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

[Flossyts]

There’s five of us, so even in the uk a hotel price is wild to me. Most of them aren’t dog friendly too.
Am I crazy to consider buying a caravan? Are there hidden costs for me to consider? Do they hold their value if I want to sell?
Any warnings, hints and tips anyone wants to give me?
kids are 9,7 and 3. We also have two small dogs.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Sorry - wrong thread

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!

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.

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.

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!!

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