First off, tents sales soared this year and from what I see on the various forums I’m a member of, there are plenty of people who spent a damp few days under canvas and are saying “never again”. Not only is that money down the drain but it’s a shame that one bad experience might stop people camping under canvas – it really is a fun experience with kids when the weather’s right.

In our UK call centre we saw a rise in calls in August, for people wanting to take a holiday in the same month. Unfortunately for many, they’d left it so late that finding accommodation really was difficult so they could not get the siblu parc or the duration they wanted.

And for those who could find accommodation, there were difficulties in picking out a travel option to fit their needs. Ferry prices stay the same no matter how close to travel you book, however the popular routes, travelling at the most convenient times, book first.

The low-cost airlines lose all pretence of low prices on popular routes in the summer season for people booking late, so for a family the cost can be prohibitive.

So, what’s the answer? Well, holiday companies want your business and there are great early booking deals to look out for. We’ve brought back our low-cost deposit of £25 if you book before 30 September, which means you can book for even the busiest periods for just £25 and investigate the cheapest travel options now.

If next August in the UK turns into another damp squib, will it really be worth the cost of not booking early?

But are the headlines right? We’ve been asking our customers if they thought their siblu holiday was value for money and a whopping 93% wholeheartedly agreed (and the other 7% said it was satisfactory). 

A quick check on the web and I see that catching a plane to the Canaries costs over £2,000 for a family in a b&b hotel in July; fly to Florida and the lowest price gets closer to £3,000, for a room only hotel. Well, stay with siblu in late July and the cost is about £1,000 for a family, staying seven nights with Dover-Calais ferry, in accommodation with ensuite bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen, a sun terrace and a grassy play area!

On top of that, we’ll entertain your kids for free (what parent can say no). Our pool complexes are free, our children’s clubs run twice on most days, we have free stage shows every evening, there are free sports and you don’t need to pay for travel and parking, everything is available on parc. So, can you beat that by staying at home?

I think self catering is another smart way to save. French markets are great and seasonal foods are low cost, healthy and it’s fun to try new things. We’ve just launched a small selection of really easy recipes which can be cooked in your mobile home – even I managed the asparagus and ham and the scallops with Muscadet (okay, with a bit of help from my wife).

To see how an expert handles them click here, or for other recipe ideas I like the Small Time Cooks blog – Jessica’s ‘My Monsieur’ sandwich is a winner! If you want to find out more about our cooking schools, have a look here.

So, 93% of siblu customers say their holiday gave great value for money; a few newspapers say there’s a price panic – take your choice!

Why not tell us you tips for great value family holidays?