Recommendations on Camp Ground Memberships

[dunk05]

Passport America will not give discounts during busy seasons.

[kluza2786]

I've been pretty happy using KOA and Good Sam. The KOA membership pays for itself pretty quickly on the discount that they offer. We stayed 10 days in Florida last February at a KOA - obviously liked the discount we got.

[SkipnTerri]

Originally Posted by dj3spots

We have and keep KOA and Good Sam: we've found they are convenient to most major Interstates, they are clean, most have sites long enough for our 40' trailer and most have 50 amp service. We've traveled East to West coast Pacific Ocean and North to South all the way to the Keys. My advice to you, if your going interstate join KOA or Good Sam. If you stay often enough, and we do, you get free nights at any KOA. We have access to memberships to Coast to Coast, North American Camping, Resorts of Distinction, Adventure Outdoor Resorts thru our parent resort Travel Resorts of America (an expensive expenditure we wish we hadn't done). We had to pay for each membership independently. Most these resorts are not on major interstate and require reservations in advance to take advantage of the discount prices. Plus not all the camps listed can accommodate our rig. Check KOA and Good Sam to see their discount for members, if this is a onetime trip it may not be worth the membership fee. Anyone can use a KOA or Good Sam. One of the biggest reasons we like KOA - most have enclosed Dog Parks and any one we've stayed in enforces the rules.


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X10 !! KOA and Good Sam parks are not usually a destination campground for us, but definitely great places to stay one or two nights. We don't want to get strapped into a membership.

[Sloopie1]

We are members of Passport America, Good Sam's, and KOA. Passport America does not usually honor the 50% discount on weekends, holidays, or if there is a rally in the area (such as the one in Perry, Ga when the FMCA rally was going on at the GA Fairgrounds) even though they had space available. And usually with Passport America, they will not honor the discount if you call for reservations. Typically you pull in and hope they have a spot. Also, the areas we tend to travel in, it doesn't appear there are that many Passport America campgrounds there (we're in TN). However we have a 6 week trip planned this September/October and are staying in either KOA's or Good Sam's and have reservations all made & confirmed. I see now where some campgrounds are now accepting AAA and AARP and give discounts for those memberships as well. Using Passport America 2 times will pay for your membership ($49 per year).

They are all good. I like being able to go online and see the Good Sam campground ratings before we make a reservation.

And for those of you heading South on I-75 around Lake Park, Fl (this is just North of the FL state line - I believe exit 8 - heads up! There is a nice campground on the right, Eagle's Nest but we were charged $42 and change for an overnight with our Good Sam discount. We found that just across the interstate, Camping World had bought the old KOA campground and is only charging $19.95 per night LESS your Good Sam discount. Full hookups, sewers, and cable. Guess where we will stay from now on for an overnighter.........? No pool but the campsites look good (not the ones up front -pull back around the lake area).

[Bob Vaughn]

The bigger question is are there campgrounds near where you are driving that are of the club that you are a member of. The cost of fuel to get to that campground and back to the highway may be more that staying at a plain jane campground near the highway. On our trip out west then up to Alaska last summer I did not notice how far a Corp of Engineers park was off the interstate. For the cost of fuel I could have stayed in a "Resort" type campground close to the interstate. The one thing I have found with parks like Encore or Thousand Trails or other chains they are never on the route that I plan on traveling. Fuel was our greatest expense on our trip.......

[kluza2786]

We stayed at Eagle's Nest on our trip to and from Florida last February. We tried to visit Camping World - didn't know about their campground at that time - but it was about 2 minutes past their closing time and the door was locked and the guys inside did their best to ignore us! I'm not sure what the CW campground hours are - seemed to me that they shut down around 6:00 PM also. Since both Eagle's Nest and the CW campground are right along the highway, be aware that you'll have a lot of interstate traffic noise.

[dicky1243]

Originally Posted by Ford1

That's what Passport America is for....50% discount! I think that 'aceinspp' may be a little confused about timeshare type memberships. Not the same. PA costs about $80 a year and just one three day visit at most contracted campgrounds will pay for that. From then on you are saving money.
I think that there is also another similar group called 'CampAmerica'. Again, 50% discount.
The thinking behind these groups is that a CG would prefer to have someone on the site for even half of what they would normally charge rather than have the sites empty.

Passport is only 44/yr

[Jim in Halifax]

I think PA do not offer discounts on Fri---Sat---- Sun nights??????
We used to be a PA camper but no longer as we used to camp on mostly weekends

[bop11]

Following!

[Ford1]

Thanks 'dickey1234'. You're correct. I paid $79 for two years. Also note that Passport America doesn't make the rules for which days or which sites are not discounted'. The individual parks decide how they want to offer the discounts. We do more weekending than anything else and we still get our moneys worth. We investigate where we want to go ahead of time. In addition to the parks' own photos and sitemap, I also check Google maps and familiarize myself with the area. Most of the time I have even selected a number of potential sites before I make reservations.

[Cornelius]

Passport America, Good Sam, and KOA. As others have mentioned, the Passport America rules vary according to the individual campground. The 50% discount is typically (but not always) during the less busy times when campgrounds can not sell all their sites at full price.

Good Sam is okay, but in many places, the 10% discount does not even cover the sales tax. We have also found that some campgrounds inflate their price only to then discount it. So sometimes the 10% Good Sam rate is not really any savings. The 50% Passport America discount is sometimes off a make believe price that no one ever actually pays. Many times the discounts are legit, but some campgrounds play games.

The KOA card can be a good deal if you like their campgrounds. Last year they ran a one day special for their Value Card for $5 around Thanksgiving.

I tried a Thousand Trail Zone Pass for a year. They were okay, but the places we visited had sold their nicer sites to people who kept their RVs permanently parked, so the sites were unavailable for use. The parks also seemed less well maintained. With the Zone Pass you can cancel (30 days written notice required) and not be locked into a long term commitment. They often have deals on the Zone Pass at a discount if you want to try it. Just read all the fine print.

[ottawapaul]

Originally Posted by Cornelius

Passport America, Good Sam, and KOA. As others have mentioned, the Passport America rules vary according to the individual campground. The 50% discount is typically (but not always) during the less busy times when campgrounds can not sell all their sites at full price.

Good Sam is okay, but in many places, the 10% discount does not even cover the sales tax. We have also found that some campgrounds inflate their price only to then discount it. So sometimes the 10% Good Sam rate is not really any savings. The 50% Passport America discount is sometimes off a make believe price that no one ever actually pays. Many times the discounts are legit, but some campgrounds play games.

The KOA card can be a good deal if you like their campgrounds. Last year they ran a one day special for their Value Card for $5 around Thanksgiving.

I tried a Thousand Trail Zone Pass for a year. They were okay, but the places we visited had sold their nicer sites to people who kept their RVs permanently parked, so the sites were unavailable for use. The parks also seemed less well maintained. With the Zone Pass you can cancel (30 days written notice required) and not be locked into a long term commitment. They often have deals on the Zone Pass at a discount if you want to try it. Just read all the fine print.

Agree. We keep these three memberships because there is not one that will cover all areas of the country. We are snow birds, so we travel from Canada to Texas, always on a different route. Having three places to look makes it easier.