Center parcs, on the cheap

I went to center parcs for my mothers and sisters birthday which was luckily in January, the cheapest month to stay. To stay in a nice spacious 6 bedroom villa (there was only 4 of us) only cost us around £60 each! Yet in the summer to stay can cost up to £500 each (and that's only to stay there)

Activities on top average at £30 each whereas meals average around £15 each meaning your nice getaway can quickly add up to more than an all enclusive holiday abroad! 

Me and my family somehow managed to only spend around £30 each whilst staying there which was amazing! Below is a list of ways to make it cheaper at center parcs

Time of year

Picking the right time of year to stay at center parcs is crucial! The best time to stay is January however, Other months when children are at school can be cheap too! The center parcs site is easy to navigate so look at many different dates to find the cheapest. 

Type of villa

Living and kitchen area of our villa

Bedroom in the villa

Obviously if you have children you will have to go in school holidays which often are the most expensive times. If this is so look at all the different types of villas you can stay in. The cheapest doesn't necessarily mean it's horrible to stay in. In center parcs case, the cheapest villas only mean you don't get maid service and televisions in every room. These things can be nice without and I can tell you the villas still look lovely and refurbished. 

The train ride

Transportation

Center parcs is a large place where you are not allowed cars (only allowed them on moving in and out day) so how do you get around? Well you can rent out bikes of course! However, at £27 each for an adult for 4 days it can get expensive. That's why if you can I suggest you take your own bikes. 

However if you don't have a bike, or have little ones that can't ride, there is also a land train! The land train runs every 20 minutes and goes all round the park. It takes 40 minutes to get around the whole park and so everywhere isn't too hard to get too. It's also a lovely journey to see everything. 

If all else fails you can also walk. Everything is in walking distance and it is a nice walk. if I can say that then it must be true because I hate walking! 

Food

When going to center parcs I suggest doing a set menu before you go and go shopping beforehand. This means you know exactly what you are having each day and won't have to worry about it so much! It's also a lot cheaper! Me and my family did this and it cost us £7.50 each for the whole week! Because it was so cheap we decided to eat out at the restuarants for two of our lunches that week. 

Activities

Activities in center parcs are very expensive however, if they are something you are really wanting to do then they are worth it. However when I stayed there wasn't anything I really wanted to do and so obviously had to find other activities. 

Water rapids

•Swimming -
The one activities that is free is the swimming pool and it is an almighty swimming pool! Open all day till 9 at night you can go for a morning or night swim either are lovely! There's slides, hot pools, normal pools, Wave machine, out door pool, water rapids and my favourite a freezing cold pool called the plunge pool. You could spend hours and hours in this pool as there's so much to do! 

Also if you have little ones there's two inside pools for them with their own little slides and things to do! 

•The train -
Now the train is a way to get around but is also something you could turn into an activitie! You could stay on the train all the way around the park and enjoy the bumps and hills whilst taking in the scenery.

•Play station / games -
In most of the expensive accommodation you can get your own games room! However you can do that in the cheaper ones by bringing your own! We took our own play station and spent many of the evenings battling against each other on singstar or watching a nice movie like finding memo after a long hard day. 

You could also take board games to play as all the villas have nice large dining tales you could all sit around. 

A view of the beach on a walk

•Walking -
Now walking may not sound so fun for some people, I know I don't really enjoy it. However walking around center parcs helps you find things you wouldn't find otherwise. Whilst walking around we found gym equipment that you could play on along with playgrounds. We also found the falconry where you can see birds and owls. If you walk around you can also see others doing the activities such as tree trekking and the high bars which can be entertaining to watch. 

•Longleat -
Now the center parcs I stayed at was the longleat one so if I wanted I could have spent a day at longleat (which last time I went was free to get in but have to pay for activities) this is another nice place to visit with nice scenery and views. 

I hope some of these ideas help you with staying at center parcs, I know I will be going back and when I do will be taking some of these into account.