The prices you quoted seem out of sync with what we are used to but this is what we do to keep the course down:
We never book to travel at the weekends in August due to the increase in price, so always book midweek crossing.
We use municiples (camping) for overnight stops as it can be very cheap.
We always book directly with the campsites to get cheaper rates.
We also have bought the BF membership so we can make use of the discount and we get people to use our discount code to bring down the price of the membership.
Good luck with your holiday.
------------- sueze
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
just checked my ferry booking for this august travelling from Portsmouth to caen overnight on a saturday and returning caen to portsmouth on a sunday morning last 2 weeks of august, booked through the caravan club was....£785 towing our 7.5m(total)length caravan with a shogun. so £1000 is a bit wide of the mark
so our holiday is under £1500 which is actually much less than last years trip.
for comparison though, i am flying my family to spain and staying in a villa with private pool for 10 nights may half term. the flights are £1300 and the villa £800.
my parents will be staying nearby but travel 3 days before us and 3 days after us (being retried) their flights for 2 of them are cheaper than i am paying for one of us. its all down to the fact its school holidays.
i dont think caravanning is actually a cheap holiday whan you consider the cost of the caravan, its depreciation, the fuel cost, storage, insurance.
its probably cheaper to fly, hire a car and hire a static caravan.....but wheres the fun in that.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
Quote: Originally posted by Baileyjake on 16/1/2019
i dont think caravanning is actually a cheap holiday whan you consider the cost of the caravan, its depreciation, the fuel cost, storage, insurance.
its probably cheaper to fly, hire a car and hire a static caravan.....but wheres the fun in that.
Funny enough we came to much the same conclusion. Pay for 4 weeks (3 weeks abroad plus 1 at home) in a mobile home per year at £450 (ish) per week = £1800.
Say you buy a caravan at £10000 and keep it for 10 years (not unreasonable), that's £1000 a year, plus 28 nights camp fees at £25 per night (ish - mostly ACSI) is a total of £1560. So when you add in extra petrol to tow and maybe extra on the ferry but then if you had no caravan you'd have to pay extra for hotel overnights. I would say there's not a lot of difference in the two tbh.
It comes down to intangibles really - like you can use your caravan for other weekends, you have your own stuff in your own cupboards, you know the seating won't kill your back ... that sort of thing.
Just to be clear, we've had many happy weeks in mobile homes and wouldn't knock them at all.
You have forgotten to say that you want your camping trip to France to be fun.
Not silly giggly fun all the time, not fun when your stuck in a ferry terminal for a couple of hours with nothing to do, but the good sort of fun that binds you together as a family and builds happy memories.
Things will go wrong, it will rain, you'll miss meals or you'll end up in the dark sitting around a candle drinking wine but you'll cope.
I may be naive but I never factor in fuel or toll as I travel daily for work approx 90 mins so that's 30hrs in 10 days I won't use.
Ahhhh you say but you have to tow and travel, irrespective of where you go or what type of holiday you have (unless you stop at home) youd have to travel anyway.
I'll (if anyone interested) let you all know what site we are picking (not doing le letty) going into vandee.
Surely one of the greatest (potential) benefits of having a caravan (or other camping rig) is the ability to move elsewhere if the weather(or other parameter) turns out to be not what you have planned for.
An hotel, apartment or cabin, are probably, pre-booked and fixed ... so if there is anything bad ... you're stuck with it.
Admittedly we are away for two months, so the picture changes, compared to a two week sojourn ... but many of the principles are constant.
We also store the caravan in France, thus avoiding the long tow to and from the ferry, and extra fuel cost of this coupled with the extra ferry cost.
Given all that, I am certain that our holidays are good deal cheaper than if we didn't camp.
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 17/1/2019
You have forgotten to say that you want your camping trip to France to be fun.
Not silly giggly fun all the time, not fun when your stuck in a ferry terminal for a couple of hours with nothing to do, but the good sort of fun that binds you together as a family and builds happy memories.
Things will go wrong, it will rain, you'll miss meals or you'll end up in the dark sitting around a candle drinking wine but you'll cope.
When this forum needs a thumbs up 👍/ like tab !
------------- It's only an expensive hobby when it's parked on your Drive....use it, love it , live it.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Camping in France-am I doing something wr
via mobile 23/1/2019 at 11:21pm
