ASCI.....hows it work pls

ACSI is an organisation that visits and rates sites in many countries of Europe, a service for which sites pay. It also publishes a book / card and App of sites that offer a discount at off peak times. This costs about €14 for 2022, although will be more in 2023. The App is another €5.

You can book ahead but off peak it is not really necessary. In France peak is generally from sometime during the first week of July to sometime in the last week of August. All other times the sites are open are discountable, if you have bought the book / card. Other countries have different discount periods and these are listed in the book.

If you are travelling at peak it is probably not worth buying the book. All the rated sites are listed on the ACSI website. The App only works if you have bought the book/card. 

You buy the ACSI book which contains their Camping Card. With that card 1400 campsites in France - out of 8400 - will give you a discount price but only at low season dates. Those dates vary from one site to another. Refer to the list to see the dates for each site. In most cases you can turn up without a booking - but you may occasionally find a site full.  If in doubt phone ahead and ask. In most cases you get a choice of pitches but in a few cases you get a restricted choice. The 7000 sites which aren’t members of the ACSI scheme may have discounts of their own. Don’t ignore them.

Hi D17, As mentioned there is lots of info on the ACSI site, or to be correct, the Camping Card ACSI site:

https://www.campingcard.co.uk/

and on the Eurocampings site:

https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/

ACSI is a very useful scheme but, as said, if you are looking at high season, roughly 17-31/8 less so.

I always start with our main destination, look at routes, calculate how far each day then do a Google search of that area and look at the two sites above.

It is possible to find sites full-we have had this happen three times, all at the same very popular lakeside site on Garda-or with restrictions on which type of pitch or pitch location.

As Euror says, dont be a slave to the ACSI card and check, check and check again as there may be deals that match ACSI at some sites-we booked a pitch direct with the site on an 'ACSI site this year as there deal offerd a better pitch for the same site which was our main site for the holiday.

Wherever you do go have a great time!

You are almost guaranteed to get a return on your money if you use just 2 sites for 3 days each.

It's nearly always paid its' way for us (covid years an exception) and sometimes the savings have been eye watering.

I endorse what others have said in that sometimes you can get a better deal from the site, usually found online, say if you are staying for a prolonged period of time.

We have come across one or two duff sites but have done that without ACSI as well. The ACSI card gives you a basic 6 amps in the price and 2 adults. You will have to pay extra if you want ampage increased, if available, and maybe a more scenic view or, as we did in Holland a serviced pitch but even there we only paid the difference between standard pitch and serviced one. 

Their service of sending the books and card is usually good. Just make sure that you take the cut out card and the right book. They only give you one card. You can also buy an ID card from them which guarantees payment to the campsite should you default. 

The other point to mention is that as ACSI inspect their sites you can expect a certain minimum standard. Our experience has been good and we use their sites almost exclusively. There is also a lot of information in the app for each site including reviews (multi-National).

Fwiw,

We have commonly found many sites do use specific inferior pitches for the ACSI budget price, might be just us, but you can discuss. Many sites retain the old stickers in reception windows but are not now members / discounters. 
Useful for research, choices and to ring ahead if desired.

Be careful to use the address, area codes and coordinates as have found costly errors in navigation to sites. 
Generally worth having 

M

My 2023 book is in the post, expecting it anyday now subject to mail strikes.

peedee

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

Sorry, being a bit dense, but I can't make out what the difference is between the ACSI 'subscription' and 'Club ID'. Can anyone enlighten me please in words of one syllable!!!

A subscription to ACSI means you allow them to take a direct debit from your bank and they send you a copy of their site guide every year until you cancel it.The alternative is to order a single copy of their guide from this Club or from  a UK bookseller such as Vicarious Books.

The ACSI Club ID is an identity card you can hand in at an overseas campsite which they hold until you pay at the end of your stay. An alternative is that some sites will photo copy your passport and hold that until you pay. Many simpler sites don’t bother and will trust you to pay before you leave.