The AA Caravan And Camping Guide 2023 Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

My boys are keen to go camping with their Dad, but we have put it off a little as I need the reassurance that the site will have good clean facilities and everything that they need. This guide is something that I am hoping to get a lot of use out of.

It is quite a chunky paperback of 400 pages. The paper quality is similar to what you would find in a catalogue, but this is what I would expect with this type of guide.

The guide covers the United Kingdom, and this includes the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Scottish Islands. There is a key for the symbols used within the book such as indoor pool, kids club, boat hire, playground, WiFi, and details of the services available such as Calor-Gas, electric hook up and so on. There are a lot of symbols, but you do adjust to these pretty quickly, and the book is laid out into clear sections; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In each section specific areas are alphabetically organised so that you can quickly search for a campsite in the area of your choice. Each campsite has a clear and concise summary, some accompanied by coloured photographs.
One of the particularly useful features is the classification and scoring system which you can use at a glance before deciding if to read on. Each site has a percentage score of how well it fared with the AA inspector. In addition to this you have the Platinum Parks and Premium Parks which are recognisable by a symbol beside the percentage score.

The winning campsites in each area are included at the start of the book, as is a first-time campers check-list which is really handy. There are also some lists of specific sites, such as adult-only, glamping sites and the various categories of the premium sites.

The symbols make it easy to see the features which are relevant to you, so you can easily skim through the book to find the sites which suit your requirements. Looking at the written details, the information given on each resort is concise within a short paragraph, but there is lots crammed in there.

For example. you have the full contact details and directions, followed by a written paragraph describing the location, views, types of accommodation and facilities. The dates which the site is open, as well as departure and arrival times are included so there some really useful information in there which saves time calling or emailing the resort.
Naturally, you have details of the leisure and general facilities using the symbols, services available and the number of pitches so you can get an idea of the size of the site.

What is especially useful is the additional information at the bottom, which includes details such as where parking is located, whether pets are allowed and details of any noise curfew. Also, random information is included such as fresh bread being available, and key points that families may need to know such as scooters not being permitted.
I love that, for each general area, there is a list of places to visit complete with the postcode and contact details.

This guide is very thorough for each campsite, but equally simple to navigate and an easy read.

My husband is the camping lover in our family, and he liked that each region has a page dedicated to describing the key features of the area for those people who aren’t sure where to head off to, next.

I would have liked to see photographs of every park included in the book rather than what I would estimate to be 40-50% of them, as you are inclined to ignore those sites a little or (if they make the shortlist) you have to look them up online to double check.

You will need to find the prices yourself, but these can change regularly so it would be impossible to include these in the book.

What I love about this guide is that it feels perfectly timed as a Christmas gift. Since the pandemic I have lost count of how many friends and family members have changed their approach to holidays and have invested in camper vans for family holidays and weekends away, or are enjoying weekends camping. People seem to have re-discovered the country we live in, so this guide would be perfect for several people on my Christmas list who like a practical and thoughtful gift. It saves a lot of time searching online for a campsite and I do love a physical book.

The price-point of £14.99 is fair as there is a lot of content for the money, and this is a gift that a person who loves to travel the country would get regular use from.

The main point to take away from this review is that this book literally covers everything you need to know about selecting the perfect site for you, and more importantly it is easy to use. I would score this guide 5 stars out of 5.

Rating: 5/5 stars

RRP: £14.99

You can purchase this product from Waterstones here.