I’m the queen of money saving holidays – my tips for cheap UK staycations and the one that cost £2.50 per person a night
I’M the queen of cheap staycations and my family-of-five loves a holiday.
Every month we go away somewhere in the UK, but still only spend around £2,000 a year.
This works out at around £166 on average a month.
In the last year we’ve been to Wales, Northumberland, Lincolnshire, London and Norfolk multiple times.
We’ve even managed to get away on a budget during school holidays.
So are you desperate for a bit of a break but are feeling slightly skint?
Here’s a few ways you could get away for a low-cost ‘staycay’ without breaking the bank…
Youth hostels
Gone are the days of bringing your own sleeping bag and signing up for a chores rota if you choose a hostel rather than hotel.
Nowadays, you’ll find excellent facilities for not a lot of money, if you know where to look.
I love a trip to one of the many places run by the Youth Hostel Association (YHA), which is open to everyone, although members get better rates.
As annual membership only costs £20 and you get 10 per cent off every stay, it could be worthwhile signing up if you’re staying for a few nights.
Last Easter, I took my boys to The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall and we bagged a family room that slept four for just £140 for three nights.
We cooked in the communal kitchen to keep costs low and the boys used their Blue Peter badges to get into the local heritage sites free.
It the perfect budget break and there’s so many incredible sites to choose from.
We’ve stayed at a medieval castle in the Forest of Dean, a former Ministry of Defence site overlooking a secret beach in Wales and a Georgian mansion near Chester and all for under £50 a night for a family room.
Make sure you look on the special offers section of the YHA website as there’s often discount codes that take a fair bit off your stay to make it more affordable.
Champing
If you fancy giving glamping a go but you’re on a budget, then there’s a little-known way to staycay that gets cheaper for families over the summer holidays.
Champing is short for glamping in a church – you need to bring your own bedding, but camp beds, chairs, lanterns and a kettle to make hot drinks are provided for you.
Some sites have kitchen facilities but lots only have composting toilets and no showers, so it can be a bit back to basics.
Over the summer, there’s a promotion that allows up to four children to stay free.
As an adult overnight stay costs £55 on weekdays and £65 at weekends, you can get away for a glamping break that won’t break the bank, even if you don’t own any camping equipment.
We’ve had some brilliant breaks away that have cost us next to nothing, by offering to look after pets, plants or property for family members while they are away.
Catherine Lofthouse
You can pay a 25 per cent deposit at the time of booking and then settle the balance a few weeks before your stay, so that’s a good way of spreading the cost if holiday funds are tight.
Most of the churches are in beautiful locations, with some on the coast, and the money raised by letting visitors have exclusive use for the night helps to preserve these ancient spaces for the future.
So your money is going to a good cause as well as giving your family a fun adventure.
It’s all done through one central site, champing.co.uk, so you can put in the dates that you’re looking for and the number of people, and it will tell you which churches are available.
It’s the same price per person whichever one you choose, so it’s fairly straightforward.
House-sitting and swapping
We’ve had some brilliant breaks away that have cost us next to nothing, by offering to look after pets, plants or property for family members while they are away.
Some of my favourite breaks as a child were near Bude when we went to look after three dogs for a family friend, staying in her cottage in the countryside.
It was a lot of fun having a pet for a week or two and it gave us the chance to get to know a different part of the country.
We loved swimming in the tidal pool at Bude or going for a trip to Tintagel.
As a mum, I love staying in a home belonging to family or friends as it’s got all the creature comforts that you don’t find in a holiday let.
We had a fab long weekend in Norwich last summer, looking after a relative’s dog, and having free accommodation meant we could afford to spend more on days out and family fun.
Not everyone has family or friends who they can house swap with or petsit for, so there are lots of websites that you can sign up to to get you started.
It can be quite daunting the first time you do it, but you can always video call and get to know whoever is on the other end of the exchange, plus there’s often a contact to sign to manage everyone’s expectations and give both sides a level of security.
Home exchange website People Like Us is a great easy-to-use site for those who are trying house swapping out for the first time.
Term-time tip
Finally, the best way to save money on a family break is to go away in term time, as most holiday parks slash their prices when the kids are at school.
I’ve stayed at both Butlin’s and Haven for £50 for a midweek term time break with my family for example.
But if that’s not an option, you can still make a saving during the school holidays, if you think outside the box.