We had a fun weekend away as a family of four at a Eurocamp village in Italy and saved 65% on accomodation costs. We managed to save money on our family break after giving the famous Sun holiday deal a try. Using the deal saved me money on short a holiday away that I probably wouldn’t tried. The location was beautiful and the amenities were very child friendly.  To save money on our weekend away we followed the Sun Holiday offer and the deal was straight forward to follow, although, it does pain me greatly to give even a few pounds to Murdoch’s climate denying empire and newspaper. But the holiday was worth it, so let me show you what we got for our money and how much we saved.

Vouchers and discount codes can give us the opportunity to squeeze a little extra from our budget. Can we trust them? Not always. But, last year I decided to try a well-known discount offer run by The Sun ‘newspaper’ and it was worth the hype. They offer a 3 to 5 night holiday for £9.50 per person. Did it work? Did we stay in a broom cupboard in the back end of know where? Let me tell you how our experience went.

We collected our 5 codewords and browsed through the holiday offers, we chose a camping site South of Rome in Baia di Domizia for a weekend in May. Our choice was based on the location and accessibility and due to the park’s great ameniites. A large children’s pool, a large park, a beach and restuarants – The pictures presented a modern and clean campsite. The total cost came to 118 for a three night stay for our famiy of four which seemed like a great deal, but what would we get?

The day came to set off,  It would only take a couple of hours to drive from our flat in Rome using the Pontina. The Pontina is one hell of a road for an Italian driving experience and not for the faint hearted. The Pontina heads south along the coast and pressed against watermelon fields. The spring sun was warm so we scheduled a lunch stop in the seaside town of Sperlonga. Here we had lunch at the beachfront restaurant, Capricci di Mare. The soft waves lapped along the beach a few meters from us as we relaxed with fresh fish and a glass of cold white wine and the warm salty air. My husband took the boys onto the beach to play while I went for a walk around the town. The old center sits on top of a high cliff. The narrow streets are whitewashed and enchanting. Hand painted murals hide in the streets and tell tales of fishing boats and lives lived at sea.

Around 3 in the afternoon we set off, back on the road. We passed Sabaudia and Gaeta before arriving, relaxed, to our Eurocamp park. A quick check-in at the reception was needed to gain access to the site and once inside we connected with our representatives. The campsite is run by one entity while the accommodation is sublet and managed by diverse companies. Our lodge was run by Eurocamp. The representatives were quick to welcome us and show is to our caravan.

The large camping site was thick with Eucalyptus trees that throw shade and a calming whisper as the wind passes through the leaves.

Our caravan was very basic but it had all the essentials with an outdoor balcony. Despite the caravans being close together, there was space to leave the car and the neighbours were obscured by pink blooming Liandri bushes that gave a bit of privacy.

The pool area was huge, a children’s pool with a gentle gradient was perfect for splashing in the shallows and paddling in the deeper area. It had a bubble area and an umbrella sprinkler that my children love running through. A sperate deep pool with a jacuzzi area and another pool for lane swimming.

The pool area had a bar that served coffee, ice lollies and light lunches. After a few hours in the pool, working up an appetite, we really appreciated the hot lunch menu!

Attached to the campsite was a private sandy beach. We made the most of it being so accessible and went and put our feet in the water before breakfast. One evening a storm sky swirled its dark grey clouds around the mountains in the bay. We had an amazing view of the dramatic weather.

The restaurant was busy and had huge kitchen operating to serve the food. The staff were so friendly and attentive, and the food was excellent, and the prices were very fair. They had a woodfired restaurant making real pizzas.

I wasn’t suprised at all when I fell short on my packing. After 10 years in Italy I have become acustomed to the climate. These days I can function relatively well in 40 degrees heat and humidiy – but the downside, anything less that 18 degrees is a bit chilly! I still forget this thought and, annoyingly, I mostly forget this when I am packing. The cooler nights outdoors and at a camping resort .

Our trip to Camping Village Baia Domizia was fun and perfect for a family holiday because there is a lot to do. I love glamping holidays in Italy because the quality is so high. If you want to relax, you could spend your entire time onsite. If you want to explore the local area, Napoli, Pompei and Sperlonga are not far away.  From the site, there was a train station a 15 minute drive away. Sessa Aurunca-Roccamonfina station connects with Napoli Piazza Garibaldi station and the journey takes one hour. From here you can easily take the train connections to Pompei.

 During our holiday, we stayed in a roulette (caravan). This was automatically selected when we booked the holiday and I didn’s see a way to upgrade. Our experience was ok but not the best. Our accomodation was managed by Eurocamp and the caravan was an old model and it had a bit of a funky smell. But overall it was fine to stay in and the beds were comfortable. It was reasonable considering that we paid such a low price, and we spent most of the time outside anyway!

Looking at the cost of the holiday, the deal allowed us to save money and it gave us access to a fun little Italian campsite located between Rome and Napoli. 

For three nights away, with accommodation, access to the pool, gym, park and private beach – we paid a total of  £ 118 ( £ 29.50 per person) in May 2023.

If I try to book the exact campsite for a family of four, over a weekend in May; I find the price comes in at £ 195. This means I saved a sizable 60% on the accommodation by going through the Sun offer.

The Sun holiday deal offers a short break at a selection of resorts in the UK, France, Spain, Croatia and more. The offer promises a holiday for as little as  £9.50 each – but what do you actually get for that, and how much do you actually pay? I saved up 5 token words and explored the offers to see what might be suitable for us.

Collecting 5 tokens meant giving money to a rag I would never ordinarily read but the five token words were collected and I could log into the site to find the holidays!

Collect your tokens and gain access to the booking website. The offer usually runs a couple of times a year. To book you must select a destination and then the choice of dates.

To make the experience as sustainable as possible look at how you can travel using local transport and train connections. Look at choosing the train rather than the plane to get there. You can do this by allowing yourself enough travel time, for more tips you can  my articles about night trains and trains in Italy.

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