With the new year properly begun, plans for holidays always start to form, and for van life families the first one to need tackling will be the Easter half-term. That’s going to be in late February for most of the UK, and for many of us it’s just after Valentines’ Day.
These are great opportunities to bond your family together and create shared memories that will last a lifetime, and having a comfortable, reliable converted campervan makes them easier and cheaper to enjoy. It’s not uncommon for families with young children to want these to be educational opportunities, but there are many different ways you could go.
Getting the Early Sun
Heading on down to Cornwall, especially around Newquay or Porthleven, means beautiful beachfronts and opportunities for those who love the waves to surf. You’ll find the same thing around Anglesey and Llandudno in North Wales – and both places are also opportunities to enjoy sunnier, warmer weather for the months, kicking off 2026 with warmer weather and happier times.
To really make the most of it, consider a ferry across the Channel too; the beautiful Mont St Michel on the French coast is comfortably within half term travel territory, especially for those based in the South.
If you really have your heart set on surfing, we did a deep dive on the best way to enjoy the surfing lifestyle from campervan last year, but many of these ideas don’t fit neatly within a half term excursion.
Theme Park Fun
While not all of them will be open yet (and you should do some research first as a result) treating the family to a pass when it’s early enough in the season to be quieter is a great way to enjoy them at their best. Again, we have a more extensive guide to theme park trips already, so we’ll simply advise you to check there.
Beautiful Landscapes
We all love spending time feeling connected to nature on our holidays, and a great way to do that is to consider the list of National Landscapes in England and Wales, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland, or National Scenic Areas in Scotland. (More on these in this blog later!)
These tend to be no less wonderful than our national parks, but they’re typically smaller, making them a great place to explore in fewer days – and perfect for a half term holiday as a result.
There really are no bad choices in this range, but it’s worth mentioning that many have already been referenced earlier tin this very article, as surfing coasts and the island of Anglesey are all on the list – so it’s very possible to overlap the two categories in one holiday.
Educational Opportunities
As well as many properties overseen by the National Trust, Historic Scotland, or English Heritage, some historical ‘working towns’ and ‘working farms’ can be great opportunities to do something different.
The Beamish Open Air Museum might be the best known of these; they’re set up to work the way things did at a particular time in the past. For kids and adults alike, wandering through these is an amazing way to connect to our history and heritage.
Others include the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, which is rooted at the birth of the industrial revolution and set under the Ironbridge the building of which marks the start for many.
There are so many different ways to entertain and enrich your family over a half term, and many of them are easy to reach and enjoy from a campervan. We highly recommend it.
If you’re not a campervan user yourself yet, why not use our campervan hire service and see if you develop a taste for it?
