tonyg3nwl Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Hi Just beginning to think 2012 plans and costings, If we stick to uk we have to bear in mind that the Olympics are coming, and I fully expect that uk site prices will escalate as a result. I also anticipate that there will be busier sites, more traffic congestion etc, so debating comparisons with uk versus continental trip. Abroad we tend to use Camping check sites and seek out the extra deals '14 for price of 11 ' etc. and of course these apply only 'off peak'. Of course there is options of Aires as well In UK we qualify for CC&C age related sites discount, and they also operateTHS meetings (rallies) so that could be an option. There is also options for CL or CS sites. In UK we don't need extra holiday insurance or get you home cover thanks to NHS and AA/RAC etc.wheras abroad we have to add ferry and insurance as extras. We usually try to holiday from end of May to Mid july, 6 Weeks approx, and this overlaps bank holiday weekend so site prices are premium rates, Weather is unpredictable wherever we go, but we prefer sun to rain. Fuel costs in UK generally higher than abroad, so that has to be factored in. Decisions, Decisions.. any comments.? tonyg3nwl PS 50 years married in October 2012 so that has to be borne in mind as well!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Hi Tonyg3wnl, I know one mans meat is another mans poison, but you definitely seem a candidate for the Moselle Valley, Germany. Book Early on the Ferries, Sites are very reasonable even without Camping Cheques or ACSI, loads of lovely Aires along the riverside,reasonable priced food and drink. Also fuel cheaper than UK and not too much travelling to get there. Lovely scenery thrown in. Great holiday that wont break the bank. Best of luck with your decision and enjoy cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit_Stops Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Hi Tony, You may know them already, but you can save money in Europe by using any of the free stopovers schemes that offer free overnight stays at vineyards, farms, etc. One-off fee for the guide and windscreen sticker; price varies from £20 - £30. Links: http://www.france-passion.com http://www.fattoreamico.it http://www.espana-discovery.es http://www.arsvivendivzw.be http://www.gruene-zwiebel.de http://www.swissterroir.ch Vicarious books also act as an agent for some of them, and of course for saving money at home, there is a British version... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Tony, really the decision is for you and your wife to make. You seem to have information to hand and have outlined pros and cons of both British and Continental touring.Perhaps you need to consider where you would both like to go. For what it is worth, I will say that we usually have a European tour for up to 8 weeks but this year we spent May and the bulk of June in Scotland, including the Orkneys and the Shetlands. It was a superb trip (although we did have some gale force winds and "horizontal rain" in Orkney). Folks throughout the trip and especially on the islands were so welcoming. Our average cost per night was under £10 although this does take into account a very wide range (£16 to £5 and many free nights). The Orkneys and Sheltands are incredibly motorhome friendly with wild camping positively encouraged - even to the extent that one campsite/cafe had a notice in its public loos welcoming motorhomers and caravanners not staying at the site to use the cdp to empty their loos. Equally there are some excellent sites, including in Kirkwall and Lerwick. We hope to do a tour of Germany, Austria, parts of Italy and Hungary next year. For us, one of the beauties of having a campervan is that we can think about places we would like to visit in the UK or in mainland Europe, do research on the internet or from "Rough Guide" and "Lonely Planet" books, initially from the library, then decide where we go. Even after that we may not stick to our plan. Last year we left England with the idea of going to Hungary but the weather was so bad in central Europe in May that we headed over the Alps into Italy then the French Riviera. It doesn't have to be either UK or mainland Europe. Even on a limited income it can be both. As you obviously know, through various schemes (including ACSI, Aires, wild camping, THS and Club meets) good value motorhoming can be had home and abroad. Apart from our main trip we do various short breaks ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. In August we enjoyed a week on a THS with showers within walking distance of the harbour of an attractive North Yorkshire town for £8.50 a night. That really was excellent value. Whatever you decide to do I wish you both health and happiness and a great time for your special celebration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Seriously if you can cross the channel cheaply (tesco vouchers for eurotunnel) and use the aires in France or Municipal sites or stellplatz in Germany then you may find you have a cheaper holiday there. Go near or in Luxembourg and fuel up too. chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ina Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 derek pringle - 2011-11-05 10:03 AM Hi Tonyg3wnl, I know one mans meat is another mans poison, but you definitely seem a candidate for the Moselle Valley, Germany. Book Early on the Ferries, Sites are very reasonable even without Camping Cheques or ACSI, loads of lovely Aires along the riverside,reasonable priced food and drink. Also fuel cheaper than UK and not too much travelling to get there. Lovely scenery thrown in. Great holiday that wont break the bank. Best of luck with your decision and enjoy cheers derek I agree with the Moselle. We did that for the first time this year in May/June and thoroughly enjoyed it. Stayed on the stellplatze all the way, which, to us, seemed lots better and more spacious than the sites around there. We cycled a lot as there are cycle-paths all the way along the river with waymarked routes off it and so saw a lot of other stellplatze and campsites that way. In fact, we are going to the Xmas markets at the end of November and are planning to visit Bernkastel and Zell as 2 of our stops, as I would imagine it to be really lovely at that time too. Ina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clementine Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Our most enjoyable Motorhome Holidays was the Dordogne, we travelled through France at a leisurely pace, stayed at French Passions and in the Dordogne we stayed at Chateau Verdoyer and then Aqua Viva and from there walked and cycled. We drove back along the coast to La Rochelle and eventually to Brittany, Quimper and to Camaret, Dinan, Swiss Normandy to Cherbourg. If you do that trip take Michael Crichton's Timeline to read, it is the ideal holiday reading for that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 My wife keeps a diary with a very close watch on costs and we find not much differance on the UK v Europe trips. We normally do two six weeks trips to europe and about four weeks in the UK. Looking at our last euro trip this year it was our usual six weeks, September to mid August and we covered 3600 miles and used mainly sites. Without going into full details sites and fuel were cheaper in europe so compensated for the ferry and extra miles covered. We could save a little more by using more aires but as our average per night was around £9.00 I suspect not much unless we were really prepared to 'slum it'. In fact looking back over last three years our most expensive trip, averaged out at per week, was our last one to Scotland were we spent a fair amount on ferries anyway. Incidently the period you quote is pretty much off peak anyway and sites, in europe, do not hike their prices for bank holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 We like to get some heat in our bones a few times a year at least so tend to head south. for the last 5 years we have ended up at our favourite site in Lake Garda to meet up with friends and family... last year we went to Slovenia/Croatia first this year we intend to visit Tuscany. Probably stopping in Switzerland on the way... I dont see the point of having a van if it cant get you somewhere different and interesting. Might as well fly somewhere otherwise. Thinking of maybe Gambia for Christmas...Or Malaysia for Easter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 France is always good for us. It's easy wherever you go and a holiday with mixed aires and campsites offers the best of both styles of stopover. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi Judge, have you been to Gambia before? we've been a few times and it is a lovely place,you are making me jealous. derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Current plans, January Spain.........May, we are thinking of trying the West coast of Scotland for a 3/4 weeks:-) we have tried Scotland several times over the last 20 years, but were beaten back by the midges every time8-)............July, Ukulele festivalB-)......September, France hopefully for 4 weeks..........that's just the rough idea at the moment........We never book very far ahead as things change, just have a rough plan of what we'd like to do:D...............We might even have sold up by then8-)........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 derek pringle - 2011-11-06 9:30 AM Hi Judge, have you been to Gambia before? we've been a few times and it is a lovely place,you are making me jealous. derek No, but a lot of my wifes family have been there repeatedly and love it, and a good few going this Christmas, hence the interest. 30 deg + and no jet lag appeal's! lol . looking on tripadvisor and some seem to not be able to handle the attentions of the bumsters? Cant imagine it being any worse then India in that respect and we handled it there OK here is an entertaining blog on Gambia: http://traveltalesfromanywhere.blogspot.com/p/gambia.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 What about week one Mossel Valley Down throught the Rhine valley to the Black Forest for week two staying on Stellplatz 5-9€ Week three Switzerland Luzern, Interlaken and Jungfrau / Bernese Oberland region staying on ACSI sites €15. If the weather is good its just simply breath taking. Dont eat out or take a train or cable car though unless you have a fat wallet. Week four Italian lakes, Maggiore, Lugano, Como and not to be missed Orta. ACSI or Sostas (free ones at Orta which is the most stunning lake IMO) and superb cheap sosta at Cannobio on Maggiore Week 5 up the Aosta Valley in Italy through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chammonix and around Annecy and Lake Bourget area. If the weather is crap half a days drive south to Lake Croix and the Verdon Gorges which has to be in the top five places in France to see. Spend the last week working your way home. Thats kind of a mini version of what we did this summer. Full blog on www.hankthetank.co.uk then blog SUmmer 2011. Watch out for the Stellplatz killer in the Black Forest! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi Judge blog was great and brought back lots of memories, you will definitely have a great time and if you managed in India you will manage in The Gambia, the bumstera do entertain you and the circumstances there pull at your heart but what a place. The Clay Oven mentioned in the blog IS a great place to eat and de3pending where you are staying ,Mandelas' in kololi beach is fantastic food. I am sur your family have already told you all there is to know. Enjoy cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Thanks Derek, and before I upset all who believe life starts and finishes in France...you have a PM :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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