Spending money for Haven Devon Cliffs?

aligerdie

We've booked a weeks holiday at Haven Devon cliffs for the first week in august.

There's going to be me, dh, and our 3 little ones aged 6, 2, and 1.

My hubby is on short time at work at the mo, and I'm going to be able to manage about £500 spending money (with the intention of not spending that much!)

Does £500 sound reasonable? We're not going to eat out all the time, and passes were already included with the private caravan we've booked.

I'd really appreciate any advice.

chellshoc

we went in May half term and found the entertainment in the evening is where our money went, quite expensive for drinks etc while watching the kids shows (our DD is 7) also lots of amusements she wanted to go on and all the nik naks they try to sell you (like flashing wands etc) also 1 tip is to get to the shows early as they were packed and trying to find a table was a nightmare especially as our DD wanted to be as near to the stage as possible so we wanted to keep an eye on her, will try and help if you got any more questions ps the site is HUGE

aligerdie

Thank you so much for your reply, it's appreciated.

Having read a few reviews, alot of people mention the cost of drinks, amusements etc, so that's why I was starting to worry that £500 wasn't going to be more than enough.

DD1 is 6, and although she understands things are tight, it's inevitable she's going to 'want' things!

She's been saving money up very hard from doing jobs etc, so she will have £25 of her own money to spend on rubbish, although once that moneys gone it's gone!

I don't want to be stingy on our holiday, it's the first one in about 4 years, but I don't want to waste money which could be well used elsewhere.

Any tips would be really appreciated, it's our first visit to a haven park.

mum26

I've not been to a Haven but have been to Parkdean, we have a big family so things like drinks, sweets and glo sticks etc really add up. I bought glo stick things from the pound shop /home bargains before we went which they were thrilled with, took capri suns (one of the drinks they sold for kids there - for waay over standard cost) with us and snuck them in - but we got drinks from the bar for us and candy floss from the machines etc. I have heard that haven etc are a bit more pushy selling stuff though. oh and lots of people seemed to take their own sweets too, little packs of haribo etc as the pic n mix was around £3 for a small plastic cup! so maybe cut corners on the bits and pieces then let her have a treat, I found I didn't mind spending £5 - £10 on a character toy or t shirt when I hadn't been bled dry the whole week.

Oh and lots of coppers for the penny falls machines, my children loved those, we save all the 2p pieces in a jar ready to take away

I think you'll be fine with the amount you have especially if you make some dinners yourself, easy stuff like salad and jacket potato with chicken or tuna, I found the sea air makes the kids very hungry. Have a lovely holiday x

chellshoc

do shopping b4 you get there as on site shop is more expensive, as i said the site is massive so hopefully you will be quite close otherwise lots of walking, the swimming pool is great though i felt it could have been open for longer when we were there (closed at 5) second the pennies and 2ps for your dd as mine loved these

Diesel44

When we go out for days out on our holiday we pack up sandwiches and drinks
to have during the day, this cuts down on having to buy snacks.
A good holiday for us is beach/swimmimg pool one day, out the next. But as you know the weather can be unpredictable, so I tend to take a bit more money than what I want to spend, just in case.
£500 is about £70 per day, I think you'll be ok.

pageee2004_2

We have been to Devon Cliffs many times, i would definatley recommend doing a shop before you go as the little supermarket can be expensive.
Also i would suggest looking around before you go in the maybe the pound shops etc for anything that lights up or flashes as these are the main toys that they sell in the shops. I would also maybe suggest taking bags of sweeties with you and take them with you in the evening save you having to buy them in the shop. They do a large (huge) character drink for the kids which i think is around £4 but you can then fill it up cheaper, so may be worth buying one on the first night but remember to take it with you each night.
For adults they do pitchers or beer/larger and they are around £10 for 4 pints so quite good value for money.
To eat there is a pub/restuarant which do meals, or there is a chip shop (around £4.50 for a meal ie pie & chips, chicken & chips etc) quite big portions so kids could easily share, there is also a burger king and a take away pizza place.
I would definately recomment lots and lots of small change as you have to walk through the amusments to get to the entertainment and they attract kids like magnets...
I would also say to get a good seat in the evening anywhere near the dancefloor you should get there for around 5.30pm-6pm as it may look empty when you get there but guarenteed within 15mins it will be rammed.
They also do photo opportunites for the kids but again charge a fortune to buy them...
Lots of free entertainment for the kids and the swimming pool is good. The kids will love it, and yes you can easily get carried away with what you can buy but if you think ahead you can reduce your spending money quite a bit.

rosekitten

thanks for this everyone we are going in September
in our tourer for four nights.Do they have a Starbucks
at Devon cliffs ?

Definatly take your own drinks sweets etc
for the kids,I think its outragous what these
things sell for .
We always keep a look out for any offers
that are going in the supermarkets and
store them in the boot of the car to
stop the kids getting tempted.

I think lots buy the first alcholic drink at the
bar and top up from their handbag the rest of the
evening.Not possible if your drinking beer or lager.

Those tall cups they sell filled with coca cola often
turn up in charity shops,worth looking out for so you
can wash it out and refill from your own bottle of coke

Are there any supermarkets local to this site ?

deanos

Its been a few years since ive been there , Tescos isnt very far away and there is a good little chinese and chippy not very far either.

Oh yeah the photo oppertunities, dont let your kids join the conga, it always ends up ending at the photographer and they charge a fortune , a usual Haven ploy ive seen at every Haven ive been to :mad:

postingalwaysposting

£500 I think will be more than enough. We went last October and I agree with whats been written. Always buy food offsite or bring things with you the shop is dearer than most havens (I have found). Also buy bunny ears/glo sticks/battery operates wands etc on ebay for £1's instead of £4/£5 that haven charge ~ remember extra batterys they are £5 a pop onsite too . Also dont be fooled that things (toys/badges/mugs) are 'exclusive' that week/for that week only :rolleyes: Also the thing I liked about DC was they had a 'main' stage and then a seperate room for toddlers so they still had entertainment but less loud than the main stage. Oh and try and take a pot with you for your coppers, or get an empty m'ds cup. The ones supplied dont last more than a few hours and your hands start to stink In the end I blagged one from burger king (maybe?) that was onsite :rotfl:

Oh and dont be suprised if you get lost finding you van, we did ~ nightmare. In the end we followed a ranger :rotfl: I personally wouldnt go there again however I know many who would but it was just too big for us. We only use it as a sleeping place anyways but still we went to the main complex 1/2 over a 7 night stay.

Enjoy your holiday :beer:

aligerdie

Thank you all for your replies, you've really given me some tips there!

I would never have thought to take a container for change, but it makes so much sense now you've mentioned it.

I'll get hubby on board with the entertainment, just so we're not going in blind and we know what to expect!

It's just lucky that there's a poundland opened in our town in the last few weeks, I shall be going there to stock up on bits, and sweeties too.

The owner of the caravan we are renting has given me a bit of info about the tesco nearby which was really helpful, so I'm sure we will stock up there when we get down there.

I rang up the reception today to try and reserve a cot for the little one, they wouldn't reserve one for me and I have to wait until we get there before I can get one (because we're a private let apparently). Thats worrying me a little as knowing my luck they'll all be gone! I'm thinking about trying to squeeze our travel cot in our car so I'm sure he has somewhere to sleep!! Means things will be even more cramped for the long journey though!!

Thanks again all, you've been a massive help xx