One of the main reasons for buying our caravan was the huge cost of package holidays in the school holidays. Once our eldest started school, it meant we wouldn’t be able to afford a family summer holiday. It was the best decision we’ve ever made especially now with COVID-19, with staycations in the UK now increasing in popularity.
Since buying our caravan in July 2019, we’ve completed 50 nights away. That’s 7 weeks in the 10 months we’ve been caravan owners and able to tour, winter months included, lockdown not. We were amazed at this as we’ve not spent anywhere near the cost of a 2 week summer holiday abroad in that time, if you don’t account for the caravan cost!
Not having huge travel costs means for me as a parent you don’t have to say “no” so often when away, meals out and gift shop purchases feel so much easier to say yes to when you’ve not already paid out a fortune for travel and accommodation!
Caravanning is a great family experience but you do have to become creative when travelling with children, especially younger ones. As kid specific caravanning products are few and far between.
We started caravanning when our youngest was only 6 months old, I’ve learnt some fantastic hacks and tips along the way!
Here are my Top 5:
Ikea Highchair
We had this highchair at home and I knew immediately that one for the caravan would be perfect, its lightweight, and the legs, and tray are removable idea for storage away and travel.
Paddling Pool in the Shower
This is a game changer, all you need is a small toddler paddling pool and pop it in the base of the shower in your caravan and you have a small makeshift baby/child bath. I got my kids paddling pool from Wilko for £3 at the beginning of the year, and managed to grab a new one for next year in the sale for £1. Bonus on this tip is you also have a paddling pool to use when its hot!
Pop up Travel Bassinets/Beds/Bed Guards
Sleeping arrangements when caravanning can be complicated and for the tiny family members its really important to get right. Our caravan had bunks so we were able to use a pop up travel cot on the bottom bunk in combination with a bed guard.
As the littlest dude grew and no longer fitted into the cot, we’ve had to use a standard travel cot, and arrange it into the space within our dinette.
As in my previous blog, layout of your caravan is the most important factor and will always be a determining factor on what you can do. We’ve brought bunks knowing sleeping arrangements in the future would be perfect but slightly challenging whilst our youngest was smaller. Windbreaks These are ideal for creating an outside space for the little ones but also keeping them from running off. This also applies to fur babies as well. I recommend purchasing specific camping ones over the type you get in a beach shop due to the nature of pitches on campsites. It would 100% be a struggle to get the beach type in and to stay put! Scrunch These products are AMAZING, we were kindly sent some for our summer holiday this year to review, and I LOVE them, they are ideal for the caravan as standard buckets and spades are a real pain to store, these ones just squash and fold up! Great for the beach bag as well! I will be buying another set for the boys to have one set each ready for next summer. Shop Scrunch products here. As I discover new ways to hack items for caravanning with kids I pop them up on my Instagram, so do follow for future discoveries!
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