Once regarded as old-fashioned pursuits favoured by the over 50s, caravanning and cruise holidays are now regarded as being cool.

British holidaymakers are taking to the open roads and the seas in record numbers, according to two surveys. The strict security restrictions surrounding air travel and a desire to reduce global warming have led to an upsurge in cruise holiday interest, it is claimed, while last month’s record-breaking temperatures and a predicted hot summer have done the same for caravans.

Freeads, the online classified site, said that in the past six weeks, the number of caravans for sale on the site had doubled.

Duncan Horton, the company’s chief executive, said: “Jeremy Clarkson probably won’t be happy with this news as caravans are often considered the scourge of motorists everywhere, but the reality is, caravans offer a great value way of getting away from it all in the UK. When the weather is good here, there is no better place to go on holiday.”

Recent figures from the Caravan Club show that caravanning is the most popular paid-for holiday in Britain.

City analysts estimate that the caravan industry is worth about £.16 billion a year, and enthusiasts include Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, the Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay and Kylie Minogue.

Mr Horton said: “The notion of keeping things simple and returning to modest pleasures from your childhood, such as caravanning, is very appealing for a lot of people.

“Also the impending festival season is driving this growth. Buying a secondhand caravan or camper with a group of mates is an increasingly popular way of sorting out in one hit both the transport and accommodation elements for these events.

“Just like tank-tops and screw-top wine, caravans seem to be the next thing to reinvent themselves to become the epitome of cool – which not so long ago we laughed at.”

The Passenger Shipping Association has calculated that 1.2 million Britons holidayed on cruise ships last year, a 12 per cent rise on 2005. The association expects this figure to increase to 1.5 million in 2008 and to 2 million by 2010.

Over past ten years, the number of Britons taking ocean cruise holidays doubled, with the Mediterranean taking top spot as the most popular destination, followed by the Caribbean.Last year one in 16 package holidaymakers opted for a cruise trip and a record 50 British ports received visits from cruise ships.

Bill Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, said: “One of the main factors in the industry’s ever-increasing share of the UK holiday market is the surge in the number of ships being dedicated mainly to the UK market, offering cruises from UK ports.”

Scotland and the south of England attracted the most cruise ship tourists, the association said, adding that the average price of a cruise in 2006 was £1,314, a five per cent increase on the year before.

More than 2,000 people had their cruise holiday cancelled this weekend after the ship they had been due to travel in experienced technical failures. The two-week cruise on board the Sea Princess to the Mediterranean had been due to leave Southampton on Saturday.

Passengers, who had paid about £1,500 each, were told they would receive a full refund and a 25 per cent discount on a future cruise.

It is not the first problem to hit the Sea Princess. The super-liner had to be disinfected after about 200 passengers were struck down by a virus in May last year.

Explore Travel

• Travel News

• Where To Stay

• Your Say

• Business Travel

• Best of Britain

• Travel Images

• Good Spa Guide

Times recommends

• Win a Zeppelin flight over London
• A first timer's guide to... Morocco
• The budget guide to the French Riviera