Haven Parks

[WalkingBlind]

Sorry using for traffic as I've asked in other places and barely got a response.

I'm wondering which are the best Haven or Butlins parks?

Oldest DC is 3 so i don't need much "grown up" type stuff, more child focused. I've Googled and seen threads like this but they're all from a fair few years ago so things will have changed by now.

Anyone been recently?

There are a few threads about general holidays that have Haven recommendations on.

Which ones were you thinks of?

I always went to my nearest one, which was Presthaven.

We're either planning there, or Hafan, next year. We go in a mixed group, with babies (now toddlers) and there's stuff to suit everyone.

I like both but would pick butlins over haven every time. Butlins Skegness has a brilliant new toddler pool, lots of restaurants and constant entertainment. Minehead is good too but pool not as good. There's arcades, soft play and a kids fair all on site. You can also get the meal plan where you get breakfast and dinner buffet style with lots of choice for little children.

In terms of haven we like presthaven sands in north wales and Cala gran and Marton mere in fleetwood/blackpool. That's because they are the closest ones to us. Butlins is a minimum 3 hour trip from us but worth it!

We go every year to Cala Gran near Blackpool. It's very well kept. Very clean. Loads to do. Pool a bit small so gets crowded. We go to Blackpool centre for one day or the other small towns nearby.

We enjoy it anyway

We've been to Butlins in Skegness and Minehead in the last year, and the Devon cliffs haven site. All lovely holidays. We did a Just for Tots break at Minehead, targeted to the under 5s, and it was perfect.

Well, Haven doesn't hold a torch to Butlins.

Haven doesn't have much there. Young children will never be bored at Butlins, the entertainment is constant.

I used to love going to Butlins when mine were little, they loved every minute of it. I have only ever been to Skegness but I had nothing but good experiences, clean rooms and the food was decent enough if you go half board.

Butlins is brill for none stop entertainment for the little ones

We love Hopton Haven and also their Wild Duck site. We aren't ones for non stop shows etc and just enjoy the seaside and the arcades (!) and the swimming so Haven suits us fine. We use them as a base to explore the local area too. Both of those sites are lovely. Wild Duck is like a mini centre parcs - woodland setting etc, but cheaper!

Butlins is far better than Haven and Skegness is the best one.

Probably more to do at butlins. We are staying at haven this year though in a beautiful place as butlins don't have any decent locations, skeggy is ok for a couple of days but other than butlins there's fuck all to do and Skegness is vile.

I have been to both butlins and haven, both have their bad points but the best place by far is primrose valley, we stayed in a beautiful caravan (private) and even my husband who hates caravan holidays said it was a lovely park, so much to do and so many places close by to visit. Scarborough, Bridlington, flamingo land, sealife centre, Whitby.

We are going to thorpe park in cleethorpes at the end of july for a week have been to mablethorpe haven before and it was fine but butlins is by far superior for entertainment but thats also reflected in the price which is nearly double.what im paying for haven.

It depends what you want, personally we prefer the smaller, quieter sites. We go to greenacres in Wales at least once a year and love it - direct access to the beach is fantastic!

We went to wild duck last year and that was nice and off to little sea in a few weeks.

We are going to little sea on sat

I never knew I was a snob until I went to Butlins I came home early, in the changing rooms of the swimming pool I was ankle deep in cold water and plasters, disgusting. But we do like haven but we just use the caravan as a base to explore

Has anyone been to Perran Sands?

Perran Sands is great. Beautiful scenery. We saw a snake which wasn't an unusual occurrence by all accounts. We also went to Primrose Valley in Yorkshire. That was my favourite Haven. We did leave a day early as all the kids came down with horrendous colds.

Been to a lot of different haven sites since DC were very young, now the youngest is a teenager but going again with DGD! The best have been Devon Cliffs, Rockley Park and Thorpe Park, where we are going back to in July. Also tried Caister, Hafan y Mor, Weymouth Bay and the worst was Primrose Valley but I gather a lot of improvements have been made since we went. We also love Pardean's Trecco Bay.

Another vote for Primrose Valley here. Lots to do, and short walk to the beach.

Thanks, we are thinking of using it as a base for a wedding next year, plenty to do when we are not busy celebrating!

We use Haven sites all the time, we're off to Presthaven on Monday for the second time this year and have also booked Marton Mere and Perran Sands.

There's plenty for a 3 year old to do, we've got a 15 month and a 3 year old and they both love it, the activities start around 10am and are on right up to about 9pm, they do get repetitive but the kids don't mind.
We looked into Butlins but it's much more expensive plus we like static caravans because of the amount of space whereas Butlins is either a chalet or a room. I do think the entertainment looks better at Butlins though.

If you do decide to go it's worth booking through a private owner as you'll get better deals, people advertise on ebay and Facebook, we're only paying £200 next week for a 3 bedroom one in a great location on the park, private owners tend to have them equipped better too.
You also know which van and location on the park before you arrive whereas Haven allocate on arrival so you have to wait in a queue to check in and only then find out where you'll be.

We find with 2 young kids it's nice to be near the amenities as we're always popping to and from the van/arcade/club/pool/restaurant and it's much easier if it's only a couple of minutes walk.

We loved Reighton Sands, we had a prestige or something caravan and it was lovely inside. Easy to get to Filey, Whitby etc. Also been to Marton Mere, not as nice but again the kids loved it. They're happy with a pool and a play area!

We're at Reighton Sands at the moment and it's lovely. Small though so I can imagine it gets quite crowded during the school holidays. We went for a nosy around primrose village which is nearby today and that has a lot more activities onsite. The surrounding area and beaches are lovely though. I had reservations about a holiday park but we're all really enjoying it (2 grown ups and a toddler)