Community Forums

Rick Ward · 10-19-2021, 07:19 PM

We recently purchased a class A.
Considering a campground membership.
We are out of Southern California.
Which is better, KOA, Good Sam, or ?

Kxbronco · 10-19-2021, 07:27 PM

Depends on where you stay the most. Both can pay for themself quickly.

MSHappyCampers · 10-19-2021, 07:33 PM

We use Passport America, Escapees, and Good Sam. They all pay for themselves over a year's time!

Granite17 · 10-19-2021, 08:00 PM

Get both! KOA gives you 10% off every reservation and quickly pays for itself. They have a great app. and is really easy to book 1 nighters as you travel.
Good Sam will give you discounts in their store along with many private parks give a Good Sam discount.

Cutch · 10-19-2021, 08:24 PM

We never stay in KOA’s. For the most part they are over priced. Passport America is the best value. Good Sam gives you discounts at Camping World, and 10% off participating RV Parks. Also, some fuel discounts at Pilot/Flying J Truck Stops

be-happy · 10-20-2021, 03:50 AM

I have had GS for many years, the 10% savings at parks is a help as with savings at Camping World.

I really dislike KOA, however last year I did get their membership as we did alot of traveling. It did not take long to recoup the money spent. I plan on renewing this year.

Passport America I also have it but I find it hard to use sometimes. The parks can decide when PA will be accepted and for how many days. I would make this my last card to carry but then thats just me.

PanJH · 10-20-2021, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by be-happy

I have had GS for many years, the 10% savings at parks is a help as with savings at Camping World.

I really dislike KOA, however last year I did get their membership as we did alot of traveling. It did not take long to recoup the money spent. I plan on renewing this year.

Passport America I also have it but I find it hard to use sometimes. The parks can decide when PA will be accepted and for how many days. I would make this my last card to carry but then thats just me.

I had Passport America for many years, but let it lapse. Many of the PPA parks are distant from major travel routes so when we are on the road going between destinations, PPA really doesn't work for us. We do use KOA's as they are usually placed near roads we travel. they are over priced and as of lately, many of them are getting pretty run down. You do get the 10% off and accumulate points that are good for free nights. I have good sam too as you get the discount at participating parks and you get a fuel discount at Pilot/Flying J.

MN_Traveler · 10-20-2021, 09:06 AM

What others have said above. I have all three. Us koa and good sam most, occasionally PPA (but it is cheap). A lot of parks recently have been changing from/too KOA, so it is hard to say these days which are "better". Recently ive seen some REALLY nice parks that are not KOA. As you travel you will get to know parks you want/like to stay at...

MattSiegel · 10-20-2021, 09:12 AM

Most of the membership programs are easily paid for in a short amount of time. We have KOA and Sam's and both are worthwhile.

I keep track of our trips including what we pay for campgrounds. Then, after a full season, I look over the trips to see what was worthwhile or not.

You can't go wrong - neither is expensive. Most importantly, have fun out there!

scbwr · 10-20-2021, 01:37 PM

I have both discount cards (KOA and Good Sam's). You can't assume anything because a campground is a KOA, Good Sam's member or whatever. I always look up several campgrounds in an area and select the one that meets my needs. For a one night stand, I'm not that particular aside from preferring a pull-thru site that will allow the towed car to stay attached. Our last stop was at the KOA in Mercer, PA and it is a wonderful campground. I've stopped that other KOA campgrounds that are not very nice and OK for an overnight stop but not what I would prefer for a multi-night stay.

Due to several issues, we're not on the road enough to benefit from the Passport America program. In Ohio, I try to stay at the state parks as the price is fantastic if staying Sunday thru Thursday with the Golden Buckeye discount for seniors.

RKins · 10-20-2021, 02:34 PM

If you want to stay for free you could buy into Thousand Trails. They have a lot of campgrounds in CA. Not sure the condition of the CG but it gives you a lot of trial time. Scroll down on the main page and see the US map and location of the CGs.
https://thousandtrails.com/

ArtJoyce · 10-20-2021, 02:46 PM

For the most part we do federal, state, county, city CG's, or bondock. The private CG's it's good sams or passport America for over the night. Both might pay for themselves. Passport America we have a life time and we use about 2 to 6 nights a year. Good sams - 4 to 8 nights a year but in many cases I could get the same discount from being a disabled vet. So not sure I'm netting + on the good sams.

Passport America, normaly are parks that are not taken care of. But we do find a gem every once in awhile.

Ray,IN · 10-20-2021, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cutch

We never stay in KOA’s. For the most part they are over priced. Passport America is the best value. Good Sam gives you discounts at Camping World, and 10% off participating RV Parks. Also, some fuel discounts at Pilot/Flying J Truck Stops

Dutch Star Don · 10-20-2021, 10:14 PM

Everyone camps differently. We tried Passport America and found that only a few places that we travel to on the west coast honored their discount. Every time we tried to use it, we were told it was only good during certain months, which were off season. We never got to use it and didn't renew it.

Good Sam is not a campground membership, it's just an organization that rates campgrounds, like AAA. By joining, you get a discount at many parks, usually about 5%. In our travels we find it's worth the price to join. Many parks will ask f you're a Good Sam member, AAA member and on occasion an FMCA member.

KOA has been around for years. Twenty years ago, KOA stood for keep on adding. They charged for the site, power, sewer, water and cable. By the time you selected everything, the price was just about double what the advertised price was. After that they went into decline. However, but 6-7 years ago they stepped up their game. The KOA in Nashville is the nicest of the three parks there. The KOA in Glacier National Park is one of the nicest parks we've been to.

KOA prices out west are no more expensive than the next campground down the road. KOA is kind of like your favorite fast food restaurant, you know what you're getting when you get there.

It has always been fashionable to say KOA's were dumps and pricey, because many just regurgitate what they've heard others say. We don't have an issue going to any KOA. What we find when one is not as nice as another, is that they were just bought out by KOA and updating the park.

On our most recent trip we stayed at several KOA's throughout the northwest. We joined years ago, but found on occasion, we didn't use a KOA after our membership expired. We would just renew it the next time we stayed at a KOA. On this most recent trip, we got several nights for free because we booked so many nights on the trip.