Being holiday home owners has meant we have had to learn ways to save money when we go! Haven isn’t cheap (not even for owners!) so here are some of our tips to save money on staycations!
Do a supermarket shop and have it delivered to your holiday home
Depending on the park you stay at you can either have a shop delivered to your holiday home or you may have to collect it from the main gate – either way it is so much cheaper then using the on site shops and takeaways (although nothing wrong with treating yourself to one!)
Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Ocado, Morrisons and Iceland all offer delivery services so depending on where you are staying you should be able to use at least one of these.
If delivery isn’t available look for the closest click and collect, the last thing you want to do when you arrive on holiday is go shopping. If your little ones are anything like ours they don’t like going shopping at the best of times and we always seem to spend twice as much when we do take them!
Order items in advance
Popcorn, flashy things, bubbles… Don’t buy these on site you will pay a fortune! Stock up beforehand, this microwave popcorn from Amazon is one of our favourites we make it before we leave for the evening, pop it in a Tupperware box and take it to the show bar with us.
Flashing wands and glow sticks are another thing that is popular with the little ones so again Amazon is a great place to get these wands from (don’t forget extra batteries!) you can also get boxes of glow sticks from some pound shops so they are cheap to stock up on , especially as they are single use and only last a couple of hours.
Lastly are bubbles – the wands are an absolute menace when our kids get hold of them, within seconds they will have tipped the bubble liquid out by not holding it upright! So again stocking up on some smaller handbag sized pots of bubbles is a great idea.
Tips to Save money on staycations
Prebook days out
Most attractions offer discounts if you book in advance. Have a look online for places you can visit and plan your visit ahead of time. You can also join local facebook groups for the area you are visiting as these often have loads of information on discounts etc too.
You can also find apps such as Kids Pass that offer discounts to their subscribers, just be sure to check the T&C on the attraction before visiting. Wowcher and Groupon also often featured days out so it’s a good idea to have a really good look before you go to get the best deals on all the places you want to visit.
Register for local pubs mailing lists for discount vouchers
If like us you do prefer to eat out then a good trick is to google local pub chains and register for their mailing lists. Some offer a free drink just for registering, others send out discount vouchers or special event invites to those on their mailing lists.
Also download apps for them, especially chains, and check the wallet section for offers. You will also be able to find out if they have days where they offer kids eat free, 2 meals for £10, free desserts etc to help you plan the best days to visit.
Also if you have a blue light card you can also get discounts, to qualify you just need to work in one of the below roles
WHO QUALIFIES?
- 4×4 Response
- Ambulance Service
- Blood Bikes
- Border Force
- British Army
- Cave Rescue
- Community First Responders
- Fire Service
- Highways England Traffic Officer
- HM Armed Forces Veterans
- HM Coastguard
- HM Prison Service
- Immigration Enforcement
- Lowland Search and Rescue
- MoD Fire Service
- MoD Police
- Mountain Rescue
- NHS
- Police
- Red Cross
- Reserve Armed Forces
- RNLI
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Marines
- Royal Navy
- Search and Rescue
- Social Care Workers
- St Andrews Ambulance
- St John Ambulance
- UK Visas and Immigration
You can find out more here
Look for booking deals
Can you go in the week? Outside of school holidays or bank holidays? If you can you are likely to grab a much better deal.
If you know what site you want to stay at also have a look for private owners who rent out, they are often cheaper than booking direct and offer lots more ‘home comforts’ in their holiday homes – for example we have Smart TVs, free Wifi and a Tassimo coffee machine. We also leave toys, books and DVD’s out along with buckets, spades, footballs and tennis rackets, all things you’d be unlikely to find in a holiday home rented directly from the company.
You can use sites such as UKCaravans4Hire , Direct Holiday Homes , There are also lots of groups on facebook (listed below) where you can put where you’d like to go and/or the dates and owners will comment if they have availability.
Just be sure to be cautious as these groups aren’t always verified owners so you do need to be a bit more careful before parting with your money. Check the photos are consistent (you can even reverse image search them to see if they’ve been taken from elsewhere) and ask as many questions as you need too.
I keep our page updated with fresh pictures taken at our van and also have video tours available for potential guests to watch, a genuine owner will be more than happy to answer your questions so don’t be afraid to ask! And if someone inboxes you and doesn’t comment on the post, this is the most common way scammers avoid being caught so please do report anyone who does this to the group admins
Private Caravan Hire UK – Sites like Haven etc
Last Minute Caravan Holidays UK Only
Last minute deal caravan Holidays
Haven Burnham on Sea Caravan Owners Direct
As I mentioned above if you are a Blue Light card holder you may also be able to get discount on stays at various locations across the UK.
I hope you’ve found these Tips to Save money on staycations useful! Wherever you end up over the summer holidays have a great time and I’d love to know if you have any other tips you’d like to share – feel free to let me know in the comments below!
ChrissyJ xxx