# CCC Oversea Rallies



## Jamsieboy (Jan 14, 2011)

Hi
I know that being on a site is not everyone's cup of tea.
Recently found info on overseas rallies arranged by the C&CC.
Various sites and locations in Spain and Portugal.
Never been on a rally so I wondered if anyone of you good folks has ever been on a CCC rally in Spain or Portugal and if so what you thought of it.
Thinking of winter 2014.
Many thanks in advance.


----------



## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Not been on any of the oversea's rallies myself but whether i would [or not] depends partly on the costs involved . . . I go down to Spain winter time & soon make lots of friends on site without having to pay rally fee's but I suppose if you've never ventured very far before, its good to have others to 'lean on'


----------



## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Went on a CCC rally at Albufeira, Portugal, a few years ago, which is unusual for us, but it was fine. There is normally a daily schedule of organised events going on which you can join if you want, or not, as there is no pressure. Some people only use a rally as a way of getting a really cheap pitch and never join in anything which is their right of course. So there are no disadvantages in joining one in my view if you fancy a particular area. Also because of the repeat block booking the clubs often have the pick of the prime pitches.

Ron


----------



## chermic (Feb 15, 2013)

We have been to C&CC Rallies in Holland (Delftse Houte) twice and thoroughly enjoyed them. We joined in with the trips so that we could see some of the sights and the coffee morning. We got the pitches that was not on the rally field and we made friends that we still keep in touch with today.

We have also been to the Rally at Le Pin Parasole in the Vendee. That was a lovely sight and was our first venture into France. We had a good time and some of the biggest pitches on the site.

We never felt pressured to join in and we didn't with everything. The wardens do help you to get lifts to supermarkets and restaurants so you don't have to take your motorhome everywhere. 

They seem to be of a high standard and the Rally Marshalls seem to know the local area and are generally very friendly. We would go back to attend one again if there was one in an area that we wanted to go to - possibly Spain/Portugal when husband retires.

Hope the above is helpful Jamiesboy


----------



## cater_racer (May 1, 2005)

Hi Jamsie,

We've done Moncofa, Benecassim (x2), Albuferia, & Playa Tropicana (X2).

They can be very cost effective and pleasant affairs, without undue pressure to "join in".

We stayed at Moncofa for 3 months, but to be honest there's not much to do there other than "join in".

Playa Tropicana and Benecassim were better because the towns were more local, easy bike ride, or even walking distance. That gives you much more flexibility to just go into town and enjoy a coffee or a meal out, without it being an organised event!

The problem being that the local towns virtually shut up and go to sleep if you're going in January and February.

We changed to going in late September/early October and found much more going on , still got the rally pricing and pitch but a couple of weeks before the rallies got going.

Warmer too, that said we decided to go to Sicily this year (just back) and enjoyed that much more, but it's a long way to drive and it ain't cheap.

HTH


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

We went on a mini trip for 13 days in December 11/January 12.

We went to Alfaz Del Pi, only for the price. There was a meet/greet get to know you day. It started off with a few bums on deck chairs and soon became a HUGE Circle of seats that took over part of the campsite and the roads leading to pitches.

It was not for us. So we did our own thing.

Trouble was, the metered electric ended up costing a fortune. Made the stay expensive. More so than an ACSI deal would have.

We did attend a party that was very enjoyable, someones 50th! Bar Prices very reasonable too.

We sent this Photo to our Daughter on the other side of the world. She asked "What are you doing at an old folks home?" Maybe you were there?.

TM


----------



## Jamsieboy (Jan 14, 2011)

Thanks for the replies folks.

On the surface the site fees look very good. Variable but on average about £10pn for over 61 nights. Need to check re electricity. Looks like teemyob had to pay a lot for that! Are we talking a couple of quid a night type of thing?

Cheers


----------



## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Jamsieboy said:


> On the surface the site fees look very good. Variable but on average about £10pn for over 61 nights.


If your reason for doing a rally is because it looks cheap then you may wish to think again. Many Spanish and Portuguese sites have long stay rates for the winter season which are cheaper than the rally sites. I saw a C&CC rally book a couple of years ago where the rally cost was more than the ACSI rate (El Rocio in Spain).

I am currently on a very pleasant little site in Portugal where the monthly rate is €255 including electric and use of the washing machine (plus the offer of free oranges and lemons). That equates to just over £7 a night.

Remember too that there are no extra charges for electricity on the ACSI rate.

JohnW


----------



## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

We have attended C&CC rallies in both Delft and St Cere.

Whist in St Cere I broke a tendon and after a hospital stay was immobilised on the camp site until the medics declared me fit to travel and fly home this took five weeks of daily injections and physio.
The van was driven home by a Chauffeur.

The advantages of being on a Rally became immediately apparent.
The warden re-sited the van to be next to the facilities. 
Fellow members took Val shopping, filled the water tank and emptied the loo.
In fact helped us in every possible way. Fantastic support.


----------



## telbet (Oct 30, 2006)

You will find that most ACSI sites will give you unlimited electric on the ACSI rate but I have been on two site that give you the official 4KW on a meter per night and charged for any excess used.


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Jamsieboy said:


> Thanks for the replies folks.
> 
> On the surface the site fees look very good. Variable but on average about £10pn for over 61 nights. Need to check re electricity. Looks like teemyob had to pay a lot for that! Are we talking a couple of quid a night type of thing?
> 
> Cheers


Our electricity bill was a fortune. We shower in the van, used heating and electric kettle and fridge plus the usual tv etc.

We had a lot of problems booking into the site ( allotted wrong pitches, left to wait for some spaniards to leave at 4pm that should have been off at 12). Told we had to wait until they left. Complained, given another pitch number that had a Casa (park home static) on it. Nightmare of a. Afternoon booking in. Wasted half a day. Plus lots of other issues.

I was going to leave without paying the electricity bill as we had already paid. We were leaving a day early and the site would not refund the one day. But mrs TM paid up !

I would take the others Advice and look for direct site deals or acsi camping card rates.

The c&cc Manager at our rally was a jobs worth and was useless at most things. Even he ended up putting us on the wrong 4th pitch and wanted us to move.

On a previous occasion. We stayed at benicassim, bonterra park the one facing mercodonna where they don't have a 10:30 curfew like azahar. lol. The Spanish staff there could not be more helpful towards us. That was acsi.

Azahar at the time we were staying in benicassim locked you out after 10:30 pm. Or worse in our case, locked in!. We had only walked down, visiting friends for he evening and wanted to go back to bonterra park.

TM

Ps: please excuse my typos - using my mobile.


----------



## Al42 (Aug 4, 2011)

I would not like to commit to, and pay up front for, two months on any site that I had not been to before especially on a rally if I had not done that before.

Every Spanish site that we have been on has a 'curfew' ie the gates are locked at some point in the night for security and safety and peace and quiet _but_ all had a security guard or a coded pedestrian gate.


----------



## MikeE (May 1, 2005)

We used C&CC rallies for the first trips to Spain and Portugal. In general they were pretty good - gave a nice warm reassuring feeling when we were making our first tentative steps to being a long way from home for the winter. 

Generally a good social life without any pressure, much depends on the Rally Stewards - we had some that were excellent and others that were worse than useless.

The rallies did tend to dominate the campsite though and the social side became "Brit dominated". We now prefer long stays at one of our favourite sites and almost always get a better rate than the rallies (and much cheaper than the ACSI rate). The social side becomes self-organising and more international. For stays greater than 30 days, pitch costs are about 9€ a day with electricity about €1 a day extra.

Summary - we found that the rallies serve a useful purpose as an introduction to overwintering in Spain / Portugal - but not for us in the long term.

Mike


----------



## sweetie (Nov 28, 2005)

We have done c&cc rallies and made our own arrangements over 7 years and both can work well. 

Last time we where in spain on a rally at Almafra I managed to get food poisoning and the wife called on the steward at 4 am he was brilliant! Ambulance was called he followed to hospital with wife and collected us both when I was released. We would not of had a clue what to do with out Peter the steward.

I know some knock the rallies but it saved my wife a lot of stress.

Steve


----------

