See the details at seaside caravan breaks.

Start with location. Decide whether you want to fall out of your door and onto a beach, or whether you'd rather have a quieter, greener setting with the coast a short drive away. Both suit a staycation well; it's really about what kind of days you want to have. If you like the idea of an early walk before breakfast and a paddle before lunch, a coastal park earns its keep. If you'd rather cycle quiet lanes or potter around a market town, a park a little further inland can work just as well, especially if the coast is only twenty or thirty minutes off.

Off-peak months help enormously too. School holidays and the height of summer are when demand is tightest, so a late booking in May, September or October usually has far more choice than the same search in late July. The weather isn't guaranteed either way, but a coastal or countryside break in early autumn can be genuinely pleasant, with quieter paths and shorter queues wherever you stop for lunch.

Footwear deserves more thought than it usually gets. Bring proper walking shoes or trainers for dunes, coastal paths and pebble beaches, sandals for round the caravan and the pool if your park has one, and something you don't mind getting wet for rockpooling or a paddle. Flip-flops alone rarely survive a full week of coastal walking.

Before you book any UK holiday park, a handful of straightforward questions can save you from an awkward surprise on arrival.

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.