If you tour the UK with a caravan or motorhome, sooner or later someone will ask whether you're "in the Club." The two big clubs, the Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club, both offer member discounts on their sites, access to small members-only sites, and a long list of extras.
The question is whether you'll stay often enough to get your money back. The maths is simpler than you might think.
Caravan and Motorhome Club: the numbers
At the time of writing, membership of the Caravan and Motorhome Club costs £69 a year by direct debit, or £79 for a year by card (including a £10 joining fee), according to the Club's membership page. Your partner and children under 18 are included.
The headline benefit: members save £15 per night on pitch fees at the Club's UK campsites.
The break-even maths
At £15 saved per night, the £69 direct debit membership pays for itself after five nights on Club sites (four nights saves £60, five saves £75). On the £79 card option, it's six nights.
- A couple of long weekends a year on Club sites? You'll break even, or close to it.
- A week's touring holiday on Club sites? It pays for itself in one trip.
- Mostly staying on independent sites or wild in Scotland? It may not be worth it on pitch savings alone.
The extras
- Certificated Locations (CLs). More than 2,000 small, privately owned, members-only sites with up to five pitches. For many members, these quiet sites are the real reason to join.
- European and worldwide sites and travel services.
- Member offers on brands, attractions and local discounts.
Camping and Caravanning Club
The Camping and Caravanning Club works in a similar way: member discounts on its own sites, a network of small members-only sites (Certificated Sites, or CSs), and member offers. Prices and discounts differ, so check the Camping and Caravanning Club for current details, and do the same break-even sum with its numbers.
Many tourers join both, since the two networks of small sites are different.
Which should you choose?
- Look back at last year's trips. Count the nights you spent on each club's sites, or would have.
- Do the sum. Membership cost ÷ saving per night = nights to break even.
- Think about the small sites. If you love quiet five-pitch sites, access to CLs or CSs may matter more than the pitch discount.
- Check what's included. Partner and family cover, the free-night voucher for new members, and member offers all add value.
The habit that actually saves money: remembering
A membership only saves money if you use it, and it's easy to forget when you're booking on the move. That's why we built the membership wallet into Ready2Roam.
- Keep every membership in one place. Add your club and park memberships in the app. It's free.
- See when you're at a member site. When you look at a site in one of your networks, Ready2Roam tells you, so you remember to ask for member rates.
- Prefer member sites when planning. Turn on "Prefer sites where I'm a member" in your Travel Profile, and member sites come first. Other sites are never hidden.
Ready2Roam only favours a site because you told us you're a member, never because someone paid us.
The bottom line
At £15 off a night, Caravan and Motorhome Club membership pays for itself in about five nights on Club sites. If you tour regularly, it's an easy decision, and the members-only small sites are a bonus. If you mostly stay elsewhere, do the sum first.
Planning a trip? Read our guides to towing a caravan on UK roads and the NC500 in a motorhome or caravan.
Download Ready2Roam and add your memberships to the wallet. It's free.
