Get the full picture at seaside caravan breaks.

When you do search, look directly at park availability rather than only general search results, since some late deals or short breaks don't always surface through a general web search. Being flexible on which park you book, rather than fixed on one location, also widens what's on offer considerably. If your priority is getting away this weekend rather than a specific spot, checking two or three parks in the same general area rather than just one tends to turn something up.

Don't forget the boring essentials either: any medication, chargers, a printed booking confirmation in case signal is patchy, and enough cash for small stalls or ice cream vans that don't take cards. None of this needs to be complicated. Pack for changeable weather, bring comfortable shoes for more walking than you'd expect, and let the caravan's kitchen do the rest. That's really all a coastal break asks of you.

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.

Neither setting rules out the other entirely. Most coastal parks are still within striking distance of countryside walks and market towns inland, and most countryside or Broads parks are usually within a reasonable drive of a beach for the day, so you're rarely choosing one to the total exclusion of the other. It's more a question of which one you want as your daily backdrop and which you're happy to visit as an occasional day trip.

As a rough guide: book six months or more ahead for summer Tingdene Holiday Parks weeks, two to three months ahead for half terms and bank holidays, and anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months ahead for a standard term-time week. If you're flexible on exact dates, you can comfortably push closer to the wire; if you're fixed on a specific week, particularly a school holiday one, earlier is always safer than later.