Holiday park in Suffolk

[michmash1111]

Hello, my DH and four year old son are thinking of taking our first trip to the Suffolk coast in a few weeks, to stay in a holiday park.

What's Felixstowe like? The beach in particular? We don't need much, just somewhere to take walks and if the weather's nice, somewhere to build sandcastles.

Any thoughts/insights would be welcomed or any alternatives to the Felixstowe area for coastal Suffolk would be appreciated 🙏🏻

The beach at Felixstowe is a mixture of sand and small shingle - mostly shingle. It’s not really a sandcastle type of beach! It’s not a great beach for paddling either because it’s so stoney. The town centre is up quite a hill from the beach and the shops/cafes leave a lot to be desired.
Walkerswick and Southwold are probably the best beaches for sandcastles, and Southwold has some nice cafes and shops too if the weather’s foul. Both places have playgrounds, but Southwold’s is bigger and better. Walberswick is good for crabbing!
Cliff House Holiday Park is just along the coast from Southwold and has some awesome walks in RSPB and National Trust properties.

@Ricekrispie22

The beach at Felixstowe is a mixture of sand and small shingle - mostly shingle. It’s not really a sandcastle type of beach! It’s not a great beach for paddling either because it’s so stoney. The town centre is up quite a hill from the beach and the shops/cafes leave a lot to be desired. Walkerswick and Southwold are probably the best beaches for sandcastles, and Southwold has some nice cafes and shops too if the weather’s foul. Both places have playgrounds, but Southwold’s is bigger and better. Walberswick is good for crabbing! Cliff House Holiday Park is just along the coast from Southwold and has some awesome walks in RSPB and National Trust properties.

Thank you so much for sharing this invaluable information. Appreciate you taking the time 😊🙏🏻

Felixstowe is much cheaper than Southwold. There is enough sand for sandcastles. The cafes in town are much nicer than they used to be. It has something for everyone in my opinion.

Southwold is very expensive I preferred Felixstowe.

@Jazzmin

Felixstowe is much cheaper than Southwold. There is enough sand for sandcastles. The cafes in town are much nicer than they used to be. It has something for everyone in my opinion.

Makes perfect sense to me, thank you kindly 🙏🏻

@anon5000

Southwold is very expensive I preferred Felixstowe.

Awesome 😎

I think Felixtowe would be fine for the holiday you have in mind with a four year old. I also like Southwold, Warbleswick, Thorpeness and Aldeburgh but some of the activities in those places are better with older children.

@michmash1111
Have you also considered the Lowestoft area? The beach is gorgeous, all sand (ideal for sandcastles!) and it's raked every day. There is a big holiday park at Kessingland, next to the wildlife park or several north of the town in Corton. Lots of cycle routes too if you're bringing bikes. Plenty of nice parks in the town and you can get the train to Norwich for some sight seeing or even Gt Yarmouth for a day trip to Joy Land - DC sized rides :-)

Popped over to Southwold a couple of weeks ago and it was chaos, cars everywhere, queues for ice cream etc. It's also very expensive if you need to budget and not really child friendly, the beach is mainly shingle and apart from the local shops (a coop and a tesco express) you'll need to go to one of the bigger local towns for supplies. Also, weatherwise, it's always several degrees cooler for some reason!

[quote Supergluerules]@michmash1111
Have you also considered the Lowestoft area? The beach is gorgeous, all sand (ideal for sandcastles!) and it's raked every day. There is a big holiday park at Kessingland, next to the wildlife park or several north of the town in Corton. Lots of cycle routes too if you're bringing bikes. Plenty of nice parks in the town and you can get the train to Norwich for some sight seeing or even Gt Yarmouth for a day trip to Joy Land - DC sized rides :-)

Popped over to Southwold a couple of weeks ago and it was chaos, cars everywhere, queues for ice cream etc. It's also very expensive if you need to budget and not really child friendly, the beach is mainly shingle and apart from the local shops (a coop and a tesco express) you'll need to go to one of the bigger local towns for supplies. Also, weatherwise, it's always several degrees cooler for some reason![/quote]
Really useful information, thank you for taking the time 🙏🏻😊

Felixstowe not glamorous but quieter and I think a hidden gem.
Felixstowe Ferry area has a pier people do crabbing from. Nice pub and two nice cafes. Can get a boat to a sandy beach on the other side of river.
In town there's a great Italian restaurant. Bencotto. On seafront near town some sand and nice cafes/ bars include the Alex and the Flodgers. Not sure if pier amusements will be open.
On the other side near the port there's a good cafe and a nature reserve and beach. Can watch the container ships and cranes for hours my boys loved that at 4. If you go in the evening you can spot the wild rabbits.
You can walk all along the beach / path from the port to the Ferry. Sea and river quite dangerous with currents but can paddle.
Take fleeces it can be windy!

@weasle

Felixstowe not glamorous but quieter and I think a hidden gem. Felixstowe Ferry area has a pier people do crabbing from. Nice pub and two nice cafes. Can get a boat to a sandy beach on the other side of river. In town there's a great Italian restaurant. Bencotto. On seafront near town some sand and nice cafes/ bars include the Alex and the Flodgers. Not sure if pier amusements will be open. On the other side near the port there's a good cafe and a nature reserve and beach. Can watch the container ships and cranes for hours my boys loved that at 4. If you go in the evening you can spot the wild rabbits. You can walk all along the beach / path from the port to the Ferry. Sea and river quite dangerous with currents but can paddle. Take fleeces it can be windy!

Thank you so much 😊