Campsite too expensive?

[Vietnam1]

Hi everyone as I am new to motorhoming. With little experience we went to Scotland for 13 days with our three boys staying mostly in various campsite. Paying up to £40 a night. Am I wrong in thinking that this is a bit expensive?

[keninpalamos]

Not really, it depends how and what they charge for. 1 unit, 5 people or two adult, 3 kids, or a family Electric, water, Dog? club, bar pool. elsan showers even if it was basic that's about par for the course. Not that I have been on a campsite in many years.

[Tracker]

No you are not wrong and it is why many people head South to France and Spain, that and the sunshine !

 

The two main clubs have their own sites which may be less expensive but you may have to book ahead which is a faff when touring. I don't know exactly as we were not members of either for many years!

 

Have a look at their websites and come back with any questions which no doubt members will be able to answer.

 

Both clubs also have a network of small 5 unit only sites, the Caravan club has the most I believe, which again may or may not be full when you arrive.

 

The Camping club also has a lot of temporary holiday site which are very basic but inexpensive and often with a social side and no need to prebook.

 

It all depends what you want from your stops, be it EHU, company, or just somwhere safe to park for the night and get water?

[Brock]

Yes it is a bit expensive but if you are going in the peak periods and on sites with very good standards, it's about the going rate.

 

If you were a member of the Caravan & Motorhome Club, Bunree in Scotland would e £29.60 per night in September whilst Chatsworth House would be another fiver [the club have deleted August's prices]. Altnaharra, which is in the middle of nowhere, with no toilet block would cost you £14 at any time - it's quiet in the summer holidays because the midges will get you. Ferry Meadows CMC site, which is excellent for children would cost you £20 in the last few days of November. You can gather from these prices, costs are variable to put it mildly.

 

Both the CMC and Caravan & Camping Club have special offers from time to time. Both operate Certified Locations/Certified Sites which re more basic than full sites and can be under £10 but more often around the £14 mark.

 

When we started caravanning in 1990, a good site in the summer holidays with toilet block would cost us the equivalent of £35 in today's money - we had two children. Site fees have only just kept in touch with inflation so it seems.

 

Club site prices are on par with commercial sites, some are cheaper, some are not.

[colin]

As above, up to £40 in summer holidays is about the mark, it's supply and demand.

There are ways to get the costs down, for example you could join c&cc and use temp holiday sites, but then they might not be where you want to tour.

[Tracker]

Admittedly it's two years ago now but the last few times we toured in France we spent less than £40 for three weeks camping using Aires, so to me £40 a night is bloomin' expensive!

[Brock]

And the French paid you €60 to go home. Boom boom, Rich.

 

When I last looked, to get to Calais it would cost me £240 [six nights on a good site in Scotland it seems] including fuel from the Wirral to Dover and a return crossing, plus two days of my holidays. So for those with limited time, a trip across the briny for the benefits of France [i have assumed there are some] is not so cost effective.

 

You are right, though, it is cheaper on the Continent using Aires or Stellplatzen. When we did tour the Continent in the motorhome [not France] with the kids for three weeks at a time, all four of us of loved it. I'd recommend anyone with kids to go touring on the Continent. It's a wonderful experience for them.

[AndyLou]

Try using something like searchforsites to find car parks and out of the way places that vary from £0 to about £15.

Alternatively join the britstops scheme and stop in pub car parks for free.

 

If you want camp sites with facilities I suspect that is the going rate.

 

I also recommend CC&C temporary holiday sites.

[Vietnam1]

Thanks for your replies. I mean owning a motorhome and maintaining it is quite a daunting and costly experience. Having bought mine privately. Main services with MOT and bits & pieces from a small garage bills came to £1k. Tyres cost another £600 didn't realise the old one was original 12 years old although plenty of tread but all had cracked. Don't get me wrong I loved the freedom and experiences especially it means so much more with my boys. I am a member of the C&C club otherwise it will cost £50!! I know it only early days for me, there lots to learn. Yet to use the toilet, shower, cooker! Already looking forward to maybe Cornwall half term time.

[Brock]

You seem to be doing alright. When I bought second hand, I was told to retain £2,000 of budget to cover unexpected costs and that was some years ago.

 

Has the van had a habitation service? This will ensure your electrics and gas system works OK. To keep costs down, avoid a main dealer and look for a member of the Mobile Caravan Engineers Association if the van needs a service.

 

https://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk

 

I've happy memories of our time in the motorhome with our two boys - and dog. They'll stay with you for many years.

[FRANKP60]

Just booked 4 nights in October £115.00 commercial site ,Camping @ Motorhome site £59.00 and 5 miles near to were we wanted to go to daily .Sometimes club sites are cheaper.

[mel wood]

Be wary of suggestions that campsites in France and Spain are invariably cheaper - especially in school summer holidays and for a family of 5. It depends what type of site you want ....and where. For instance, sites at Port Grimaud near St. Tropez in certain weeks in late July and August are in the region of 60 euros per night for 2 people.There is also tourist tax on top for adults. There are cheaper sites in some holiday areas but generally prices do rise during summer although some only marginally.

 

As regards 3 weeks on aires for £40 - this was presumably possible 2 years ago but I would not imagine this was during the school summer holiday period. We find that aires are often useful, cheap or sometimes free but it is not possible to book a place so there is no guarantee that there will be a place available on arrival. Obviously i don't know if "vietnam" would want to spend 3 weeks on aires with 3 children (even if spaces could be found for every night).

 

In short, motorhoming (camping) on sites is not necessarily cheap but is cheaper than alternatives such as hotels, guest houses or b&b. Also as some folks have pointed out there are cheaper alternatives to full facility sites, especially through CCC/CAMC certificated sites, rallies and temporary holiday sites.

 

With planning it should be possible to find the sort of "camping" any individual family requires or is prepared to accept. Thankfully we are not all looking for exactly the same sites or experience!

 

"Vietnam" - I trust that you and your family will have many years of enjoyment in your motorhome.

 

[Agaric]

In May/June we spent 4 weeks in France, stayed on aires the total spend including water was £40.

 

 

[Tracker]

Agaric - 2017-09-06 5:39 PM

 

In May/June we spent 4 weeks in France, stayed on aires the total spend including water was £40.

 

 

As much as that! I guess we would have to recalculate our budget if we still had the van!

[Keith T]

Prices in UK and continent vary widely with what's on offer and when/where you go.

We retuned to France on 23rd August, and so far each night (using ACSI mainly) has been max €17 (about £16) per night inc electrics.

We calculated in the Autumn last year that we could have 5 weeks in France inc the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, plus campsites and diesel, for the same cost as 3 in UK!

We're in CMC (was CC) so get their 'best' rates in UK, but they are now becoming very expensive, though you do know what you are getting in advance, and they are always top quality...but their peak period prices seem to include half terms etc, so we always try and avoid those times.

There are often good value prices to be obtained if you want to stay a week or so in some spots and look in the Ads in MMM.

We went to Cornwall for a couple of nights to try out our new MH in May this year and CMC would have been £30 per night, where we went (Heligan) was £36 for two nights..and on an excellent site.

[Eviejeep]

I'm put off by the club sites as I believe £40-50 a night for not a lot of facilities to be expensive. We did a tour of the Kent coast last week as a real test of our MH and my wife, our two girls and I had a great time.

 

Aside from 2 nights at Camber Sands at about £50 a night (but includes kids clubs and a pool) we stayed on a number of very nice sites, clean blocks, laundry and EHU for £26-28 a night. One of those sites was so nice in fact that we are going back for a weekend at the end of the month and as it's past school hols it's only £18 a night.

[RubyExsis]

If you turn the equation around the other way and think about what you have saved - you will feel a lot better about costs.

Having not used b&b, or hotels for years I can't offer you currents costs, especially including a family, but I bet that you have saved more than £180 a day if you include food and snacks throughout the day.

We almost invariably use CL/ CS with the occasional club site and very few commercial sites and estimate that we probably save £80 plus per day and that our van has paid for itself with the savings.

Now clearly everyone's circumstances are different and we often chose to be 'out of the way' because we walk and cycle and of course having children will often dictate where you will stay and the facilities that you require as will the seasonal time that you holiday. Supply and demand affects cost whether in accommodate or campsites.

You can reduce your costs, if you chose to compromise on season,location and facilities, but you will always save money

[aandy]

Ruby(Exsis) - 2017-09-07 8:11 AM

 

If you turn the equation around the other way and think about what you have saved - you will feel a lot better ... you will always save money

 

Possibly not. Last year I covered 8,000 miles and had around 80 nights away. Fuel, fixed costs, and depreciation come to around £4,000 so the actual cost per night is £50 more than the cost of a pitch. With some of the pitch prices quoted here a hotel would probably be cheaper, let alone a B&B.

[Agaric]

aandy - 2017-09-07 11:33 AM

 

Ruby(Exsis) - 2017-09-07 8:11 AM

 

If you turn the equation around the other way and think about what you have saved - you will feel a lot better ... you will always save money

 

Possibly not. Last year I covered 8,000 miles and had around 80 nights away. Fuel, fixed costs, and depreciation come to around £4,000 so the actual cost per night is £50 more than the cost of a pitch. With some of the pitch prices quoted here a hotel would probably be cheaper, let alone a B&B.

 

I'm not going to ask you to do my cost breakdowns. You can't add fuel, fixed costs and depreciation into this. You would still need to transport yourself from B&B/hotel, useing a car would at a low figure of 35p a mile comes to £2,800.

[Brock]

I'm somewhat nerdy with finance so I know that when I bought my current motorhome, I estimated the total cost of motorhome ownership including 50 weeks away on sites/CLs in Britain spread over 5 years would be the equivalent of 352 nights away for two in good 4-star hotels in England.

 

I don't think my figures will apply to anyone else because we are all different. I included expected depreciation but not loss of opportunity cost for buying the motorhome as interest rates are so low.

 

Iveco's website contains a total cost of ownership calculator for vehicles if you want a starter. Personally, I wouldn't bother unless like us, you were thinking of giving up or changing the motorhome and wanted to see what else you could do with the money. The figures were quite a fright.

 

https://private.iveco.com/uk/Pages/tco.html

[aandy]

Agaric - 2017-09-07 1:32 PM

 

aandy - 2017-09-07 11:33 AM

 

Ruby(Exsis) - 2017-09-07 8:11 AM

 

If you turn the equation around the other way and think about what you have saved - you will feel a lot better ... you will always save money

 

Possibly not. Last year I covered 8,000 miles and had around 80 nights away. Fuel, fixed costs, and depreciation come to around £4,000 so the actual cost per night is £50 more than the cost of a pitch. With some of the pitch prices quoted here a hotel would probably be cheaper, let alone a B&B.

 

I'm not going to ask you to do my cost breakdowns. You can't add fuel, fixed costs and depreciation into this. You would still need to transport yourself from B&B/hotel, useing a car would at a low figure of 35p a mile comes to £2,800.

 

Partly true, but as most of us have a car as well, the cost of owning the motorhome is an additional cost incurred solely for holiday purposes and so it is fair to include the fixed costs and depreciation, along with a proportion of the fuel costs to reflect the increased consumption. On that basis, and assuming the alternative is a car capable of 40mpg, my additional cost would fall to around £35 per night. Still a fair bit, but worth every penny.