Caravan / holiday parks

[Slightyamusedandsilly]

For the first time in my life, I'm on a caravan holiday. Fairly upmarket (as much as they can be) one. Very clean. Quiet. Directly by a beach. Very middle class town.

My god, I'm SO bored. I'm not a fan either of package hols, but this is a whole different level of dull.

AIBU?

If you are the kind of family that spends all day round the pool abroad then it ain’t going to cut the mustard - if it was my main holiday it’s not for me either, as a cheap break I would just roll with it, play the arcades, eat fish and chips on beach, etc

Only boring people get bored.

I don't think this is the caravans fault to be fair. You like sitting around in the sun and you've gone on holiday in the UK. I'm not sure what magical feature you thought a caravan possessed that would make that scenario work for you?!

I don't hate it. But it's not for me.

We regularly stay at a haven site, fairly cheap even for the nicer range of caravans. We don’t pay for the entertainment pass as we only really use the caravan for sleeping - we’re out all day exploring and visiting places. If you sit in the caravan all day then yes you’ll be bored stiff, I kinda thought that was the whole point of these sites, to use it as a base with some entertainment on site to fill the gaps.

Have you actually explored any further than the immediate town? It's just accommodation in a nice place. When you usually go somewhere do you usually just hang around the hotel and the immediate vicinity? That's going to be dull wherever you are.

There's so much more to a holiday that sitting around on the beach all day.

I love the beach, but that would bore me shitless after a couple of days.

You have to go out and make your own entertainment. What would you do if you were abroad and the weather was shit?

These places generally serve as a base for exploring imo. You can make day trips to attractions/activities/scenery that you wouldn't normally be in reasonable driving distance of.

Some people just stay on the park enjoying the quiet and lack of pressure to attend to anything.

I'm not hugely interested in sight seeing. Happy to go on long walks etc. But with toddlers that's not as much fun.

It was a cheap deal and we've given it a go. But won't go for it again.

I think most people who do these hols use the caravan as a base and plan days out to local areas of interest. That's what we do anyway. We might have a morning or afternoon at the beach or in the arcades or doing on site stuff, but we mainly go out and about to local attractions.

Yeah, and I think I could have relaxed into it if not for children. Reading, walking, eating etc.

Yes, having kids in tow does change the dynamic. No doubt about that.

Sounds like you just picked a boring area. When we go do caravan holidays the caravan is a base for an area we want to visit. We go somewhere we want to be and do things we enjoy (walking, beaches, towns and food mainly!).

The caravan is just a base, not the point of the holiday

I don't know what is different abroad for children surely they would get bored on the beach abroad etc. You really need to organise days out from the caravan or just mooch about is there not kids entertainment?

But wouldn't that be the case on a foreign holiday? If you don't like sightseeing what do you usually do that entertains yourself and them that you can't be doing now? It doesn't sound like a location problem that makes sense.

It sounds like your expectations were just a bit off TBH.

I usually enjoy a caravan park holiday - but as others have said just use it as a base to explore the area.

Depending on the ages of your kids you'll need to find some activities/places to visit that will entertain you all.

If you say where you are and the ages of your kids I'm sure the collective mind of MN will give you loads of ideas

@Slightyamusedandsilly

How old are your children?

Caravan parks are usually very safe, unless your kids are very young set them free round the play park and the arcade

Yes, give us a rough idea of where you are...maybe someone can chip in with a good suggestion.

We have done all kinds of holidays, and most of my now adult children favourite memories are UK beach based ones. Building sandcastles, playing football/cricket/rounders/badminton on the beach. Flying a kite, playing the 2p machines. Number 1 memory for all of them is pond dipping when I fell in the pond. Then a couple of evenings either at the onsite entertainment, or playing cards and board games. Occasionally a visit to a local pub garden.

Depends what you want, personally find holidays abroad where you just sit on a sunlounger beyond dull. Doesn’t matter where you are, you need to explore a bit and see things and be honest, you know a holiday in Britain is highly unlikely to come with good weather

You don't need to stay there all day, it's just a base, are there any good walks or towns nearby?

Sounds like you needed one of the ones with more activities on site. You've evidently gone for a park whose selling point is peacefulness, plus proximity to a naice town for those who enjoy wandering around naice towns. That's a very popular niche, but it's not your family.

Something like a Haven or Butlins would likely have suited you better. Plenty of tacky entertainment to tire out the toddlers.

My children loved this kind of holiday when younger. Spent hours in the park making new friends. Wouldn’t have been able to lounge by a pool abroad with them though, they’d have been bored rigid 😂

Yeah, I don't think any type of toddler holiday is going to feature lounging!

It does sound like you like the Sun and european"vibe" which is fair enough do the kids like extended lunches ? I do think you need to treat a UK holiday like you would having days out at home.