To ask what the best haven site is?

[Tooshyshyhushhushidoi]

Sorry posting for traffic, looking to book august bank hols next year. People rave about it, is it worth the hype? I see the Devon site mentioned a lot, is that the best one? Is it worth £700+ for 4 days?

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MNHQ update: If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the best Haven parks Mumsnetters are recommending on this thread:

😎Devon Cliffs, Exmouth

😎Berwick Holiday Centre

😎Greenacres, North Wales

😎Seaview Holiday Park, Dorset

😎Hafan y Môr, North Wales

😎Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk

😎Kiln Park, South Wales

For more inspo, check out our guide to the best Haven parks and the best UK holiday parks, featuring more recommendations from Mumsnetters.

I don’t know if it’s the best one but we LOVED our stay at Devon Cliffs last May. That’s the only haven holiday we’ve done so I have nothing to compare it to, and we were also blessed with amazing weather which definitely helps! Not sure I would have loved it so much in the rain because we spent most of our time at the beach. I’ve seen people complaining that it’s too big but that’s not something that would bother us anyway.

I think you read about Devon Cliffs the most because it’s the biggest Haven site so more people have stayed there! We would definitely stay again though.

It depends what you want. We prefer smaller sites so love Berwick, Greenacres and Seaview.

other parks are much bigger with more on site but they aren’t for us. I didn’t like Haggerston at all but know others love it.

I prefer Butlins to Haven. Until recently they were both owned by the same company but Haven is more basic and do it yourself whereas Butlins is a bit more bells and whistles.

We did Haven and I found the entertainment to be dire. Every evening was the same format of some kids party dances followed by bingo then some sort of family gameshow followed by a social club singer. Everything had an upsell or was a paid-for extra. Want your kids to join a craft session? £8 a head. Nerf battle? £12 a head. Sand art? £5 a head. Guided nature walk? £6 a head. The caravans were fairly nice but DC were bored after two days because there just wasn't anything to do during the day that didn't involve the arcades or pool and nothing to do at night that didn't involve Magic Mark the world's crappiest magician or party dances with bored looking kids entertainers.

Butlins cost a bit more but much more was included, got a dining plan so didn't need to cook. Crafts were almost all free, soft play was free, funfair was free, massive pool with flumes and rapids, much better entertainment including a panto and a circus.

Devon cliffs is nice apparently one of the best. Avoid Weymouth bay it's awful.

Hafan Y Mor is good, as is Caister (although the pool isn’t great, or never used to be)
We also prefer smaller sites tho, Berwick is our fave as we love the location and being able to hop between England and Scotland. Friends went to Haggerston Castle and loved it tho, which is just down the A1 from Berwick

I took teen DD and some friends to our local one for her birthday, it was cheap as out of season and fine for what we needed but if going on a proper holiday would prefer Butlins where you get great pools, free fun fair, and the shows are alot better which means they cater for larger range of ages

The shows at Haven are mediocre and cringy, I suppose ok if you don't go to the theatre regularly or just with small children but Butlins was much better. The cost of the additional activities soon add up no free activities suited to the teens and there were very few things that were really suitable for teens although I did like that they split the age groups which meant the teens were happy to go on the inflatables etc as they weren't dodging tiny tots.

I should add, the caravan was nice - alot nicer than I remembered from the 90s and I couldn't fault how clean it or the park was

We just did butlins Bognor (did a hotel as I’d heard some dodgy things about the lodges or whatever). Pool was lovely! Absolutely lovely. Fairground was barely operating though and the carousel someone seemed to have got injured on it and it wasn’t running.

we did a dining plan and found the food for adults not to be great. Shows aside from the dinosaur one were quite cringe but kids liked it. Let down by the weather but that’s to be expected.

is haven better or worse or equal to than butlins?

The one at Hayle in Cornwall has a great location

Magic Mark the world's crappiest magician

This made me laugh out loud.

We stayed at Devon cliffs over October half term, it’s okay but too big I think and it is very very hilly!! We were up on the top bit and it was such a drag to walk up the hill in the dark and when it was wet and the walk to the beach was long and also needed an uphill walk from the beach but the beach was fantastic!

if we went again we would go nearer to the entertainment and beach which would cost a lot more I know…. Good shop on site and huge arcade area for teenagers!

very close to Exmouth itself too which is a lovely town and the best fish and chips are down at the Proper fish and chip shop which does gluten free all week as well.

good for links to Exeter too and crealy adventure park

Kiln Park

We thought Hafan Y Mor was good but that's the only one we have been to

Hafan y mor was good but we prefer park dean parks. Our favourite is Cayton Bay and Trecco Bay, loads to do and we found the kids entertainment better than Haven.

Devon Cliffs. All the way 🙂