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

They do depreciate quickly. Get a holiday home? My in laws had one. Often booked well in advance into sites. Lots of faff just for a weekend, so it never got used for this. Mil did all the cooking so never really had a holiday. Just cooking in a small space. She ended up hating it.

My friend would love a tourer, in fact she dreams of owning one. For me it would be hell on earth. Which one are you?

Do it, best years of our life. Totally agree with the comments on costs though, defo don't underestimate it, site fees were really creeping up over the past few years, understandable with power/water costs.

It’s really hard to just up and go with a caravan because you have to stay on a site and the majority have to be pre booked. We had a motor home and that was great in Europe but rubbish in the UK because you can’t park anywhere. The best vehicle we had was a Bongo. It was marvellous. It was converted so slept two in the roof and two downstairs ( you’ll easily manage with children), we could park it anywhere and we added an awning if we camped for any time.

I cam on to say this. Join the holiday park action group page and read the stories of financial ruin faced by people in a cut throat unregulated industry.
Do not buy a static unless you are very rich and can happily burn 100k for no return.

I think the biggest cost you need to consider is running a car with that kind of towing capacity.

I've never towed a caravan but tow a horse trailer.
Are you already running that sort of car or would it be a big upgrade. The diesel costs are high just to run the car even when not towing.

Also how confident are you towing as it can be stressful & you are limited to suitable roads. Unless you are very experienced at towing journeys can take a lot of pre planning.

I love touring but totally underestimated the cost.

Aside from the initial purchase price there is:
insurance
servicing
storage
accessories if not included in sale (awnings being the biggest expense)
fuel costs when towing
club membership
site fees

Just make sure to tot these all up before taking the plunge. I think touring has worked out more expensive by quite a lot than our previous choice to use holiday lets. But love the lifestyle of camping and the relaxed way of life on site.

What sort of caravan are you thinking of?

A static caravan on a park or your own that you can tow or mobile home?

If you are thinking about a static caravan be very careful & have a look at the Holiday park action group on Facebook & do your homework thoroughly on charges etc & what you will get back if you sell.

Touring caravans I know nothing about. Can you afford to run a car that can tow, storage etc.