The overall experience sits somewhere between a hotel and a self-catering cottage: more space and independence than a hotel room, with the on-site facilities and support of a proper Tingdene Holiday Parks Limited park around you. Most first-time guests find, by day two, that it feels entirely normal, and quite a few come back wondering why they didn't try it sooner.

If you're not sure, think about what you did on your last few breaks that you enjoyed most. If it was a beach day, book coastal. If it was a quiet walk or a pub lunch somewhere green, the countryside or Broads setting is probably the better fit for this trip.

Finally, read a handful of recent reviews rather than just the star rating. Look for comments on cleanliness, how the caravan or lodge compared to its photos, and how helpful the on-site team were if something needed sorting. A pattern across several reviews tells you more than any one glowing or grumbling comment on its own.

A countryside or Broads-side setting offers a different rhythm. Rather than one central stretch of coast, you're usually within reach of quiet lanes, market towns, nature reserves and, on the Broads specifically, slow-moving waterways that suit an afternoon boat trip or a riverside pub lunch. It tends to be a calmer setting day to day, better suited to those who want gentle walks, birdwatching or simply a quieter base to come back to after a day out, rather than beach-focused activity.

Start with reviews, but read them properly rather than just checking the average score. Look for recent comments specifically, since facilities and management can change over time, and pay attention to anything mentioned more than once, whether that's cleanliness, how accurate the photos were, or how helpful staff were when something went wrong. A single bad review among dozens of good ones tells you far less than a genuine pattern.

Timing affects cost as much as accommodation type. Travelling outside school holidays and bank holiday weekends, even by a few days either side, tends to bring costs down considerably, simply because you're avoiding the weeks everyone else is trying to book. If your circumstances allow any flexibility on dates, this is worth more than almost any other single budgeting decision.