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WITH summer behind us and the dark nights of autumn creeping in, it’s not too late to book a cheeky getaway.
Even better, this is one of the best times of the year to nab the cheapest holiday in the UK – for less than the price of a McDonalds Happy Meal.
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We spent the week at Butlin’s in Bognor Regis in West Sussex on the south coast of England.
Most people know that Butlin’s is an affordable resort for a family holiday. Even in the summer holidays, four-day breaks start from £390 for a family of four.
This is excellent value when you consider everything on offer, which includes a fairground, huge indoor water park, live entertainment and an extensive children’s playground.
Amazingly, these are all included in the basic package price.
So, imagine my surprise to find that very same holiday, post-summer, for only £36 for four days.
That’s 90% cheaper than in summer.
The catch is, these really cheap breaks are mid-week, meaning they may not be ideal for older children.
However, anyone who has younger kids and wants a super cheap week away, you’d be hard pushed to find a holiday for much cheaper than £2.25 a night each – after all, you’d pay around £4 for a Happy Meal.
Finding a real bargain holiday for my family is one of my favourite hobbies.
My children are five and eight, so I am always looking for ways to keep them entertained.
Sitting by the pool is not their idea of fun, so overseas resort holidays are not always my first choice.
The deal I booked was for a family of four – two adults and two children – staying in a Comfort Room.
At £36 for four days, that only works out £9.75 per night for the whole family.
For this trip, I took advantage of a double teacher-training day and bundled them in the car after school. It was a two-hour drive to Sussex, but we didn’t have to worry about airport security and packing tiny bags.
In fact, I even popped their scooters in the boot and a cooler box filled with drinks and snacks.
It was my first Butlin’s holiday since I was a kid myself, so I didn’t know what to expect.
Check-in was so easy and we immediately headed into the Skyline pavilion to see the 6pm Red Coat show. The atmosphere was great and of course the kids loved the singing and dancing.
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You can add a Food Court dining package to your booking, which includes a buffet breakfast and dinner with a self-service ice cream factory dessert, unlimited tea, coffee and fruit juices.
Despite being a good deal for the four of us for four days, it would have added £192 to the cost of the trip, so we decided not to.
Instead, we all shared a pizza from the on-property Papa Johns and had cakes and treats that I had packed from home for pudding.
There are also all-inclusive drink packages that include alcohol available, but I didn’t book it for this trip.
Instead, I had a reusable coffee cup and made tea in the room to carry with me into the resort. The kids were happy with water and fruit juice.
The next day, we were up early for a scoot along the seafront.
The Butlin’s at Bognor Regis is right on the beach. We didn’t have the hot weather of mid-summer, but it was still warm in September.
The kids had a paddle, but I didn’t entertain the idea of a brisk sea swim.
Instead, after scoffing down some sandwiches I had made back at the room, along with a bag of £4 chips, we headed inside to the huge indoor water park.
Named ‘Splash,’ the water park is free of charge for guests and has 10+ slides, an outdoor rapids pool and a kids splash park, as well as a huge wave pool.
Swimming at our leisure centre is £5 per per person, so it was actually cheaper for us to stay at Butlin’s and swim for free than go to our local pool for an hour.
And our pool doesn’t have any slides!
As a treat for tea, we sneaked out to the McDonalds just down the road. My daughter, Isobel, had a Happy Meal and it made me chuckle that the little red carton cost more than it cost her to stay overnight at Butlin’s.
In fact, the whole meal for two adults and two children came to double what our hotel and experience had cost per night.
That’s when you realise what a bargain deal you’ve nabbed.
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As well as the free activities like the family shows (next year Justin Fletcher from Cbeebies is doing a residency) and the end-of-night entertainment show, kids can meet characters like Billy Bear the Butlin’s mascot and take part in fun workshops.
At Butlin’s in Bognor Regis, there is also a state of the art games room called Play Xperience, where you can book crazy golf, laser tag and an escape room.
There is an extra charge for these, but with golf £7 and Laser tag £9 per person, I thought it was great value for money.
If the weather is on your side, the huge playground will keep them entertained too.
My children made some friends to play with at the park, so the grown ups enjoyed a strawberry mojito outside in the sun. Since it was happy hour, we got two for £12.
Then it was time for the fairground. A Helter Skelter, Waltzer, swing ride, pirate ship and dodgems are all free of charge.
It’s so refreshing, as a parent on a budget, to say ‘yes’ when they ask to go on again.
My children are at school now, so we only stayed for three of the four nights but it was still fantastic value for money.
Before heading home, they managed to persuade me to go back to the water park for a few more hours.
It really is excellent value. Anyone with pre-school kids should take full advantage.
The weather is still nice enough now to get outside, but even if it rains the whole time, with so much to do, there is no chance of getting bored.
I knew Butlin’s was affordable, if you don’t have extra money to spend on a family holiday, but I had no idea it was this cheap.
We’ll definitely be back.
