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My wife and I are going touring in France and Italy for approx. 8 weeks in April/ May.

We have never used camping cheques before, can anybody advice us re the pros and cons? Thanks. Pete.

Pete

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.

David

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.

Carol

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.

www.campingcheque.co.uk

harryb

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.

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.

                           hope this helps  Vini

Stu

What's the weather like in your area in the winter, or say from October onwards?

Valerie

Thanks Stu

That will help with our plans.

Valerie