Center Parcs cheap European alternatives that will save you £1,000s
With the summer break just around the corner, families will be looking for things to do and places to go to. And while a UK holiday park like Center Parcs may seem like a seemingly easy, effortless, and no-brainer option, it may well burn a hole in your pocket.
Prices at Center Parcs during the summer months start from a whopping £1,500 a week for the lowest category of accommodation, going up to as high as £9,000 and beyond. While the family-friendly holiday park offers serene locations and top-notch facilities, they come at a price. Especially for families looking to book holidays on a budget.
Fear not, because we've got a list of cheaper alternatives in gorgeous locations that are a fraction of the cost. From the stunning locales of the Rhône-Alpes in France to the stunning Moselle Valley in Germany, all the way to the vibrant Costa Dorada in Spain — Mirror Travel has collated an affordable list of family-friendly holiday parks that you can visit this summer.
What's great is even if you aren't looking to head down during the summer months, these family-friendly holiday parks are, on average, 30 to 70 per cent cheaper than Center Parcs at most times.
Location: Rhône-Alpes, France
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Prices: Starting from £733 for a mobile home
Things to do: Enjoy an outdoor swimming complex and a diverse range of activities such as football, tennis, volleyball, the classic French sport Pétanque, a plethora of sports tournaments, shows, live music concerts, and Aquagym lessons. There are also theme parties, karaoke, and leisure activities in the surrounding local area, including horse riding, golf, a treetop adventure park, canoeing/kayaking, and fishing. For children, there's a Kid's Club with treasure hunts, sports competitions, and dance parties, ensuring fun for the whole family.
Siblu Village Domaine de Litteau
Location: Normandy, France
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Prices: Starting from £554 for a stylish range of mobile homes or super-spacious pitches for your own touring caravan, tourer, or tent
Things to do: Set in the heart of Normandy's countryside, Domaine de Litteau offers fun for all ages with fishing ponds, a covered pool complex, an outdoor play area with BMX tracks, climbing ropes, and a zip wire. A mini-farm, day and evening entertainment, several sports activities, game rooms, and a mini-market add to the excitement. The location is ideal for exploring Normandy, with beautiful beaches and historic sites like Bayeux and Cherbourg, home to the incredible Cite de la Mer with a three-level aquarium, nuclear submarine, and Titanic exhibition, all nearby.
Landal Sonnenberg
Location: Moselle Valley, Germany
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Things to do: Enjoy the indoor swimming pool with water attractions, an indoor playground with a climbing wall (chargeable), mini golf, and bowling (for an additional fee). Savour culinary delights at the brasserie or snack bar, and participate in sporting competitions at the Sports Arena. The park also features a game park with a deer enclosure where visitors can feed the deer. Kids will love the bug mansion, Bollo Club, indoor play paradise, ball pit, and air trampoline.
Location: Vilanova i la Geltrú, Costa Dorada, Spain
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Things to do: With multiple pool complexes and a wellness center (including a Jacuzzi and sauna for an additional fee), there's plenty of relaxation and fun to be had at Vilanova Park. Other activities include tennis, table tennis, boules, football, and volleyball. Enjoy twisting waterslides, crazy golf, and a jumping pillow on site as well. The nearby Port Aventura theme park offers even more excitement.
EuroParcs Gulperberg
Location: Limburg, The Netherlands
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Prices: Starting from £1,152 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children)
Things to do: Features include an outdoor pool, Escapebox 'pyramid', sauna, and exciting activities such as laser gaming, bubble football, children's shows, and a bat safari. The Fun Heroes (travelling entertainers who come to the park) and Fun Crew provide family-friendly entertainment for all age groups. Nearby attractions include the caves of Valkenburg, Natural History Museum Maastricht, the Steam Train 'Miljoenenlijn', and Castle Hoensbroek.
In comparison, Center Parcs comes with a hefty price tag, although it has top-tier facilities and locations within the UK, which would be extremely convenient and hassle-free for families in the UK to travel to.
Center Parcs
Dates: July-August
Group Size: Family of four (two adults, two children)
Things to do: The Subtropical Swimming Paradise offers activities like mini-jet skis, Tropical Cyclone, Lazy River, Typhoon, Aqua Jetting. There's also a luxurious Forest Spa. You can also enjoy cycling, shopping, kids' play areas, and a variety of activities like archery, squad bikes, laser clay shootouts, paintball, owl encounters, building a nature house, teddy bear making, woodcrafts, pottery, and cupcake making. Water sport activities include kayaking, katakanu, paddleboarding, and the AquaParc for an adventure-filled experience.
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It's a stay of simple rustic-chic rooms with pea-green shutters, stone the colour of shortbread and original beams (the best have balconies); a bolt hole for reading books and dips in a small pool, and for good organic vegetarian food eaten at a communal table. In short, it is a stay of heart and soul. It's not even remote — the beach at Crikvenica is four miles away and Rijeka is a 30-minute B&B doubles from £87 ( Fly to Rijeka It's a sign of where Cres may be heading that Marriott chose this rustic island for Croatia's first Autograph Collection hotel, which opened in March. It's quite a shift for Cres, a nicely scruffy, Italianate medieval town where you'll eat gelati as small fishing boats chug from the harbour at dusk, yet ten minutes' walk away there's this slick wellness hotel, with sunloungers before the sea and a chef who's shooting for Michelin stars in nine-course tasting menus. The marketing people are calling Cres 'Croatia's often forgotten island'. I'd come soon if I were B&B doubles from £212 ( Fly to Rijeka Before you read this, check the price below. Astonishing isn't it? That's not the reason the Romans called Rab 'Happy Island' (Felix Arba), nor is it why Edward VIII, holidaying here with Wallis Simpson in 1936, felt so, um, joyful he went skinny-dipping. It'll boost your mood too. Rab, in north Croatia, is a love letter to the art of gentle holidaymaking: slow days in a villagey medieval capital, long lunches, 22 sand beaches. The Arbiana was around in Edward's time, and while its classic decor won't make the heart beat faster, it's a charming stay with the sea just Seven nights' B&B from £1,070pp, including flights and car hire ( The Alhambra's Cube Spa was named world's best at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards last year. In 2023 Alfred Keller, its Michelin-starred restaurant, took the top prize at the World Culinary Awards as Europe's best fine-dining hotel restaurant. Not bad for a five-star on a Croatian island few Brits have heard of. Modern Mediterranean sums up the decor in a hotel created from two art nouveau villas integrated by a glass-skinned block. Refined describes the atmosphere in a secluded pine-cloaked bay. Come to indulge between spa and sunloungers on the bay. B&B doubles from £352 ( Fly to Rijeka I chose a backstreet one-star rather than paying over the odds for an out-of-town mega-resort when I first visited Zadar two decades ago. Since then a new breed of central independent boutique stays has helped to raise the profile of Dalmatia's historic third city. This one's as central as it gets, scattering 16 rooms across an early 20th-century house, a 19th-century former military building and a medieval monastery. Such is Zadar's jumble. All are different but united in being elegant, modern and arty without showing off. Delightful breakfasts in a verdant courtyard B&B doubles from £122 ( Fly to Zadar Croatia's first Hyatt Regency arrived in May not in Dubrovnik, Split or Rijeka, but in Zadar. The five-star was installed in the former distillery of Maraska cherry liqueur — Alfred Hitchcock was a fan, which explains Alfred's Bar, with its sea views. Elsewhere the spa hotel has a Mad Men glamour to its streamlined lines. Befitting the brand, it's a work-and-play address with plenty of marble and wood in the 133 rooms but a fine pool on a vast waterside terrace that begs for cocktails. The old town is ten minutes' walk away, or two minutes by barkajoli (rowing boat) B&B doubles from £196 ( Fly to Zadar Exclusivity on Croatia's glossiest island doesn't come cheap. Ultimately it's up to you whether the four luxury suites here on Palmizana island are worth it. They're rather like an Adriatic take on a New Mexico casita: white cotton sheets and terracotta-coloured walls; a glass wall that slides open to the terrace; a hammock between palms and a plunge pool above the sea. But know this: you're on a tiny car-free island ten minutes from Hvar Town by taxi boat. When diners leave, you and the yachties have the bay to yourself. Think Robinson Crusoe in five-star style and you're B&B doubles from £757 ( Fly to Split Don't worry about the mention of 'resort' in the title. There are no tots whooping down waterslides at this 50-room Relais & Châteaux member — no surprise given that this spa hotel bills itself as 'Croatia's first mindful luxury property'. Rather, 'resort' means all that the thinking traveller requires for a sophisticated break near quiet Stari Grad harbour: chic understated decor, Michelin-rated dining in the Terra restaurant, sunloungers by the pool and sunset beats at the A-Bay beach bar. This month it launched a smart 13m speedboat for private excursions or celeb-style transfers from Split airport. Details B&B doubles from £437 ( Fly to Split I was sceptical when this opened in 2021. It looks like the lair of a Bond villain, and you'll need a similar bank balance to afford it. What were eight ultra-luxury suites doing carved into the hillside of an island backwater of the Zadar archipelago? The answer is Croatian starchitect Nikola Basic's concept of a 'landlocked yacht', where glass-fronted rooms frame views of seascapes (and olive groves, but you get the point). Like an exclusive cruise ship, it's escapism with an infinity pool, gourmet restaurant and spa. Unlike a cruise ship, you can leave whenever you want B&B doubles from £666 ( Fly to Zadar • 17 of the best cruises in Croatia The thing you need to ask about Dubrovnik is whether you genuinely want to be in the old town. Magical first thing, it's chocka by 10am in summer. Sometimes it's better to find a nice resort out of the centre offering everything you need and day trip in. 'Everything' at this 371-room five-star, refurbished in 2020, means three restaurants and three bars, a 2,000 sq m spa, a pool bigger than Dubrovnik's main square, knock-out views, and sea activities. It's 20 minutes' walk from the old town and — the clincher — it costs a quarter of the price of most central Five nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,391pp • Rixos Premium Dubrovnik hotel review: a swish five-star with fabulous views• More hotels in Dubrovnik We all want different things from hotels. For some the location comes first. For others it's style or good wellness facilities. Which brings me to this stay. The century-old five-star of Dalmatia's biggest city is no longer the most luxurious in town, nor the chicest. So why am I a fan? Well, they've spruced up the art deco and added a spa (rooms remain small, mind; corner ones are best). Breakfasts served by lovely staff are eaten poolside. Bacvice beach is moments away. And although a ten-minute walk from the old town, it's always an oasis of B&B doubles from £235 ( Fly to Split There are many cool stays in Croatia's best city. This isn't one of them, although it's one of the most memorable. A former Venetian noble's residence turned into a heritage hotel, it's a lucky dip of Renaissance beams and gothic fireplaces. The hum of laughter and conversation drifts in from the most handsome square in the old town — the corner room Vid Morpurgo has a balcony over the action. Caveats? The rooms are small by modern standards, and the decor is more homely than high end. And there's no parking. You won't find a nicer stay in the action of old Split, B&B doubles from £318 ( Fly to Split • Best luxury villas in Croatia You want Dubrovnik. You also want bygone Croatia. This is the answer. Part of the Adriatic Luxury Hotels group, this once dowdy three-star on a pretty harbour emerged from a complete refurbishment in 2022 to become a bolt hole for the superyacht crowd. The 21-room hotel in a historic house pulls off the neat trick of French elegance without appearing to try too hard. Don't be fooled — such effortless style takes a lot of work. Breakfast on the harbour terrace among potted orange and lemon trees is a joy. Dubrovnik is accessible by regular water taxis. Don't bet on making B&B doubles from £379 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Lesic Dimitri Palace is the luxury choice in dreamlike Korcula old town, but Tara's Lodge is a better bet for beach holidays. Think of this small modern block with 17 minimalist rooms as a four-star beach club. You'll drink morning coffee on a balcony — sea views are worth the extra £30 — then breakfast served by friendly staff. Days will pass between the private beach and Mediterranean cuisine in Mimi's Bistro. What more do you need? Possibly a car. Though Korcula island is accessible by ferry from Split or Dubrovnik, the old town is two miles from the B&B doubles from £118 ( Fly to Dubrovnik All set for an end-of-summer splurge? Then to Brac island we go. It's Croatia's have-it-all destination: gentle harbours with waterside restaurants, day trips to Croatia's most famous beach Zlatni Rat, hourly ferries to Split (Dalmatia's sexiest city) until midnight. The splurge is this adult-only five-star at Sutivan. Where other hotels are greige, it's a stay of bold, Italianate glamour with first-rate spa facilities. A place for lazy days with books beside a beautiful pool or on 280 sq m of private beach. Boats and mini-cabriolets are available to rent. Bikes are free. Luxury B&B doubles from £328 ( Fly to Split Rovinj is the pin-up of the Istrian coast. Seemingly created for Instagram, it has dreamlike Venetian streets and nightmare crowds. A report by Which? Travel in May recorded 133 visitors in Istria for every resident — the second highest number in Europe after the Greek island of Zante. There are a lot of day-trippers, even in September. That's where this adults-only five-star 20 minutes' walk from the old town comes in. The restaurant is excellent, the mood is calm. There's a luxury spa and a large pool. A private beach club sits alongside the hotel. Kick back by day and, when crowds ease and temperatures cool, drift into town to experience one of Croatia's most bewitching small towns hazed by a golden Three nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,568pp ( Welcome to the 1970s playground of the Adriatic. Rubbing shoulders were Abba, Sophia Loren and, um, Colonel Gaddafi. Look, it was a different era. By the 1980s five stars had become two. In 2022 it reopened after a £34 million spend that included gutting the place, and promptly won hotel of the year at the Croatian Tourism Awards in 2023. Radisson spent big because the location is peerless: beside the sea on a pine-clad bay yet three miles from central Pula. Perhaps also because vast Seventies spaces upgrade nicely into a refined modernist aesthetic. Jet2 has a new Pula route this year. What you save on flights, splurge here B&B doubles from £184 ( Fly to Pula • 18 of the best Croatian islands to visit In the 2017 movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, filmed on Vis island, Donna says she aims 'to make memories'. What she really sought was a bohemian lifestyle on an island far out to sea. Enter this relative newcomer to Croatia's most far-flung inhabited island. The ten-room stay in a historic harbour house is a fine match for a destination that gets more boho-posh by the year. Fine art photography on the walls, cool rattan armchairs, lovely staff, bikes to borrow ― it nails laid-back luxury. Expensive, perhaps, but what price the opportunity to live out the Mamma Mia! fantasy of a simple, stylish life for a fortnight?Details Two nights' B&B from £728 ( Fly to Split This is the year to visit Hvar, Croatia's glitziest island. Negative headlines from a modest beach club scene led authorities to introduce noise restrictions in March (85 decibels, in case you're wondering) and there's a no-nonsense approach to misbehaviour. The goal is to return Hvar Town to being a buzzy small harbour with Venetian Renaissance architecture. Good luck to them, but if you're choosing to visit you'll probably seek some nightlife, so it makes sense to stay somewhere modern, stylish and beside the water. This fits the bill. Boats bob outside, Carpe Diem cocktail bar is opposite and Hula Hula beach club is just around the bay. Details B&B doubles from £253 ( Fly to Split The Elafiti island Lopud has shifted from backwater to Dubrovnik day trip in the 20 years I've been going. Obvious, really — the harbour's pretty, Sunj beach has sand. Anyway, that's where Sipan island comes in. The castaway cool of Bowa beach club aside, the next island on is the anti-Lopud: three miles of nicely scruffy harbours, vineyards and Renaissance chapels. Most people get around on foot. If you're after nothing more than books, strolls, swims and quiet nights, you'll fit right in. The Kristic family's hotel is spotless, friendly, has a small pool and is bang on the sea. They'll transfer you from the airport by B&B doubles from £120 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Second cities such as Sibenik make for more rewarding breaks. They're generally quieter, have fewer tourists and are better value. This hotel, which opened in 2021, proves the point. It compacts all that is good about this small overlooked city in Dalmatia — an old town with a splendid cathedral, good restaurants, sea views — into a small hotel installed in a 17th-century monastery. Open the shutters and you'll see either old stone the colour of ivory or sea and islands that beg for day trips by ferry. Wallow in a rooftop hot tub and you'll see the cathedral spire above roofs. Now check out the price. Beat that, B&B doubles from £117 ( Fly to Split Trogir's fate is to be near Split airport and too often bypassed. Yet Unesco describes it as one of Europe's finest small towns: Romanesque churches, palaces from centuries under Venetian rule. So it is. What it doesn't say is that it has a pretty harbour that seems purpose-designed for pottering around. Stay at this pleasure palace for discerning aesthetes, sophisticated in its Scandi metropolitan style (geometric print throws, rugs skimming parquet floors) while being relaxed. There's the requisite spa plus two pools. The 'beach' of the name is scruffy shingle, but there are sandier stretches on neighbouring Ciovo island, linked by bridge. Parents rejoice: there's a babysitter B&B doubles from £175 ( Fly to Split For romance — historic lodgings, morning coffee before day-trippers arrive, siestas after lunch, strolls to bed after dinner — only the old town will do. This intimate house fits the bill nicely. On a narrow side street, it has 16th-century stone and beams in suites — smaller Standard and Attic rooms are in an adjacent cottage — but cons are mod. Decor is understated, with white walls and buff fabrics upholstering antique furniture. While rooms in the house have modest kitchenettes (those in the cottage share a kitchen) breakfasts are served in-room. Luggage transport into the old town is a nice B&B doubles £368 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Throughout August, Zrce beach on Pag island is Croatia's answer to Ibiza. Go in September or early October and the island reverts to its older self: bare pink-white mountains as austere and magical as a desert, still inlets and modest holiday resorts like Novalja. You're a couple of miles outside Novalja at this rural wine hotel. I first visited when it opened in 2003 and it remains criminally under-valued; one of those little black book finds. Here 11 rooms and suites make a virtue of simplicity, Michelin-starred chef Matija Breges does creative things with island dishes and staff are B&B double from £182 ( Fly to Zadar The 'Rocco' was one of Istria's first smart wine hotels when it opened in the northern wine hills in 2004. It has been eclipsed by more luxurious stays since, but you'll get a week at this 13-room place, with flights, for the price of three nights elsewhere. You're hardly roughing it either. Expect beams and stone walls, a pool and modest spa, free bikes, estate olive oils and wines in the restaurant. Better, it's not isolated like some rural stays, sitting at the edge of Brtonigla, a town yet to be overtaken by tourism. If you want that, it's ten miles away on the coast and in hill-town Motovun. Details Seven nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,533 ( Do you have a favourite hotel in Croatia? Share it in the comments
