Can any of the legion of STW campervan owners advise on this? I need to join to get a discount on new van insurance but which one actually offers the best benefits? So which one to go for Caravan Club or Camping & Caravan Club? Thanks.

Ask yourself this, will the reduced insurance offset the membership cost?
We joined the C&CC but got insurance elsewhere in the end.
The C&CC give you site fee reductions for members so you can get your cash back over the year

Caravan club.
Insurance is brilliant too as I found out after having a blow out on motorway 2 yrs ago.

(*motorhome) we’re Caravan Club and not overly impressed, so not next year

note elshalimo point above, and we find that the internet is the best way to find campsites/area research, the one catch might be if you really want to stay at a certain site and it is ‘members’ only limited. (*edit and member price discount)

When we stayed at a main CC site it was so sterile and regimented it put us right off.

We found getting a Thatcham alarm saved us insurance money (in fact a lot of people wouldn’t do it otherwise …)

Not sure some of the replies so far haven’t misunderstood the question slightly about the insurance – I don’t think the OP is necessarily talking about getting their insurance from CC or C&CC, but I found with our van that most, or certainly a lot, of insurers gave a discount if you were a member of a club, and that’s how I’m reading the question.

Certainly in our case when we first got a van, the discount was significantly more than the subscription so it was worth getting one even if it was never used.

IME the C&CC is better, and sites have a friendlier vibe. I’d pretty much echo exactly Towzer’s view of the CC.

Always been put off CC with similar impression to those above, use C & CC sites quite a lot, got membership and their insurance, seems a reasonable deal.

edlong, yes, just need the membership for the discount on existing policy, doesn’t matter who.

Thanks for the feedback, C&CC winning so far.

When we stayed at a main CC site it was so sterile and regimented it put us right off.

Fool! Why would you stay in one of those?!

I joined the CC so I could get access to the CLs. I’d never stay in one of those big ones – in the guide it looks like most of them are half tarmac!

I’m a member of both and while the sites for both are usually very good I’d say I probably prefer the Caravan Club. I actually prefer sites to be quiet though.

We are C&CC.

Caravan Club sites apparently can be a bit sniffy about campervans (particularly self conversions).

Caravan Club sites apparently can be a bit sniffy about campervans (particularly self conversions).

Not sure what you class as a campervan but I’ve never had any problem with mine (a C-class motorhome) at CC sites. I’ve seen plenty of VW campers in the sites as well, and even the odd white van home-brew conversion (although those are pretty rare at CC sites).

I’m with molgrips,we joined the cc to have access to the cls,we’ve never used a club site nor will we,far too car parky and regimented for us. Some of the cls at absolute gems though.
From what I can gather,if you only want to use the 5 van sites there isn’t much difference between both clubs.But if you want to use the bigger club sites, the c and cc tend to be more laid back while the cc is a bit stuffier.
Ironically I have my insurance with the c and cc even though we’re cc members.

I have 3rd party insurance, I had to to put the van in storage. My van is so shit the premium is £10/year 🙂

We use C&CC they’re pretty good if like us you have a camper that’s over 5 metres long as you get a great deal with the RAC to cover not only the camper but all our other cars too.

We swap every year to get the introductory discount tho, this year my wife’s the main member, next year it’s my turn! 😀