Which haven site is best in Norfolk and Sussex?

[turquoisewaves]

Hi! Planning a couple of cheap mini breaks and trying to choose which Haven sites to go to. I’d love to hear others experiences/recommendations as I’ve been going back and forth for days and I’m stuck with the mixed reviews online lol!

Norfolk - Caister, Hopton or Seashore (Wild Duck sounds cute but think we’d rather be closer to the sea)

Sussex - Church Farm or Combe Haven

Not too bothered about entertainment or swimming as we’ll be out and about exploring the area, beaches etc all day, just using the caravan as a base really. Probably chill in there in the evenings. If we eat out, we’ll most likely go off site. Maybe i’ll get passes if the pool is amazing but prob not as I think we’ll be packing a lot of exploring in and I want to keep it as cheap n cheerful as possible 😅.

The reason i’m stuck is because I’ve never been to either area before. Most important things for us are for it to be somewhere fairly quiet and chilled, v clean and comfy. Would be great if it was close to a beach but we’ll have the car so not the end of the world if not - I guess being somewhere quieter and well maintained is most important. We won’t be going at a v busy time of year - probably Sept for Sussex and early next summer for Norfolk (not in school hols so hoping it’ll be less busy).

Thanks in advance for any insight :)!

seashore was lovely, we went a couple of years ago and was ideal for the beach (short walk literally opposite the site entrance with some caravans having a sea view). the site was laid out nicely to and well cared for!

Haven't been for a decade, but we used to love Caister. Especially flying kites on the beach.

Caister and seashore both lovely and so much coastline to explore nearby

Church farm used to be lovely but the other ones are closer to beach

Caister is our favourite one in Norfolk. Best beach, sandy and vast and not too far to drive into Yarmouth. Seashore has the better splash park if you have younger kids but the beach access isn’t as good (you have to cross over a road and walk over dunes) and the beach itself isn’t very nice. Wild duck is our least favourite, it’s like a mini centre parcs type place, we did enjoy hiring bikes and cycling about but there is no beach and the swimming pool isn’t a patch on the others.

Thank you this was really helpful, decided to go with Caister after reading this as it sounds perfect for us :)! It was considerably cheaper than Seashore in the end too, so even better!

Hope you love it. We go to Caister every year (!) we live in Norfolk too, it’s just our favourite park.

Aw do you! It looks such a beautiful area, I’m a bit jealous haha! Really looking forward to it! Thank you :)

It’s been a couple of years but we’ve been to Combe haven, would definitely go back.

Thank you, I’m thinking of going with this one for Sussex!

We stayed at Hopton last year and didn't love it. There wasn't anything particularly bad about it but we didn't enjoy it as much as other haven sites. The location is good though. However I felt like all I could see was caravans (and a few local houses). Previous times we have stayed at haven ( several in Wales and North Yorkshire). Even if the site itself was large you didn't feel like it was and the parks were sectioned off with trees, or there were fantastic views over the bay.

Thank you for the heads up on Hopton! Oh did you! Where did you stay in North Yorkshire? I also have one already booked for Primrose Valley in a couple of months haha, making the most of the out of season deals to see some different parts of the country. I haven’t been to a Haven in about 25 years since I was really young and now I’m probably booking 3 mini breaks lol but I just can’t get over the prices, double figures for 4 nights is just brilliant! 😅.

We really liked Hastings as well, nearest sandy beach was Camber Sands which was like a 40 minute drive away which was the only negative. That was an experience however the pontins was still open then so it was let’s say a bit rough around the edges. Presume it will have improved in camber since then!

Seashore is lovely, nice facilities, including indoor water park, and very easy access to the beach. You can also get the bus right outside the site to get to Great Yarmouth.

Ooh yes I saw that! Was thinking maybe a day trip to Camber Sands if the weather is okay, glad to have a heads up about that. I think we’ll visit but have other stuff planned incase it’s not so great. Luckily it’s in September so hopefully be quieter.

Swap Haven in Hopton for Potters up the road (literally).

@turquoisewaves It was Thornwick bay in Yorkshire. We really liked the site, the beach isn't sandy but was good for my slightly older kids to explore. We also really enjoyed kayaking on the lake there. We don't go for the Entertainment but we do tend to try some activities and use the pool. We went up to Bridlington one morning which was really nice.

Does it have to be Haven?

Hunstanton is, IMO, a much nicer area than the coast where the Haven ones are, and has Parkdean and Searles.

There are other holiday parks such as Pinewoods at Wells and Kelling Heath holiday park on the North Norfolk Coast - v beautiful.

No I was just looking at Haven as they had some seriously cheap deals and I was trying to book a couple of budget trips, but open to anywhere if I can afford them. Thank you for the ideas I will google them, all sound lovely! :) Have you ever stayed at a Parkdean? I was wondering if they’re much different to Haven sites

I haven’t, I’m a tent camper and visit Norfolk often.

Pinewoods and Kelling will be more expensive, I’m sure. But from what you say about getting out and about etc, you might find a static in one of the parks along the North Norfolk coast which is IMO preferable to the Yarmouth stretch.

Lots of caravan sites in Mundesley, West Runton, around Sheringham and Cromer…