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Tracy Kennedy has 29 years of Sun holiday experience under her belt – and now she’s sharing how to get the best deals imaginable.
QUEEN of the £9.50 holiday, Tracy Kennedy knows everything there is to know about how to book the perfect Sun holiday.
Tracy leads the Facebook group “£9.50 SUN HOLIDAYS“, which now boasts an enormous 288,000+ members.
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Having taken trips with The Sun for 29 years, she is full of advice on how to get the best of our cheap breaks, which is why we’ve made her our new £9.50 Agony Aunt.
Here, Tracy whittles down her best pieces of advice for booking your £9.50 holiday to these 17 tips.
If you fancy asking Tracy something else about the Sun’s Hols from £9.50, she’ll be answering your questions in her new agony aunt column in Sun Club.
One top question each week will be rewarded with a £100 Amazon voucher – use the form further down to send her your question.
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Before booking your break, make sure to read up on the kids’ school holidays schedule.
You don’t want to book only to find out later that you have a clash.
Come up with a list of your top four parks from the list of those available.
But you should also add a few extras you wouldn’t mind going to, just in case you don’t get your top picks.
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It’s always good to be flexible – you can always try a new place.
Don’t go into booking with no idea when you want go.
It’s best to know ahead of time which dates you can make – and, if possible alternative dates.
It can be disappointing if you can’t get the dates you want. 
It’s a good idea to plan ahead how you’re going to get to the holiday park.
For example, you might see a good deal in Scotland, but you’d have to take five or six trains to get there.
Then there’s also the possibility of train strikes, so you should have a back up.
I think it’s a good idea to have in mind three other routes to get there, it’s something my dad used to do. 
There are sites that are dog friendly, but you often have to look out for a green figure.
If you don’t book a dog friendly place you can risk being charged full price for a dog.
I see it in the group all the time. 
In the last few years, some people have experienced problems when booking.
Sometimes when getting to the page, an ‘invalid session…’ message comes up and stops you booking.
We’re not sure why this is, but it’s something to look out for and some people have said that clearing their cookies have helped.
If you’re interested in going along to the entertainment, it’s worth checking the holiday park website to see what will be on.
Especially if you’re bringing kids, it’s a good idea to know the kind of things there will be.
Then you can plan your dates around what’s on if you want to.
Popular sites like Seal Bay and Unity Beach tend to go really fast.
I often see people in the group who have left it too late and missed out on booking the one they wanted.
So if you’re set on which park you want, book it as soon as possible.
To be in with the best chance of getting the one you want, you should set an alarm.
I book through Sun Club which opens earlier – at midnight, so I make sure to stay up.
It’s really exciting. It feels like Christmas!
I definitely recommend joining Sun Club to get first dibs.
Every year, I see people online asking questions about resorts after booking has already opened.
If you haven’t done your research first, the holiday you want could get snapped up.
Take a look at all the parks ahead of time to see which ones you like, so you don’t waste time faffing around when the website opens.
If you’re booking a family holiday, read up on the parks to see if they have activities you like.
Seal Bay, for example, has loads of stuff to do.
It’s practically on the beach – there’s even picnic benches on the beach that are part of the park.
It’s really good for families. Kids definitely won’t get bored.
If you’re booking as a couple, it can be a good idea to go out of season before the kids break up.
When the kids are back to school, the parks are a lot quieter and more adult-oriented.
A lot of them still run games like bingo, and there are bars to have a drink.
Some couples like a quieter holiday, but if you don’t mind the kids running around for a bit of a more lively atmosphere, then go during half term.
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There’s lots to do entertainment-wise if you’re going with your friends.
Most parks have discos that go on until midnight.
The comedy is always really funny too – some of the comedians really push the limits.
I recommend looking up the entertainment programmes ahead of time to get an idea of what you want to see and do.
The Isle of Wight is great for getting out and seeing the outdoors. There’s not one bit of the island you won’t like.
There’s so much there, it’s only about 27 miles to walk around the whole island and that site is close to so many things to do.
Nodes Point has direct access to the beach. You can watch the ships going out from there, it’s amazing.
In the town, there’s even markers on the ground pointing you to the beach, so you’ll never get lost. There’s a lift down to the beach, too.
Unity Beach is also great for the outdoors – the nearby Brean Down is worth a visit, for the stunning views and fort.
Our £9.50 Holidays offer plenty to do for adults and kids of all ages – and these ten were our most popular resorts with families last year…
Sometimes you’ll get lucky and get a random free upgrade.
But if you’ve got the spare cash, it can be worth booking an upgrade.
I know families of four who have booked a place with an extra room just to store the suitcases.
And if you want the extra space, it’s not a bad idea.
We got randomly upgraded once at The Lakes at Rookley.
The room was like a house. We even had our own back garden and washing line.
January is the best time to book to get the holiday you want, but you should definitely keep checking to see if any extra dates get added.
I’ve seen it before where new dates have been added months later, and people rush to book them.
So it’s worth hopping back on to see, even if you’re not planning on booking.
If you have children and you’re going in term time, I’d say definitely book the entertainment and club room passes.
These will give you access to things like swimming and bingo.
And even if you haven’t got kids but you want to see the entertainment, you should book them anyway.
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Especially if you’re going in a quiet season and want something to do.
I’ve gone to see the entertainment with friends and had a great time.
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