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Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Which activities at Centre Parcs?

16 replies

VerintheWhite · 28/01/2011 14:07

Have booked a short week at Centre Parcs for the end of April. Any suggestions for which activities to book? Have a 4 and a 7 year old.

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lovecheese · 28/01/2011 16:53

Mine are a bit older than yours, plus a toddler, but if it is your first visit my guess would be that they will be blown away with the pool and will want to spend a lot of time there - get packed for the day, food, drinks, books etc and expect to spend ages there! Plus that's free, about the only bloody thing that is in CP... Take your own bikes if you have them, always queues to hire and pricey too; They would probably enjoy roller-skating, not too dear; another good one is short tennis or badminton, again quite cheap and fun for the kids; If the weather is warm enough a pedalo or kayak on the lake is good fun too;there is usually a free disco on each evening; also don't forget the lovely open spaces to explore/ride round, my kids are quite happy just pottering, spotting animals; Unless you are really sporty as a family or seriously into nature I wouldn't book much, honestly. Have fun!

liath · 28/01/2011 23:07

Don't go to the pantomime, it'll be the longest hour of your life!

unfitmummy · 01/02/2011 10:52

liath - my kids loved the pantomime!!

the pools are fantastic so plan on lots of time there. also the beaches are great and there are loads of outdoor play areas. therefore not alot of time left after that! in the past we have done roller skating, cheerleading but not alot else really.
have fun!

liath · 02/02/2011 15:57

My kids loved the panto too, sadly. Clearly they have No Taste Whatsoever. Last time I let my sister take them and I got an hour on my own in Starbucks. I don't think she's forgiven me yet!

gillybean2 · 03/02/2011 02:46

Don't fall into the trap of booking loads of stuff and then finding you are so busy you don't get enough time in the pool!

I would say pick one, possibly two activities a day and leave yourself plenty of time for the swimming pool.

Kids love the panto! Parents less so. I would say book it, it tends to be one of the cheaper activities too and the kids are mad for it.

We did mammal magic last time we went and that was great. I think your dc's ages are about right for that if they like cute fluffy animals which they can get up close too and pet. It's new though so not sure if they have it at all the villages (we were at Elvedon)

Definitely take or hire bikes and go on bike cycles round the village and not just for getting from A to B. You might want to consider a tag along bike for your youngest and if you do be sure to book it in advance as they go fast.

Have you booked a specific lodge/area and is it near water? If so you'll have ducks and geese to feed and the dc will do that for hours! Stock up on plenty of value loaves to take with you (the stuff in their shop is far too expensive to give the ducks!). I always take 2 loaves per day per child and still have to ration it to 1 in the morning 1 in the afternoon! If you're not near water/ducks then still take your bread up to the dome where there will be ducks and moorhens to feed.

The treasure hunt is good but rather long and gets a bit tedious for smaller ones. You might be better doing the easter egg hunt which I saw on the website. Or even would say you may be better off just going for a bike cycle.

The parks are free and will keep little ones busy for a while if the weather is nice. We also do a trip out to the pancake house and for ice cream. It's not cheap so that counts as an activity for us!

Also perhaps think about having a go at crazy golf or hiring a pedalo/row boat or even ten pin bowling. Avoid the games machine room though unless you want to spend a small fortune!

Can't advise re the clubhouse as I tend to feel that we're away as a family so we do things together so don't want to stick ds in the time out club. Much as I sometimes think I would love to go for a massage or spa session.
My ds is a bit older but we went with a friend one time and his 5 year old enjoyed the crazy coasters as much as my (then) 10 year old ds.

We also did the spy challange last time (ds now 12) and that was really good and more manageable than the treasure hunt in terms of cycling round the village looking for clues.
We enjoyed it so much I've already booked that again when we go in April.

Final bit of advice... Don't book too much, not least because you'll find the dc expecting loads of extra activities next time you go! But if you do want to do actiivities book them soon as they will fill up and you're unlikely to get anything much if you leave it till you get there.

queribus · 07/02/2011 17:20

Can anyone give me some idea of the costs of extra activities, please? My DD (6) would love to go horse riding, but I'm not sure how much it is.

Also, canoes or pedalos, please.

thanks Smile

cornsilk · 07/02/2011 17:23

hire bikes
my ds liked the go karts

cornsilk · 07/02/2011 17:23

pedalos are quite reasonable I think - can't remember exactly how much -it should all be on the web site

queribus · 07/02/2011 17:27

I can't seem to find prices without actually booking - haven't booked yet because I want a good idea of how much extra I'm going to be talked into spending!

queribus · 07/02/2011 17:28

Of course, I've found the flippin' price list now!

Blush
slipperandpjsmum · 12/02/2011 22:12

We went Walking with Llamas - it was brilliant! Could not recommend it enough. We love horses and all ride on a regular basis so maybe its not for everyone.

The Birds of Prey Experience was also fantastic. Our dd is 7 she is very confident with animals (and you need that when an enormous bird is flying towards you fully intending to land on your arm)!

ohIamshafted · 02/03/2011 14:53

Avoid the Junior CSI, it's ridiculously overpriced for what amounts to an activity in a room for an hour with a free csi suit. Kids were a bit bored.

frankie3 · 04/03/2011 18:37

Junior Fencing, Indoor climbing wall and badminton are fun.

SherbetDibDab · 04/03/2011 18:42

We've been a few times and have never booked any activities in advance. There's really enough to do without spending money on extras.

We've always done free swimming, boat hire, free playgrounds, cycling around and occasionally bowling if it rains.

We've never had to wait for a boat or the bowling.

SpringHeeledJack · 04/03/2011 18:43

I favour anything to get the kids knackered and into bed, then heavy drinking

VerintheWhite · 17/04/2011 18:57

Thanks so much for the tips!

We have booked the climbing wall for our 7 year old and teddy bears picnic for the youngest, ten pin bowling for us all and while we are over there we will have a go at the golf or pedalo, and we have booked roller skating as well.

We have left either the morning or the afternoon free for swimming and pottering around.

Will report back!

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