The overall experience sits somewhere between a hotel and a self-catering cottage: more space and independence than a hotel room, with the on-site facilities and support of a proper holiday park around you. Most first-time guests find, by day two, that it feels entirely normal, and quite a few come back wondering why they didn't try it sooner.

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.

Space is often the deciding factor for families. A static caravan holiday gives everyone a bit of breathing room, somewhere for the kids to watch television while the adults have a cup of tea in a separate area, which a single hotel room rarely manages without someone being under everyone else's feet.

Next, think about park size. A larger park usually means more on-site facilities: a pool, a clubhouse, perhaps a shop and tingdeneholidayparks.com a play area, which suits families who want options if the weather turns. A smaller park tends to be quieter, with fewer people about and a slower pace, which some guests prefer, particularly couples or those travelling without children. Neither is better, they just suit different trips.

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.

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.