Your Quick and Easy Guide for Self-Catering Holidays

Self-catering holidays are the go-to solution for many tourists, as it offers a variety of unique benefits and can provide a more authentic travel experience. While self-catering does relinquish the ease and convenience of an all-inclusive trip, it’s more cost-effective and allows you to immerse yourself in your surroundings and the community that inhabits the area.

Are you interested in self-catering holidays but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. At Carbis Bay Holidays, we have a wide range of self-catering holiday cottages in Carbis Bay and St Ives and therefore know a thing or two self-catering holidays. So we thought we put together this quick and easy guide to help you plan your next holiday.

What is self-catering?

Self-catered accommodation, such as self-catering holiday cottages, is where you have the facilities to cater for yourself. This means that meals will not be provided for you by the company or person who owns the accommodation. Self-catering properties can vary significantly and include a wide range of features to offer an enhanced, more bespoke travel experience.

So how does this differ from room-only stays? Well, the key difference between the two is that self-catering provides you with the necessary facilities to cook your own food, whereas room-only is simply a room with no meals included. Room-only does benefit from room service, maids, and other services, but these come at a cost or are the reason for a pricier stay.

What are the benefits of self-catering holidays?

Flexibility

With self-catering holidays you can essentially live exactly how you would at home. Do you wake up at the crack of dawn? No worries, there will be no need to sneak around or tiptoe out of the building to prevent other guests from being disturbed. Just wake up and get going! Do you prefer to stay in bed for a while before you embark on your holiday adventures? Again, no worries, there’s no maid to worry about, breakfast to rush downstairs for, or the loud hustle and bustle of other guests stampeding outside your door.

Another aspect of flexibility that comes into play is not having to worry about accommodating food allergies, dietary restrictions and preferences. As you’ll be shopping for yourself, meaning that the food you have at your accommodation will suit your needs and ensure that no unnecessary issues occur.

Space and freedom

Although it’s not enforced or anything, when you book an all-inclusive holiday, there’s an expectation that you will have all of your meals, drinks and often entertainment at the hotel or resort. After all, you have paid for it. However, self-catering holidays offer unrivalled freedom to treat the accommodation as if it was your own. This means you can cook meals at the accommodation, which can prove to be a brilliant way to make memories if you cook dinner with friends and family. Plus, it’s an ideal space to have a few drinks, socialise and engage in activities such as board games. Also, a bigger space just feels more comfortable and homely.

Encourages exploration

One of the best and often overlooked benefits of self-catering holidays is how it encourages you to explore your surroundings. Think about it, you’ll likely eat breakfast at your accommodation and maybe cook dinner for a few nights, but you’ll also want to get out and about and find some local restaurants to try. This wouldn’t be the case with all-inclusive, as you’d not only be eating at their restaurant(s), but you’d make sure to be back earlier and therefore spend less time exploring.

Also, as you’ll be cooking for yourself and also need to pick up a few things for your home away from home, you’ll have more reasons to roam the local stores. This is a fantastic way to meet people, familiarise yourself with the culture and traditions, and genuinely live like a local for a few days. What better way to learn more about the area and get some recommendations than speaking to the people who live there?

It can be more cost-effective

Although above we discussed shopping, eating out and exploring — which, of course, cost money — you’d be surprised to find that self-catering holidays can be much more cost-effective. Obviously, this depends on the type of restaurants you frequent and your activities, as you won’t necessarily break the bank.

For example, if you plan ahead and shop efficiently for the food and other items required for your stay — the cost will often be significantly less than paying for meals at a hotel restaurant and other services. Also, by saving money in this regard, you’ll free up spending money for activities, shopping and anything else that makes a trip memorable. 

What do I need for self-catering holidays?

For self-catered holidays, you should be prepared to bring plenty of stuff with you. And by that, we mean everything required for your accommodation to feel like home. However, it often depends on the type of items the accommodation provides. For example, our self-catered holiday cottages and other properties all include fluffy towels for guests. This is the least we can do as packing towels or purchasing new ones can be an inconvenience.

Below we’ve compiled a few shortlists of example items for common self-catering requirements, such as cooking, cleaning and more.

Eating and drinking at your accommodation

• Snacks
• Ingredients for cooking/making meals
• Cutlery
• Crockery
• Condiments
• Seasoning (salt, pepper, etc.)
• Tea & coffee
• Soft drinks

Kitchen items for self-catering holidays

• Hand soap, washing up liquid and sanitiser (although the latter may be included due to Covid-19)
• Tea towels and kitchen roll
• Tupperware for leftovers and packed lunches
• Additional items for storing food such as cling film, foil and sandwich bags

Other items to consider (worth checking with accommodation provider)

• If you have access to a washing machine, you should bring your preferred detergent.
• Bathroom items such as toothpaste, soap, shower gel, shaving cream, etc.
• Many self-catering holidays offer entertainment systems at home, which means you can bring DVDs if you fancy a home movie night away from home.

Are you considering self-catering holidays in Cornwall and are on the lookout for self-catering holiday cottages and similar accommodation surrounded by beautiful scenery? Look no further than Carbis Bay Holidays. Check out our full listings of self-catered accommodation here.