Hi all, i am foreverlooking in the site books and on line. Do you check the sites out first or just book and take your chance? We have checked out a few and glad we did as didn't like them. Obviously depends on the distance!
------------- Enjoy life while you can, none of us know what's round the corner!
I always look at the posts on here about sites.Then I use the camp site search and check the reviews.I have managed to find and use some great sites in a short space of time I have been camping....
Always check out sites before booking. Look up on here and read reviews then put post code in google earth and have a good look at the aerial and street view fr access etc.
Mick
I always check UK sites on here, and continental sites using the Eurocampings website along with Google translation, since most reviewers are Dutch.
Basically they are the pickiest campers of anyone, so if they like it, it must be good.
------------- Camping Gear expands so as to fill the space available for its transportation.
I too always check on here for campsites and with one exception we have been happy with everyone we have been to. Its not that that one place was really bad, but just not as good as we expected. So, in general terms, I really trust the reviews that people put on here.
------------- Greenhill Leisure Park, Oxon - Apr 2016
Gunvenna, St Minver, Cornwall - July 2016
Lincoln Farm, Standlake, Oxon - Sept 2016
Sometimes we check them out for ourselves if we happen to be staying nearby. In some cases we are glad we did, as they were far from perfect, and in one particular case, it would have been our worst nightmare camped out on a tiny pub carpark with loud music being blasted out into the garden whenever the pub was open.
On the other hand, we have found some real gems simply by driving by a CL sign and deciding to investigate further. Most owners dont mind you asking to have a look round if you produce your club card, and are highly delighted if you make a booking there and then.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
I too look at reviews on here and elsewhere. I google the locality and check out streetview. However, when it comes to reviews I take some of them with a pinch of salt. I really don't know what some people expect. I have read some bad reviews of sites, when the vast majority were good. One of these sites we visited, even though just one reviewer said that the toilets were filthy and run down. I can only conclude that they had never been there, as the toilets were spotless and well maintained.
When I go camping I initially decide on where I want to go and what I want to see. I then search on here for a campsite which is as close as possible to what I want to see, and at the right price. I always check out the reviews and have a look at the site and the area on Google maps/street view/Google Earth. I might check out bus stops/pubs/restaurants/shops and that type of thing.
You have to read between the lines with reviews because different people expect different things at campsites and may mark a campsite down just because it doesn't suit them or something went wrong on their visit which might not happen again.
And even if you do find a site that has a huge amount of glowing reports about it, be prepared for the unexpected.
Our main holiday this year was to a well reviewed
site that sounded ideal.
However no one had thought to mention the very rough pitches that needed oodles of blocks of wood just to level our van or the fact that on some pitches your EHU had to be laid across the site's only access road. Not good with cars driving across it all day.
The reviews did mention that many of the pitches "were right next to the beach", but forgot to mention that there was a 5 foot drop onto the beach and it was only accessible at either end of the site.
Some of the best sites that we have used have come recommended by fellow campers that we have met on other sites.
By meeting these people and chatting with them, they have seen our set up and we have discussed what we like. From that information they then recommend sites that they think we would enjoy. Likewise we have done the same for them.
Being retired I have a lot of time to do research on sites in the areas we plan to visit.
One thing I have found is that if you find a reviewer with the same criteria as yourself its a bonus.
I would then look at sites they have reviewed and check it out, generally it works.
It can take a bit of time to find that person!
Post last edited on 15/10/2014 23:41:38
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Generally Club sites I don't do a lot of checking as you know what to expect. Other sites I tend to check on here. I tend to pay more attention to those reviews from members that have written more than one review and I also pay a bit more attention to those by members that contribute to the forum. So one off reviews are treated cautiously but not ignored. I also tend to pay more attention to reviews from those that have the same sort of outfit, currently motorhome. Also find Google Earth good for establishing more accurate details of how far a site is from civilisation and Street View for access.
I do quite a lot of research and we have started using Google Earth after a disappointment with CCC site, felt like we were in a car park.My main concern is the state of the showers and toilets, and I will not pay to shower either. one site I looked at charged you to wash up too!
I would also like to know what the pitches are like, we have been to a few hard standings that have spoilt the set up because they are almost impossible to get pegs in (and we have a selection) and it ends up in an argument,
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Topic: Do you check sites out?
