Cheap Family Holiday Ideas
Cheap Family Holiday Ideas: Eurocamp on Costa Brava Spain
We were looking for a reasonably (cheap) priced holiday idea in The Med, something with lots for the kids to do, with plenty of other families around. We knew another family that went to Eurocamp every year and they gave it their endorsement. So I hit the website(s) and found there was a family of companies doing the same sort of thing. The Eurocamp website was quite slick with lots of videos of satisfied campers! There was lots of organised activities the kids could be signed up for if you wanted to, or not. Mostly these were free on site, so the cost was already loaded into the price. Therefore if you are not going to make any use of them you might want to think again.
Family holiday ideas: Self-catering and Camping
So we booked 12 days at a site in Catalonia not far from Barcelona staying in one of the static caravans with three bedrooms and a shower. The site, at Playa d‘Aro looked pretty on a wooded hillside looking out over a beach and the sea. I booked the flights with EasyJet, almost simultaneously, flying from Luton to Barcelona. Then I booked a hire car through the Easyjet website (with Hertz). Although this was convenient subsequent investigation showed I could have got a better deal (no prizes for guessing this) .
The cost
Between these three elements, in the height of the season, the cost was beginning to add up. It would certainly exceed late availability deals from most of the major operators for something equivalent staying at 3 star self-catering accommodation, but just pipped the full brochure prices. The reason we chose it was to ensure there would be plenty of families and children, and organised activities for them to join in when they needed extra entertainment. I appreciate some people would avoid it like the plague for exactly the same reasons. The cost of a tent was quite a bit cheaper than the static caravan, but then you are into shared wash rooms and the trips to and fro with small children was not going to be entertained!
However as each plot comes with a table and chairs and a bar-b-que you can easily keep the bill for eating out and drinks very reasonable. Even once the kids went to bed it was very pleasant just to sit outside sipping wine.
The holiday
The flights with Easyjet were as expected. The kids were well behaved and occupied with the small rucksacks packed full of stuff that we brought for the duration. See the flying with kids website for more tips on how to keep them out of mischief.
Picking up the car was straight forward – don’t forget your full UK drivers license. The first pleasant surprise was that we got a brand spanking new, shiny black, Seat Leon turbo diesel, fully loaded, with just delivery miles. The trip up the cost was fairly plain driving once we’d been round the airport twice. Although the narrower Spanish lanes took a little getting used to as everything seemed very close.
On arrival at the campsite everything was much as expected, except the hill was even steeper than it looked , about 1:4 with loose sand and grit on the tracks, it was tricky to negotiate once a bit tipsy, or for small children! The static caravan was also new, clean and in very good order. Being mid summer the campsite was absolutely heaving, living up to its name as Eurocamp.
The pool s and facilities like shops were all good. Judging by the numbers of young teenagers there it would be an ideal holiday for this age range to give them a little but fairly safe rope. The internet cafe was popular with that age group to stay in touch with their friends too. I think our youngest who was 3 nearly 4 was a bit too young to really join in with all the activities, but his sister (6) got stuck in. The beach was good, but you had to cross a main road by footbridge to get there.
In the evening it was certainly lively with lots of events going on around the restaurant/cafes and pools. Again this was very popular for the teenagers to hang out.
How Successful was Eurocamp as a cheap Family holiday idea ?
The main downside, at least from my wife’s point of view was the massive wood ants that got everywhere, including our bed. It was also impossible to keep them or pine needles and sand out of the caravan. From my point of view it lacked any kind of charm or romance, or peace and quiet, that I normally like on holiday. Overall the kids enjoyed it but I would recommend it more highly at a slightly higher age. www.eurocamp.com
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