We have used them for a few years now and find them very good value. You can now buy their Gold Card where you add an amount of money for so many nights and the campsite deduct the value from the card, there is also some other advantages of the Card like free advance booking.
I don't think there are any cons. Some would say that paying upfront is a disadvantage is a con but you have to pay for the site at some point. Another con I have heard is that if you spend a lot of money on Camping Cheques you are inclined to limit your site selection to those in the book. Neither of these are a real cons because you can buy as many or as few as you want. They are valid for two years so you can hold them over.
If you join Unity-Plus (free) there is a 33% discount on the cost of the Gold Card. If you like the full facility sites then you should save a fair bit by using the cheques but if you plan on using Municipal sites then you may find that these are cheaper than the cost of Camping Cheques in April/May. I would price up sites in the areas you plan to visit to see if you will make any savings.
you could also look at the ACSI discount card option http://uk.campingcard.com/ have to pay for the book - currently £7.50, but good value from there, and it does serve as your passport/CCI.
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But it´s all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can´t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself
Ricky Nelson
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Further to what David says. The cheques can be used at various sites in England. So any you have left you can use up when back home. Their site is below.
We haven't found any 'cons' either, just pros. However, we did meet one couple who'd stayed at Torre del Sol on the Costa Daurada, and said that the Camping Cheques customers were all allocated to the same area of very small pitches in the least pleasant part of the site. Can't confirm this, as never met anyone else experiencing anything similar, and we've always had free choice of any available pitches. We've been using Camping Cheques since the very beginning - but also use an ACSI card and stay on a variety of other sites, chosen from Michelin, or other guides, or just near to where we happen to want an overnight stop.
Paper cheques can be ordered from the Caravan Club, or from the Camping Cheque website - there is a small 'administrative' charge from CC, or you can get the Gold Card (mentioned above) and order cheques 'electronically' downloaded on to the card.
We have used Camping Cheques on a regular basis, and have never been given a smaller or inferior pitch. However, I have heard of caravanners having problems with the Gold Card but up until now we have stuck with the paper cheques,
Like Val A we also have the ACSI Card to give us the widest possible choice.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Hi all I have used Camping Cheques since they started (we go to France for 8 weeks every year), but for the first time this year we found it cheaper to book the camping cheque/ferry through the C/Club. It was £30 cheaper for the same package.
There are cons, but only to the site owners themselves. I enquired about joining the scheme and was stunned to find out the costs involved and the various clauses they have. It costs a site thousands of euros to join, plus a yearly membership fee thereafter. You are beholden to them unless you pay them a fee to 'opt out' as it were. They will allocate you an area though and will not take any other sites on their books within a certain radius of your site. You MUST attend a yearly congress held somewhere in Europe, at your own cost. As I say, it's great for the big fish to get together (indeed it was the brainchild of the Castels Group) but it's not for the likes of us tadpoles. It's not a criticism, just an observation from an owner's point of view rather than a punters. As it is, we don't charge much more than the cost of a Camping Cheque anyway, but we'd still like to get more folks over here in the winter.
Oct/Nov/Dec 05 was fantastic! Clear blue skies but cold in the morning after a hard frost the night before, and cold last thing at night when the sun's gone down. On Bonfire night 05, my mum & dad were here and couldn't believe that we were all out in T-shirts & shorts! This winter's been different again, all our friends around here (French & English) have said that it's been the worst winter they can remember for many, many years. Some of the fosses (ditches) along the sides of the roads have never had water in them until now! That said, we've had glimpses of sun for a few days at a time throughout Jan/Feb with temperatures up to 14/15 degrees. Just last week we had temperatures in the low to mid-twenties and thought spring was on its way! Then the snow came on Monday! It's bright & sunny now, and quite warm out in the sun, so I'm attempting to do some outdoors stuff!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Camping cheques
