Modern caravans come in so many different formats it can be difficult to choose the right layout....

Getting the right caravan layout for a growing family can present a difficult choice but fortunately in recent years there has been an explosion in the variety of family caravan layouts on the market. Modern caravan design has made family caravanning much more pleasurable and comfortable.

So, what caravan layout do you go for?  One of the very popular layouts for expanding families is to have a caravan with two lounge areas.  This gives the kids their own area both during the day and come bedtime they are a reasonable distance from any disturbance from the adults.  The only problem with this layout is if you have a family with a wide age range or girls who want more privacy. This is because the rear lounge generally coverts into a double and one pull down bunk above to give a five berth caravan.

A larger twin axle caravan can accommodate a larger lounge at the rear that enables two separate bunks for night time accommodation thus reducing the chances of a sibling fallout.  Some of these larger twin axle caravans have pull-down bunks above the lower ones making a six berth caravan layout.  Another option if you have the tow car capacity is something along the lines of the Sprite Quattro or Sterling Europa 600 both made by Swift.  These have fixed bunk beds along the side of the van but retain a large rear washroom at the rear.  The only disadvantage with this layout is that the top bunks have a weight limit but by the time the kids reach this limit they probably won’t want to be with you on a caravan holiday anyway!  The Sterling Europa has a MIRO of around 1400kg so a tow car with a decent amount of power and weight is required.  The nice feature of these caravans though is that you have the available extra accommodation when friends or Granny want to come along.  You can read our Sprite Quattro review here.

To make room for this extra accommodation something normally has to give and on some of the smaller caravans with this kind of layout it generally means that the washroom is quite compact.  A flexible new design from Dethleff shows how different caravan design has become.  The Camper DL520 has an ideal family layout that includes two bunk beds and a small rear dinette, the ideal bedroom and play area for the children.  This really gives the kids their own space and is great for those rare rainy days we have in the UK!

At the moment, there isn’t a great deal of these caravans with true family layouts available on the used market as the layouts have really only become popular in the past two years.  However, some family caravans are now appearing in the second user market and these obviously represent great value for money.