, so many products and services are available from so many different sources.
If what you're saying is true why so many different supermarkets, websites...the rise of the low cost airlines, hotel booking adverts, compare the market whatever...
And this (where to pitch your outfit) is quite a 'specialised' area. It is not just your everyday shopping.
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