As we are very new to caravanning I would like your advise as to which book would be best to buy. Is there a book that gives both free/budget camping parks and Tourist parks in one. At this stage we are a bit hesitant to free camp. I know I can purchase Camp 8 but this I believe only covers the free and budget sites. I have heard of WikiCamps which I believe is online. As we are heading north in June/July and starting to plan our trip any info would be very much appreciated. regards Alex
Bushpie said
06:56 PM Feb 13, 2017
Hema maps ........cannot go past it for reliability.
But as you mention the online apps are also good, cheaper and naturally require the internet........but who dosent have it
Enjoy your travels ........look forward to reading about them here of course.
And welcome
Dougwe said
07:16 PM Feb 13, 2017
Welcome to the gang Alex, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Grab a copy of 'Wikicamps' for sure as it is updated by us the user and is reasonably up to date. I think it is still under $10 and worth every cent. I also have 'Camps 7' and work with both but lean more toward 'Wiki'.
With 'Wiki' I read about the latest 5-6 comments and look at the pics then make my mind up from there.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
laurieoz said
08:10 PM Feb 13, 2017
You do not need online connection to use wiki camps.
You can download it on line and the off line content can be used when you are traveling
aussie_paul said
08:50 PM Feb 13, 2017
Dougwe wrote:
Welcome to the gang Alex, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Grab a copy of 'Wikicamps' for sure as it is updated by us the user and is reasonably up to date. I think it is still under $10 and worth every cent. I also have 'Camps 7' and work with both but lean more toward 'Wiki'.
With 'Wiki' I read about the latest 5-6 comments and look at the pics then make my mind up from there.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
We do the same Doug.
Aussie Paul.
Gaylehere said
09:58 PM Feb 13, 2017
Just a note: Camps 9 will be out soon if you are wanting to buy a camps book.
Ozzie_Traveller said
10:47 PM Feb 13, 2017
G'day Alex
While you are hard to beat the WikiCamps on smartfone for convenience, the big difference between it and the Camps Australia Wide book is that ALL the campsites on the book have been certified with local councils as a legitimate campsite before being included in the book
Thus all 4000 sites there can be accepted as being okay ~ although there's always some 'adds' & 'subtracts' as the world keeps going along
However, there are over 7000 sites on WikiCamps - and some are very questionable for accuracy
Both systems obviously allow you to look up stuff while sitting quietly while having a cuppa - and this is most important :)
Phil
Desert Dweller said
04:36 AM Feb 14, 2017
Gaylehere wrote:
Just a note: Camps 9 will be out soon if you are wanting to buy a camps book.
Camps 8 is now only $20 because of being updated. We bought it on sale recently.
It wasn't that much different than our old Camps 6. As others have said Wiki is cheap & good.
There's a massive amount of info available on the internet. Badgers is great for Caravan Parks.
Call into Visitor Information Centers on your travels, they're very helpful.
Happy, safe travels.
Grubbygypsy said
08:04 AM Feb 14, 2017
Desert Dweller wrote:
It wasn't that much different than our old Camps 6
Western Australia alone had 250 camps less!!' I didn't compare the other states, but I was astounded at how many had closed.
there is a number of caravan parks in the camps books, OP. I think they do a book that has only parks in it too.
Don't be reluctant to freecamp. It's the BEST thing ever!! I feel wayyyy more relaxed and at peace in a good free camp. Once you do it and get used to it you'll love it. CPs still have their place, but I find them too restrictive in many ways.
Desert Dweller said
10:36 AM Feb 14, 2017
We don't use anything most of the time. We bush camp where ever we fancy. Nice & quiet, been doing it for 40 years starting out with a two man tent. Lots of wildlife & no generators.
PeterD said
11:35 AM Feb 14, 2017
howpar wrote:
Is there a book that gives both free/budget camping parks and Tourist parks in one. At this stage we are a bit hesitant to free camp. I know I can purchase Camp 8 but this I believe only covers the free and budget sites.
You are correct, there are only a few very cheap parks in CAW. The better publication for you is Caravan Parks Australia Wide 4th Edition. I use an earlier edition of this as parks don't open and close as quickly as the free camps do. CAW 9 with CampSnaps is being released tomorrow. The plain vanilla CAW 9 spiral bound edition is not being released until Feb 25. There is also a Camps Australia App for iOS and Android.
For online working I use Garry Stratton's MyParkList for caravan parks. Garry does a good job of keeping this up to date and when you inform him of a park change he usually has it changed within 24 hours. It uses Google Maps with the parks overlaid in it so you can zoom in and see where the parks are on a street map. You click on the pins for more information including Badges Park reports,
PeterD said
12:12 PM Feb 14, 2017
ps. For all those with CAW 7, Now will be your last chance to download your last lot of updates for that issue. Phill pulls them off line when a mew edition (2 editions removed) comes on sale.
Onedodger said
04:37 PM Feb 14, 2017
Get wikicamps, download all of line content and you will have a great recourse for travelling.
We also have camp aus wide 8 and only occasionly use it. Camps has lost its original easy to read maps by making the site nos too big.
We love wiki.
aussietraveller said
04:53 PM Feb 14, 2017
Welcome to the forum, you will find thet most tourist information centres have a book on their state that gives reasonably accurate info on caravan parks in the different areas of the state and its free, it also has information on things to see and do, happy travels in the big playground.
KenK said
07:28 PM Feb 14, 2017
Always stop at local tourist info offices. We collect information on the next town or two we are headed for and there are often lists or ads for the various caravan parks. Having said that we use wikicamps for our longer term planning. Enjoy your travels!
PeterD said
12:54 PM Feb 15, 2017
aussietraveller wrote:
you will find thet most tourist information centres have a book on their state that gives reasonably accurate info on caravan parks in the different areas of the state and its free
The problem with those state-wide caravan books is they generally only list the parks who are a member of the state caravan parks association (ie, union members.) They miss most of the cheap value parks, if you only stay in resort parks then they are fine.
howpar said
09:00 PM Feb 15, 2017
Thank you to all who replied to my question. Looks like its a combination of online Wikicamps and CAW book.
We look forward to our trip and hopefully catch up with some of you and learn from all your experiences
Hi All
As we are very new to caravanning I would like your advise as to which book would be best to buy. Is there a book that gives both free/budget camping parks and Tourist parks in one. At this stage we are a bit hesitant to free camp. I know I can purchase Camp 8 but this I believe only covers the free and budget sites. I have heard of WikiCamps which I believe is online. As we are heading north in June/July and starting to plan our trip any info would be very much appreciated. regards Alex
But as you mention the online apps are also good, cheaper and naturally require the internet........but who dosent have it
Enjoy your travels ........look forward to reading about them here of course.
And welcome
Grab a copy of 'Wikicamps' for sure as it is updated by us the user and is reasonably up to date. I think it is still under $10 and worth every cent. I also have 'Camps 7' and work with both but lean more toward 'Wiki'.
With 'Wiki' I read about the latest 5-6 comments and look at the pics then make my mind up from there.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
You do not need online connection to use wiki camps.
You can download it on line and the off line content can be used when you are traveling
We do the same Doug.
Aussie Paul.
While you are hard to beat the WikiCamps on smartfone for convenience, the big difference between it and the Camps Australia Wide book is that ALL the campsites on the book have been certified with local councils as a legitimate campsite before being included in the book
Thus all 4000 sites there can be accepted as being okay ~ although there's always some 'adds' & 'subtracts' as the world keeps going along
However, there are over 7000 sites on WikiCamps - and some are very questionable for accuracy
Both systems obviously allow you to look up stuff while sitting quietly while having a cuppa - and this is most important :)
Phil
Camps 8 is now only $20 because of being updated. We bought it on sale recently.
It wasn't that much different than our old Camps 6. As others have said Wiki is cheap & good.
There's a massive amount of info available on the internet. Badgers is great for Caravan Parks.
Call into Visitor Information Centers on your travels, they're very helpful.
Happy, safe travels.
It wasn't that much different than our old Camps 6
Western Australia alone had 250 camps less!!' I didn't compare the other states, but I was astounded at how many had closed.
there is a number of caravan parks in the camps books, OP. I think they do a book that has only parks in it too.
Don't be reluctant to freecamp. It's the BEST thing ever!! I feel wayyyy more relaxed and at peace in a good free camp. Once you do it and get used to it you'll love it. CPs still have their place, but I find them too restrictive in many ways.
You are correct, there are only a few very cheap parks in CAW. The better publication for you is Caravan Parks Australia Wide 4th Edition. I use an earlier edition of this as parks don't open and close as quickly as the free camps do. CAW 9 with CampSnaps is being released tomorrow. The plain vanilla CAW 9 spiral bound edition is not being released until Feb 25. There is also a Camps Australia App for iOS and Android.
For online working I use Garry Stratton's MyParkList for caravan parks. Garry does a good job of keeping this up to date and when you inform him of a park change he usually has it changed within 24 hours. It uses Google Maps with the parks overlaid in it so you can zoom in and see where the parks are on a street map. You click on the pins for more information including Badges Park reports,
ps. For all those with CAW 7, Now will be your last chance to download your last lot of updates for that issue. Phill pulls them off line when a mew edition (2 editions removed) comes on sale.
The problem with those state-wide caravan books is they generally only list the parks who are a member of the state caravan parks association (ie, union members.) They miss most of the cheap value parks, if you only stay in resort parks then they are fine.
Thank you to all who replied to my question. Looks like its a combination of online Wikicamps and CAW book.
We look forward to our trip and hopefully catch up with some of you and learn from all your experiences
Regards
Cheryl & Alex