Eurocamp advice please!

[Tothepoint99]

Help needed from MNers!

After seeing that there are many experienced holiday planners on here, I'm hoping for a bit of advice please!

DH and I have 4 children....DCs 15, 14, 4 and 1.

In summer 2023, we're going to try and get across to Northern Italy to stop in some of the Eurocamp sites over there. This was inspired by one of the other threads about cheap holidays vs a conventional AI package holiday.

But having looked at some of the options last night (we put in fake 2022 dates for August), we're a bit stuck as to what we're doing wrong re price as it's coming it at....£2k for 2 weeks accommodation, £700 flights to Milan from London, £2k van hire for 6 with luggage (we drive 2 cars in the UK as rarely ever out as a 6) then add in extras like probable overnighter in London before the AM flight out as we're in the Midlands, food and extras like day trips etc we're looking at £6-7k.

Is it just that there's 6 of us why it's so much or should we be looking to get across to Italy a different way or just abandon Italy altogether!?

Do you need to hire a car? Pick one, or possibly 2 sites where you don't need one - Venice lagoon or Lake Garda.

Late August may be cheaper.

Eurocamps aren’t cheap. There are cheaper companies.

If you keep an eye on flights for august 2023 and book as soon as, they’ll be cheaper
demand for august 2022 is just ridiculous, most airlines fares start off cheap and go up closer the time.
i would expect to be able to get august 2023 seats may/June this year but depends on the airline

We usually camp in France so I can't advise on Italy, but Canvas and Vacansoleil tend to be cheaper companies on those campsites. Eurocamp is expensive.
I'm sure there's a third (cheaper) company too but can't think of it!

Was also going to say try Venice. We did it without a car, flights were cheap, bus transfer, walk to beach or supermarket, bus to large water park for a day trip, bus to port then water taxi to Venice. It was very easy. Most people who do Eurocamp drive, so not having a big enough car for you all does make it more difficult/expensive. Also, I find Eurocamp itself is more expensive than some other companies, e.g. Venue, Canvas, or even booking direct with the site you want, so shop around.

I agree booking site direct will be cheaper but consider whether your children will want to access their holiday clubs. We often went to eurocamp sites, but my kids hated the kids clubs. But their were some clubs which were very well attended and I wished we had booked eurocamp and they would have bobbed off for just an hour!

Going late august will definitely make it cheaper (the accommodation prices drop the jar week in august as lots of European countries are back at school by then) as well booking flights as soon as they’re released and avoiding flying at the weekend (so it would be cheaper if you could do a Tuesday to Tuesday for example). It’s always worth checking the other companies such as Canvas as well as direct with the site to see what is cheaper for accommodation. Car hire is also usually cheaper there further in advance you book it.

We have only ever been to Spain but have used europarcs or lifestyle holidays which are both cheaper.

As pp said, book flights as early as poss. I booked for aug this year, last year when they were released and they have since doubled in price

Would you consider driving all the way in your own car? Or only going as far as France? That might cut your costs a bit.

The way we keep those kind of holidays cheaper is going to France, and driving our own car across. We also book early (normally book almost a year in advance) and get a early bird discount.
And look at what sites you like on Eurocamp, but then go to the parc’s website directly as you can often find the same accommodation cheaper on there.

Car hire for six has always been incredibly expensive but prices have gone up even future this year.

Lake Garda is a good option as you can fly to Verona and use public transport. You won’t need a car to get around the lake. We haven’t found Eurocamp much more expensive than other providers. Some campsites are a bit cheaper, usually the smaller ones with a more basic pool. These can be nicer than larger sites anyway.
I think 6 people for 2 weeks will be expensive. Pre-covid we did a week in lake Garda and a couple of nights in Verona for 4 for a bit less than 2k, staying on a Canvas site, no car. For 6 you will need larger mobile homes which increases price a bit. Self catering is good value, we found a big Lidl near where we stayed ( with a free shuttle bus from the campsite!)

What others have said;
Drive all the way
Book directly with the sites.
Consider borrowing gear and camping rather then staying in a cabin.

We camp in France every year. We do the above. Flying and staying with Eurocamp would make it unaffordable.

Airotel and Toohapi are some other companies. Also Al Fresco, but that is a Eurocamp brand.

We do Eurocamp-style holidays. The things that stick out that we do differently and cost less are

• France (closer).
• Drive. Although friends have found flying a comparable price, it limits your choice of sites and day trips, and leaves you stuck needing to use the on-site mini mart and restaurants for food rather than the nearest supermarket/eateries. Given you don't have a vehicle big enough then, as others have said, limit your choices to those near an airport and accept you'll be stuck on site. There's no way I'd pay £2k for van hire!
• We've found the January sales are the cheapest time to book the accommodation.
• Don't necessarily book with Eurocamp. Lots of different companies operate on the same campsite. Check out reviews to see which have the better accommodation on each site too. Eg on site A, all the Eurocamp chalets are brand new and lovely, but on B they have only just started to replace old units (starting with the higher end units). Despite both being labelled a 'Comfort' chalet, A's will be lovely but B's will be molding and held together with duck tape. Eurocamp (and others) give no indication to the different age and condition across their sites, but you can often find this out on TripAdvisor.
• Go second half of August. Our booking will get us home the day before school returns, but going that bit later has saved about 40% on the accommodation costs
• Check what is included at each campsite. Our favourite has everything included except bike and pedalo hire. Others we've stayed at, everything is an extra except the pool (like Centre Parks). You can even bring your own drinks into the evening entertainment, should you so wish.

FWIW, 2 weeks in France will cost us £2k (ferry and accommodation) for four of us this year. Add in ~£100 for tolls, ~£150 for petrol, and ~£75 to add European cover to both the car insurance and breakdown cover. There is a Lidl and leclerc a 10min drive away, so food will cost a similar amount to if we were home (and buying a few extra luxury items that week).

You could Fly into Trieste with Ryan air. Flights usually around 30 euros. And then traIn/hire car to the Venezia area? We do euro camp/canvas holidays and have never spent anywhere near that amount.

£2k for 6 for 2 weeks is reasonable. Assuming it's a mobile though I would always advise for for more berths than people so you have space for people / luggage / stuff.

We have done many many summers in France and always drive, load up the car, dog, kids, roof box and bikes. We had our own van but it's still not a cheap holiday, especially if there are more than 4.

We booked a eurocamp holiday for a week in France (July) for £350 for 5 of us. We've previously done one in April in Italy even cheaper. My dirty little secret is that we book via Sun holidays. You don't need to buy the newspaper to get the codes, people post them online. We booked cheap flights, still need to hire a car, but I expect it will all cost about £1 k for the week before food and spends. It's worth looking at sun holidays.

We went to a eurocamp near Caorle, just down the cost in the last week of august 2019.
total holiday including spending money was no more than £2500 for 5 of us.
we drove our own car and got the eurotunnel. Spent a night in France, a night in Geneva and a night in Milan but could have done more driving each day and only stop once. Coming back we drove through Austria and stopped over in Germany.
site was brill, had a giant pirate ship splash pool activity thing, direct access to beach, inflatable kids park at night, several normal parks, large spar and several resturants and shops on site. Got a boat trip to Venice and also went to the water park in caorle.

All the pricing is for one car. The OP cannot get her family into one car! Hence the need to hire one. I guess once you get to 4 DC snd are 6, cars don’t come this big unless you have 3 rows of seats. So inevitably it’s expensive having 4 DC. I would change my uk car!

Agree with pps. We’ve been to the Venice and Lake Garda sites, but saved money by taking public transport. Have also been to French sites - driven our own car. That’s how you do it cheaply

Blue light card gives a good discount on eurocamp holidays-up to 40% off depends on the site etc and I think kids pass might do similar (you can join for a month trial free).

Thanks for your replies guys. I've tried twice to come on here today and say thank you!!

Yes you're right about uk car. Have toyed with idea on get a 6+ seater but won't be needed once eldest is 18.

Lots to research and a fair bit of time to sort. I think we'll end up staying away from Italy and try France, Holland etc first and drive a hired car.

2nd or 3rd the idea of going to Lake Garda (Bella Italia) or Venetian Riviera (e.g Union Lido or Pra del Torre) and then you won't need a car. Go on Skyscanner and check flights into Milan/Verona/Trieste/Treviso/Venice

@Tothepoint99

If your eldest DC is 15, that’s 3 years of not fitting in one car. That alone would make me change cars. Even then you will have 5 of you.