Toddler friendly UK staycations

[Kay61991]

We are looking to book somewhere not too far from London (2 hours ish max drive), for 3 or 4 nights in September with a 2 year old. Struggling to find somewhere ideal for a family that isn’t too expensive or without too many negative reviews making me reluctant to go for it! Could anyone recommend any areas with things around to do with a 2 year old? Any accommodations you have stayed at that have been clean and suitable too? Desperate for a little holiday altogether but really struggling to find somewhere without something that is an issue! Mostly price when I have found anywhere good! Thanks! X

Staycation is when you stay at home.

You mean ‘a holiday in the UK’

HTH

Honestly - at that age butlins or haven style caravan parks are your friends. Cheap, cheerful and plenty to keep little ones entertained.

Butlins Bognor has shows, small rides, swimming pool, soft play. Everything a little one wants. Plenty of havens on the south coast too.

Isn’t a staycation when you are not going abroad? I already live in the UK.

Thank you. We were actually going to book Butlins at Bognor Regis but after speaking with others and looking into it, so many people were very negative about it in terms of cleanliness etc as it attracts more young adults now rather than families. Was a bit worried after hearing a few horror stories!

Seal bay in Chichester.

We did our first haven holiday this year, we hadn’t done that type of holiday before as pre-children we preferred cottages with long walks and castles to visit! Our 2 year old absolutely loved it though.

We booked it thinking we’d probably just do swimming each day and maybe one or two activities, we weren’t expecting to really do much of the entertainment stuff but they had daily mid morning/ lunchtime entertainment for the kids and it was actually great. The shows were more interactive than we expected e.g they’d do a puppet show about the seaside and then had seaside crafts and had the kids find seashells and things in their buckets. Or a farm themed one with songs and they had to sort out fruits and vegetables etc.

We also did a couple of day trips out to local attractions/ the beach but we could happily have stayed on site as there was lots to do each day. I’d recommend it for small children, being able to sit and chill for an hour with a coffee while our toddler joined in with the entertainment made it feel like we actually had a bit of a break too!

Thank you! Which Haven site did you go to? Which accommodation would you recommend? I’ve looked into Haven too but just keep worrying over negative reviews! Mostly cleanliness related which worries me! We also have only ever done hotels or lodges etc so struggling now to find something that suits!

Just a tiny bit further than 2hours (depending on where abouts in London you’re coming from), but Warmwell is excellent

Woolacombe, although it’s more than 2 hours. It’s lovely and the Woolacombe sands caravan park has good facilities for little ones. And a staycation is when you stay on your home/house.

We went a few weeks ago - our accommodation was spotless and spacious (comfort plus apartment), and yes some of the site was a bit run down on the outside but that really really didn't matter. The facilities themselves were amazing, and it was full of kids. We did self catered rather than the dining plan.

Pp mentioned haven as well - we're doing a haven later in August and again some can seem rundown but they tend to have great facilities/entertainment and aimed at little ones.

What are the reviews actually saying? Yes there are nicer places around, but for a cheap break with young kids you can't get better imo.

Ps - if you do go for butlins and book an apartment pay extra for a ground floor one!

We went to Burnham on Sea. We got a bronze caravan so cheap and cheerful - I’d also seen some reviews online re cleanliness but the caravan was spotless and comfortable despite being on the cheaper end of the scale.

It was a little noisy over the weekend we arrived as there had been a cheap weekend deal on and were lots of families with teenagers who were all up drinking late into the night, but from the Monday - Friday it was all other families with preschool children (it was school holidays) so they were all on a similar routine of early ish to bed and up early in the morning.

Thank you! This is reassuring. The reviews that worry me are things like bed bugs, accommodation not being clean and mostly cleanliness/hygiene related negativity! I am not so worried about it being run down etc x

@namestealer sorry it didn’t post this as a response!

Sandyballs, New Forest

A staycation was always when you took annual leave from but stayed at home, didn’t go anywhere, but some people are now using this to mean holidaying in the UK.

CENTER PARCS! It is so completely perfect for a 2yo. So many activities, everything set up for them, nearest to London is Woburn, which is newer and not too big. Reasonably priced during term time. We went with an 18mo and have gone back again and again.

Center Parcs definitely. We went 3 times in my youngest's first year 😂
We like Elveden best, particularly as the swimming pool has better slides for children and the main facilities are closer together, than Woburn. It's pretty reasonably priced in term time Mon-Fri.

I’d do Woburn Center parcs. If you are going during term time wait until the last minute and book a last minute deal. It’s really reasonable that way.

We go to burnham too (close to family) and love it!

Honestly never had a problem with that at either haven or butlins.

CP is also good, just less free stuff/entertainment for the kids.

Another vote for Center Parcs. Self catering and as your child is only 2 it will be mostly swimming (included in the price), every day if you’re anything like us.

People will say that CP is expensive with all of the add ons once you’re there but at this young age, you can really just stick to swimming, bikes (if you have one), enjoying the woodland, playgrounds, and if you wish one or two of the little 30 minute classes which are about £8-15 per child I think.

Definitely considering this one! Again, saw a few negatives around some of the lodges being really ‘dirty’ and the pool area. However it was mostly good stuff so may just try it out. Have you been?

No, a staycation is where you stay at home and take trips out/spend time as if you're on holiday. So minimal day to day life such as cooking and cleaning and instead relax, have fun and perhaps get nicer, easier to prepare food or eat out, like you would on holiday.

If you stay away from your own home, you're on holiday, otherwise people who holiday in their own country wouldn't ever be on holiday, when of course they are. Do the people who live in Paris and go to the South of France in August consider themselves to be on holiday? Of course they do.

Staycations came about in the first credit crunch/cost of living crisis when people couldn't afford to go on holiday but wanted time away from day to day life and could spend a bit of money on eating out, local attractions, perhaps things like paddling pools for the garden, but not flights and accommodation.

But if you're fearing dirt and tired accommodation it sounds like an actual staycation might be what you're looking for, assuming your home is clean and in good order that is.

If you live in London, there will be no end of things you could do and be able to return home each night with no fear of nasty surprises.