Holidaymakers can save £500 booking Center Parcs breaks in Europe instead of UK, Which? finds

Holidaymakers can make “significant savings” by choosing Center Parcs breaks abroad instead of the UK, new analysis shows.

Consumer group Which? compared the cost of a four-night stay at 16 sites across England, France and Belgium during August, October half-term, next year’s February half-term and Easter 2024.

Based on holidays for a family of four, it found Center Parcs breaks in the UK cost £1,274 on average compared with £701 in Belgium and £833 in France - a difference of more than £500.

It also found that the biggest savings can be made over October half-term and Easter 2024, partly due to differences between school calendars from country to country.

An Easter holiday Center Parcs break in the UK costs £1,259 on average but the same break can be booked for £392 in France and £800 in Belgium.

Which? said large savings can be made by booking trips on the continent even when travel costs are factored in as it found return ferry sailings from Dover for a family of four during October half-term can be booked for around £125 to Calais and £170 to Dunkirk.

Jo Rhodes, deputy editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “While a holiday park may feel like a quintessentially British holiday, our research found that it’s well worth casting your eye beyond the Channel to snap up some significant savings.

“A family of four could save hundreds of pounds by choosing a Center Parcs resort in France or Belgium rather than in the UK, with the biggest savings over the October and Easter half-terms.”

She advised holidaymakers to “do research” before they go “to make sure your chosen park has the facilities and activities you’re looking for.”

A Center Parcs UK spokesman said “Center Parcs UK and Center Parcs Europe are entirely separate companies that operate under very different market conditions” which “makes comparisons between the two difficult.”

Center Parcs provides woodland-based holidays with accommodation in lodges and activities such as swimming, water sports, crafting and cycling.

Its five sites in England are Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire and Whinfell Forest in Cumbria.

It comes after Center Parcs made a huge change to its booking system dropping its age requirement from 21 to 18 meaning teenagers are allowed to enjoy holidays there without adult supervision.

It also comes after the holiday chain was put for sale by its owner, the Canadian private equity firm Brookfield, which is looking to raise between £4 billion and £5 billion from the sale, according to the Financial Times. This is more than double the amount it was bought for in 2015.