Who pays £2000 for a week in a caravan?

[Stoppingdriving]

I've just been looking at caravans in Cornwall during the summer holidays to take our nieces away. Growing up in the 70’s, this was a cheap holiday and all we could afford but I have a bit of nostalgia creeping in and quite fancied giving the girls the same experience. Haven was recommended for things for the kids to do, close to the beach etc however I’m astounded to find some caravan types costing £2k plus for the week. They might have a sea view and an en-suite but it’s still just a caravan.

Does anyone actually rent these caravans or are they all empty and just the bog standard ones that get filled?

People who have £2000 and want a caravan holiday.

The long and short of it is that there's too much demand. We holiday on a scale that's completely unprecedented in history. Demand far outstrips supply. So things are expensive.

Having been on sites during the summer holidays and seen cars next to the very nice vans on site, it would seem that they fill them, possibly with multi-generational family groups judging by the people on the verandas. Nothing wrong with the bog standard ones, in my mind, these expensive ones still have the same tiny single beds in the twin rooms.

Depends on the site. My friend owns and runs one (independent not Haven) and their site has beautiful gardens, a huge staffed swimming pool, a bar/club house/restaurant - with nightly entertainment, tennis courts and on site services that all mean a lot of staff. You still stay a caravan, albeit a top of the range one, but I can see why the costs are high.

In France I would - the camp sites are beautiful. In a rainy Cornwall? It’s a no from me but plenty do. I can’t believe the prices people pay for centre parks rather than going abroad but I guess we’re all different.

I get that running a site in high season would be expensive and prices go up in summer based on demand, I’m just taken aback by the disparity in prices because there doesn’t seem to be much difference in the layout of the interiors apart from the decking and sea view.

I do understand that different people have different preferences and choose to spend their money in different ways but it has shocked me. I don’t think I’ve paid that much extra for a room with a sea view in a hotel.

Go for independent sites not Havens etc. Havens are gross now. I recommend Ladram bay in Devon.

To be fair. A 2k haven caravan is pretty nice. We were really impressed. It's not like caravans of old. More like small houses

I totally agree, summer holidays are ridiculous. Haven for example charge £400 for a week in term time yet over a grand in the summer hols. We just don't go on holiday in the school summer holidays cause I really can't justify it. We just do days out etc.

Instead we take the kids out of school at a different time of year. sometimes its a cheap Haven, other times abroad. This year we are going to Tenerife the last week of school in December. Its just over £2k but that's for a week, half board. id never pay that for a week in the UK.
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Cornwall is particularly expensive, so I think you pay more for any level of accommodation there compared to most other parts of the UK.

Take them to France you can get a week in a nice caravan with pool on site/inflatables park etc for 700euros. We used to go to one near Fontainbleu and go to Disney for the day.
Better weather and you have the adventure of going on the ferry over etc.

This is the first week in the holidays and it’s the variation in prices between Bronze and Signature Front Row sea view given that the caravans have the same sq ft size that really made me post about this.

I might have to look at France. Kids don’t have passports but if there are cheaper options there, maybe that’s worth picking up the cost to give them a different holiday.

We live in Cornwall and it certainly feels though they are all filled in the summer! The local caravan park charges £2400 for a week and people book them for a fortnight. A lot of places seemed to increase prices during the summers of 2020 and 2021 and kept them high.

I'd guess all of those are a fair bit more expensive in the Cornish site than the equivalent models in, say, Blackpool or Prestatyn Haven. You just notice the difference more with the top of the line models.

I have a friend who rents a caravan (I think those prices are extortionate and wouldn't pay) who justifies it by saying things like : the caravan sleeps 6, so it's £330 per person, which is a bargain for a holiday in the middle of the summer.

I kind of get the logic... but only as a way for caravan owners to inflate prices. Because not many people will put 6 in a caravan, even if it's possible. And it's probably more like 2 adults 2 kids. And it's still a caravan in [shitty seaside town].

This is why I never holiday in the UK. It should be cheap but it's a rip off. I paid £200 per person for flights and accommodation in Spain a few weeks back. Yes, it isn't summer holidays, but it was amazing - weather included.

We used to have caravan holidays when the kids were small but it always rained, so now will only go abroad, for that price you get guaranteed sunshine and heat😎

I'm amazed people pay that to stay in a caravan when you can go self catering and stay in a real house for less than that.

Absolutely, yes they are more expensive in Cornwall but the main reason for going there rather than other cheaper sites is that’s where we went when I was little 😊

They are usually around that price in Italy, we go to a few around lake Garda and I've seen the summer prices on a similar range. The difference there is usually the facilities are all included and there's lots of outdoor activities plus jacuzzis on the terrace. But as a previous poster said, you pay 2000 and you can have 6 people in there, which works out at a very good price compared to a hotel, and with freedom of choice and a bit more family privacy.

I find Haven a complete ripoff, they try to dig every last pound out of you, and because you have more rainy days you're more inclined to have to spend on entertainment rather than a bbq, game of boules outside etc.

We’ve stayed in caravans in gorgeous parks on the Côte d’Azur for €400 for a week in June, or €250 in May.

You can get a nice air bnb in most places in Cornwall for that (even peak season) so there is no way I'd spend that on a caravan holiday.....

Those prices are shockingly expensive! I'm astounded that people are willing to pay that much for the sort of kiddies' caravan holiday that used to be cheap as chips.

I’d pay for the Bronze level for that particular week (other weeks get much more expensive for all levels) and justify it on a cost per person basis plus reliving my childhood but it’s the fact that the sea view version is double the price that has just made me wonder whether they were all empty or not.

And I’m now nosy to find out who is paying 😀

Highly recommend France if you fancy a cheap but nice caravan holiday that won't rip the bank account wide open.

5 of us Vendee, 2 weeks, including return ferry £950. Yes you can add spends on top [ about a 1k) for us but far better value, and we happen to enjoy self catering.