Caravan Park Discount Cards: Which Ones Work Best For Last Minute Caravan Park Deals

In this article we’ll show you the best caravan park discount cards.

More importantly:

We’ll show you HOW to use them to get the best last minute caravan park deals.

[And which ones we recommend you DON’T buy]

Using this approach we’ve saved hundreds of dollars…

…without it changing how we travel or where we stayed.

Here we go:

1. Book in person to get the best caravan park discounts

This one works great if you’re booking at short notice and want a last minute caravan park deal:

You will get better caravan park discounts if you book in person.

[The most we’ve saved by booking in person is $120 in one go]

There’s 2 main reasons:

Firstly, we’ve found that caravan park websites are rarely up to date.

There’s usually low-season discounts or specials that aren’t advertised online.

So here’s what you do:

1. Choose where you want to stay
2. Check the online price
3. Call to see if there’s a vacancy (but don’t talk price)
4. Walk in and THEN ask “how much for a site?”

That’s it.

You’ll often find that the answer they give you IS LESS than what you read on their website!

You get a better price without even needing to ask for a discount

(and you haven’t even used one of the caravan park discount cards… yet)

But what if the price they tell you is higher?

Then you could just book in on your phone.

There’s no way to lose.

So what’s the 2nd reason you get better last minute caravan park deals by booking in person?

2. Most places accept other caravan park discount cards

All you need to do is ask at the counter:

“Which caravan park discount cards do you accept?”

That’s it.

Because the answer might surprise you:

Parks often accept the membership cards of their competitors

Even if it’s not advertised anywhere.

(Smart: they’d rather honour the cards instead of losing your business).

There’s even been times where reception staff have calculated which caravan park discount card would work out best for us.

I can understand why some parks would do this:

Offering last minute caravan park deals to secure a booking is better than having the site sit empty.

3. TAWK is the best caravan park discount card (if you have kids)

Caravan parks charge $10-$25 extra per night per kid.

[I struggle to understand the logic behind this, but that’s another story]

A Travel Australia With Kids (TAWK) card gets you 2 free nights for your kids at over 100 caravan parks across Australia.

But as above:

We found that a lot of caravan parks accept the TAWK discount card even if they’re not an official TAWK Supporter

That can work out to be BIG saving…

…often better than the caravan park’s own discount cards

A lifetime membership is only $40 from Adventure Awaits’ online store.

Totally worth it.

[TAWK’s founder Mandy is lovely; you can hear an interview with her here]

4. Roadside assistance memberships are caravan park discount cards

RAA, RACQ, AANT, RAC, RACT, RACV, and NRMA:

If you’re a traveller, you’d be crazy not to have cover.

[These memberships recognise each other across Australia]

So even if you don’t have any other caravan park discount cards…

…don’t forget to check if you can get some last minute caravan park deals with your membership.

In 3-months we saved more than our RAA membership cost on bookings at caravan parks and on the Gordon River Cruise.

5. Wait to buy caravan park discount cards until you’re in the carpark

You can save A LOT of money with the G’Day Rewards or the Big 4 Holiday Perks caravan park discount cards.

Should you rush out and buy membership?

Personally, I’d wait.

Wait until you’re certain you’ll be staying there…

…this might even mean waiting until you’re out the front in the car park

This is what we did.

And, we made our money back off the Big 4 and Discovery caravan park discount cards… within 15 minutes of buying them

[the memberships are digital and you can easily buy on your phone]

Talk about a last minute caravan park deals!

Summary: The best way to get last minute caravan park deals

The easiest way to get last minute caravan park deals is to book in person rather than online. Then ask which caravan park discount cards they honour. Worst case scenario: jump online and purchase a membership then and there.

Our favourite discount card is the TAWK membership:

Because paying a little bit extra for kids is expected, but $10-$25 per child?

It seems wrong.

Your turn:

Comment below: let us know if there’s any other memberships that fall into the category of ‘it costs more not to have them’?