Many of us dream of taking a fly-drive motorhome holiday in New Zealand, and in our new February issue, the dream of a lifetime comes true for Gary Blake. In the first of a two-part feature, he explores South Island, taking in iconic sights such as the Mount Cook mountain range, Lake Pukaki and The Remarkables mountain range. It’s not all about those ‘Lord of the Rings’ views, however, as lucky Gary and Wendy find time to taste fresh crayfish and go wine-tasting at the world-famous Cloudy Bay vineyard.
Closer to home, we select 10 great sites for winter touring. We feature plenty of things to do all year round in England – and also highlight a delicious event for sunseekers who like to spend their winters touring Spain.
You won’t need to get Euros, but you will need to get on a ferry to visit the scenic coast and countryside of beautiful Northern Ireland. Caroline Mills goes to find her own ‘Treasure Ireland’ to visit as many of the National Trust’s 48 landmarks in Northern Ireland. She visits the mysterious and legend-rich Giant’s Causeway, great mansions such as the Georgian Castle Coole, 17th-Century thatched cottages, and many more hidden gems.
We also bring you our guide to the best campsites and tourist destinations in Northern Ireland, from its outstanding coastlines to scenic loughs, dramatic landscapes and historic towns. When you plan your tour we don’t want you to miss a thing. So read our guide to see where to stay if you want to see the Dark Hedges, featured in Game of Thrones, or Belleek Pottery, the impressive Marble Arch Caves and more.
New Hobby, Fleurette and Moto-Trek reviews
In this month’s tests section we give you the low-down on three exciting new motorhomes for 2016: the four-berth Hobby Vantana K55 van conversion, the four-berth Fleurette Migrateur 70 LDS low-profile coachbuilt, and the Moto-Trek X-Cite G low-profile coachbuilt for couples, with its slide-out and garage.
We also bring you up to date with the latest news on the Volkswagen emissions scandal, as well as news of the latest Mercedes-Benz vans, Niesmann+Bischoff motorhomes and Auto-Trail.
We love selecting the best new motorhome accessories on the market and this month we review no less than 17 dashcams. We pick out the best for motorhomes, to keep you and your ‘van safer on the road.
As a bonus, if you turn to Stacie’s super savers page, you’ll see that we’ve got an exclusive reader discount: £10 off the winning dashcam! The offer lasts until 14 January 2016 and all you have to do is visit the RAC shop online, select the winning RAC 05 dashcam and enter the code MOTORHOME10 at the checkout.
We’ve been using our Benimar Mileo 286 long-termer in Warwickshire and now we bring you our latest running report on this Spanish ‘van.
Our brand new 2016 motorhome buyer’s guide is in this issue, with more than 800 new ‘vans included. Compare all the latest ‘vans, complete with new prices, layouts and specifications.
How to maintain your motorhome
Our motorhome workshop guru Diamond Dave offers advice on maintaining your motorhome, with winter touring in mind. We also cover how to fit a towbar to a motorhome, how to maintain pleated blinds and flyscreens, how to make your dinette bed into a double bed, and more!
Find bargain motorhomes for sale
You don’t have to buy a brand new motorhome to enjoy our fantastic lifestyle, since we have plenty of used motorhomes for sale online. And in this month’s used ‘van challenge we compare three more affordable motorhomes. Read our expert’s advice on a super saver Autocruise Vista, priced at £15,000, a value-for-money Dethleffs Advantage Elegance costing £26,000, and a good-as-new Auto-Trail Cheyenne at £26,000.
If you need to buy an even cheaper motorhome, read this month’s buyer’s guide to the Devon Hijetta and Bambino. Our expert highlights the best models to look for, what to pay and any known problem areas to avoid. We have good advice on buying used motorhomes, too.
New competition!
Win pairs of tickets to the Scottish Caravan, Motorhome and Holiday Home Show, worth £24 a pair. Scotland’s largest motorhome show takes place in Glasgow from 4-7 February and it’s the ideal place for our northernmost readers to browse plenty of new motorhomes. Enter online before midnight on 13 January 2016.
Your letters, stories and holiday hotshots
Thank you if you are one of the readers sending us emails, and posting comments on our forum, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter feeds (@pmotorhome), or sending in stories and photos about your own motorhome adventures.
We also love reading your ‘tour that changed my life‘ stories, and this month Helen Dixon writes about the time when she and her family hired an RV to cross the Canadian Rockies. She says that they haven’t looked back!
Gary Blake explores South Island, taking in iconic sights such as the Mount Cook mountain range, Lake Pukaki and The Remarkables