Brock Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 We were thinking of dipping our toe into the continent mainland by returning this coming summer to some of the sites we frequented 8 or more years ago in Germany & Austria [black Forest, Bavaria, Tirol]. We were shocked by the current prices - £58 per night for 7 nights on one, the cheapest being £33 per night for 10 days. These are the all singing and all dancing type of sites but still... Stellplatzes may be an option although we are travelling at the peak of the summer season and have never used them before. Where is a good current source of Euro campsite listing of say the equivalent 4* or 5* in the UK other than the CC sites book? We'd want hookup, probably a toilet block for the missus, water and disposal points but not restaurants or entertainment. No more than £20 a night for two adults. When I add in the cost of getting to the English coast and the ferry/Euro Tunnel across the water - not much change out of £275 for the return trip - Scotland suddenly seems attractive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I'd recommend you get the "Bordatlas" John. We found it far more useful than the CC book when we were in Germany in 2009. It includes both Stellplätze and sensibly priced campsites. Vicarious Books sell it, volume 1 is Germany and vol 2 everywhere else. Have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 You might also find it worth looking at the campingcar-infos website as that has sections for Germany (4764 entries) and Austria (177 entries) http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm You can 'tick select' just campsites with hook-ups (and wi-fi) if that's what you want. Not many photos or comments (and some of the information may be outdated) but it could help regarding tarifs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 ....I'm quite surprised at the pricing you are finding, and think you must be looking at the very "top end". Whilst we're no longer tied to the school holidays, we have been in the past, and have used a good few campsites in the areas described in season, and now do so out of the main season. Few places are going to be "cheap" in high season in the areas mentioned , but the prices I've checked for decent quality sites we've used over the years all max out about the €30 a night all-in for 2 people (some are quite a bit cheaper, and I am making assumptions about electricity use, which is often metered in Germany and Austria). I tend to rely less and less on books nowadays, using the web to do my research, both before departure and on the road. The POIs downloaded from "Archies Camping" give a comprehensive view of sites in a given area; pre-selecting an area and then checking for local sites gives the opportunity to research at leisure. I'm also confident that, if you nominate requirements and a few areas of interest, posters here will be able to recommend good sites. Don't give up (though Scotland invariably seems attractive to me) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Brock - 2013-12-31 9:18 PM Where is a good current source of Euro campsite listing of say the equivalent 4* or 5* in the UK other than the CC sites book? We'd want hookup, probably a toilet block for the missus, water and disposal points but not restaurants or entertainment. No more than £20 a night for two adults. Hi John; not sure about 4 & 5 star ratings; very personal I think. There's no reason why you can't use the ACSI guide in high season; just expect to pay high season rates. It would give you contact details of sites throughout Europe. Enjoy your trip regards, and have a good year alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Brock - 2013-12-31 9:18 PM We were thinking of dipping our toe into the continent mainland by returning this coming summer to some of the sites we frequented 8 or more years ago in Germany & Austria [black Forest, Bavaria, Tirol]. We were shocked by the current prices - £58 per night for 7 nights on one, the cheapest being £33 per night for 10 days. These are the all singing and all dancing type of sites but still... Stellplatzes may be an option although we are travelling at the peak of the summer season and have never used them before. Where is a good current source of Euro campsite listing of say the equivalent 4* or 5* in the UK other than the CC sites book? We'd want hookup, probably a toilet block for the missus, water and disposal points but not restaurants or entertainment. No more than £20 a night for two adults. When I add in the cost of getting to the English coast and the ferry/Euro Tunnel across the water - not much change out of £275 for the return trip - Scotland suddenly seems attractive. [/QUOTeE] I don't think Scotland would seem attractive at any price. If you like 5* you may well have to cough up and try to look happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I've recently been plotting a German trip, and although I'm not targeting the same areas, I'd agree with others that the prices you're quoting seem right at the top end. I've been using the CC Caravan Europe guide, which I still think one of the very best for campsites. I also use, and you may wish to consider getting, is the ACSI DVD, which can be loaded to a laptop (not sure about Macs), so it goes easily with you. It is searchable by town name, by campsite name, or by map, and has a number of quite clever and useful filters that allow you to specify opening/closing dates, the type of facilities you want from the site, whether the sites shown are just those on the ACSI discount scheme or the whole range of ACSI inspected sites. It also covers pretty well the whole of Europe and lists over 8,500 sites. Germany and Austria are not the cheapest destinations campsite wise, but there are legions of perfectly good sites available at well below the prices you seem to be seeing. Many of the entries on the DVD contain links to the site website, so the actual charges for your intended visit are only a click away. All entries give the GPS co-ordinates for the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-01-01 1:08 PM ...I also use, and you may wish to consider getting, is the ACSI DVD, which can be loaded to a laptop (not sure about Macs), so it goes easily with you... According to the ACSi website the DVD (2013 or 2014 version) needs a Windows-computer to run on. "System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8, 1024 x 768, DVD player. The DVD will only work on a Windows computer and will not work on an Apple (tablet or Mac) or ARM tablet (Windows RT)." Certain versions of Windows can be installed on Macs that have the appropriate operating system (using the "Boot Camp" utility), so it might be possible to side-step that restriction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 We have not been to Germany for many many years but even back then found it at the higher end of the cost scale, although my son has been in the past year and found the cost of living had dropped to basically UK levels. Really at the end of the day the choice is yours. If the dates are fixed then you will have to accept the higher costs and even the ACSI discount scheme will not be in effect at that time, but do check as each site varies its dates. Some can be well into July before the change comes into effect. Also you do state that you would like to visit Germany and therefore why not. Do not use costs as a reason not to go and dare I say, please do not use Scotland as a 2nd best alternative. We will get upset. We have all had to sometimes pay over the odds especially if we travelled during school holidays but fortunately now can avoid the peak periods. Also do remember that any site book you look at only lists sites by recommendation from users, even the CC does not actually visit any sites it lists, and they can often get it wrong as we have found out. 5 star may not even come close to what we have imagined at times while sometimes 2 star have been gems. By the way your £275 for the return crossing is cheap compared to what us northerners have to pay, but maybe look at the Hull crossing and save the drive to Dover. Compare different days and the price change can be significant. My advice is...if you want to go, then do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 ....going slightly OT here, but still very much associated with the OP. It occurs to me that there are still people who don't understand the savings that can be made in Austria and Germany by use of the free and reduced rate facilities available as a result of you paying a (mandatory) "Kurtax" as part of the site fees. These vary dramatically by location (usually based on the community you are staying in), and often consist of supplying you with a Gästekarte which should cover all members of your party (for some facilities, a Credit-Card type pass may be supplied for each member). So, for Berchtesgaden fro example, though Camping Allweglehen is one of the more costly I researched high-season prices for, you should get a pass which includes free public transport throughout Berchtesgadner Land. Very useful for seeing all the sights, and it's even possible to get to Salzburg on the bus by paying a nominal sum for the portion of the journey which is in Austria. Alpine resorts often offer (small) reductions on lifts, but (as a further example) on our recent trip to Austria, we stayed at Umhausen, which doesn't have lifts, but does have a (Gästekarte) reduced price for a bus journey up the mountains. We had exclusive use of a minibus to ascend some 1500+ metres into magnificent walking country for the princely sum of €1 each. The Black Forest has the Konus system (http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus) which provides comprehensive and free public transport across a wide area. Check your campsite is in a participating town, and away you go. Remember, you ARE paying for this in the Kurtax, but it is a small and mandatory per person charge anyway. It is ALWAYS worthwhile checking the tourist arrangements in German-speaking countries, as you may be surprised just what is included, and what opportunities you have to defray the campsite costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Thanks for the comments; they are really useful in pointing me in the right direction. Costs have risen further as my missus has decided she won't navigate on the Continent as before because she wants to enjoy the scenery rather than the map. I think we're like the Tories - dithering on whether to be in Europe or not! Trouble is that a referendum in our house might bring a tie of one vote for Scotland and one for nipping across the water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Brock - 2014-01-03 9:00 AM .... Costs have risen further as my missus has decided she won't navigate on the Continent as before because she wants to enjoy the scenery rather than the map. So the increased costs relate to having to take the au pair to do the navigating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Tony Jones - 2014-01-03 1:15 PM Brock - 2014-01-03 9:00 AM .... Costs have risen further as my missus has decided she won't navigate on the Continent as before because she wants to enjoy the scenery rather than the map. So the increased costs relate to having to take the au pair to do the navigating? The butler Tony the butler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Brock - 2014-01-03 9:00 AM Thanks for the comments; they are really useful in pointing me in the right direction. Costs have risen further as my missus has decided she won't navigate on the Continent as before because she wants to enjoy the scenery rather than the map. I think we're like the Tories - dithering on whether to be in Europe or not! Trouble is that a referendum in our house might bring a tie of one vote for Scotland and one for nipping across the water! Im with your wife here :-D navigating over the water is much harder ( I find) than here in the U.K and I wouldn't go over the water without a Sat Nav in our case we have 2 !! as one packed in as we exited the tunnel at Geneva, I managed to navigate for a couple of hundred miles before we bought another one, we managed to sort it once home but now take both just to be safe. Travelling in France and Germany is much more relaxing than over here, as you can stop at so many more places without having to book up in advance, we have the ~ACSI book but must admit we do use the Bord Atlas that Tony mentioned much more as it has camp sites and Aires and Stalplatz all listed alphabetically (towns) so I find that much easier to find where we are and what is there. Compare what you would spend on a flight to somewhere for two weeks against staying for us 6 weeks we are quids in and much more relaxed. Dont expect camp sites either in France or Germany to be the same as here!! they arent unless you are prepared to pay silly prices :-S which we arent !! after all why buy a motorhome with facilities if you arent prepared to use them :-D we sold two caravans that we had never used the shower in!! we didnt get any more for them when we sold them, so start using what you have and plump for scenery rather than toilet block. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Having bought a new satnav with European maps which would have eased the navigating load on my missus if we crossed the Channel, we finally plumped for Scotland! We found continental sites we might like [thanks] in Germany, Austria and Denmark, and we also toyed with Ireland until we looked at the ferry rates. However, in all honesty we just couldn't get sufficiently excited about going over the Continent this year. Perhaps next year when we'll have the Scottish bug out of our system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Brock - 2014-01-21 6:59 PM Having bought a new satnav with European maps which would have eased the navigating load on my missus if we crossed the Channel, we finally plumped for Scotland! We found continental sites we might like [thanks] in Germany, Austria and Denmark, and we also toyed with Ireland until we looked at the ferry rates. However, in all honesty we just couldn't get sufficiently excited about going over the Continent this year. Perhaps next year when we'll have the Scottish bug out of our system. Talking about 'Bugs' when are you going to Scotland ? Don't get me wrong, I love Scotland, the Hebrides, the Highlands, Dumfries and Galaway. Had Lovely breaks in all of them, But if you havn't been before : No-One in the Tourist Blurb mentions 'the Midges' and they should. Worst time for them is from late June through til September. They don't fly in Windy Conditions, but just LOVE still, sunny but Dampish conditions and a nice 'Tasty English Tourist'. In fact any Tourist will do, as long as they have blood in their veins. Best Time to go , In the Spring, April though to June. The wild flowers will be out too then. The Heather comes into bloom in late August/September. Most Folk use 'Avon Skin So Soft' as a Midge repellant (it does work, even on the Dogs). They 'Annoy' me but don't cause me any damage (think they fly away and die, after tasting me) BUT my wife suffers badly and has had to go to the doctor in the past. Take precautions, If you can, park in a Breezy posistion, away from boggy land or woodland. It is Beautiful though, and far more relaxed about Motorhome Parking. ;-) Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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