When my daughter was born in 2023 we traded our holidays abroad for UK caravan holidays. I’m no stranger to the odd caravan, I was brought up on Haven holidays to the coast back in my teenage years with my family. I never thought it would be my first choice but it’s amazing how many aspects of your life alters once you have children.

So in 2023 we went on our first family caravan holiday to a Parkdean resort in Brynowen, Wales. We booked a week in September with our 3 month old and dog. It was super cheap and honestly it was brilliant. It far exceeded any expectations I had. I was supposed to write about it but in those early years of Hilda being born I was terrible at blogging. I had my hands occupied as you can imagine! So one day I hope to catch up and write about it alongside all the other adventures I missed. Since that trip we have done 3 caravan holidays, all equally enjoyable in their own ways.

Why caravans?

Have you ever tried booking a hotel room with a toddler? Well, first of all you have to find a family-friendly hotel. I thought this would be easy but it’s surprising how many hotels don’t allow children or don’t have family rooms. No problem, i’ll just book a regular room and she can sleep in our bed, right? Nope, it doesn’t always work like this. I first realised how difficult travel with our baby was after she was born and I wanted to attend a wedding in a remote part of Yorkshire with her. Half of the hotels would say no rooms available the moment I set capacity to 3. So imagine you get over this hurdle now add a dog in to the mix. Not just any dog > A 52kg large mountain dog. Trust me, finding a room that not only allows a child and dog but also FITS a cotbed + giant breed in the room alongside 2 adults > It ain’t easy!

So that’s what led me to my first caravan holiday. I could not believe the price. I was so used to paying in excess of £100 per night for a small hotel room for the night. I couldn’t believe it when I found myself booking a 3 bed caravan for the entire week for less than £200!! So here started our new travel addiction.

Fast forward to 2025 and I’ve now been on multiple caravan holidays and even a trip to Butlin’s. Prices vary depending on if it’s half term or not. If you can do a mid-week break you will pay significantly less. I have seen caravans available for less than £100 for an entire week if you find the right month. The last couple of times we have travelled have both been on a weekend which will bump the price up but I’ve still felt the cost justifiable in relation to the break.

In April 2025 we stayed 3 nights close to Skegness for Easter Weekend. This is the busiest weekend for UK travel as you can imagine. Still, we paid less than £100 per night for this stay including the £49 dog fee.

In October 2025 for a halloween weekend break of 3 nights close to Skipsea on the East Coast, we paid less than £200 total for the entire weekend including the £49 dog fee.

In February 2025 we visited Butlin’s in Skegness for the unbelievably cheap price of £99 for 3 nights over the last weekend in half-term. No dog included on this one though unfortunately.

I hope the above gives you an idea of just how cheap you can travel within the UK for! Of course this is expensive in comparison to some of the city breaks you can get over in Europe. Now that our 2 year old has a seat on an aeroplane, we find there is no such thing as a cheap break abroad. It isn’t stress-free and to make it worthwhile we must travel for at least 5-7 days too. Not to mention paying kennel fee’s or finding a dog-sitter. If you feel the same then perhaps a UK caravan holiday might be your next adventure!

Where do I start?

There are many caravan parks all over the country as you can imagine. You can stay in-land or you will find many resorts along the coastline. The coast is popular because you tend to find a lot of family-friendly attractions here within walking or driving distance.

I will be honest, I have only used the same company since I started travelling with my baby and dog. I know they are all quite similar but because of the facilities on offer from these two in particular I would highly recommend them both for those with children. I am of course talking about Parkdean and Haven.

The thing that is great about these two resorts is they have so much to offer. Every park is different so do your research and make sure you check the facilities. A lot of them feature on-site arcades, restaurants, food trucks, playgrounds, an entertainnment venue, swimming pool and dedicated dog walk areas. Not all offer these but definitely the larger sites. As each park varies so much it is worth looking in detail at reviews, photographs and information on the website. The right park can make or break your holiday. We have stayed at the following 3 parks and I hope to write about each resort over the coming months.

Parkdean Resorts Skipsea Sands

Parkdean Resorts Brynowen Holiday Park

Parkdean Resorts Sunnydale Holiday Park

Butlin’s

I never knew anything about Butlin’s but I knew people I went to school with would go every year and rave about it. I didn’t even know what it was. So the moment our daughter turned 1 I started looking at new holiday options. I explored the idea of Butlin’s and I was shocked to find that not only is it affordable but it has a ridiculous amount to offer both adults and children. Not only do they have a caravan park like Parkdean and Haven but they also have hotel rooms. They are basic but extremely cheap and for the facilities you get included it’s likely you won’t spend much time in your room anyway – We didn’t!

As mentioned earlier, we paid £99 for 3 nights over a weekend in the last week of the February Half-Term. This is the cheapest time to go as the caravan season hasn’t started yet and the site isn’t open. So you can only visit Butlin’s if you stay in the hotel. This means the crowds are less because there aren’t the 1000s in the caravans and the weather is cold which acts as a natural deterrent anyway. All the shows go ahead as normal and when we visited we had an amazing time with loads to do. The fact that all your fairground rides are included too was a unique selling point even if we did only go on the carousel in the end!

Dog friendly?

When we travel, we do enjoy taking our friendly mutt. She’s a big girl so it’s not always possible!

Caravan holidays have made travelling with Newkee so much easier. Not only are they spacious but the fact you can leave your dog unattended in the caravan makes life so much easier as we can visit attractions, restaurants or even just get out for a bit without taking her with us. Obviously we don’t go on holiday to just leave her alone all the time but just the option of a couple of hours away makes all the difference. The caravan sites charge a set fee of £49 to take your pooch and that’s applicable regardless of the duration. It might feel hefty for a 3 night break but given our kennels charge a whopping £72 for the same duration it’s no wonder we do everything we can to take her with us!

The rise in popularity of dog-friendly establishments in the UK has definitely made life easier.

Where next?

There is a big difference between the various caravan sites across the country and sometimes the facilities just don’t live up to your expectations. So for 2026 I will do my research and aim to plan some great breaks for our nearly 3 year old! I’m going to spend some time researching not just the location but the parks and facilities too.

One thing I know already is that we want to re-visit Butlin’s! We had a great time last trip and it would be nice to make it an annual thing. UK holidays are definitely becoming the new normal for us as a family and with so many counties to explore it’s time we headed somewhere new.

Have you visited a great caravan site that you’d like to recommend? Ever visited Parkdean or Haven – What was your experience? Leave me a comment with your stories and questions!