Caravan Club pakage holidays Europe

[duetto owner]

The CC has sent me its European brochures and they show some package breaks traveling round Europe stopping at several sites over a few weeks.

 

Having barley a months experience of my first motorhome was wondering if these would be my ideal start at a trip abroad to learn the ropes before planning my own travels.

 

After any feedback from anyone who might have tried them.

[carioca]

hi duetto owner

i have no experience with cc European brochures but used eurocamp independent & select sites when we first started going abroard, with them they book sites & ferry for you & give you a route planner from port to sites & back they also supply usefull data on surrounding areas. for first time it is usefull to have somebody to rely on

 

hope this is of some help

[Big Momma]

This year going to Spain, have booked all sites with Caravan Club from their European brochure. I normally use Eurocamp who in comparison are very much cheaper (all pitches, facilities the same as CC). Just this time Eurocamp did not have some of the areas we needed to be in an CC had all of them.

 

There is never a problem going with a group as there are always people with varied experiences, whether it be mechanical, knowledge of a certain country or region etc.

 

I travel to Europe most summer holidays and always have a good time and never want to come home, oh roll on retirement and living the dream !

 

Whichever way you decide to travel just ENJOY :D

[tonyishuk]

By chance, in the Loire a coup[le of weeks ago, we came accross a travelling ralley from the Camping & Caravan Club, They were having a great time !! Arranged vists to Chateaux, wine tasting , the lot !!

 

I don't know if the CC club is the same, but if it is, It would certainly be a good experence for a first time abroad.

 

Rgds

 

 

[Klyne]

Not sure if this helps but when we were on Lake Como 22 UK motorhomes turned up one day and they were on a tour with a company called GB Privilege who seem to sppecialise in motorhome touring. The only negative comment I heard was that some of the participants would have liked to have spent longer at each stopover.

 

David

[Brian Kirby]

However, do remember it is the Caravan Club, and therefore to expect a preponderance of caravanners rather than motorhomers.  In terms of experience of foreign touring/sites it should make little difference, but if you were hoping to pick up a lot of motorhome specific information, you may end up a little disappointed. 

That apart, the organised tour idea is good in principle as an introduction to both foreign touring/driving and to get used to your motorhome and its quirks.

Final thought.  Caravanners, in general, tend to travel to an area, pitch, and then travel around in their cars.  Motorhomers tend to a more peripatetic lifestyle, and are frequently only static for 3/4 days before moving on, doing much of the sightseeing and shopping as they travel.  These differences are, to an extent, consequences of the relative ease with which each type of vehicle can be pitched and then move on again.  You may find the tour is a bit "static" for this reason, and may need to stoop to scrounging lifts off some of the caravanners for some of the outings.  It might be worth checking the itinerary for durations of stopovers, and even speaking to the CC travel section to see what kind of mix may already have booked.  Being the lone motorhomers among a group of caravanners may, just may, prove a slight practical disadvantage in that respect.

[Big Momma]

Brian Kirby - 2009-06-24 10:27 PM

However, do remember it is the Caravan Club, and therefore to expect a preponderance of caravanners rather than motorhomers.  In terms of experience of foreign touring/sites it should make little difference, but if you were hoping to pick up a lot of motorhome specific information, you may end up a little disappointed. 

That apart, the organised tour idea is good in principle as an introduction to both foreign touring/driving and to get used to your motorhome and its quirks.

Final thought.  Caravanners, in general, tend to travel to an area, pitch, and then travel around in their cars.  Motorhomers tend to a more peripatetic lifestyle, and are frequently only static for 3/4 days before moving on, doing much of the sightseeing and shopping as they travel.  These differences are, to an extent, consequences of the relative ease with which each type of vehicle can be pitched and then move on again.  You may find the tour is a bit "static" for this reason, and may need to stoop to scrounging lifts off some of the caravanners for some of the outings.  It might be worth checking the itinerary for durations of stopovers, and even speaking to the CC travel section to see what kind of mix may already have booked.  Being the lone motorhomers among a group of caravanners may, just may, prove a slight practical disadvantage in that respect.

You raise some good points Brian. However, having looked at some of these organised trips in the brochure there is usually a daily itinerary. In these it usually tells you if excursions for wine tasting, sightseeing, meals etc are under own steam or whether a coach is provided. Additionally, you can always ring the club and ask.

[duetto owner]

thanks everyone for the imput, looking at going abroad after xmas.

[Klyne]

Brian Kirby - 2009-06-24 10:27 PM

 

and may need to stoop to scrounging lifts off some of the caravanners for some of the outings. .

 

I am sure we wouldn't mind (lol)

 

David

[Big Momma]

Klyne - 2009-06-25 12:15 PM

 

Brian Kirby - 2009-06-24 10:27 PM

 

and may need to stoop to scrounging lifts off some of the caravanners for some of the outings. .

 

I am sure we wouldn't mind (lol)

 

David

 

STOOP as in remember to bend down to get in to a car rather than climbing up into a van :D

[Ris]

Have a look at this web site www.gbprivilege.com and look at some of the itineries. We are off Sunday week on the Poland trip, 14 MH's, our first experience with them but so far admin is superb. The main advantage for us is the organised trips out as our van is too large just to go off and park up.

[Tony Jones]

For a first time abroad, it can be really reassuring to have a big organisation involved, whether or not you want to travel in company. First time we took the kids and the old VW over the water (1989), we used Eurocamp Independent. Nowadays we fend for ourselves, but it was good for our peace of mind that first time.

[LordThornber]

I guess a lot of folk use these packages for the peace of mind - quite understandable too.

 

I've just had a look at the intineries for a few of the companies and they sound very interesting but what would put me off would be the amount of "forced" time it would appear you have to spend in other folks company.

 

Now before anyone steams in and calls me an antisocial git, (which I am :D ), I personally couldn't bear the thought of "forced" acquaintancies, which in essence it would appear is what's on offer.

 

Group introductions/camp barbeques/etc etc = my idea of hell but usual each to their own applies.

 

Martyn (don't ever approach ME onsite :D :D )

[peterjl]

Hi

 

We went to Greece with the CC club in April this year, all motorhomes, - had a brilliant time.

 

Interestingly most of the members were experienced motorhomers with some, like us, having been across Europe several times and down through Morocco.

 

The trip was well planned so no one days journey was too far, a good balance of time on sites and moving on, a great tour director who pointed out the best places to visit and organised trips for those that wanted to go. But best off all - a great bunch of people who were always ready to help each other out - especially with the Ouzo!

 

The CC organised this through GB Privelege and based on this I will be taking another trip next year - in fact i have my eye on one tour and have brought my retirement date forward by a month to make sure i can go.

 

Peter

[JohnP]

Most of these trips are based on two people sharing and for the single person there is usually a singles supplement, which can be quite high.

[Brock]

The first time we went abroad with the motorhome, we let Eurocamp hold our hands. We travelled independently but each site had a Eurocamp representative who could at least speak the lingo. The following year we still went with Eurocamp but stayed on sites with no representative. Then we started going with the Caravan Club simply because they offered more sites and were as efficient.

The only problem we have had is that continental sites will often try and pitch together the Brits using these clubs. Unsure whether this is for our benefit or to protect the natives. It does mean you are less inclined to engage with the natives, one of the reasons for going abroad.

I would never go on a package holiday with a group of people following the same itinerary. May as well go to Ibiza if that was the sort of holiday I wanted. I'm not knocking such packaging. I'm just highlighting it's not the answer for everyone.

I found Austria the nicest place because it has rules - but not too many, people are friendly, and everyone I came across seem to speak grammatically better English than I did! Pass through Holland, into Germany with a stop  and then Austria, stopping a few times in Germany on the way home.

Continentals seem less tolerant of Brits who don't make an effort to be able to speak a few of their words, who don't bother to try and understand the laws/rules - especilly on the road, and who generally expect their country to be Britain with different scenery and weather.

[Rapido-lass]

On our first venture with the motorhome abroad, we were concerned about booking sites and paying in advance etc. We used Select Sites which were very helpful and took alot of the stress out of it. You decide where you want to go and they book everything for you and you pay in £'s. We enjoyed our first trip abroad but quickly learnt that we wanted to be more free in where we went. I'll always be pleased that we went with Select Sites - but it's not an organised tour with anyone else in the group as it gave our first continental roadtrip a stress-free kick start.

 

However, we now just book a ferry crossing and go and see where we turn up, we do have an idea of where we'll head but this can be changed at a drop of a hat or rather a turn of the steering wheel. (confidence gained by our first trip) I personally would not be happy in a group as you wouldn't be free to do what you want when you want, but some people do like that so it's what suits you best. Having the knowledge that you've got the back up of a company in the UK the first time you go was welcome and reassuring.

 

Good luck, I'm sure others will let you know their feelings on this subject!

 

 

[peterjl]

Hi

 

Up to a couple of years ago i would entirely agreed with who say they would not go with a group however, where the group scores is in going to places where you may be a little nervous going solo.

 

We started with groups on non m/h holidays, a truck across Africa, trekking in Nepal, - then tried a M/h trip to Morocco with a group before we tried Greece this year.

 

I know you can do some of these places solo but a group does give you confidence and, of course, now having gone with agroup we have the knowledge to go solo in future.

 

Just a thought on groups - you don't have to travel with them (we always travelled in the m/h solo and just met up at end of day), - you can go off on side trips on our own, we do. The group is the back up plus we have made new friends.

 

At the end of the day its each to his/her own but for us it added a new dimension after travelling (and i mean travelling not package holidays) round the world (OZ, NZ, USA, Canada + europe of course) solo for years.

 

Peter