Certain figures of speech such as the above mentioned ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ only become clichés over time because, in essence, what they are saying is true and is being said in a very catchy, easy-to-remember way. Now, lest I get carried away with myself here on the finer points of language and semantics, the reason why I’ve headlined this particular article with the above cliché/saying/truism/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is because I was struck recently by the tendency we have in the travel industry to more often than not shine the spotlight on some exotic, far-away destination or product when frequently there are gems to be discovered much closer to home.
Haven holiday parks in Wales which are featured by Irish Ferries or similar products promoted by the likes of Al Fresco or Keycamp in locations such as Spain, France, Italy, Holland and Croatia tend to get much fewer column inches because they are perhaps perceived to be less sexy/relevant to the Irish holidaymakers but the truth is that they are every bit as relevant in their own way as are their more far-flung cousins. The attraction of such holidays (particularly the ones in the UK and France) is their ease of access in that families can pack all their belongings into the boot of their car or roof locker and drive themselves right up to the doorstep of their accommodation at the other side. No worries about huge queues and delays going through security; no getting your toiletries confiscated because the container looks too big; no issues with how much duty-free you can take back home with you. In short, such holidays remind us of the way travel used to be years ago before 9/11 changed everything.
If you’ve never been on one of these chalet/mobile home holidays and have this image of cramped living quarters or a dearth of facilities on-site or things to keep the kids occupied then rest assured. Modern-day camps are sophisticated complexes that provide all that you or your family could possibly want or need during the course of a one, two or even three week stay. They represent great value for money and believe it or not, it is still possible to make decent savings on bookings for some peak season dates in July. Check them out!
