Yet, if you’re new to caravanning, you might be wondering whether this sort of holiday is right for your family. You may wonder what kind of activities can families do on and off the campsites when on holiday?

This article talks through some of the best things for families to do together in and around their vehicle on a campsite and showcases one of the most-visited South West UK staycation areas – South Devon – to illustrate how family fun works on location.

While most holiday goers use their campsite as a base for day trips to explore a region, you’ll often still have the morning and later afternoons to spend relaxing around your caravan or motorhome. Here are some top family holiday activities to do close to where you’ve pitched:

Learn how to fetch water

One of the most fun and most practical things kids can do when helping to run the vehicle during your stay is fetching the drinking water using an Aquaroll. An Aquaroll is a water store designed to be easily rolled along the ground using a handle and makes any child feel like they’re behind the wheel of something much more significant.

For many campsites, the drinking water collection taps are often within sight of your vehicle. If you take the time to teach your kids how to use the Aquaroll safely, It might save you having to collect water quite so often in the future!

Help with food prep

No distractions of home life coupled with the novelty of cooking in a vehicle means camping is a great time to get your children engrossed in learning how to prepare food. Choose some of their favourite meals and get them involved in peeling and chopping the vegetables (or even try some baking).

The entire range of Bailey caravans and motorhomes makes it easy to make mealtime family time. With fully-fitted kitchens including an oven, grill and sink, plus large surface areas and fold-out tables in every vehicle, you can easily cook tasty meals together and then get the kids to help with the washing up.

Make their beds

One of the great things about caravanning and motorhoming is that they’re a great way to teach children how to do basic chores. Things like making a bed become more fun because they often involve an element of construction. Whether it be sliding out the double lounge bed in a Bailey Phoenix+  or helping to lower the ceiling mounted double bed in a Bailey Autograph 81-6, you can use the fun mechanics as a gateway to teaching your kids how to do their homemaking.

Play board games

A favourite activity for caravanning and motorhoming families across the country is playing board games. Excellent as a backup for rainy days, they help bring families together and teach children about tactics, teamwork, and striking deals. Choose a mixture of party games, board-based and card-based games to keep it fresh by playing a different genre each time.

All of the vehicles in the Bailey range are perfect for hosting board games. With fold-out tables that fit into every lounge area, or are easy to set up outside, you’ll always have the perfect place to set up a friendly competition for the afternoon.

If you are looking for something a bit different to board games, Lee Davey, our Caravan Ambassador created an escape room game during last summer’s lockdown that you can play in your caravan – you can download the instructions here

The beauty of family-friendly staycation destinations is they’ve been designed to be safe and welcoming to children. So here are the best things kids can do when exploring the camp:

Spend time at the play area

The play area will often be the first place your kids want to visit. Usually set off in the corner of the campsite to keep the noise isolated, the play area allows children to burn off energy and make new friends. Some children may even wish to play games such as the floor is lava or tag.

Learn about nature

Campsites are often set in remarkable scenery (some in Devon are even in Exmoor National Park or Dartmoor National Park) with walking trails all around or a short drive away, so they’re an excellent place for children to learn about nature.

Go on a walk with a local nature book and get them to see how much local fauna and flora they can spot. Or take some binoculars and have a go at bird or butterfly spotting, especially if you’re on holiday near an RSPB reserve.

Go stargazing

Great for those staying on smaller, more rural sites away from light pollution. Stargazing is the perfect evening/nighttime activity and often something children don’t get to do very often. Consider using phone apps that use GPS to give you more information about the stars, planets and constellations you’re looking at.

Play flashlight tag in the evening

Flashlight Tag is an enjoyable nighttime activity for the entire family to get involved with if you can find an area of the campsite where you won’t disturb other campers. This game works like the playground classic tag, except everyone wields a torch and the person who’s ‘it’ has to get their beam to land on another player. It’s straightforward to learn and exciting to play, making it an excellent game for the open space of a campsite.

For many families, the activities on the campsite are only half of the fun and exploration they plan to do. Depending on where you go for your staycation holiday, you’ll often find loads of family-friendly activities to do and places to visit in the area surrounding your accommodation.

To demonstrate just how much there is for a family to do in a given area, we’ll now take a look at some of the top activities around the best campsites in Devon. The South Devon countryside is one of the UK’s most popular camping destinations and gives an insight into what’s possible to see within easy reach of a campsite.

If you’re interested in booking a holiday in South Devon, check out this helpful campsite finder.

Explore some great walks

Having one of the UK’s most beautiful coastlines, and famous for it’s Jurassic Coast, South Devon has more than its fair share of coastal walks. For example, the East Soar circular runs four miles through the rolling hills of Dartmoor and the rugged shoreline of the Bellhouse rock. The mix of unspoilt countryside, coves and historical tors are sure to keep the children entertained during an afternoon walking. It’s also a great dog-friendly activity.

Explore a city

Cities are one of the best places to visit with families because there’s always so much to do that you’re bound to find an activity that appeals to everyone. Within South Devon, you have both Plymouth and Exeter at your fingertips and each is well worth a visit.

For Plymouth, children often enjoy exploring Smeaton’s Tower lighthouse and seaside views in Hoe Park, which in the summer usually has ice cream vans and entertainers in abundance. For Exeter, you should try exploring some of the old city which has buildings such as Exeter Cathedral, with fascinating histories

Visit popular attractions close to your site

One of the biggest secret tips about staying on campsites is that they often have a section dedicated to information on local attractions. This is a great way to learn about all the best family-friendly things to do nearby and some campsites may even offer a discount on entry fees or cafe purchases.

When you get to your campsite, ask reception about what attractions they recommend. Also, keep a lookout in the laundry room, games room or campsite shop for an area filled with leaflets giving information on the best local attractions.

While your holiday location may change, similar ones to the above activities could be done anywhere in the country and hopefully serve to inspire your family-friendly holiday plans.

As caravan and motorhome holidays are so popular with families, there are hundreds of family-friendly holiday destinations across the country. These range from smaller family run campsites with few amenities to larger holiday parks with many, such as shower blocks, crèches, play areas, evening entertainment, and swimming pools.

Both the Camping and Caravanning Club and Caravan and Motorhome Club have useful campsite finder features on their websites that make it easy for you to filter by the type of campsite you want (eg. family-friendly) and the kinds of features you want it to have (eg. fishing lake, entertainment etc.). Many campsites on their rosters are multi-award winning.

Families choose caravan and motorhome holidays because they offer every family member activities to suit their interests. With campsites providing not only a base for further exploration of an area, but also loads of entertainment and learning opportunities onsite, camping holidays allow kids and parents alike to find exactly what they are after.

If you’re interested in purchasing a caravan, then check out Bailey of Bristol’s current range here.

Or if you think a motorhome is a better option for your family, then you can go here to see our current range.