Having a caravan on the south coast - worth it or no?

I remember the day we bought our van at Tomakin – man, I felt like I’d made it.

I had a four-beddy in suburbia and now I had a cosy little 1950s van with annex so close to the ocean I could fall asleep to the sound of the waves. We’d landed a caravan park with direct beach access, a resort-style pool and its own cafe, providing the chips for hot chip sangers. Bliss.

But two years later, we hung up a 'for sale' sign on the verandah. Having a van was a bit of a double-edged sword to be honest, so if you’re thinking about buying one, here are the pros and cons.

Pro: You don’t have to check out at 10am.

With your own caravan, you can literally stay all day. In fact, we often stayed till 8pm on a Sunday night and drove up the Clyde late to avoid long weekend traffic. Checking out at 10am – especially when you’re a little under the weather from a big night before – is the stuff of nightmares. As is drying and dressing the kids out of the back of the car after a beach swim because you’ve had to pack up and check out early.

Con: You can’t afford to holiday anywhere else.

When we had a caravan, I spent a lot of time thinking ‘Jeez, we could have gone to Fiji for the money we’ve spent this year’. Our fees were around $7000 annually – gasp – or around $140 a week. It was a lot. The van itself cost $7,500 and we filled it with around $1,000 worth of new furniture. Spending that much money on fees meant we didn't have the money to go anywhere else: domestically or internationally.

Pro: The community.

On the very first Friday night we owned the van, we were so excited we drove to Tomakin after work and arrived in the pitch dark. We had no idea how to switch the power on for lights. Our neighbours from the caravan next door, Chris and Heidi, came to the rescue – lighting the way with a torch. We’ve been close friends since: both at the coast, and at home in Canberra. Their kids are now best friends with our kids. Our teenagers absolutely adored #vanparklife, with other kids their own age, scooters, street cricket, and swims at the pool and beach. It’s probably the biggest reason we kept our van and continued paying the fees.

Con: You have another house to clean.

You know how you can just walk out of a hotel or an apartment after holidaying and head home? That ain’t so with a caravan. Owning another – much smaller – house means you need to clean it inside and out almost every time you visit. Spending the Australia Day long weekend cleaning up a mice infestation in our coastal haven was the final straw for me, and the 'for sale' sign went up.

Pro: You can decide at 4pm Friday to go away for the weekend.

No need to book, no need to make sure there’s money on the credit card. But, if you have kids who play weekend sport, the reality is you’ll only use the van in school holidays. That’s $7,000 a year for a place you’re only using about 12 weeks of the year. Worth it?

The verdict: If you’re the kind of person who likes holidaying in the exact same place every single holiday and weekend, and you’re a natural cleaner, go for it. If not, save your money for an annual overseas trip.

If you're after something a little bigger than a caravan, here's our round-up of houses for sale on the south coast right now.