Haven is probably the best-known name in the UK caravan holiday park market. Their 40 parks are ideal for families looking for a busy holiday with indoor swimming pools, places to eat onsite and easy access to beaches. Many of their parks get better reviews than their rivals, but they can also be a bit more expensive (based on the price comparisons we've done). Here are 6 ways to save money on Haven holiday parks (plus an extra one we added later!) 1. Don’t arrive on a SaturdayUnsurprisingly, most of us want to arrive on Saturday for a week’s holiday. However, if you can avoid their busiest changeover day then you can make a decent saving. For example, a week staying at Haven’s Seaview Holiday Park in Dorset in August 2024 in a Saver caravan was £899 when we checked, if you arrived on a Saturday. However, if you arrived on the Friday before it was only £769, a saving of £130. You’ll still get a seven-day holiday, it’s just not as convenient for people working Monday to Friday. 2. Travel to a Haven holiday park up northIn our (limited) price comparison, we found that Haven’s best holiday parks in the north of England and in Scotland are generally cheaper than their best holiday parks in the South of England. Location seems to be more of a factor than facilities and reviews. There are exceptions of course, but we picked out 10 of the best Haven holiday parks for our guide and found that two of the three cheapest were Thornwick Bay in Yorkshire and Lakeland Leisure Park in the Lake District. Meanwhile, Devon Cliffs in Devon and Perran Sands in Cornwall were both amongst the more expensive Haven resorts. During August the difference between the cheapest and most expensive was almost £700 for a family of four. That's just the minimum saving - if you start looking at more luxurious accommodation then the price difference is even greater. 3. Cosy up and fill up a caravanThis one is not for everyone, but a family of four will make a significant saving if they share an eight berth caravan rather than booking two caravans for four people. For example, you’ll pay £1538 for two Saver caravans for four people at Haven’s Seaview Holiday Park in Dorset in August 2024. An eight-berth Bronze caravan meanwhile will cost you £1158 for the same week (searches carried out in November 2023). Bronze is one grade higher than Saver in the Haven accommodation grading system. That means each family will pay £579 for a week rather than £769, a saving of £190. But is it practical? Well, in the example above, a four-person caravan has two bedrooms whilst a four-berth caravan has three bedrooms meaning that a couple of people will end up sleeping in the lounge. I guess you’d need to know people pretty well to avoid a week of awkward situations. Also bear in mind that an eight-berth caravan only has one shower, so you might not get everyone ready until about lunchtime. One slightly more practical option is to invite a couple of grandparents, as the difference between a two-bedroom and three-bedroom caravan is generally only a couple of hundred pounds. 4. Book Haven early for the best choice and priceGenerally, you’ll find the best deals are available if you book long in advance, rather than if you wait for a ‘last minute bargain’. The cheaper accommodation at popular Haven parks is sometimes sold-out months in advance. For example, when we searched Lydstep Beach Holiday Park in November 2023 for holidays in August 2024, we found that the cheapest ‘Saver’ caravans were already sold out for some weeks. As a result, you’re left with the ‘gold’ and ‘signature’ options which are more expensive. Presumably quite a lot of people are booking their holidays before they’ve even got home and unpacked. Haven also doing a price promise, which is along the lines of: 'When you book your 2024 holiday early, we’ll beat any prices cheaper after that. If you stumble across your break at lower price after you’ve booked...we’ll give you the difference back (full details here). 5. Check Haven's offers page regularlyAlways take a quick look at Haven's offers pages before you book. These aren't generally discount codes and promo codes, but are discounted rates around certain dates. You'll find they offer things like 25% or 50% off standard prices, or fixed price deals for midweek breaks. Most of the deals are aimed at getting people to book outside of the school holidays but it's always worth a look, even if you are fixed to certain dates. There is also a last-minute offers page which has some really good prices for people who are flexible enough (yoga teachers, for example). 6. Try camping and touring at a Haven holiday parkOK, I know what you're thinking...but bear with me. About half of Haven's holiday parks offer touring and camping, which means you can bring a tent or your own caravan. The advantage is that you still get to use all the onsite facilities, including swimming pools, kids' clubs and so on. When we checked, a week at Littlesea Holiday Park in Dorset in August 2024 was £1010 for 2 adults and 2 children in the cheapest caravan available. Meanwhile, a week in a tent at Littlesea for four people was £504, a saving of £506. It's one to consider during peak summer season when the weather is better and the difference in price is most significant. See our guide to Haven's touring and camping sites. 7: Choose a Haven Hideaway holiday instead of a standard Haven holidayIn 2022, Haven introduced a new option on the booking form called Haven Hideaway (it was called Haven Stay/Haven Stay + Play for a while). The idea is that you can pick whether or not you want to pay to use the onsite facilities. We've written a whole blog post on this but the gist of it is that if you are visiting on peak and are just looking for a seaside base for exploring the local area then I would go for a Haven Hideaway holiday. If you are likely to use the swimming pool, kids' clubs or entertainment then you'll need to pay for a standard Haven holiday (previously called Haven Stay + Play). The saving varies significantly depending on the time of year. When we searched for week long holidays in August 2024, we found that a family of four saved between £100 and £210 by going for Haven Hideaway (previously called Haven Stay). We looked at prices at five of the best Haven resorts (Hafan y Môr Holiday Park, Hopton Holiday Village, Devon Cliffs Holiday Park, Lydstep Beach Holiday Park and Perran Sands Holiday Park). However, for a week long holiday in early October the saving was only £40-£90 for a family of four at those five resorts. So, you're only really saving about £1.50-£3 per person, per day. It's worth realising that a standard Haven holiday doesn't mean you get to use everything for free. You still have to pay extra for some activities.
4 Comments
16/4/2019 06:53:58 am
It's great you mentioned that one of the best ways to begin a holiday is not to arrive there on a Saturday since that's usually the time a lot of people would be swarming the park in an attempt to get the most out of the weekend. Another thing to do is to book early! Booking early is always a good thing to do considering that the slots tend to go really quickly. If I had the chance to book for one of the holidays coming up then I would definitely call ahead and make sure that the cabins I would want to reserve are still available since they have a tendency to go real quickly.
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Holiday Park Guru
15/7/2019 09:34:40 am
Thanks for your comment Adrian - yes, anything that avoids the Saturday rush has got to be a good thing!
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Kathryn Donohoe
28/7/2020 09:35:56 am
Hi my daughter and her family are due to have a week with Haven in August, however my granddaughter who is 12 is wheelchair bound therefore can you suggest the most suitable caravan type prior to booking along with the most suitable park .
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Holiday Park Guru
22/12/2020 03:24:40 pm
Apologies Kathryn, I am sure it's too late to advise you now but just replying for anyone else who has the same question (I didn't realise that comment notifications were turned off for the blog!). I hope you found something suitable.
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