Ground floor access matters more here than on a standard family trip. If grandparents are less keen on stairs, check unit layouts before booking rather than after, since not every caravan or lodge is single-level, and a quick question to the park before you book saves any awkwardness on arrival.

See more on this at Norfolk Broads holidays.

With a bit of flexibility on dates and location, a short break is often bookable within a few days rather than weeks, which makes a UK holiday park a genuinely practical option when the diary suddenly clears.

None of these questions take long to ask, and any decent holiday park will have straightforward answers ready. If a question gets dodged or fudged, that's often more useful information than the answer itself.

Families with younger children often lean coastal caravan holidays, since a beach gives you a ready-made activity that needs very little planning: buckets, spades and a few hours, and everyone's entertained. Couples or those wanting a slower pace, or a base for cycling and walking rather than swimming, often prefer the countryside or Broads setting, where the pace of the holiday matches the pace of the surroundings.

Day to day, you'll be doing your own cooking and washing up, much as you would in a self-catering cottage, so it helps to bring a few kitchen basics like tea towels and washing-up liquid rather than assuming everything will be there. Bedding is usually provided, but it's worth checking your specific booking, since this varies park to park.