First Holiday

[Matthew Barber]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any tips and tricks to make our first family holiday in the Cali go smoothly?!

We have purchased a 2010 SE and are planning a trip in the UK at Easter as our first real break in it. Our kids will be 3.5 years and 1 year by the time we go and we are just looking for a couple of nights away initially. Any advice on good sites in the south of England for young kids and tips on equipment etc to help would be gratefully received!

All the best

Matt

 

[Hotel California]

Hi and welcome , seems nobody replyed yet in 24h let me give you the advice to read some on the forum and pick up some tips
Also try to do a one-nighter in the nearby to get the habbit of how things best to store , cook , etc... in your Cali with kids .
Or even use the Cali on the driveway to try things out.
It will take a few trips to the hang and to get organised .

 

[frenchie]

Hi. Why not try york. The camp site is almost in the centre and there lots of indoor things to do if the weather's bad. F

 

[MickyTwoPints]

We went to the Cotswold View campsite near Oxford for our first trip out. Nice site and only a short drive to Oxford where there's loads to see. Handy parking in the Park and Ride too.

Otherwise we've stayed at C&CC sites in the New Forest. If you can hang on until March, East Fleet Farm near Weymouth is a nice site and I know the owner used to own a Cali (we bought it from them ) so they'll be able to give you some tips if you need help while you're there.

 

[GrannyJen]

Matt

My first recommendation is for a full facility campsite, something like Caravan club or caravan and camping club. When learning about living in a Camper the last thing you want to be doing is moving everything around to do the washing up, wash, shower, etc.

Next, be prepared for chaos. Camper vans are all about compromise, compromises on space, facilities, etc in exchange for that wonderful, unmatched sense of being able to go anywhere anytime that you can. Getting everything organised so you can get to it when wanted without rearranging the van every time takes practice.

Make sure a supermarket is within short driving distance. Then you can be confident about packing less rather than more. In a camper van less is best but it takes time and practice to understand what you can leave behind.

Make sure you understand how everything works before you go. Great for me, I'm on my own, I can just jump in and go and work things out as I go along but when you have young children you do not have the luxury of discovering sods law on the move. Practice raising, closing the roof, sods law it's going to be windy, wet and the kids screaming when you try it out for real and you really need to have routines practiced. Roof, electrics, water systems, changing gas etc..

Now, don't be put off. You have a great vehicle. It will work brilliantly, you are on a voyage of discovery finding out just what a camper can do for you and I'm sure everything will exceed expectations. It is a brilliant vehicle. don't be shy about asking for advice and if you need any help I'm sure someone will be local to you, I'm in the Worthing area, happy to spend an hour or two offering whatever help I can.

 

[RedCali]

I would try one night at a site very near to home first. Being squashed in a Cali can be quite testing for the first few trips away, mainly because everything is always in the wrong place and everything takes longer than you think it will! Also take a really easy tea for the first night or plan to arrive when you've eaten.

 

[Verity]

Check out Amarillo's 'Au Revoir EU' thread. Whilst he is embarking on a huge adventure across Europe, he is travelling with two small boys, and will definitely by now know some of the top tips for camping with small kids (and a dog!). The above posters are spot on, practice all the bits and pieces on the drive for a while before you go. Think carefully about where you store things so that when you've got the downstairs bed up you can access everything you need from the cupboards/chairback pockets etc (not sure if your vehicle has kitchen and cupboards downstairs). After a few trips out, you will find a perfect place for everything, and will find that once used everything must go back in its 'place' so that it is accessible and always easy to find. Charge all the devices while you're driving if you can, to avoid disappointment on arrival with kids when you're trying to get set up and amuse them. If you've got an awning, fine, but if you haven't I would recommend taking either a small pop up tent or a large plastic box with a lid so you can put your muddy boots and extraneous stuff in overnight to free up space in the van.

I'm sure there are a million other hints, but that's just what has fallen out of my head as I sit in front of the pooter! Good luck!

 

[Jason wallace]

Trial runs......on you own for a couple of night just to get to know all the bells and whistles. Just find a local site.

As the nights can still be a bit nippy at easter it may also allow you to gauge the effectiveness of the heater and weather you need to invest in anything else e.g. a topper, better sleeping bags for the kids etc.

I'm in the same boat in i've done a couple of nights on my own.......will be doing a 1 night camp with my girls this weekend before we head off over half term then easter.

As someone else said, play it safe with the site and get one with everything you needs in regards facilities etc.

Hi All,

Does anyone have any tips and tricks to make our first family holiday in the Cali go smoothly?!

We have purchased a 2010 SE and are planning a trip in the UK at Easter as our first real break in it. Our kids will be 3.5 years and 1 year by the time we go and we are just looking for a couple of nights away initially. Any advice on good sites in the south of England for young kids and tips on equipment etc to help would be gratefully received!

All the best

Matt

 

[Amarillo]

Our first trip away in Amarillo was to Swanage. It was a good choice with a Steam train trip, swimming in Wareham, fish and chips in a restaurant overlooking the sea and coastal walks. Report below:

Baptism of fire in Amarillo

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...club.com/index.php?posts/199740/&share_type=t


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Collwing]

I agree with trail run overnight near to home as a practice as putting the roof up on the drive is different to doing so with kids all excited whilst we don’t have kids we arrived at a site in the dark with an over excited dog jumping around left some frayed nerves for the first 20mins... but enjoy and put away as you go makes things much easier!

 

[BikerGran]

Haven't been there myself as I live not far away but people have recommended South Lytchett Manor - it's just west of Poole, Dorset. It has lots of facilities which may be handy with young children and it's in a beautiful area.

http://www.southlytchettmanor.co.uk/motorhomes/

 

[Cali Claret]

Been to southlychettmanor recently....very handy for Poole or Bournemouth as there's a bus stop right outside. Nice area and a pub within walking distance if you don't fancy cooking.

 

[Speleo62]

Why don’t you come to the new forest meet, there will be a wealth of knowledge and help there.
A drive away awning or Quechua base second pop up is a good idea to put car seats inover night .

 

[SimonB]

I was going to suggest the New Forest Meet as @Speleo62 has.
Our first night was a meet at the Lower Lode near Tewksbury. A lot of people who were on hand to show us the right way of doing things and show us useful extras to buy and what not to buy.
There are so many features on the Cali, turning the seats, the heater, the awning, putting the roof down which can be a challenge the first time. Other owners at the meet will be more than happy to show you what they have learned.

Simon

 

[applejack]

I would also recommend going to a meet, our second trip our was to a meet and we learnt so much from other people with our invaluable information that you won't find in the manual. The club appears to have a great selection of meets this year all over the UK.

 

[Volky]

I’d suggest Corte Castle Camping and Caravaning site. We did our first weekend trip there with our kids. Lovely site and you can walk (with kids on your backs) to the Castle and village. Going to a meet is a great idea, but you might want to have a trial run before then so that you know more about what you want to know (if you know what I mean!). A pup tent for clobber is a godsend, as a couple of other members have suggested. Enjoy, the Cali is fantastic with kids!

 

[Crell]

With such young kids I'd do a night away on the best campsite (amenities wise) and as close to home as possible. If the kids hate it you at least have an option to pack up and head home. Look on it as an easy / low risk dry run with the kids. You'll realise what works, what you've forgotten and that you don't need half of the things you brought. You could also do a dry run in your garden.