How to Find the Perfect Self-Catering Holiday in the UK
You are visiting My Favourite Holiday Cottages, probably on a search to book a cottage in the UK for you or your family as part of the whole journey to finding a great holiday. The site includes many attractive holiday lodges - many of them eco-friendly, with access to superb facilities. What should you consider in this journey to make sure that you find the best holiday cottage, lodge, caravan or campsite before you book?
How Do I Find the Best Value for Money Locations?
There are many ways to find the best value-for-money locations; research is endless but entirely worthwhile. There are now lots of websites that offer comparisons and a great variety of locations to stay in. For example, this site allows you to browse through cottages and the price ranges. For caravan holidays, you might want to look at the leading big park operators and see their latest deals or visit new websites that can be cheaper and offer holidays in caravans or lodges on the same parks but are privately owned. You could also check out the best parks by these operators, like Haven’s 10 Best Caravan Parks or just Google the specific park chain you are researching.
Holiday cottages can be cheaper if you book directly with the owner rather than through an agency where booing fees usually apply. If you think that the main booking sites like Airbnb or Booking.com don’t charge a fee, you are wrong. It is around the 20% mark, pretty much the same as an agency charges, so privately owned properties will often be cheaper.
What Should I Look for in My Holiday Search?
The main criteria for many people looking for a holiday are price, location, and how many people the property sleeps. Secondary considerations include the need to know if a property is dog-friendly or whether it has a hot tub or similar features. Most people have a location in mind, from Cornwall to the Highlands of Scotland. There is so much choice now it can be overwhelming. Research your favourite location, bearing in mind what matters to you. To be near a fantastic beach, why not look through the many beach guides? Use the ‘Waterside’ and ‘Coastal’ category searches on the My Favourite Holiday Cottages website to view properties that meet this need. Likewise, if you want a rural holiday, look at the walking guides and things to do websites.
When you have a location, price is often the next factor. Have your budget fixed, within which to find a range of properties from holiday cottages to caravans that sit within this budget. When you have that list, narrow it down to the criteria that fit your needs, such as the number of bedrooms, facilities, parking, etc.
Why Should You Review Your Choice Before You Book?
There are two main reasons for reviewing your choice before you book. You might be able to get a better deal than you first think. For example, you can find the latest cheap caravan holiday deals here for the leading holiday park operators for caravan and lodge holidays that could save you a decent amount of money before you book, and if you are booking a holiday cottage through an agency, always visit their special offers page. You can often find that if you sign up for a newsletter, you might save 10% or more, depending on the current deals on offer.
Secondly, always check out the reviews through websites like Tripadvisor, which covers almost all holiday types, or My Cottage Holiday, which covers thousands of holiday cottages and reviews them in the UK. Many of the agencies also have reviews for individual cottages on their sites, and you might also want to search for Google reviews. Just put the full address of the property into Google and see what information is returned.
We hope that helps you find the best holiday accommodation for your family break. If you can think of any way that this could be improved, please do not hesitate to let us know!