6 Ways To Save Money An A Haven Caravan Holiday Park (updated for 2023) (2024)

Haven is probably the best-knownname in the UK caravan holiday park market. Their 40 parks are ideal for families looking for a busy holiday with indoor swimming pools, places to eat onsite and easy access to beaches.

Many of their parks get better reviews than their rivals, but they can also be a bit more expensive (based on the price comparisons we've done).

Here are 6 ways to save money on Haven holiday parks (plus an extra one we added later!)

1. Don’t arrive on a Saturday

Unsurprisingly, most of us want to arrive on Saturday for a week’s holiday. However, if you can avoid their busiest changeover day then you can make a decent saving.

For example, a week staying at Haven’s Seaview Holiday Park in Dorset in August 2024 in a Saver caravan was £899 when we checked, if you arrived on a Saturday. However, if you arrived on the Friday before it was only £769, a saving of £130.

You’ll still get a seven-dayholiday, it’s just not as convenient for people working Monday to Friday.

2. Travel to a Haven holiday park up north

In our (limited) price comparison, we found that Haven’s best holiday parks in the north of England and in Scotland are generally cheaper than their best holiday parks in the South of England. Location seems to be more of a factor than facilities and reviews.

There are exceptions of course, but we picked out 10 of the best Haven holiday parks for our guide and found that two of the three cheapest were Thornwick Bayin Yorkshire and ​Lakeland Leisure Parkin the Lake District.

Meanwhile, Devon Cliffsin Devon and Perran Sandsin Cornwall were both amongst the more expensive Haven resorts.
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During August the difference between the cheapest and most expensive was almost £700 for a family of four. That's just the minimum saving - if you start looking at more luxurious accommodation then the price difference is even greater.

3. Cosy up and fill up a caravan

4. Book Haven early for the best choice and price

Generally, you’ll find the best deals are available if you book long in advance, rather than if you wait for a ‘last minute bargain’. The cheaper accommodation at popular Haven parks is sometimes sold-outmonths in advance.

For example, when we searchedLydstep Beach Holiday Park in November 2023 for holidays in August 2024, we found that the cheapest ‘Saver’ caravans were already sold out for some weeks. As a result, you’re left with the ‘gold’ and ‘signature’ options which are more expensive.

Presumably quite a lot of people are booking their holidays before they’ve even got home and unpacked.

Haven also doing a price promise, which is along the lines of: 'When you book your 2024 holiday early, we’ll beat any prices cheaper after that. If you stumble across your break at lower price after you’ve booked...we’ll give you the difference back (full details here).

5. Check Haven's offers page regularly

​Always take a quick look at Haven's offers pages before you book. These aren't generally discount codes and promo codes, but are discounted rates around certain dates. You'll find they offer things like 25% or 50% off standard prices, or fixed price deals for midweek breaks.

Most of the deals are aimed at getting people to book outside of the school holidays but it's always worth a look, even if you are fixed to certain dates.

There is also alast-minute offers page which has some really good prices for people who are flexible enough (yoga teachers, for example).

6. Try camping and touring at a Haven holiday park

OK, I know what you're thinking...but bear with me.

About half ofHaven's holiday parks offer touring and camping, which means you can bring a tent or your own caravan. The advantage is that you still get to use all the onsite facilities, including swimming pools, kids'clubs and so on.

When we checked, a week at Littlesea Holiday Park in Dorset

7: Choose a Haven Hideaway holiday instead of a standard Haven holiday

In 2022, Haven introduced a new option on the booking form called Haven Hideaway (it was called Haven Stay/Haven Stay + Play for a while).

The idea is that you can pick whether or not you want to pay to use the onsite facilities.

We've written a whole blog post on this but the gist of it is that if you are visiting on peak and are just looking for a seaside base for exploring the local area then I would go for aHaven Hideawayholiday.

If you are likely to use the swimming pool, kids' clubs or entertainment then you'll need to pay for a standard Haven holiday (previously called Haven Stay + Play).

The saving varies significantly depending on the time of year.

When we searched for week long holidays in August 2024, we found that a family of four saved between £100 and £210 by going for Haven Hideaway (previously called Haven Stay). We looked at prices at five of the best Haven resorts (Hafan y MôrHoliday Park,Hopton Holiday Village,Devon Cliffs Holiday Park,Lydstep Beach Holiday ParkandPerran Sands Holiday Park).

However, for a week long holiday in early October the saving was only £40-£90 for a family of four at those five resorts. So, you're only really saving about £1.50-£3 per person, per day.

It's worth realising that a standard Haven holiday doesn't mean you get to use everything for free. You still have to pay extra for some activities.