roundabout66 Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 We are taking possession of our first motorhome in a couple of weeks and we want to join a club. I believe the choice is between the caravan club and the camping and caravan club. Does anyone have an opinion on the best one for motorhomers? Thanks for any help Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Welcome to the forum roundabout66. We have only been in the Caravan Club so can't help with a comparison but I have never been on a bad site with the club. Sites always very clean and tidy and the facilities always spot on for our requirements. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 It depends what you want from a club. Both these have a network of well-equipped (but expensive) Club sites, and both also have a large network of cheap "farm or pub" locations (CLs or CSs). Having been in the Caravan Club in the past, we resigned when their (then) chairman made a speech at a European gathering in which he more or less condemned all forms of "non-site" overnighting (such as is normal for continental motorhomers). We felt this couldn't be "our" club! After a few years "clubless," we wanted access to the CL/CS system again, so joined the CCC. On thing we've noticed is a GENUINE recognition of all types of outfit (not just "Caravans"), and another is that the average price of CSs seems significantly lower than CC CLs were, even a few years previously, let alone now. We've NEVER use the actual Club sites, during either period - can't afford to! But all of that is personal to us - you may find the CC is just what you want. Whichever you go for, enjoy your motorhoming!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Hi We have been motorhoming for 2 years now with no previous camping experience beforehand. We were advised to join both Caravan Club & Camping & Caravaning club. 2 and a half years later our thoughts are that the CCC definitely are a more friendly club for sites but CC are better if you go on rallies. If you want to winter abroad definitely join CCC. So if you can join both do so, if you can only join one make your choice based upon what you want to do, travel independently or join in.. We have found CC sites great but the wardens a bit stuffy & jobsworth, CCC are as they say "the friendly club" in our opinion Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I was a member of both Clubs for most of my caravaning years but when I changed to a motorhome my needs changed and I found that I was no longer interested in two weeks on one site. I was more interested in moving from site to site saving the fuel cost of returning to the same location every night. In the main I am able to do that with the CC but the booking system in the CCC prevents this by having many more restrictions, such as: 1. Minimum of two nights peak season and weekends 2. Full deposit for each booking up to £x. Each site is considered a separate booking so you can end up paying the full amount up front to tour round the Country. 3. Deposits for canceled booking (other than extenuating circumstances) held and must be used within a set period. So we voted with our feet but your needs may be different and find that it suits you. One other important consideration is the location of sites have a look at the places you would like to visit and see who has sites best situated for your needs. What ever you do have a great time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Hi Have a look at the Motorcaravanners Club site. I find they have more to offer than either of the caravan clubs and I have been a member of both. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 The CCC has a Motorhome section that is worth a look at, I prefer the CCC over the CC , personal choice, have you considered the Motor Caravaners Club ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hi Mandy, We are in CCC and wouldn't change, love the rallies and Temporary Holiday sites, we don't take main holls in this country so only ever do weekends. Never booked with any of them apart from special rallies. We have a child with us and CCC encourage families more than CC we find. Best of luck Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hi Mandy and welcome to the forum, I'll give my vote to the C&CC as we've been members for over 15 years and have only ever experienced 1 bad site in all that time. We nearly always use C&CC sites for both weekend breaks and our main hols and always try to book in advance as our weekends and holidays are too precious to be frrettting about finding a site at short notice and our calendar is pretty well mapped out for us. Another thought, what make of MH are you getting? Have you thought of joining a make specific club for your model if one exists? We are members of the Auto-Trail OC and always go on their annual factory rally which is an excellent event. I know other clubs exist for other makes, there used to be a list on this site but I can't find it now. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I don't think anyone has mentioned that the C&CC give lower rates to people over 55 in the low season. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I was a member of all 3....CC C&CC and the MCC...Caravan Club is a top club there are provisions to be able to get cheaper ferries to go across the water and most of the sites are extremely well kept and I've always had a good rapport with the wardens... As for the MCC I never really used it that much as I thought there was always a Them and US attitide with the hierachy (My observation maybe not others) so I never renewed the subs..As for C&CC when you book on the phone with them they ask for a deposit I suppose that saves you not turning up if they have to turn members away if a site is full..and they site you...However I booked one site and asked to be specifically out in the open..The warden put me in the trees and I complained and said I'd asked for open pitch and he got snotty about it so out came the mobile and I rang the C&CC bookings office and gave them my bookings number and complained about the warden..long story short I ended up asking for a refund and going elsewhere...I had this a couple of times on various C&CC sites..so as for the friendly club..Yea Right I;ll reserve my opinion on that one...They all have their own pros and cons....I only have Caravan Club membership now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Caravan Club for us. Did belong to MCC, bui they seemed yo be mostly rally orientated (Not for us) Tried to book at a C&CC club (Not a member) and they wanted £30 pn minimum of two nights., as there were going to be two vans, decided that the cost was better spent on a good meal (Was for a 60th birthday.) We rarely camp in UK, so the CC has better facilities for our needs. IMO PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 roundabout66 - 2011-10-02 10:00 PM We are taking possession of our first motorhome in a couple of weeks and we want to join a club. I believe the choice is between the caravan club and the camping and caravan club. Does anyone have an opinion on the best one for motorhomers? Thanks for any help Mandy Hi and welcome to motorhoming and to the forum. As you have probaly already noticed, different people like different clubs, either, none or both! If you type in any of the below on the search facility on the forum you should find some other useful information: Which club to join? 3Oth Jan 2010 Which caravan club? 12th August 2010 Book early 25th march 2010 For what it is worth, I contributed quite extensively to those, including what I perceive to be the advantages (and disadvantages) of both clubs. You may find those (and other folks' comments) relevant.. Rather than repeating my comments here, all I will say is we still find it worthwhile to be in both CC and CCC and the subscription fees are money well spent. We gain from being in both clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigal Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 mel wood - 2011-10-03 12:35 PM roundabout66 - 2011-10-02 10:00 PM We are taking possession of our first motorhome in a couple of weeks and we want to join a club. I believe the choice is between the caravan club and the camping and caravan club. Does anyone have an opinion on the best one for motorhomers? Thanks for any help Mandy Hi and welcome to motorhoming and to the forum. As you have probaly already noticed, different people like different clubs, either, none or both! If you type in any of the below on the search facility on the forum you should find some other useful information: Which club to join? 3Oth Jan 2010 Which caravan club? 12th August 2010 Book early 25th march 2010 For what it is worth, I contributed quite extensively to those, including what I perceive to be the advantages (and disadvantages) of both clubs. You may find those (and other folks' comments) relevant.. Rather than repeating my comments here, all I will say is we still find it worthwhile to be in both CC and CCC and the subscription fees are money well spent. We gain from being in both clubs. I agree with Mel having been a member of both clubs for many years, we do not attend rallies but have attended holiday sites where a booking has not been required. We prefer the CCC club ourselves but never use sites during the school holidays only CSs, we also use the CCC for our continental trips via the Channel Tunnel, with the dog, and have always found them to be most helpful. CCC members are, in the main, much more friendly in our opinion. Good Luck in your travels!! ;-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stantheman Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Not sure about terryW's facts. The C&CC's booking system has, until now, meant that a deposit paid for a cancelled booking was retained and then offset against a future booking. Great, at least you didn't lose it. Last week, after a week in Berwick, we were due to stop off at the C&CC site at Boroughbridge for one night on our way home to Cambridgeshire. The day we were due to travel one of our party was taken ill and we were forced to get home asap. I telephoned the Boroughbridge site to cancel (full of apologies for the short notice) and received commiserations from the friendly warden. When I asked if my deposit would be held against a future booking, I was told that this practice ceased last year and that I would forfeit my payment. I scanned the Big Site Book (the C&CC bible) but could find no reference to this new rule. Has someone got their wires crossed somewhere? If not - avoid the C&CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Apart from staying on site, it is worth considering other services the club offers. A quick scout around their repective web sites will give you an idea. We are members of Caravan Club and the m/home is insured with them / Green flag recovery / Red Pennent when abroad and use their Ferry booking service. There are cheaper ways BUT sometimes it pays to have all your eggs in one basket. Other Forum members can comment on the CCC services (because I have no idea !) We are considering joining the CCC as well because we can take our grandchildren camping (in a tent !) Something which can be a bit iffy with CC. The latter accepts Awnings, but not over keen on tenting. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 stantheman - 2011-10-03 7:07 PM Not sure about terryW's facts. The C&CC's booking system has, until now, meant that a deposit paid for a cancelled booking was retained and then offset against a future booking. Great, at least you didn't lose it. Last week, after a week in Berwick, we were due to stop off at the C&CC site at Boroughbridge for one night on our way home to Cambridgeshire. The day we were due to travel one of our party was taken ill and we were forced to get home asap. I telephoned the Boroughbridge site to cancel (full of apologies for the short notice) and received commiserations from the friendly warden. When I asked if my deposit would be held against a future booking, I was told that this practice ceased last year and that I would forfeit my payment. I scanned the Big Site Book (the C&CC bible) but could find no reference to this new rule. Has someone got their wires crossed somewhere? If not - avoid the C&CC. This has been the policy for over a year : "If you cancel your booking, for any reason, seven days or less before it starts, we will not refund your deposit" Page 511 "Cancelling your booking" Your Big Sites Book. "If you cancel the booking more than seven days before it is due to start, we will refund your deposit in full".(ibid) In previous years cancellations more than 7 days before the start were held "in account" for you to use on any site within 12 months of the original booking. This was also raised on at least one of the threads I referred to above. It is one of the negatives about the CCC but I still find that there are more positives/advantages of membership than negatives in BOTH clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 For Us the big differance, and the reason we dropped out of the CCC, was that they (CCC) always direct you to a pitch, whereas the CC allow you to choose whichever pitch is vacant. may seem like a small thing to some, but to us it made all of the differance. You could of course, with the CCC say you didn't like the pitch allocated, but in Our experience the choice was limited especially if the Warden didn't want Motorcaravans on 'His' lovely grass, which they mostly didn't. So, for us it has the be the Caravan Club, we like their CL's a lot too. Ray :D No deposits for booking either,(but don't abuse it !). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everhopeful Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 We're in the CC and CCC. Location is the most important factor for us, but given a choice it is the CC every time. We really like the CC system of picking your own pitch. The CCC always escort you to a pitch and although sometimes there is a choice, you invariably end up on a pitch that suits the warden rather than you. The CC booking system is much more flexible, but can result in weekends being unavailable at some sites. The CCC is often cheaper if you're over 50, but I've found their sites are sometimes a bit iffy and often rather lawless.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 everhopeful - 2011-10-03 7:31 PM. The CCC always escort you to a pitch and although sometimes there is a choice, you invariably end up on a pitch that suits the warden rather than you. I've found their sites are sometimes a bit iffy and often rather lawless.. 1) Obviously some people ( including ourselves) have had occasional problems with some Wardens or Holiday Site Managers but such staff are in the minority. 2) We would not settle for a pitch that wasn't suitable for us - if it was not suitable we would ask politely to have a different pitch (assuming others were available). 3) We have been active CCC members for 17 years and have never found a site to be "rather lawless". We have never been on a CCC site where the "Quiet after 11 pm "rule has not been observed. If there were such problems did you speak to the Holiday Site Manager? If so. what was the reaction? 4) I don't know what you mean by a site being "a bit iffy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 mel wood - 2011-10-03 7:21 PM stantheman - 2011-10-03 7:07 PM Not sure about terryW's facts. The C&CC's booking system has, until now, meant that a deposit paid for a cancelled booking was retained and then offset against a future booking. Great, at least you didn't lose it. Last week, after a week in Berwick, we were due to stop off at the C&CC site at Boroughbridge for one night on our way home to Cambridgeshire. The day we were due to travel one of our party was taken ill and we were forced to get home asap. I telephoned the Boroughbridge site to cancel (full of apologies for the short notice) and received commiserations from the friendly warden. When I asked if my deposit would be held against a future booking, I was told that this practice ceased last year and that I would forfeit my payment. I scanned the Big Site Book (the C&CC bible) but could find no reference to this new rule. Has someone got their wires crossed somewhere? If not - avoid the C&CC. This has been the policy for over a year : "If you cancel your booking, for any reason, seven days or less before it starts, we will not refund your deposit" Page 511 "Cancelling your booking" Your Big Sites Book. "If you cancel the booking more than seven days before it is due to start, we will refund your deposit in full".(ibid) In previous years cancellations more than 7 days before the start were held "in account" for you to use on any site within 12 months of the original booking. BOTH clubs. I stand corrected on the point of cancellation, it appears the CCC may have listened to a few departing members. Under the old rules I actual lost a deposit because I was unable to use it within the time period. I also visited the CCC web site tonight, as a non member, to confirm the rules but they do not appear to be available in the non member sections. At least I can't find them. Don't get me wrong I think both clubs are great, just very different in their booking systems and this difference may not be apparent until joining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 We were members of C&CC for 11 years and when we were pitched at their Pevensy site some cretin did not want to walk around our unit so he jumped on the hitch and stepped off the other side. The site was very unruly (kids leaving their bikes on the access road, playing in the toilets and noisey after the 11pm curfew). That was enough for us to leave the club and join the Caravan Club. We have been members of them for approx 15 years and never had a bad experience. We have re-joined the C&CC 3 years ago but we only do Overseas Rallies and THS. We also joined our local BCC and rally with them sometimes. We never have nor will we camp on their sites again, especially the Pevensy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 We have been in both clubs but dropped the C&CC as we didn't find the sites very well 'policed' with the exception of being told where you were going to pitch, not my idea of camping neither, 'friendly' nor 'freedom'! Everyone will have their own prefference but we have always felt that the comparison is like comparing an upmarket (some would say stuffy with rules) housing estate to a bit of a council estate with everyone doing as they like, appart from where they pitch, complete with noise and unruley elements, so not our cup of tea. Personally we like rules because that gives a framework within which to 'work', Don't think there is much to choose between each clubs site managers, we have met some very nice ones and on one occasion a not so nice one (CC), but for the time we have been camping that is not really an issue for us. We rarely use the big sites nowdays, too expensive and not what we like so use the CL's (it is worth joining either or both for the network that this gives you) however some of these are now becoming overpriced and over featured so they are becoming a no go for us. So it is each to there own, my suggestion, as others have already said is try both and decide which is for you, you may like both! Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomersetSteve Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 We've been members of CCC for 16+ years and have never felt the need to join CC, though I have thought about it occasionally. We tend not to book ahead out of high season, we just phone our chosen site during the day so the lost deposit thing doesn't come in to it for us. Some sites - Pevensey and Newquay come to mind - can be a bit cramped when busy and people cutting across can be a bit of a nuisance, though once our biggest dog has barked at them they change course! As with any site strategic windbreaks can help a lot with this. Choice of pitch does vary between their sites, mostly positive about how this has been done and booking late for one night you can't really complain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 It's the caravan club for us. We have been members for some 14 years. The reasons are as follows:- Well trained polite and friendly wardens. Very high standards of the sites and the facilities. In the main one can choose ones pitch. Only once have we been pitched and that was due to exceptional circumstances. Superb booking system with no deposit required. We usually book to 120 days when the booking system opens. Normally we never cancel a booking. This year was the exception when firstly gales force winds caused us to move from one site to another a day early with no problems. Later in the year we had to suddenly abort one holiday halfway through due to a back injury. Canceled the remain sites on that tour with no problem on line with no loss of deposit. Sods law saw me in need of a hernia repair which ment even more cancelations with no loss. I'm more or less recovered now and the booking system has enabled me to book a late series of stays. (writing this from the superb club site at Houghton Mill) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.