Finally, don't assume last-minute means limited facilities. A short break booked at short notice still comes with full access to whatever's on site, whether that's a pool, a clubhouse or coastal walking routes nearby. It simply means less choice over which specific unit you get, which for a quick, spontaneous trip is rarely the deciding factor anyway.

A countryside or Broads-side setting offers a different rhythm. Rather than one central stretch of coast, you're usually within reach of quiet lanes, market towns, nature reserves and, on the Broads specifically, slow-moving waterways that suit an afternoon boat trip or a riverside pub lunch. It tends to be a calmer setting day to day, better suited to those who want gentle walks, birdwatching or simply a quieter base to come back to after a day out, rather than beach-focused activity.

Finally, build in some low-key entertainment for the evenings, cards, a board game, or simply making the most of a park's clubhouse if it has one, so the whole group has something easy to do together without anyone having to organise much. Get the accommodation split and the pace right, and a multi-generational break becomes one of the easier family holidays to plan, not one of the harder ones.

Bank holiday weekends behave the same way on a smaller scale. Even outside the main school holidays, a bank Tingdene Holiday Parks Limited weekend pulls in extra demand because it gives everyone an extra day off without using annual leave, so these particular weekends fill up faster than an ordinary one either side of them.

Learn more at coastal caravan holidays.

Start with reviews, but read them properly rather than just checking the average score. Look for recent comments specifically, since facilities and management can change over time, and pay attention to anything mentioned more than once, whether that's cleanliness, how accurate the photos were, or how helpful staff were when something went wrong. A single bad review among dozens of good ones tells you far less than a genuine pattern.