We're in both too but only joined them as they had sites we wanted to visit and the members discount made it cheaper, (plus I like the magazines!)
For me it also gives peace of mind if you havent been to a particular site before because you know the standards will be good.
I've read the posts on here about being shown to your pitch by the C&CC but in our experience, which isn't vast, yes we have had a warden come with us to pitch but we've still been able to choose which pitch we wanted when we got there and as soon as they've seen where you've chosen they've gone back to the office and left us to it, we actually found it helpful being able to ask their opinion which was a "good" pitch.
One downside I find to being able to choose your pitch on arrival and not prebook one is that if there are a few of you going in separate units you can't guarantee you'll be able to pitch together as you just have the pick of what's free when you arrive.
We joined both - the C&CC has fab sites near to where we live and the CC because we wanted to use Crystal Palace (Feb half term museum fest) and Abbey Wood (London Marathon weekend).
Pros and cons to both I reckon. I'm in two minds whether to renew the CC membership - it doesn't suit me, but many find it ticks the boxes for them whereas the C&CC doesn't. Try both, suck it and see.
Quote: Originally posted by Slates on 15/6/2010
A daft question I take it.... new to the caravan world and wondered which is best to plump for
Seemed like a reasonable question to me. Why don't you consider joining both for a year & see which one provides what you want from a club. IMO, the magazines on their own are worth the membership fee. You'll also get a number of discounts here & there as well as masses of sites & CLs available to you as well as lots of rallies & holiday sites.
Quote: Originally posted by Esther1 on 16/6/2010
I've read the posts on here about being shown to your pitch by the C&CC but in our experience, which isn't vast, yes we have had a warden come with us to pitch but we've still been able to choose which pitch we wanted when we got there and as soon as they've seen where you've chosen they've gone back to the office and left us to it, we actually found it helpful being able to ask their opinion which was a "good" pitch.
One downside I find to being able to choose your pitch on arrival and not prebook one is that if there are a few of you going in separate units you can't guarantee you'll be able to pitch together as you just have the pick of what's free when you arrive.
Esther, I've been saying this for years and agree absolutely 100%. After saying that, I can see why they do it. If everyone picked their own pitch before hand, then club sites risk not being able to pack as many people on and could lose some bookings. Putting it on a very small scale: if a site had only two pitches and one person booked pitch A from Sat-Wed with another booking pitch B from Wed-next Sat, if a third person came along and wanted a pitch for the week, they would either have to move pitches or (as I would) go to another site.
In my experience the C&CC have a bit more flexibility here. With the C&CC you can book a hardstanding or grass - with the CC, it's what there is when you turn up. Also, in my experience the C&CC will try their best to keep parties of vans together if wardens are able to organise it on the day (and are flexible when you ring up and ask them), but with the CC it's definitely pot luck. On the other hand, I do prefer CC sites, generally. I think because of the presence of tents, the C&CC are stricter about the quiet after 11pm rule, but I'm sure it must vary from warden to warden. If I'm going away with a small group of vans then generally I prefer a commercial site, as they tend to be much more flexible. After saying that, for the Aug B.H. W/E a group of us are going to the CC site at Blackwell Plantation in Derbyshire - I reckon we'll be all over the place.
Incidentally, Esther, have you been to the C&CC site at Conkers? Not too far away, and Pete will always try to pitch small groups together - ideal if you are having a weekend away with the outlaws. (Mind you, I think he's going in October, so it might be a different story!)
Quote: Originally posted by Rune Caster on 16/6/2010
I always read Janus's little post on the club differences with a smile, so slanted towards the CC he really has no need to say that he prefers them over the C&CC.
It does seem that to support the Caravan Club is considered something rather odd. Not just on this forum but others as well. If someone is genuinely happy being a member of the CC and with the way they run the Club and services offered why should they be taken to task, albeit in a gentle way, for wanting to pass that enthusiasm on? The OP asked for opinions on which Club to join and Bill always able to articulate, far better than most, why he prefers the CC.
What kind of caravanner are you? What kind of sites do you like? Where do you want to go? How much do you want to spend? Are you a family, a couple or solo?
I think each of the clubs has strengths in different areas, and both complement one another, too. And, at the end of the day, membership fees aren't expensive.
For a start, remember that both clubs are just that: clubs. They are organisations run for and by members, but they are also very large and so need to operate substantial businesses in order to be efficient. As with all clubs, you can choose to get more involved or less involved, and the more involved you get the more you are likely to shape the way the club operates, at least on a local level (both clubs have area groups which work as social and camping organisations).
The C&CC is more focused on the tenting end, and (broadly speaking) operates campsites as opposed to the CC, which (broadly speaking) operates caravan parks. Both have their network of independent small sites (certified by the clubs). Both offer lots of extra services such as insurance, vehicle recovery, ferry bookings, free advice lines etc. Both will save you money on foreign trips, even to really far flung countries such as Canada and New Zealand where they run motorhoming excursions.
Both produce monthly magazines. The CC mag is best, but both are OK and generally thought worth the membership fee on their own. Both clubs campaign on behalf of all caravanners - both in parliament and elsewhere - which is important, and both help improve safety standards in the industry, which has been a lifesaver.
There are a lot of advantages to belonging to both clubs, not least that (again, broadly speaking) you can book into one of their sites and know you'll get a certain, high standard of accommodation. Many commercial sites match those standards, but they generally charge more for it and finding them can be a matter of luck or personal recommendation. And many more commercial sites don't get anywhere near the clubs' standards and still charge more for it!
So, the original question was neither daft nor simple, but the answer is not simple either. It varies for each individual person. My advice, and that of many others, is to join both, try both, and then if you dislike one or the other or both, quit. Most people who do that seem to stay in both and are happy to do so.
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
That was a good post Viggo, it puts the clubs point of view into a nutshell.
------------- Bill
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Topic: Caravan Clubs
, for wanting to pass that enthusiasm on? The OP asked for opinions on which Club to join and Bill always able to articulate, far better than most, why he prefers the CC. 
