Which Caravan Club

[porter]

Which is the best caravan club to join and why ? . Were new to caravanning !!

[LordThornber]

Hi Porter and welcome, well there's no obvious definitive answer to your question but here are my views.

 

Of the "big two", the differences between the Caravan Club & the Caravanning and Camping Club in my own experiences are marked. Repeat, MY experiences.

 

Both clubs offer Cl & CS which aer 5 van, minimum facility only sites, usually on farms, large back gardens etc, no minimum reqs except fresh water, water disposal and your rubbish.

 

The sites themselves, well the CC are very very well run, too well at times, (an occasional lack of common sense), but don't even think about going on one if you have a yapping dog, (you'll be shot), an old van or vehicle, (you'll be a pariah), or make noise after 7pm, (you'll be executed).

 

The other club is much more relaxed, or at least it was on my admittedly few (4) uses. Mini motos, dogs running wild, etc etc. Not for us thankyou.

 

Take as you find, go and take a look and good luck.

 

Martyn

[dshague]

if you are over 55 the ccc jives you a discount at certain times .cc sites can get fully booked .

[Keithl]

LordThornber - 2010-08-13 10:33 AM

The other club is much more relaxed, or at least it was on my admittedly few (4) uses. Mini motos, dogs running wild, etc etc. Not for us thankyou.

Martyn

 

Martyn,

 

I don't know which 'other' club you are referring to but it certainly isn't the C&CC!

 

We've been members for nearly 20 years and have never, ever experienced any kind of behaviour like you describe.

 

In fact we say to everyone who asks what the C&CC is like that it lives up to it's second name of 'The friendly club'. Everyone on site speaks to each other and always wish each other 'Good morning' and the like in passing.

 

We only ever use C&CC sites because we know exactly what the standard of the site will be and have never said we will not return to any site.

In fact over the last 2 weeks we have stayed on 3 sites and would definitely return to all of them.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own view, but this is ours.

 

Keith.

[Guest pelmetman]

We have been members of the CC for nearly 20 years but I have to admit I try to avoid the main club sites in high season, the CL's are great.

 

But

 

[LordThornber]

Keithl - 2010-08-13 9:52 PM

 

LordThornber - 2010-08-13 10:33 AM

The other club is much more relaxed, or at least it was on my admittedly few (4) uses. Mini motos, dogs running wild, etc etc. Not for us thankyou.

Martyn

 

Martyn,

 

I don't know which 'other' club you are referring to but it certainly isn't the C&CC!

 

We've been members for nearly 20 years and have never, ever experienced any kind of behaviour like you describe.

 

In fact we say to everyone who asks what the C&CC is like that it lives up to it's second name of 'The friendly club'. Everyone on site speaks to each other and always wish each other 'Good morning' and the like in passing.

 

We only ever use C&CC sites because we know exactly what the standard of the site will be and have never said we will not return to any site.

In fact over the last 2 weeks we have stayed on 3 sites and would definitely return to all of them.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own view, but this is ours.

 

Keith.

 

Hi Keith, I'm glad that someone has put up a C&CC view up. We've been CC members for 12 years so can speak with reasonable authority about it.

 

As I said, on my few (4) visits to the C&CC sites I used, the mini motos and dogs were what we witnessed. it was just awful and a complete contrast to the well ordered, (I accept, too well for some), CC sites.

 

To be fair we've been considering having another look at CCC as we're getting increasingly thwarted with full CC sites, perhaps CCC are busier too but it would open a few more options up.

 

As for the friendliness, I assume you're saying there's some miserable sods on CC sites, and you know what? You're right, there are. Some of them pass you by without so much of a glance, well in the words of Bill Bryson, I console myself with the fact that they'll be dead soon 8-)

 

Martyn

[mel wood]

porter - 2010-08-12 9:50 PM

 

Which is the best caravan club to join and why ? . Were new to caravanning !!

 

Hi porter,

 

Welcome to the forum and to your new leisure/holiday lifestyle.

 

You will find some useful factual information ( as well as differing opinions from posters) on these threads:

 

"Which club to join?"

 

"Not having to book at campsites"

 

"Book early"

 

I have contributed to each and on the "Book early" thread outlined what I think are the advantages/benefits of belonging to either/both.

 

I still maintain that it is money well spent on membership of both. (Remember if you wish to stay on a site belonging to either club and you are not a member you will pay £7 extra per night.)

 

We have just returned from a 12 day break in the north of England and the total cost of site fees was £98. Thjis included a 2 night stay on the CCC site at Clitheroe (we phoned the site on the morning we wished to stay to ask whether there was a pitch available). Eight nights were spent on CCC Temporary Holiday sites where booking was not necessary (Whitby and Lancaster) and where there was ample space. One night was spent on a CC holiday rally (Hartepool for the Tall Ships Races). We did reserve a pitch but in reality we could have just turned up and had a pitch.

 

To access the threads I have mentioned above access the search facility, type in the relevant title and click on the "One Year" time option. You will then be able to access the relevant thread.

 

There will always be people who have had bad experiences of any club/ organisation/ individual staff or sites but why not ignore the negative comments and give either or preferably both a try for a year.

 

Best wishes and enjoy using your caravan.

[porter]

Hi, Everyone . Thanks for the advice . I think we are leaning towards C&CC, Yes we do have a dog, although not a yappy one and we have quite a few years before we're over 55 . Hopefully we dont come across to many mini moto's, but we like the idea of people passing pleasantries with each other and hope that if we need help or advice we only need to ask our neighbours on site .

 

Alan

[RogP]

Hi Porter

 

we've got membership with both and for just under £40 each if you use them enough they are worth it.

 

Reasons for both? greater choice of sites - some places we want to go to often only have one of the clubs represented in the vacinity (NB not to say there aren't commercial sites but thats another topic).

 

What I'd suggest is have a think about some of the trips you want to make in the near future and see how each Club stacks up in terms of their sites and where they are.

 

With regards some of the negative comments about both clubs , they are not restricted to that club those scenarios do happen at the other one.

 

We stayed on a CC site 2 years ago where there were several outfits that had 3 or 4 (one had 6) small yappy dogs and one was quite happy to let the dogs out off their leads late at night for their 'constitutionals' , until one dog went missing and wasn't found - not for the remaining 4 days we were there anyway. Nothing was said about this as the couple in question were 'regular good cusotmers' ,

In contrast my B-I-L got warned by the warden at a C&CC when their dog sneeked out of the tent one day and came trotting over to us to say hello to our dogs. It was a one off , and their dog wasn't any trouble to anyone yet the warden was quite specific that if it happened again they would be asked to leave. But that site is still one of our favourite sites despite it being very basic and in need of a refresh.

 

[Arthur Brown]

Hi

When we had the caravan we were members of both clubs. The sites and staff were all very much of a muchness, good, efficient and mostly friendly and helpful. (You always get, and will get, exceptions) The difference from my point of view is the head office rules etc. The CCC require a deposit when you book (or did) and you must read the rules regarding the safety of that deposit if you have the misfortune to cancel. We had to cancel and were unable to re-book within the proscribed 12 months and lost £36.00. and that's the friendly club. I wrote to the Director General as there were extenuating circumstances but the reply took a page to basically say 'tough' The CC have never charged me a booking deposit. The other consideration is location. It may be that one or the other have a site at a location you may wish to visit. We use Crystal Palace to visit London as the bus is just outside and these bus passes are brilliant. Straight through Brixton to Trafalga Sq. - free. The bottom line is that if the membership cost is no problem then join both, they both have a good mag. and have offers which may or may not be attractive to you.

Art

[Guest Tracker]

Why not join them both CC and CCC, try their club sites if big sites are your thing, try their CLs and CSs if they are your thing, and try the weekend meets and temporary holiday sites if they are your thing - just don't expect to go to any CC ralllies without booking in advance!