Things to think about when booking a bach:

1 Most families advise against picking anything too pretty. There’s nothing worse than spending a week worrying the kids will break that gorgeous vase or spill juice on the pristine white carpet or furniture. Save those places for a romantic nokids holiday.

2 Decide whether you want to cart linen around. Some baches provide linen, others require you to bring everything yourself. It’s good to understand what you’re in for if space is at a premium in the car.

3 If you’re going for a low-budget family holiday, look for a place set up for kids — maybe a big garden to play in, lots of board games or — even better — right on the beach. This will mean there’s less need to spend money on extra activities.

4 Look at the cleaning situation. It can be quite stressful trying to get a bach back to the way it was when you arrived, so sometimes it’s worth going for a place where you pay a cleaning fee. That way you can just do a quick tidy up and leave someone else to clean the toilets, vacuum, and mop the floors after you’ve gone.

5 Go right through the booking process until just before payment to see what the actual cost will be. It might be advertised at $275 a night but once you go further you may find there are fees for more than two adults, plus cleaning, plus a service fee which could bring it closer to $400 a night. This is not always the case, and varies from site to site, but just be aware there may be additional costs.