I take my whole family away in October half term every year for just £100 – it’s the best week for finding bargains
IT'S not often that you find the best prices for family holidays when schools are off, but this year, there's an end-of-season bargain break bonanza at Haven.
For £100, I've just booked to take my boys away to Haven Hopton over one of our half term weekends, which is a real result, given that staycation prices still seem to be sky-high after the pandemic.
But anyone who's struggled to afford a break this year might be in luck over the October half term, as this year it's staggered over three weeks.
Schools being off at different times lowers the prices for everyone as holidaymakers with schoolchildren are spread across three midweeks and four weekends.
October is always the best half term for bagging a bargain anyway.
That's because everyone gets the same week off in May to coincide with bank holiday Monday, which means that families are competing to go away all at the same time.
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Meanwhile, most caravan parks are still closed in February half term so there's far fewer staycations to choose from.
The only downside to having a staggered October half term is that it can make it difficult to meet up with family and friends who live in other parts of the country, as their children might not be off at the same time as yours.
We often go away with friends who live near Newcastle but they're off to Craig Tara in Scotland the week before our half term this year.
Meanwhile, as my boys go to school just over the border in the county next to where we live, they will still be at school while all the other kids in our village are off for half term. Our break is a fortnight later.
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Having kids in different schools can also make it difficult for families to get away in October if their holidays don't coincide, so the staggered school term dates don't work for everyone.
We've had some of our best holiday park breaks at the end of October, including visiting Butlin's Bognor Regis, Haven Golden Sands, Away Resorts Tattershall Lakes and even Duinrell in Holland one year.
One of my most memorable moments there was hurtling down the onsite toboggan run through the trees, enjoying the late autumn sun dappling leaves that were turning red, orange and yellow and starting to fall. Bliss.
The great thing about heading to a holiday park at this time of year, whether it's in the UK or abroad, is that there's loads to do indoors if the weather isn't great.
But there's often one last warm spell before the winter sets in, so you can enjoy some fresh air and fun outside before it's too cold to want to be outdoors.
One year, it was even warm enough to sit on our balcony at the Wave Hotel at Butlin's and eat lunch al fresco - nothing beats enjoying a spot of grub overlooking the sea and I certainly wasn't expecting it at that time of year.
We've gone away at the end of October for years now and the weather is generally good, there's lots of fun Halloween and Bonfire Night activities taking place and parks are a bit quieter as they come to the end of the season.
It's a real winner and a wonderful way to head towards winter.
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Meanwhile, this expert revealed big mistakes families make when booking holidays that could be costing them money.
And this travel expert revealed the best time to book holidays to save money.
