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New ACSI motorhome add on.


derek500

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Had an email from ACSI today offering an add on for €5.49.

 

 

"Are you going away in your motorhome?

Then you’ll be glad to know that you can add information on more than 9,000 motorhome pitches to your CampingCard ACSI app. You’ll be able to find a place to stay with your motorhome in minutes. Wherever you are in Europe. You can order this extra information for only €5.49

 

Use the map to search for the campsite or motorhome pitch of your choice. You have access to the information in the CampingCard ACSI app until 31-12-2022"

 

Not quite sure what you get. Is it live info on pitch availability? Does it include Aires?

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As I understand it, and I may well be wrong, ACSI and Aires are two very different forms of siting.

ACSI relies on fully fledged sites and pre booking whereas Aires, of which there are a lot more than 9000 pitches in Europe, are mainly turn up, pay up and pitch up if there is room so I doubt that ACSI would include Aires?

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There are 30,000+ campsites in Europe.

ACSI only reviews 9,000.

Although reviewing is a big word.

Several times I happened to stay in "inspected" campsites and wonder what the word means.

Poor facilities, not always clean, sometimes unpleasant staff.

Is worth ?

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Dunno!!

 

Since discovering the joy of total freedom to roam mainland Europe using Aires etc we have not used camp sites for some 20 years, apart from a couple of nights when all else failed or we needed a laundrette - and we left them after one night feeling totally underwhelmed and overcharged !!

 

And as for UK sites - the less said the better as far a vfm is concerned!

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This 2020 forum thread discussed the ACSI scheme

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/ACSI-Camping-Card-Is-it-useful-/54616/

 

The ACSI website provides details of how CampingCard ACSI works

 

https://www.campingcard.co.uk/extra-information/what-is-campingcard-acsi/

 

and the ACSI Campsites Europe app is described here

 

https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/extra-information/acsi-europe-app/?_ga=2.175010978.1874691236.1643132432-1912497438.1643132432

 

ACSI uses the term "motor pitches" for the English-language webpage

 

Expandable with information about motor home pitches

Are you planning on taking your motor home on the road? It's now possible to expand the campsite information you have with information about motor home pitches. Purchase your access to 9,000 carefully selected and inspected motor home pitches throughout Europe, including clear information about substrate, payment methods, and rates.

 

but selecting the French-language version

 

https://www.eurocampings.fr/information-supplementaire/app-acsi-europe/?_ga=2.31366207.1874691236.1643132432-1912497438.1643132432

 

produces the following text

 

Intégration des informations sur les aires de stationnement pour camping-cars

Si vous partez en vacances avec votre camping-car, il vous est désormais possible de compléter les informations de camping avec celles des aires de stationnement. Achetez votre accès à 9 000 aires de stationnement sélectionnées et contrôlées à travers l'Europe en recevant des informations claires sur le sol, les modes de paiement et les tarifs.

 

So the additional €5.49 is going to provide information about 9000 places where motorhomes can park (aires de stationnement or "motorhome aires" in UK moho-speak).

 

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Not having been abroad for a few years, perhaps Aires (of all types and names in all or some countries) have changed?

 

In my experience most Aires are (were) unmanned and pitches NOT reservable - first come first served.

 

Payment was often into a pay and display machine or collected by someone who visited once a day or sometimes an honesty box.

 

Has that changed?

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Tracker - 2022-01-25 3:43 PM

 

ACSI relies on fully fledged sites and pre booking

 

Up until a couple of years ago I've been on dozens of ACSI sites, and never booked any in advance.

 

( In fact , in over 40 years or so of touring there I've never booked any camp site on the continent - that's been the main attraction of leaving the UK. )

 

:-|

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malc d - 2022-01-25 8:25 PM

 

Tracker - 2022-01-25 3:43 PM

 

ACSI relies on fully fledged sites and pre booking

 

Up until a couple of years ago I've been on dozens of ACSI sites, and never booked any in advance.

 

( In fact , in over 40 years or so of touring there I've never booked any camp site on the continent - that's been the main attraction of leaving the UK. )

 

:-|

 

Absolutely right! Totally agree. Only been refused once on an ACSI site near Lido de Jesolo on Italy day. Who knew there was an Italy day?

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Have never booked a site in Europe, this has been mostly ok probably because we rarely tour in high season, but we have been turned away from several ACSI site when being caught out by local 'bank' holidays. As we found out on first trip to Musel, trying to get on a river side site during the 'Reunification Day' week is hit or miss, but easily solved by moving about a mile from river.
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Thanks for that Witzend - I think!

 

Hopefully it will be many many years before the whole Aire network of Europe succumbs to this treatment.

 

There seems to be a concerted effort to pigeon hole motorhomes into prebooked prearranged captivity zones as they already do with caravans, to remove the freedom to roam and wander at will, stopping responsibly by finding a local Aire as and when the mood takes and it does not make oir decision to rejoin the nomadic lifestyle any more attactive for us.

 

No doubt many people will like the organised routine of a set route and a known destination but I find it totally at odds with having a self contained self sufficient motorhome, a sat nav, and an Aires book.

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How the Camping-Car Park (CCP) scheme works is explained here

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/info/how-does-it-work

 

CCP has been discussed on this forum several times (2019 thread)

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Camping-Car-Park-France-Aires/51842/

 

CCP sites are based on ex or redundant campsites

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/stay/stopover-site-motorhome/pays-de-la-loire/72-sarthe/bazouges-cre-sur-loir

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/search/areas/list?query=Ambri%C3%A8res%20les%20Vall%C3%A9es%20(53)

 

or a brand-new installation will have been constructed

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/stay/stopover-site-motorhome/pays-de-la-loire/53-mayenne/ste-suzanne

 

or a municipality has delegated management of an existing 'aire' to CCP.

 

There's an interactive map here that shows where the CCP (and Camping de mon village) sites are.

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/search/areas/map

 

Although CCP has expanded year-on-year, it's still quite small and - as many of the CCP sites are resurrected campsites or new installations - realistically CCP has little effect on the the 'aires' network as a whole.

 

There definitely is a trend towards paying to park a motohome (this is another scheme)

 

https://www.aireparkreservation.com/

 

but that's really to be expected.

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Personally, we never objected to paying a sensible price for the convenience of an Aire, even if we did not need water etc., as we were only too pleased to benefit from their freedom to roam availability, but I can understand why some municipalities have franchised or sold their Aires to guarantee payment and reduce abuse.

 

It is the concept of pre booking that goes against our nomadic penchant.

 

 

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I used CampingCarPark in France last year, for the first time, when I returned from Italy. I was able to join CCP at the aire, by entering my details into the automated control unit on the barrier gate, which then provided me with a CCP (credit -like) card with my membership number, which it had loaded with a credit, debited from my bank card which I inserted at some point in the process. The CCP card was debited for that one nights stay, I think 10 euros, and I have 19 remaining for my next trip. It was in the centre of the village, had plenty of 16 amp power, fresh water, black and grey waste disposal, with recycling and waste bins on site. All new and very efficient. The site was very clean and tidy and had previously been a municipal site. The local authority had subcontracted to CCP I assume.

Seems beneficial to me since it provides consistent standards and facilities across the network and a standardised and automated method of entry and exit. When you are trying to cross Europe in a hurry, which I some times am this is a boon. I accept that it deprives me of the vagaries and unexpected pleasures of having to find a token from the Marie, local shop, local garage etc, but on a wet and very windy night in late October I was fine with that.

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slowdriver - 2022-01-26 12:30 PM

 

I used CampingCarPark in France last year, for the first time, when I returned from Italy. I was able to join CCP at the aire, by entering my details into the automated control unit on the barrier gate, which then provided me with a CCP (credit -like) card with my membership number, which it had loaded with a credit, debited from my bank card which I inserted at some point in the process. The CCP card was debited for that one nights stay, I think 10 euros, and I have 19 remaining for my next trip. It was in the centre of the village, had plenty of 16 amp power, fresh water, black and grey waste disposal, with recycling and waste bins on site. All new and very efficient. The site was very clean and tidy and had previously been a municipal site. The local authority had subcontracted to CCP I assume.

Seems beneficial to me since it provides consistent standards and facilities across the network and a standardised and automated method of entry and exit. When you are trying to cross Europe in a hurry, which I some times am this is a boon. I accept that it deprives me of the vagaries and unexpected pleasures of having to find a token from the Marie, local shop, local garage etc, but on a wet and very windy night in late October I was fine with that.

 

On that basis it makes perfect sense to me too.

 

It is the principle, as I understood it of ACSI or others, wanting people to book an Aire pitch that I struggle to with.

 

If your preference is to have the security of pre booking there are plenty of sites offering this and for the wanderers amongst us the freedom of choice of turn up and pay Aires remains.

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For an additional annual fee it is possible to reserve a pitch at Camping-Car Park sites

 

https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/products/pack-privileges

 

It's also possible to reserve a pitch at campsites within the ACSI scheme should one so wish, exactly as it's possible to do this within the UK. However, as the ACSI discount scheme applies to campers who will be travelling in the tourist 'low' season, there should normally be no pitch-availabilty problems.

 

I can understand (say) if someone planned to stay for a longish period at a campsite they were familiar with and preferred a particular pitch, they might choose to try to book that pitch, but that's not been how we've camped and booking at ACSI campsites has never proved necessary.

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laimeduck - 2022-01-25 9:38 PM

 

Absolutely right! Totally agree. Only been refused once on an ACSI site near Lido de Jesolo on Italy day. Who knew there was an Italy day?

 

What day was it ?

 

In Italy we have some national holidays:

April 25: Liberation Day or, if you like, the end of WWII, overhere it was over a few days earlier than in the rest of the continent.

May 1: Labor Day, a common event in many countries.

June 2: Republic Day, commemoration of the day on which the referendum that threw the monarchy overboard was held.

 

Religious holidays (Pentecost, Ascension, etc.) have almost disappeared.

Most of them have been canceled by law and replaced by days of vacation that can be used at one's own choice.

I seem to remember that only August 15th, December 8th and 26th and Epiphany remain.

On the occasion of Easter you have Good Friday, we have the following Monday.

 

When I go abroad I usually check the national and bank holidays of the country I intend to visit.

Often only to verify possible closures of some heritage, be they museums or other.

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mtravel - 2022-01-27 10:19 AM

 

laimeduck - 2022-01-25 9:38 PM

 

Absolutely right! Totally agree. Only been refused once on an ACSI site near Lido de Jesolo on Italy day. Who knew there was an Italy day?

 

What day was it ?

 

In Italy we have some national holidays:

April 25: Liberation Day or, if you like, the end of WWII, overhere it was over a few days earlier than in the rest of the continent.

May 1: Labor Day, a common event in many countries.

June 2: Republic Day, commemoration of the day on which the referendum that threw the monarchy overboard was held.

It was Republic Day - June 2nd. The lady at the campsite called it Italy Day. If I recall it was a huge campsite with over 500 pitches and it was full. We drove up to Pula peninsular in Croatia and camped at Novigrad instead.

 

Jeremy

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