Should I buy a caravan instead of paying so much for holidays?!

Caravans depreciate really quickly. I bought a brand new one for 36k and only got 11k for it 18 month later . Everyone I know who buys one regrets it

Same here. Couldn’t think of anything worse! You couldn’t pay me to stay in a caravan!
I prefer to put my money into staying in hotels/ airbnbs/ villas where there’s a bit more luxury or even just comforts. Why spend your hard earned money and annual leave staying in a piece of plastic stuck in a field nowhere near anything!!

Definitely get a tourer. You should find a decent one for £3k or under. Mine cost £1k and oats me nothing as we've loved and used it so much.
Think about storage, costs and hours of access if you can't keep it on your drive.
Join camping and caravan club or caravan and motorhome club as their temporary sites usually provide more flexibility at peak times.

We dither through this once every eighteen months or so. Storage near where we are is at least double what my in-laws pay, and the annual running costs - servicing, insurance, etc - are as much as our week in a naive static in Easter in Cornwall each year.

Don’t be as foolish as us OP and buy a brand new one when you get carried away at the Camping and Motorhome show at the NEC….fast forward it had lots wrong with it and we ended up getting our money refunded.

If you do get one, I’d buy through a dealer and look around loads to work out which layout is right for you.

We had some great trips away in it and I loved the luxury of our own shower and toilet so avoided using the sites facilities, the kids loved it, but it wasn’t cheap and good sites get booked up well in advance.

It did used to take longer to get to your destination and you couldn’t just decide to be spontaneous and stop somewhere en route, you have to plan a lot!

Currently weighing up whether to get another one or just stay in self catering accommodation - it’s a lot less hassle!

Sorry - wrong thread

We just had a last minute week on the north Norfolk coast in our tourer, booked it when we saw the heatwave was looming and wanted to escape to somewhere a bit cooler.

Definitely buy a tourer and not a static. Great cosy holidays and if you find a site you love you can actually pay to site it all year round but then take it off whenever you choose, which you can’t do with a static caravan. I bought one in 2015 best thing I ever bought, still have it, kids still love it. I’ve sited it at a few sites in Northumberland so don’t even have to tow it about. Only fees you have is storage approx £150 a quarter depending on where you store or annual site fees £2000 to £3000 depending on site. If you site it close enough to home you can literally spend every weekend there yous will love it.

I would never buy a static as you lose so much money and the site has you by the balls. If you have the money for a static just spend it on a top notch tourer, they’re just as nice!

You would have to pay me to spend the night in a caravan with my DH, a 9 year old, a 7 year old, a 3 year old and 2 dogs. That is a lot of stress in a space that’s what…22 foot long? Add in a bit of British rain, emptying the caravan loo, and cooking for 5 (+ dogs) in a minuscule kitchen. It’s a no from me. Kids and dogs need space and freedom, not spending a week or two in a space that’s a tenth the size of your regular house.

5 people in a tinier place, and two dogs sounds like hell to me. So many Air BnB places, sounds like more work and costly too.

We have a tourer. Absolutely love it. Ours is in storage when not in use (cost £440 a year). Only 3 miles away from our house.
Setting up/away? Now takes us no longer than 20 mins. We divide jobs. DH lowers the steadies, sorts the electrics out, TV out. I sort the chem toilet out, loo flush out, water and waste.
We are on our 4th tourer now and have finally got the layout we love.
Check out the forum Practical Caravan.

Could you rent first and see how that goes. If you have a hater in your family, it’s better to discover before you buy, and until you try it you don’t know how much you’ll like it.

You’ll also have a much clearer sense of what features to look for, and what kit you would want to add.

We have a motor home and went away 3 out of every 5 weekends when the dc were your ages. The attraction has faded a bit now that they’re teens and aren’t as easily delighted with a new playground. But it was terrific when they were small, especially for my autistic lad. We went everywhere and had so many adventures because we could bring his safe and familiar space with us.

I much prefer the mh, and campervan, to a caravan, but that’s all personal preference. It’s expensive staying on sites (Ireland is bad, and UK not much better) compared to Europe, and there’s no comparison in facilities.

One thing I’ll warn you is that it completely spoiled me for hotels and air b&b.

Absolutely love taking kids in the campervan and we get loads of holidays and weekends away this way but I like it as I mainly love wild camping and not expensive sites which can feel crowded and noisy. Not sure caravan gives this flexibility so I would go campervan or tent or even one of those roof tent things.

YABU to say that holiday prices are “wild” compared to buying a caravan.

You have to buy it, furnish it, pay the costs associated with lugging it around, pay to pitch it, store it. How much do you estimate that would cost per night that you use it?

You say you want to go to the north east or Scotland for the weekend at the drop of a hat without winning the lottery? Then do it. I’ve just searched for 5 of you and a dog this coming weekend, popular as it’s the first weekend of the holidays and you’re spoilt for choice. £120 a night roughly

If you want spontaneous you need to join Facebook groups where people share some tiny yet lovely camping places. There are some lovely places in Scotland £10 a night honesty box system with breathtaking views. No pre booking gems. As they are more stop over type sites with nothing great for self contained for a night or two.

A Tourer is a much better option than a static, a motor home would be even better mind if budgets allowed.

Caravans are not my thing personally. We are a family of 5 and do Airbnbs and booking.com villas over hotels. We have never had a problem of finding anywhere and at last minute too.

We had a folding camper after tenting for years with younger kids. Best thing ever, easy and light to tow, quick to put up, can pack before you go and can camp on hardstandings. We got rid of it when I went back to work full time as I now work weekends, but I miss it so much. It’s the best of both worlds imo.
sold it last year to pay for a holiday in Greece - had a fabulous holiday but bitterly regretting it now!

Statics are a money pit. Check out Holiday Park Action Group on Facebook. The site owners are usually crooks.

Friends have a caravan and love it, plus daughter uses it as a hang out base when friends come over which is very cool. They do find it hard as good places get booked up quickly so it’s not as spontaneous as they’d like but they still enjoy it. We have a camper van and it’s amazing so would suggest that maybe? We have an awning so can make it a cosy home with beds in the van and living bit in the tent

There are pros and cons like all things. We switched to a caravan after a few horrendous camping weekends doing English Civil War reenactment.
Pros- we keep our van at home (but in a very rural location) so it’s just take stuff out of the front door into the van.). When you get to a site it’s put the stabilisers down, hook up, connect the water and get the kettle on, no faffing with tents and poles, airbeds etc. (awnings are a different matter altogether, there’s a reason they are known as divorce in a bag…)
Cons- cost of regular services (you might be able to do some yourself but gas systems need a qualified engineer). Insurance, regular wear and tear(tyres need replacing regularly even if not worn). Fuel consumption rockets when towing. Prices for sites have gone up tremendously but if you aren’t fussed about huge amounts of facilities the Caravan and Motorhome club do small sites with 5 vans on that are basic but you can usually get space.
A rule of thumb is two more berths than the number of people in the van, but that might not be possible. Also need to be very aware of towing weight. We totted up the weight of stuff we took with us last year and it’s surprising how quickly things mount up. I think a lot of accidents happen because an overweight caravan starts to snake a smaller car. I’m a very nervous tower, I will do it but I think we will swap the van for a motorhome when we downsize the house

You also need to check if your driving licence what it allows you to tow. From memory I think it depends if you got your licence pre or post 1997.
Also, an awning is known as a divorce in a bag.

Just seen this is ZOMBIE THREAD

I’d look round a caravan dealer to find a caravan with a layout you like, and then look for used ones for prices.
I love our caravan, but it took a lot of getting used to at the start, setting it up, taking it down etc took far longer than I anticipated. I have become far more minimalist as a result.
I agree with you about being out and about. We use ours as a base, and go out on day trips.

Look on Auto trader, they advertise caravans from both dealers & private sales.Buy Practical Caravan Magazine, they have layouts for all tourers so you can find layouts you like & then look at the ones for sale on Auto trader, YouTube often has videos of caravans so you can look exactly how they are laid out, just put in the manufacture name, model & year.

Why? Lots of houses on our road have vans on the drive, including ours! If you mean that when it's not there the house is empty, it isn't, plus we have heavy security and a full alarm system. Burglars choose easy targets.