First choices
The first thing to decide when it comes to holiday booking is the region you want to head for. If it's an area you've explored before, you may already know the site at which you wish to stay.
Choosing the region is straightforward enough, although if you are struggling for inspiration, Practical Caravan's Great Escape and Reader Travel features should provide some
help in that direction. Other than that, the Practical Caravan website forum is well populated, and in
the touring section, plenty of members will offer their views
on any areas or sites you are considering visiting.
If the area you are planning on exploring is a well-known touring hotspot, the importance of booking early is amplified. The best sites in the Lake District,
the West Country and East Anglia are booked up well in advance
so getting your booking in quickly is the key to securing your first choice destination.
If you are not restricted to travelling in the school holiday periods, the camping landscape
is your oyster, as out of high season, even the best sites have some availability as soon as the youngsters are back at their desks.
Site unseen
Some research will help you decide if a site is any good, it will also give you an idea of the park layout and facilities. If you are booking early enough, you can often specify a pitch you know has more space, better access or is far away from amenities you won't use.
If you're booking blind, however, you'll need to rely on other people's opinions of the site.
For UK sites, the Practical Caravan Top 100 sites listing is published in the April issue. This listing has sites as voted for by the people that have visited them. For 2008, the sites will be listed in order of which got the most votes. Voting for the 2008 Top 100 is open until 31 January and details of how to vote can be found on page 21.
There are also campsite reviews on various websites. The UK Campsite website (www.ukcampsite.co.uk) is very good for reviews although many are from tent campers. Caravan Site Finder (www.caravansitefinder.co.uk) has
a small database of reviews at present, but there are more images and some video reviews; many sites can be booked directly.
Site books are useful, but be careful when buying. Many are simply campsite listings rather than reviews, so will gloss over the less desirable aspects of a site if it has paid for a listing. We've listed some popular site guides on the right.
Journey planner
Although the journey shouldn't get in the way of a trip to your dream destination, it makes
sense to consider the amount
of travelling before you set your heart on somewhere. While
a week-long excursion to the French Atlantic coast may seem
a great idea, if you are travelling from the north of England, you've got a day of driving at either end in the UK plus another couple in France, leaving you a four-day holiday in the middle. Make sure you factor the travel time into the time you have available to ensure you get a good balance of travel and leisure time.
Be realistic when considering how many miles you can tow in
a single day. Although roads are more familiar in the UK, it's often possible to cover more miles on continental roads as there is a lot less traffic. Typically though, you'll average between 45-55 miles every hour on the motorway and should aim to take a break every two hours. If there is someone with you who can share the driving, that will obviously extend the mileages you can cover in
a day, but grabbing a nap in the car between shifts at the wheel is no substitute for a proper break.
If you are banking on a ferry to take a lot of the mileage out of
a trip, make sure you take the
cost into account before you book
a site. The longer crossings can be toe-curlingly expensive so it's important to keep that in mind.
Use route-planning websites to get an idea of how long your journey will take. We looked at the best of these in October '05, and will be taking another look soon.
Booking services
If the holiday you are planning is to Europe there is obviously more to organise than if you are simply heading to a British destination.
A lot of the stress can be taken
out of trips to mainland Europe
by letting someone else take care of the details. The most familiar services are those offered by the UK's two main clubs but the standalone services offered by Alan Rogers Travel Service and Eurocamp Independent are both worthy of consideration. In all cases, the planners can book the site, book ferries, overnight stops, provide itineraries and tie up all the loose ends.
The Camping and Caravanning Club's Carefree service is a very flexible booking service available if you want to holiday abroad this summer. Whether you simply want a set of guide books, a ferry crossing or want a complete itinerary and escorted tour of eastern Europe, Carefree can cope.
The Caravan Club's Travel Service operates on a broadly similar premise, offering simple travel agency to guided tours, rallies and other very organised events that are great for sociable types. Many club members swear by the inclusive Red Pennant insurance, which can include all aspects of breakdown and personal cover. Which service you go for depends to a large extent on which club you belong to.
If you are not a member of either of the clubs, your best options are Eurocamp and Alan Rogers. The former allows you to do pretty much all your booking and research online and the sites
it suggests have English-speaking reps on hand so you won't need to wrestle with languages when you arrive. There are also options for sites with crèche and children's activities laid on.
Alan Rogers majors in excellent customer service, assigning you a personal
travel consultant. These are experienced campers who have often visited the sites so have first-hand experience. They specialise in tailoring your trip
to your needs and helping you make the right decisions based on what you want. It, too, caters for family breaks and the choice between these can be based purely on price and the sites they offer, which are the main points of difference. Which of these suits you depends largely on the sort of holiday you want and how much hand holding you require.
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