We compared the cost of a stay for a family of four in 16 Center Parcs in the UK, Belgium and France in school holidays – and the UK parks were consistently pricier.
The average cost of a four-night break in Belgium was £570 cheaper than in the UK. A stay in France was £440 less.
The biggest savings were for autumn and Easter breaks because of different school calendars. Belgium’s resorts cost £750 less on average in October half term, while France’s parks were £860 cheaper in the first week of the Easter holidays.
Center Parcs Europe is a separate company, with holiday parks in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany. When the UK and European operations split in 2001, it agreed not to promote its holiday villages here, which is why even Center Parcs’ fans might not be aware of their existence.
Almost all Belgian, French, Dutch and German Center Parcs also have tropical-themed pools, as well as lots of kid-friendly activities that cost extra – but prices aren’t as steep. For example, laser combat costs between £25 and £35 at Cumbria’s Whinfell Forest, compared to £15 at Belgium’s Park de Haan.
The European parks also allow you to make a single fee-free change to your reservation up to 21 days before. Center Parcs UK and Ireland, on the other hand, charges around 5% extra for flexible bookings. Not all Center Parcs are the same, so check facilities and online reviews before you book – and factor in travel costs.
We found the prices above on Center Parcs Europe’s English-language website, centerparcs.eu. But there are even bigger savings on offer if you book through its French or Dutch site.
Our spot checks found that prices on centerparcs.fr were around £70 cheaper than on the English-language site.
The same holidays on the Dutch site were cheaper two thirds of the time: a four-night August stay in the Nordseeküste Park, in Germany, was £400 less booked via centerparcs.nl.
We also checked the prices on the Belgian and German websites, but there were fewer savings to be had.
Whinfell Forest and Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest cost less than the UK’s other Center Parcs.
Four nights at Whinfell Forest in the school holidays was on average £260 cheaper than at Wiltshire’s Longleat Forest – the priciest park.
Our research
In April 2023, Which? Travel carried out spot checks of prices on centerparks.co.uk and centerparcs.eu for a four-night stay in a standard two-bedroom cottage/lodge in four school holiday periods: August 2023, October half term 2023, February half term 2024 and the first week of the Easter holidays 2024. The average price for each country is the median cost for these peak periods.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/save-on-center-parcs-go-to-europe-aBFsY6w2hFr8