Cheaper under canvas

Bob Atkinson at Travelsupermarket.com says: “Camping and mobile home holidays used to be seen as the breaks which people would always be able to afford, no matter how tough the economy. But holiday park holidays are typically booked by the ‘squeezed middle’: the young families who have lost out most painfully in the past couple of years to rising prices and benefit cuts.

“Many are simply not booking this summer until pretty near departure date, in case circumstances change and they are then hit by hefty cancellation costs.”

Keycamp offers a seven-night self-catering stay just outside Barcelona to catch the Spanish Grand Prix (May 11-13) for a total of £224 per party.

Rival operator Canvas Holidays is running a sale with savings of up to £300 on selected sites across Europe; some costing less than £100 per person during the summer, including savings of up to £250 during the school holidays.

These big savings are valid on all holidays booked before April 26.

On the highly expensive Cote D’Azur, Canvas offers seven nights’ self-catering at Holiday Green in Fréjus from £354, for arrivals on June 2. The two-bedroom mobile home holds two adults and up to four children and the price includes return Dover-Calais ferry crossings.

In Brittany, a much easier drive, Canvas offers seven-nights at Camping la Pointe St Gilles, Bénodet from June 22, for £529 including crossings, a reduction of £300.

Atkinson believes big reductions will become the norm on holiday park holidays abroad this summer because operators are squeezed in a pincer movement.

“On one hand, would-be holidaymakers look at the cost of driving to the sun: we estimate that tolls and fuel costs to cover the fastest route between London and St Tropez amount to about £380 return, while the slowest route, avoiding tolls, costs about £175 return.

“To that, you must add the return ferry crossing for car and four passengers, starting at about £80.

“On the other hand, holidaymakers who are flexible in travel dates can find amazing prices on packages by air right now, partly because budget airlines are going so low: for a Thomson holiday in Greece in May, you easily get 60 to 70 per cent off brochure price,” said Mr Atkinson.