If you’re planning some caravanning and camping trips throughout Australia, you may have wondered whether or not it’s worth joining up with the various caravan park memberships.
Caravan park memberships generally offer discounts and perks when booking accommodation within just their parks around the country.
But the fact is, if you were to purchase all of the memberships, you’d be out of pocket $335 within the first year, with ongoing fees to keep those memberships valid!
Some caravan park memberships will save you money within your first stay, while others may not offer you anything much of value at all. It all comes to down to weighing up the cost of the membership, versus the savings you will gain in your particular situation.
Caravan Park Membership Considerations:
- How much does the membership cost?
- Is it a once-off ‘lifetime’ fee, or an annual fee?
- What discount do they offer for accommodation bookings?
- How much money do you actually save on accommodation?
- Is there a minimum spend?
- Is the discount capped at a particular price point?
- Is there a minimum/ maximum stay limit attached to the discount terms?
- How many times per year are you likely to use the membership card?
- How widely distributed are the caravan parks across the country?
Here we’ll cover all of the 9 available caravan park memberships in Australia, including pricing & inclusions. From there you’ll be able to figure out which (if any) memberships will be worth it for you.
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Caravan Park Memberships
Here’s a quick break-down of the costs and perks you can expect with the various caravan park memberships available in Australia. Keep scrolling for further information on each membership.
| CARAVAN PARK MEMBERSHIP | COST | PERKS | # of PARKS |
| BIG 4 Holiday Perks+ | $50 (2 years) | – 10% Discount – Capped at $50 per booking | 180+ |
| CMCA | $44 + $16.50 sign-up fee (1 year) | – Camps from $3 per night – 10% Discount (selected caravan parks) | 12 (CMCA) 300+ (CMCA-friendly) |
| Family Parks Travel Rewards | $40 (2 years) | – 10% Discount – Capped at $20/ campsite & $40/ cabin (per booking) | 50+ |
| G’Day Rewards | $50 (2 years) | – 10% Discount – Capped at $50 per booking | 300+ |
| Kui Parks | $25 (1 year) $40 (2 years) | – 10% Discount – Capped at $30 per booking | 70+ |
| NRMA Parks & Resorts | $30 for first 12 months, then $60 per year | – 10% off short stays – Stay 4 nights, pay for 3 | 50+ |
| Reflections Rewards Club | FREE | – $25 Guest Credit (must spend $100 to use) – $100 Guest Credit (when you spend $1000 in the year) | 36 |
| TAWK | $40 (lifetime membership) | – 2 nights FREE camping for kids – 10% off selected attractions | 130+ |
BIG 4 Holiday Perks+
The BIG 4 Holiday Perks+ membership will save you 10% on accommodation bookings in any BIG 4 Holiday Park around Australia. It’s important to note here that the amount you can save per booking is capped at $50. Some of the other perks include early check-in, late check-out and free WiFi.
BIG 4 Membership Perks:
- 10% discount on bookings (up to $50)
- Early check-in
- Late check-out
- Free WiFi
- Various in-park perks which are offered seasonally from park to park
- Discount on holiday attractions
- ‘Members-only’ offers from BIG 4 partners
| Membership Fee | $50 for 2 years |
| Accommodation Discount | – 10% – Maximum discount of $50 per booking – Not to be used with any other offer |
BIG 4 Holiday Parks Map & Locations:
There are over 180 BIG 4 Holiday Parks throughout Australia. You’ll find them mostly along the East Coast of Australia and across the bottom, with a few along the West Australian coast.
Within the Northern Territory, there is one BIG 4 in Howard Springs (near Darwin), plus one in the MacDonnell Ranges in the Red Centre.
You’ll also find BIG 4’s in Tasmania.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information on the BIG 4 Perks caravan park membership.
CMCA
The Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) reckon they’re the southern hemisphere’s largest RV club, with over 70,000 members. An annual membership will set you back $44, with perks such as RV tailored insurance, subscription to a monthly magazine, low cost accommodation and more.
CMCA Perks:
- RV tailored insurance with Ken Tame & Associates
- ‘The Wanderer’ monthly digital magazine subscription
- GeoWiki X Travel App & website (with campgrounds, caravan parks, national parks, free camping, dump points etc.)
- CMCA Member Stop Over Facilities (stay on fellow members’ private properties)
- CMCA RV Parks (low cost, no frills, for self-contained vehicles only)
- CMCA Dollar Wise Park Network (< $10/ night accommodation)
- CMCA Friendly Caravan Parks (over 300 parks countrywide, at least 10% off current rates)
- Ability to join a ‘Chapter’ (special interest groups)
- Club events
- Discounts with partnered retailers
| Membership Fee | $44/ year + $16.50 joining fee (once off) |
| Accommodation Discount | – Access to low cost facilities – 10% off selected Caravan Parks – $3 accommodation for members – $15 accommodation for non-members |
CMCA RV Parks:
The CMCA RV Parks are available for both members and non-members.
MEMBERS: $3 per vehicle, per night
NON-MEMBERS: $15 per vehicle, per night
They are a no frills park for self-contained setups only. So far there are 12 CMCA RV Parks around Australia, with more being established over time. A site can be booked for up to 14 nights in any 21-day period.
Each park provides…
- Safe parking for all RV sizes
- Easy walking distance to shops
- Potable water
- Dump point
- Happy hour shelter
- Volunteer member meet & greet on arrival
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information on the CMCA membership.
Family Parks Travel Rewards
The Family Parks Travel Rewards entitles you to 10% off your stay in any Family Parks caravan park, across Australia and New Zealand. However, the discount is capped at $20 per stay on sites and $40 per stay in cabins. You’ll also have access to additional deals and discounts.
Family Parks Membership Perks:
- 10% discount on bookings (up to $20 on sites & $40 in cabins)
- Discounts on holiday attractions
- ‘3rd Night Free’ voucher with membership purchase/ renewal
- ‘Frequent Camper Card’ – get it stamped with every booking (after staying at 3 different parks, go into competition to win $1000 in Family Parks Vouchers)
| Membership Fee | $40 for 2 years |
| Accommodation Discount | – 10% – Maximum discount of $20 per booking (campsites) – Maximum discount of $40 per booking (cabins) |
Family Parks Map & Locations:
As you’ll see in the map below, you’ll find 53 Family Parks down the East Coast of Australia, plus in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and one in Alice Springs, NT.
If you also plan on doing some travel throughout New Zealand, this could be a worthwhile membership to have.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more info about the Family Parks Travel Rewards membership.
G’Day Rewards
Discovery Parks and Top Parks have teamed up together to bring travellers the G’Day Rewards program. Because of the collaboration, travellers have access to over 300 parks Australia-wide.
The membership is a $50 investment for two years, giving you 10% discount on your accommodation bookings, with a maximum saving of $50 per visit. Check out some of the other G’Day Rewards membership perks below.
G’Day Rewards Perks:
- 10% discount on bookings (up to $50)
- Choice of 1 per stay: Early check-in / Late check-out / Bag of ice
- Free park equipment hire (1 – 6 per year, depending on which ‘stay tier’ you’re on (see below)
- Free upgrade (depending on your ‘stay tier’)
- ‘Members only’ offers
- Free digital magazine
Unlock more rewards, the more you stay:
There are three ‘tiers’ of benefits, depending on how many times you’ve stayed at G’Day Rewards parks throughout the year.
GREAT MATE – After staying minimum 3 nights or had 3 separate stays
BEST MATE – After staying minimum 20 nights or had 6 separate stays
| Membership Fee | $50 for 2 years |
| Accommodation Discount | – 10% – Maximum discount of $50 per booking |
G’Day Rewards Locations:
There are over 300 G’Day Parks across Australia to take advantage of, which is by far more than what any of the other memberships are offering.
Currently, here are the number of parks in each State:
- Queensland – 58
- New South Wales – 75
- Victoria – 57
- Tasmania – 5
- South Australia – 44
- Western Australia – 47
- Northern Territory – 6
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information about the G’Day Rewards membership.
Kui Parks Membership
The Kui Parks caravan park membership is just $25 per year or $40 for 2 years, as they are still a growing network. With your membership you’ll receive 10% off accommodation bookings, with a maximum saving of $30 per booking.
Kui Parks Membership Perks:
- 10% discount on bookings (up to $30)
- ‘Frequent Stayer’ card (prizes for frequent stayers)
| Membership Fee | $25 for 1 year $40 for 2 years |
| Accommodation Discount | – 10% – Maximum discount of $30 per booking |
Kui Parks Map & Locations:
There are currently 70+ Kui caravan parks across Australia.
As you can see in the map below, you’ll mostly find them along the East Coast, around the bottom and along some of the West Coast. There is one Kui Park in Tasmania and one near Darwin, NT.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information about the Kui Parks membership.
NRMA Parks & Resorts
If you don’t have NRMA Roadside Assistance, but will want to take advantage of the travel benefits, you can opt for NRMA Blue. It’s a $5 per month investment, or $60 for the year. If you do want the roadside assistance as well, you can add that in for an extra $5 per month.
With NRMA Blue you can take advantage of ‘Stay 4 nights, Pay for 3’ at any of the NRMA Parks and Resorts.
NRMA Parks & Resorts Perks:
- Stay 4 nights, Pay for 3
- Save 5c/ L on fuel at Caltex and Ampol
- Save up to 25% on eligible insurance policies
- Save 5% at Repco
- Save up to 15% at Beaurepaires
- Save up to 15% at over 3000 attractions around Australia
- Save 4% on Woolworths eGift cards
| Membership Fee | $60/ year |
| Accommodation Discount | – Stay 4 nights, pay for 3 |
NRMA Parks & Resorts Map & Locations:
With around 50 NRMA Parks and Resorts around Australia, over half can be found along the East Coast.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information about the NRMA Parks & Resorts membership.
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Roadside Assistance Memberships
Check out what perks and discounts you have available with your exisiting Roadside Assistance Membership (e.g. RACQ or RACV). Quite often you can make use of savings for theme parks, movie tickets, caravan parks and holiday resorts, tourists attractions are more.
Some Roadside Assistance Perks:
- % accommodation at holiday parks & resorts
- % Theme Parks and tourist attraction tickets
- % movie tickets
- % grocery eGift cards
- % on fuel at selected petrol stations
- % on car, caravan and trailer insurance
Here’s another great article I wrote if you’re specifically looking for info on Caravan Roadside Assistance.
Reflections Rewards Club
You will only find Reflections Holiday Parks in New South Wales. However, it’s FREE to join the Reflections Rewards Club caravan park membership program, plus you’ll receive a $25 accomodation voucher.
If you find yourself booking into a Reflections Holiday Park and know you’ll be spending over $100 for your stay, it’d be worth joining up to get $25 off your booking.
Reflections Rewards Club Perks:
- FREE to join
- $25 guest credit on sign up (to be used on eligible $100+ booking)
- Members-only benefits
- Spend $1000 throughout the year & get a $100 guest credit (valid for 12 months)
| Membership Fee | FREE |
| Accommodation Discount | – $25 Guest Credit (to be used with minimum $100 spend) – $100 Guest Credit (if you spend $1000+ throughout the year) |
Reflections Holiday Parks Map & Locations:
All 37 Reflections Holiday Parks are located within NSW. They’re mostly along the coastline, with a few in the regional areas.
But, you don’t have to be doing a lot of NSW travel to get your money’s worth out of this membership. Even if you just have one booking of over $100 and make use of the $25 voucher, it’s well worth the free sign-up.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information about the Reflections Rewards Club.
TAWK
TAWK (Travelling Australia With Kids) is working hard with caravan parks across Australia to secure two nights free camping for kids when you book with them. All you need to do is sign up for your lifetime membership, then show your digital card at participating caravan parks and campsites.
TAWK Perks:
- Lifetime membership $40
- 2 nights free camping for kids
- 10% discount at participating attractions
- Digital membership card
| Membership Fee | $40 (one-time fee for life) |
| Accommodation Discount | – 2 nights free camping for kids – 10% discount on attractions |
TAWK Caravan Parks Map & Locations:
The red markers on the map below indicates 130+ caravan parks that are onboard to offer 2-nights free camping for kids when you flash your TAWK membership card.
The blue markers show attractions that will offer 10% discount when you book direct with them.
You can use the WikiCamps App and the Anycamp App to see where all TAWK supporter parks are around Australia. There are currently over 100 participating parks.
Membership Sign-up:
Here’s where you can purchase and find more information about the TAWK Membership.
For more apps that will enhance your trip, check out these 25+ Aussie travel apps.
Are Caravan Park Memberships Worth It?
After nutting out all of the costs and perks of having the various caravan park memberships, are they really worth investing in? From my own experience I would say that sometimes they are, if you’re smart and work them to your advantage.
My biggest piece of advice is to hold off from buying any caravan park memberships until the moment you actually need them. There’s no point spending $335 (yep, that’s how much they’d cost all up) before your big trip, just to find that you never use any of them.
| Tips for making Caravan Park Memberships work for you | |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Before booking a caravan park, do an online quote first. |
| Step 2 | Write down the quoted price, then write down the price it would be if you had the membership card. |
| Step 3 | Ring the caravan park directly and get a quote (often the direct price can be different to the online price). |
| Step 4 | Work out which price is cheaper – online/ in person. Now you can figure out if it’s worth spending the money on the membership, taking into consideration how much money you’ll be saving versus how much the membership will cost and if you’re likely to ever use it again. |
Lessons I’ve learnt along the way:
- After getting an online quote, if the caravan park offers a cheaper price over the phone or in person, take it. Quite often it’s the cost of purchasing a membership that you’ll save, so no membership card was required anyway.
- If you get a cheaper price online, rather than over the phone, see if they’ll match that price.
- If you do plan on staying in a few of the same chain of caravan parks (e.g. BIG 4), then the savings you make in one stay by having a membership will literally pay for the 24 month membership itself.
- Staying in a caravan park was a splurge for us, so if we did stay in one, we basically planned to spend most of our time making full use of the facilities. If we knew we’d be too busy exploring an area to actually get our money’s worth at the caravan park, we’d opt for a Free or Low Cost camp if possible.
For a further look into caravanning expenses, have a read of the Cost of Caravanning (full breakdown).
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I never even knew that Caravan Park Memberships were a thing in Australia but what a great idea. I like that if you do it a lot that you can get a discount for staying and save money the longer you are there. Thanks for the tip on checking the quote online and then ringing them up and seeing if you can get it cheaper.
They can definitely be worth the membership fee even if you use them just a handful of times. Definitely worth comparing to a quote first before committing.
I’m convinced Australia is the camping capital of the world hahaa We don’t have anything like this in the US. I have never heard of anything like this, and it makes me SO excited to visit/road trip Australia even more! thanks for sharing!
Haha we do love camping over here in Oz!
It definitely takes some planning to see if it’s even worth spending the entire $335 for all the passes. I would say it’s worth the time to sit down and plan your trip before making any commitments. I didn’t even realize these types of passes existed. I wonder if there are similar passes in the states.
Planning helps, or just buying each membership as they are needed (just in case you never end up needing it). It’d be interesting to see if they’ve got a similar pass in the US caravan parks.
There certainly are a lot of different caravan park memberships available in Australia with a variety of costs and benefits. Great that you have pulled them all together for people to consider what is right for them. You would not want to have too many and not get value. Good idea to hold off until you need them.
Nah, it’s definitely not worth investing in each membership until you’re faced with needing it.
It sounds like memberships could be a very helpful way to save money. But it is always a great idea to call around. I have found hotels to have different prices online or by phone.
Isn’t it amazing how much prices can vary with a few phone calls. Definitely a good idea to ring first and get a quote before committing.