How a ‘two-resort’ staycation can save you hundreds on your next family holiday
WHEN you think of a two-resort vacation, you might be picturing the Caribbean or some other exotic, far-flung location.
Lincolnshire is probably not what pops into your head, but we love visiting two holiday parks here in the UK on one trip.
It's a great way to save money on a longer break, as booking a full week on one site often bumps the prices up, while splitting your break into a weekend and midweek means you can shop around for the best deal.
We've just spent a festive week away in Lincolnshire - a £190 weekend in a hot tub lodge at Away Resorts’ Tattershall Lakes, followed by a £60 midweek at Butlin's Skegness.
For a week in a gold apartment at Butlin's in early February, it would cost £449, compared to £132 for a midweek.
So tagging on a £190 off-peak weekend at Tattershall Lakes 45 minutes away saved us about £130.
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You're also saving money on transport by bolting two mini-breaks together as you're not driving there and back twice.
Aside from saving money, the main benefit to a two-centre staycation is actually the change in pace.
Holing up in a hot tub lodge can get a bit samey after a couple of nights, while the hectic pace at Butlin's, where there is always something to see and do, doesn't really make for a relaxing break.
Heading from one park to the other makes your trip seem twice as long, especially as there's generally very little travel between the sites.
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You need to pick a town or an area that's got plenty of holiday parks to choose from to make this sort of holiday work.
Somewhere like Great Yarmouth in Norfolk is ideal, as it's got four Haven sites, Parkdean, Park Holidays and several independents like Potters on its doorstep.
The way that's worked best for me is to book a good deal for the weekend part of the break first.
That's likely to be the bigger expense, given that more people are off work at the weekend and so parks will always be busier and pricier then.
Once you've found a deal you're happy with, get your weekend away booked, then you can have a look for a cheaper midweek nearby.
You can even wait until closer to the time as you'll often get a last-minute deal on midweeks, especially if it's term time. That's what I did with my festive trip to Lincolnshire.
We'd paid for the weekend date months in advance, then just snapped up the Butlin's midweek a fortnight before we were due to arrive.
It's also a good way of splitting the cost, so you can pay upfront for one part of your holiday and then wait until later to pay for the second part.
One of my favourite two-centre holidays was the time we spent a weekend at Haven Golden Sands near Mablethorpe with friends, before heading to Butlin's Skegness for some family time.
It always pays to check out what facilities are available on each site and plan accordingly.
As the Butlin's pool is currently partially closed due to a water leak, we made the most of swimming and the indoor splash pad at Tattershall Lakes.
Meanwhile, the festive shows at are a paid-for extra, so it made sense to save seeing the pantomime until we got to Butlin's, where there are multiple entertainment venues with something for everyone, all included in the price.
Butlin's has also installed a free ice rink while it gets the pool fixed, so my middle son made the most of that feature and taught himself to skate while we were there.
Make sure you check out what needs to be booked in advance so you can get to see and do everything you want while you're away.
So if you're looking for a cheap way to get away, why not think about a two-resort staycation?
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Meanwhile, this is what entertainment families can expect from Butlin's in 2024.
And new £12million holiday lodges will also open at one of the resorts next year.
