Sun holiday review thread

pickledonionspaceraider

Hi all

I am sure this has been done before.. but in the days before booking opens, it might be worth sharing some knowledge, eh?


Thumbs up
Hendra in Newquay - This one is an award winning site . It is approx three miles to the beach, and there is SO much to see and do in this area for kids and adults alike. Best holiday ever. Got a free upgrade

and Ruda in Devon - short walk to the stunning beach, far quieter than newquay but still lots to do for little uns


Thumbs down

For the life of me I cannot remember the site name - I have just looked to try and jog my memory. It was in Scarborough on the top of a cliff. The door to the caravan had a three inch gap at the top and it was extremely windy being atop a cliff. It was so so freezing

essex_boy

in the UK our favourite is Butlins Bognor but it gets expensive
Loved Pontins Pakefield but it's now gone Adult Only all year round
Like Felixstowe Beach, it's near a nature reserve, big Lidl's and good children's park
Not much in the area except a Fort, and next to the docks so not to everyone's taste

bazzyb

I’ve been doing these holidays for 20 years, often more than 1 holiday per year.

My favourite sites (other than Hoburne who no longer take part in the promotion):

Haven Rockley Park
Haven Hopton
Parkdean Whitley Bay
Parkdean West Bay
Haven Seaview
Haven Wild Duck
Hendra
Haven Lakeland
Duinrell (Holland)
La Croix du Vieux Pont (near Paris)

These are the places is remember as being particularly good, I’ve also stayed at other places that are ok.

The only place I have ever done that I’ve not been particularly keen on is Butlins. Not our cup of tea at all. And never tried Pontins and don’t intend do from reading the reviews!


Best advice is to make a shortlist and then read through some recent TripAdvisor reviews, this has helped massively with making sure we get some great places.

karie

Great idea for a thread. Any particular recommendations if going away with a baby? Will be less than 6 months old. A good cheap way for us to get away for a break!

karie

Just looked up Ruda actually... wow looks so great! 4.5 hr drive may actually be worth considering! Thanks for the tip

displacednorthener

Thanks for setting this up, Pickled Onion.
Many years ago we stayed at West Bay in Dorset, which was stunning, but we weren't tied to school holidays then! More recently, we've stayed in several European sites, all of which have been fantastic holidays and relatively easy to get to from Calais/Dunkirk as we live near Dover.

Good recommendation above to check out Trip Advisor - I also look at Eurocamp website to get an overview and any other accommodation providers on the site such as Canvas or Alfresco.

La Croix du Vieux Pont - has become increasingly busy in recent years unfortunately - very busy pool etc. Also some of the caravans are very old and it can be cold at night out of season. Last time, our electricity kept going out. However, we do still love it as it's only a couple of hours' drive from Calais and loads to do in the local area - castles, rivers, lakes etc. and of course Disneyland Paris. Probably the easiest park if you've never done a Sun holiday abroad before.

Duinrell, Holland - probably our favourite as it has a (free!) theme park attached - although has become increasingly difficult to book. We last went in 2018 but weren't able to book it last year.

Beekse Bergen, Holland - we love this site! If you stay for 3 days+ you get free tickets to the safari park, water park and a couple of other attractions. Bikes recommended although they are also reasonably cheap to hire.

Birkelt, Luxembourg - lovely site, modern caravans, small pool but quiet when we went (May bank holiday). Lots of hiking and castles.

Saint Avit Loisirs (Dordogne) Fantastic site. Very busy in summer, lovely in spring, great outdoor pool with slides etc. Absolutely loads to see and do - swimming/kayaking in river, horse riding, caves etc.

Herbolzheim, Germany, very, very quiet site, not much to do, with only a few static caravans on there, beautifully kept. Municipal outdoor pool next door (small fee). Black forest is stunning and Europa theme park is very close by! We're going to try and book again this year, fingers crossed!

We'd love to try the ones further afield, in Spain, Italy or Croatia but can't afford the flights because we're tied to school holidays. I'd love to know what they're like for future reference though!

bazzyb

displacednorthener wrote: »

Duinrell, Holland - probably our favourite as it has a (free!) theme park attached - although has become increasingly difficult to book. We last went in 2018 but weren't able to book it last year.

Definitely one of our favourites too. We have had pretty good success at getting October half term if you fancy a later break? It’s usually rather quiet too so virtually no queues for the rides in the theme park and not overly busy in the water park.

WeAreGhosts

Haven Greenacres - if you want a relatively quiet site, direct access to large beach, pool and entertainment good for little ones. Very flat site, easy for people with disabilities/the elderly.

omear786

Duinrell, Holland -

I'm thinking of going for this one. Never been. What would be the cheapest way to travel to this from UK in the east midlands?

How much would it cost for travel?
How much would the the total trip cost roughly for family of 5 2 adults 2 child's and 1 baby roughly?

Sorry for asking too many questions I have only been butlins skegness with the suns holiday and want to try somthing new.

essex_boy

omear786 wrote: »

Duinrell, Holland -

I'm thinking of going for this one. Never been. What would be the cheapest way to travel to this from UK in the east midlands?

How much would it cost for travel?
How much would the the total trip cost roughly for family of 5 2 adults 2 child's and 1 baby roughly?

Sorry for asking too many questions I have only been butlins skegness with the suns holiday and want to try somthing new.

Depends on when you're thinking of going
School Summer holiday time would obviously be the most expensive
Also are you thinking of driving or going by Plane,train and bus ( or taxi)

omear786

essex_boy wrote: »

Depends on when you're thinking of going
School Summer holiday time would obviously be the most expensive
Also are you thinking of driving or going by Plane,train and bus ( or taxi)

Idealy looking at summer holiday if not October half term.

Driving most likely