UK Caravan holiday’s, affordable fun or the pits?

Perhaps just leave them to it too.

Sites vary, the actual caravans vary and some people hate being in close proximity to others plus the advantages of a holiday park (restaurant, bar, kids club, entertainment) to one person is another’s worst nightmare.

We have been on some great ones through sun holidays. Hendra has by far been the best one we’ve visited, although we spend very little time at the park itself typically, it has amazing indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a soft play. We paid about £80 for 5 days.

I can see how you’d be bored at a lot of them if you didn’t leave the site but we use them as affordable ways to explore local beaches and national trust houses.

I loved my UK camping holidays as a kid.
As an adult though I find it much harder to have a good time and keep everyone entertained if the weather is shit.
I don't think that sort of thing bothered parents back then, as they weren't the ones doing any entertaining. We were left to it.

We go to Cornwall every October
300 for the week stay. We use caravan as a base, has WiFi and all mod cons. Dont use the site really but the kids like the freedom for park and shops while we have a cuppa in peace.

Brilliant for young kids and teens. Perfect base right on beach in Cornwall.

Park almost empty in Sept/Oct so not busy at all

We've just booked Dorset for May half term with my parents...if the weather isn't great it looks like there's a decent amount of museums/acquariums etc.

DS2 (and my DM) are very excited about digging for fossils. DS1 just cares that there's a football pitch.

They're beautiful places aren't they? Just so peaceful and they feel cleaner somehow.
The harbour is lovely and the High Street in Porthmadog is really varied and you get some real treasures from there.
We love driving to Criccieth and Harlech too.

I liked haven in hale, Cornwall when my oldest was 7 and my daughter was 3 months old

We go to haven as we’ve got children, they love it. When they’re older we will go in a cottage or abroad in a hotel.

Loved them when DS was younger a a fun family getaway. As a kid he was a full on Hi-de-hi style camper, I wasn’t quite as much of a fan of getting up early to go to ‘wake and shake’! DS is 21, so we haven’t been for a while and won’t be booking to go again. We’re more villas and cottages than caravans these days but I’d never judge someone on the holidays they take

Love them! Me and my DC used to do The Sun £9.50 holidays about twice a year from when they were toddlers until they left home. I even took myself on one a few months ago, it was great!

Kind of off topic but the inbetweeners and jay taking his mates on his family caravan holiday is hilarious.

You’ve been lucky and must be on a private site.

It’s very private. Just us.

I think they can be good, or they can be the pits. It depends on when, where and who else is there either you. I have had some amazing times, and some miserable times.

Never had a single caravan or camping break though where there isn’t several families that fit all the stereotypes of why some people assume it’s the pits. Sometimes it’s those people that make the break worth it though. They give you memories to talk about forever with everyone else who had to suffer them with you 😂

We camp too, so the mobile home lot might be closer than you think.

Where is that for? It seems really high, I was looking for seven nights in August and highest price I was quoted was £600 and I thought was high. That’s a crazy amount.

we go camping but not in a caravan - when we camp we try to avoid the mobile home lot....

I loved caravan holidays as a child but i will never stop in a caravan again. I went on a caravan holiday a few years ago and it was awful. The on site restaurant was a rip off. I did try some restaurants nearby but they were not much better. I ended up cooking and the caravan cooker was really slow. I would have been better off going to work unpaid.

We went to Haven in Perranporth most years when the kids were young, usually in June or September to it was cheap and the kids loved it.
The entertainment in the evening was handy for us too, the kids could run around with other kids while we sat and had a drink.
I'm not a fan of hotels anyway so would never choose that kind of holiday, I like more than just one room and having to find places to eat out all the time so we tend to stick to holiday cottages or a caravan.

We've since bought our own static in mid Wales on lovely quiet site now the kids are a bit older and we are restricted to term times and love it, it's a home from home.
We do around 60- 70 nights there every year then hire a van near the sea for a week.

It's not the caravan itself that makes a holiday good or bad it's the site you choose.

You’ve been lucky and must be on a private site.

Im talking about the big known brand named sites.

Our little private site got sold to a big named one and everything changed.

edit to add. And yes I agree loads of life in most statics but again big named sites don’t like over a certain age as they say for appearances (again read money in their pocket)

The worst one I ever looked at said they only allowed vans under 10’years. Most seemed to say 15years.

Honestly don’t buy a static. They are money pits.

That isn’t a given. Ours doesn’t owe us much.

It cost £1800 twenty years ago and has a few more years left in it yet.

Ah thank you.

that’s good to know.
it would be for the whole family so for my mum and my (moved out, adult) ds and me and dd. I can see between the three adults it getting quite a lot of use but yeah. The site fees look… interesting.

We've booked to go away to a Haven Park. 2 adults and 2 teens. The teens actually asked if we could do a caravan holiday again.

The caravan looks pretty spacious and we've made sure everyone has their own bedroom.

We don't intend to stay on site all of the time and we'll be out sightseeing most of the days. I'm really seeing it as base with a pool, amusement arcade and a bit of evening entertainment if we fancy it.

Fingers crossed that it's not crap.

Honestly don’t buy a static. They are money pits.

A caravan they sell you for £20k even if you sold it back one year later will only be 5k tops. Gas, electric, water, electrical test, gas safety, insurance, drain down as some want it professional(read more £££ in their pocket). If you are on bottle gas most sites will only let you buy from them which again they mark up. Decking the same. Good pitches with good views can be 6k a year rent more in some places.

Unless you’re personally going to be there as a second home every weekend and holidays or you plan to build some kind of rental empire it’s just not worth it.

Some sites have age limits and those 20k caravans will be close to the end of their lives you’ll need to upgrade to a 40k-100k one. Also the rent to off set costs if you let the site do it will take every good date of the year leaving you with the scraps and often damage promised to be fixed.

It’s an unregulated business with a license to print money for the land owners. Even if you buy on a little private site that’s fine to start till they sell up to a large corp and then you’re snookered again.

We have a static that we use regularly year round in addition to holidays elsewhere at home and abroad.

So, definitely not the pits.