These action packed camping sites are pretty expensive - no?

[nkf]

Keycamp etc. Just looked at them. Not cheap. To sleep in a tent. Kids wild to go.

We are going in a mobile home in the middle of August and paying around £2400 including crossing. That is for a 3 bedroom place.

I have compared with getting similar independant accomodation and this works out cheaper.

It really does depend what you are comparing with. You can take your own tent/kit and book independantly but in the first year if you compare like with like then I dont think you see that much of a saving. If you go again then the capital outlay is reduced.

I think that's quite pricey though. For two weeks?

It's a lot of money (it is for 2 weeks) but then so are the alternatives. I have 3 teenage DCs so there isnt so much choice for a family of 5.

Before I paid the balance I compared with flying somewhere and that was double the price for less appealing accomodation. It really does depend on what you are comparing with.

If you look at alternatives you really do have to look at what is included for the money. We drive which isnt cheap but flying 5 adults/proto adults somewhere is even more expensive. Costs start to rise as soon as you add things like car hire.

We're paying £1200 for 2 weeks in a Eurocamp Safari tent at the end of August. We booked ages ago though so got a good discount.

It would have cost us way more than that to go for a week to Mallorca etc, and I don't really want to share a hotel room with the DCs!

I think you have hit the nail on the head BillBryson. The thing you get with the campsite accomodation is room for the family. We have never done the hotel type holiday because with 5 of us we would end up with someone sleeping in the broom cupboard and someone sleeping upright in a wardrobe. Yes, we could get interconnecting rooms but then that is only two bedrooms. DCs are teens with two girls and one boy. None of them would want to share all together for 2 weeks.

yes, they are pricey. We have done it a couple of times. I guess you pay for the facilities really.

The first time was a keycamp in Brittany in 2008. The DCs were 8,10 and 11. It felt really safe and we were happy to let them bugger off and do their own thing. A year later we went to a much bigger park in Spain - (got £50 flights!) and yes, there was a lot to do, but the DCs didn't seem to want to wander alone.?? le sigh..

Since then we have taken to hiring houses/villas in France. Costs between £700 and £1300 per week. Sometimes we share with extended family too. I know that there are costs of fuel, tunnel, tolls etc but still works out okay for the freedom it gives.

At one point I was pricing upthe French campsites to travel independently, take a tent with us. It did work out cheaper but iirc still around £40 pernight or so. And of course the initial outlay of buying tent andequipment.

I do seem to be getting a lot of emails at the mo from those companies offering discounts though - so perhaps you may get a deal? The Thomson Al Fresco includes a ferry crossing too so you can save there.

bookings.thomsonalfresco.co.uk/AniteXmlGateway.aspx

I agree, much too pricey for what you get IMO, but then my kids wouldn't use the kids clubs etc.

For less money than Eurocamp we are staying in a 2 bedroom gite with a pool shared with 2 other gites. Much more suited to us :)

trouble is my kids got bored in a gite whereas on a campsite they play football with other kids, archery, tabletennis, tennis, listen to bands, make friends etc.

It very much depends where you stay and what you want out of a holiday.

We stayed in a villa in the Costa Blanca with private pool for less than we are paying this year to stay on a campsite in France. Problem was that it was a sod of a long drive and there wasnt really a lot to do (we like to get out and about and see the sights).

We have also stayed in gites/holiday homes in France but dont like having the owner on site. We like having someone we can complain to without the whole thing getting personal.

We like the predictability of going with a big operator. When I book accomodation I want to be sure of what I will get. We have been disappointed by privately let accomodation.

I don't think it's that expensive. You can get a week in a tent for about £500 - £600. It's the ferry that's expensive really. We've been with Eurocamp twice and really enjoyed it. We've also booked direct which is cheaper. Last year we paid about £600 for a week in a mobile home and £150 for the Eurotunnel.

Look at other companies. Vacansoleil, Canvas, Venue. Try juggling the dates if you're flexible, the end of August is cheaper. Sign up for any email newsletters, Alsomwith ferry companies, I get regular deals sent to me. Do you have any club card vouchers for the tunnel? I've managed to not pay not more then £300 for a tent, per week, for the last couple of years in August.

French Freedom have offers on their mobile homes at the mo - also try Eurocamp. These are all mobile homes on the big parks.

canvas have lots of offers on at the moment. I was seriously tempted by a 2 bed maxi tent in Interlaken on the lakeside for 2 weeks going on 14th August for just under £700. This includes dover to calais ferry crossing with car and 4 people. The only thing that put me off was the 500 mile drive!

I have also stayed in a gite in Brittany for a similar price but only for 1 week. I think it was about 350 euros plus £200 for ferry. That gite was booked through "holiday lettings" website We had lovely time!

500 mile drive is pretty long. I will check out Canvas later. I get the impression that if I shop around, I needn't pay top wack.