Earlier this year, I received details of a fantastic villa holiday that included flights and car hire. The location was perfect, as it sat on the edge of a coastal town in Brittany and was a short walk to the beach. It was also blessed with an on-site swimming pool. What was the cost of this seven-night holiday for a family of four? £4500…

I’m not a fan of spending money unnecessarily, so I got to work to see how much money I could save by taking our Bailey Phoenix+ 650 caravan to a similar location with similar facilities. With the idea hatched, could we holiday as a family for approximately £1000?

Both major UK clubs – The Caravan and Motorhome Club and The Camping and Caravanning Club – offer significant member discounts, but I didn’t realise I could save quite so much.
I spoke to The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Travel Department, who were incredibly helpful, pointing me towards some colossal savings, even though our travel window for ‘bigger’ trips is during the school summer holidays. They suggested I look for a combined deal, as additional savings can be had when booking certain crossings and sites simultaneously. On this occasion, we saved over £200 on the Dover to Calais crossing alone. Moreover, it gives you an ABTA bond, the same guarantee offered by the well-known travel operator who advertised the villa holiday.

I chose a site in Brittany – Camping Du Poulquer in Benodet – as it closely resembled the villa location. Both campsite and villa were blessed with swimming pools and a location that was a very short walk to the beach. Travelling by caravan, motorhome, or campervan gives you the added bonus of exploring places along the way, so in addition to our seven nights in Brittany, we spent an extra four days exploring Calais and Normandy. Our first night was spent at Chateau du Gandspette, a favourite of ours when travelling to the near continent. It’s just thirty-ish minutes from Calais, has two swimming pools, a bar & restaurant, and all the activities younger children could ever wish for. If you’re considering taking your leisure vehicle on its first foray into France, it’s worth adding it to the wish list. It’s a straightforward towing route with a supermarket and fuel station just a few minutes away.

Our next stop was Camping Risle et Seine in Normandy. The site sits on the edge of Pont-Audemer and has a swimming pool and bar/restaurant. For history buffs, Normandy needs no introduction. Deauville is fifty minutes west, and the site grants easy access to the eastern edge of the D-Day beaches. With this being a one-night stay, we ventured into Pont Audemer, a pretty town with half-timbered houses and bridges that cross the River Risle.

Although our ‘there and back’ trip segment gave us four extra days, the main aim was to spend seven nights in Brittany. The town of Benodet is popular among French holidaymakers thanks to a golden sandy beach and numerous bars and cafes that line the promenade. The town is a perfect size – small enough not to be a sprawling metropolis but large enough to house all the amenities you need – with Camping Du Poulquer nestling to the east of the beach. Facilities were great, and even though we stayed during peak season, the pools were never crowded – indoor or outdoor – and we made use of the sauna and steam room whenever we wished.

As previously mentioned, the seven-night villa holiday included flights and car hire. Our eleven-night caravan holiday included return crossings, all campsites, and with the caravan pitched, we explored the region in our own car. The villa and campsite were in broadly similar locations, with a swimming pool and easy access to a beach. Cost-wise, the villa package was £4500 for a family of four. The caravan holiday was just £834. If I add fuel cost, our outlay was approximately £1100. It’s worth noting that we booked less than two months in advance, so bigger savings can be had if you’re more organised than we are.

Crossings. Booking ferry crossings through UK club, The Caravan and Motorhome Club or The Camping and Caravanning Club, can save a lot of money. Selecting a combined deal – crossings and sites that carry an additional discount if booked together – saved over £200 on the crossing alone. That’s almost four years of membership saved in one transaction.

ABTA Bond. The ABTA logo is often displayed on adverts from large, well-known travel operators. It was automatically included with our Caravan and Motorhome Club booking as we booked our crossings and sites at the same time. Don’t want to build an itinerary for the entire trip? Book crossings and just one site.

VPN. Should you wish to book a ferry crossing direct, use a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Have you ever scrolled through flights or crossings only to discover that the price increases each time you look? A VPN keeps your identity (largely) hidden and won’t let a website know that you’re a ‘hot prospect’ that’s taking another look.

Fuel costs. I use an Avtex Tourer sat nav when towing the caravan, and although it lists fuel stations along our chosen route, the (free) Waze navigation app allows me to select a fuel station based on price. For example, we filled up with diesel just 300 yards from the dual-carriageway and saved a whopping 30 Euro Cents per litre.

Food & drink. If you’re looking for the best deals on food and beverages, restaurants on the promenade tend to be more expensive than those a street or two away. Google Maps will reveal establishments away from the main thoroughfare, and these are often cheaper. Google allows you to check the reviews, too.