What is a Camping or Motorhome Club?
If you’re new to motorhoming or campervanning then you’ve probably heard people talking about Motorhome Clubs at various points and perhaps you’re wondering what they are and why you might join one.
Simply put these are organisations where you pay a (usually) annual fee to access benefits that they can offer you.
Motorhome club benefits vary from discounts on certain campsites, exclusive access to other campsites, monthly magazines or information newsletters, insurance discounts, ferry discounts, and so on.
It is worth noting that motorhome clubs aren’t necessarily exclusive to motorhomers only. If you have a campervan, caravan or even a tent then it may well still be worth joining one.
So if you’re thinking about joining a motorhome club, are unsure if it’s worth the money and don’t know which motorhome club best suits your needs then you’re in the right place as we’ll answer all of that in this article.
Why Join a Camping or Motorhome Club?
As we mentioned previously you’ll get a whole host of benefits which vary from club to club but in general you’ll have access to some of the following depending on which club you join:
- Campsite discounts
- Access to exclusive campsites
- Insurance discounts
- Ferry discounts
- Discounts from various, relevant retail and hospitality businesses
- Monthly magazines and newsletters
- A community for help and support
For example if you’ll mostly be travelling over to the continent then the club offering the best ferry discounts will be best.
It is however worth noting something very important. Just because a club offers discount on ferry/eurotunnel costs, or breakdown cover, or insurance – it doesn’t mean that these will be the best value. It is still always worth doing a price comparison direct with the provider or on a price comparison tool.
If you will mainly be in the UK and want to camp on small, quiet sites, then the club with the most CS or CL campsites (more on these later) will probably suit you more.
If you are new to motorhoming then perhaps the club with the best newsletter/magazine subscription and community will do you most favourably to begin with to broaden your knowledge of the hobby.
So, in order to help you make an informed decision we have rounded up the biggest and best motorhome, caravan and camping clubs from across the country and laid out the facts, benefits and drawbacks of each below.
What are the top Camping, Caravan and Motorhome Clubs in the UK?
There are loads of motorhome and caravan clubs across the UK, far more than we could possibly hope to compare here so we have laid out the pro’s and con’s of the top handful, which are
- The Camping and Caravanning Club
- The Caravan and Motorhome Club
- The Motorcaravanner’s Club
- Freedom Camping Club
- The International Caravanning Association
We deep dive into the following topics for each club
- Cost to join
- Benefits
- Reviews
- Best to Join For…
Camping and Caravanning Club
The Friendly Club
The Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC) is the self-professed ‘friendly club’ and is the oldest and largest motorhome club in the UK.
Catering to all types of camping from under canvas, to motorhomes and caravans everyone is welcome here.
The Camping and Caravanning Club is a not for profit organisation which means all profits are re-invested back into improving the club facilities, discounts and campsites.
Camping and Caravanning Club Cost to Join
£42 for a digital only membership or £48 for a full print membership.
Camping and Caravanning Club Benefits
- Discounts on ferry and Eurotunnel bookings
- Magazine and App
- Club campsite discounts up to 30% for members including family and concession rates
- Independent campsite discounts including Camping in the Forest sites.
- Access to exclusive CS sites
- Exclusive access to ‘Arrival’ Breakdown from the RAC – this is the breakdown service we actually use!
- Exclusive discount to ‘Club Care’ motorhome and towing insurance
- Access to over 2000 member only campsites
Camping and Caravanning Club Reviews
So, we were genuinely shocked to read the reviews for the Camping and Carvanning Club – just 1.8/5.0 on Trust Pilot!
We have stayed on only a few of their sites and normally found them to pretty good.
Most of the complaints tend to be around campsite availability, minimum stay requirements and slow customer services.
We mainly use the club for the breakdown and travel discounts which don’t feature heavily in the reviews and have only had good experiences on that front.
Interestingly, the club also don’t seem interested in replying to reviews to come to a solution or improve themselves, never a good sign!
Best to Join For...
Access to a large network of campsites, leisure industry discounts and excellent breakdown and insurance options for your motorhome.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club
Get away with the UK's Top Rated Club
The Caravan and Motorhome Club (CMC) is available to all types of campers from motorhomes, to caravans and tents.
The club was re-branded in 2017 from The Caravan Club to The Caravan and Motorhome Club to be more inclusive to all types of campers.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club Cost to Join
The Caravan and Motorhome Club costs £56 per year to join if paying by auto renewing direct debit (cancel for free at any time) or £66 for a one off, annual membership.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club Benefits
- Number 1 rated club on trust pilot
- Access to a vast array of campsites both at home in the UK and abroad
- Access to exclusive, 5 pitch, CL sites
- Access to the clubs exclusive insurance broker to find the best value, most comprehensive campervan and motorhome insurance (including options for panelvan conversions)
- Access to MAYDAY breakdown cover from Green Flag
- £13 per night discount on club sites
- Access towing and motorhome maneuvering courses (here’s our guide to driving a motorhome)
- Gear discounts from activity stores to pet shops.
- Ferry and Eurotunnel deals. Able to book crossing and campsites in one package for ultimate peace of mind
The Caravan and Motorhome Club Reviews
The CMC has a a solid 4.3/5.0 rating on Trust Pilot
We’ve never been members of this club but my parents are. Their general consensus is the campsites are usually well appointed, clean and availability is normally good. Their one criticism tends to be around the occasional over zealous campsite warden demanding exacting standards on parking on your pitch etc.
From reading through the reviews of the Caravan and Motorhome Club on Trust Pilot the overall feeling we get is as above, good campsites and facilities but often warden issues come up as well as many people feel that the campsites are over priced.
It’s always good to see when the club replies to and acknowledges both good and bad reviews.
Best to join for...
Access to a large network of campsites, leisure industry discounts and a monthly magazine!
MotorCaravanner's Club
The Road to Enjoyment
The Motorcaranner’s Club is more focussed on rallies and meet ups than the other clubs in this list, making it a different kettle of fish to consider.
Offering up over 500 rallies and special interest meet ups annually this really is the club if that is your sort of thing.
They also offer various discounts and campsites but not on the same scale as the camping and caravanning club or caravan and motorhome club.
A note on eligibility for the Motorcaravanner’s Club, you will need to own a properly converted leisure vehicle complying with the latest safety standard. They do not permit ‘van with a mattress and bucket’ type conversions in. Full details here.
motorcaravanner's Club Cost to Join
The Motorcaravanner’s Club costs £36.75 per year to join.
motorcaravanner's Club Benefits
- Over 500 social events and rallies annually (both in the UK and abroad)
- A monthly magazine packed with relevant information, rally and meet up information
- A yearly handbook summarizing the meet ups for the year to come, the CL campsites, safe knights and night stops
- Access to a small network of sites and site discounts
motorcaravanner's Club Reviews
We couldn’t find a trust pilot rating for the Motorcaravanner’s Club but they have exceptionally positive reviews on their Facebook page.
Now this should always be taken with a pinch of salt given that they probably have control over which reviews are published, and people are less likely to review badly on Facebook as anonymity just isn’t there.
That said, the overall feeling given of the Motorcaravanner’s Club is that it is extremely friendly and the tours and rallies are good fun and well organised.
Best to Join for...
- Those interested in large leisure vehicle rallies and social events.
Freedom Camping Club
The People's Caravan and Camping Club
Freedom Camping Club is again a different take on motorhome clubs.
Freedom Camping Club is not a corporate affair more a camping people running a club for camping people out of sheer enjoyment of the hobby. Hoping to connect like-minded people, and facilitate a more active, outdoor lifestyle in today’s technology driven, breakneck paced, society.
Freedom Camping Club Cost to Join
The Freedom Camping Club is free to join and offers one free nights camping per year!
Freedom Camping Club Benefits
- Access to cheap certified campsites, prices from £2.50 per person per night.
- Free lifelong club membership.
- Visit glamping certified sites, offering shepherds huts, pods, tepees and bell tents to rent.
- Certified campsites with seasonal pitches.
- Diverse sites to meet every need, from field with tap to sites with private swimming pools.
- 1 Free night caravanning or camping every year.
- Information about meet ups and rallies
Freedom Camping Club Reviews
Due to the small size of this club we have been unable to find any reviews online for it.
If you are a member, past or present please do drop a comment at the bottom of this article as we’d love to find out your experiences.
If you do want to know more here is their Facebook Group, I’m sure you could ask any questions you have there and get a good response.
Best to Join For...
Finding alternative campsites, access to a friendly and helpful community and information on social events and rallies.
International Caravanning Association
Make Friends, Share Experiences, Have Fun, Learn, Laugh and Live!
Similarly to the Freedom Camping Club The International Caravanning Association (or ICA) aren’t a huge corporation but run in a more committee style.
The ICA maintains a focus on rallies, meet ups and social events but with more of a focus on the international element than perhaps other clubs do.
International Caravanning Association Cost to Join
£20 per year plus a one off joining fee of £5.
International Caravanning Association Benefits
- Regular, international meet ups and rallies
- Bi-Monthly magazine
International Caravanning Association Reviews
Again we could find no reviews after scouring the internet and their Facebook page appears to only be available to current members of the association so unfortunately we have come up short here.
If you are a member, past or present, please do comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Best To Join For...
People looking to find a community of motorcaravanners with an active, international (UK and abroad) rally and tour schedule.
So, Which is the Best Motorhome, Caravan or Camping Club for you?
This is just our opinion based on our experiences, reading reviews online and the information we have collated.
We have organised our thoughts into categories and assigned each area the motorhome club which comes out on top.
Hopefully this will provide a little bit of clarity on which motorhome club is best suited to your needs.
- Most comprehensive campsite network – The Caravan and Motorhome Club
- Best rated – The Caravan and Motorhome Club
- Best value – The Camping and Caravanning Club
- Cheapest – Freedom Camping Club
- Most comprehensive leisure industry discounts and savings – The Camping and Caravanning Club
- Best breakdown and insurance discounts – The Caravan and Motorhome Club
- Best discounts for ferry crossings and Eurotunnel – The Camping and Caravanning Club
- Domestic motorhome rallies and meetups – The Motorcaravanner’s Club
- International motorhome rallies and meetups – The International Caravanners Association
Can non-members visit club campsites?
Usually yes.
But during high season you might struggle and some sites are exclusively accessible to members.
We appreciate this is not the most helpful answer but the truth of the matter is it does vary hugely from club to club.
If you want to ensure the best price and availability it is probably best to join the motorhome club that has the most sites that suit your style of touring.
Motorhome Club Terms
We have thrown a few bits of club terminology about during this article which perhaps you aren’t familiar with.
Here is some of it explained.
CS
Certified Site. A small , 5 pitch, motorhome and campervan exclusive site available through The Camping and Caravanning Club.
CL
Certified Location. Basically the same as a CS in that they are small, 5 pitch sites for motorhomes and caravans.
These are available through the Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Motorcaravanner’s Club.
Club Independent Motorhome Campsites
Don’t be fooled into assuming all campsites are part of a club and therefore you have to join one or more motorhome clubs.
In fact there are a vast number of independent campsites and parkups across the UK.
Here’s all of our information relating to motorhome and campervan campsites and parkups.
Camping, Caravan and Motorhome Club Summary
Hopefully this article has helped you to understand what Motorhome Clubs are and are not, the benefits of each of the main UK clubs and whether or not you wish to join one (or more!)
Still not found what you’re looking for? Here’s a list of over 100 Motorhome Clubs on Out and About Live.
If you do have any further Motorhome Club questions then please do drop us a comment below and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
Until then –
Go Explore! With a Motorhome Club!
