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10 of the best Devon caravan holiday parks - 2020
We've picked 10 of Devon's best caravan holiday parks by comparing prices (during August for a family of 4), reviews from visitors, facilities and location.
Most of Devon's holiday parks are along either the north or south coast of the county, although we have included a couple of highly rated parks near Dartmoor.
South Devon includes the cities of Exeter and Plymouth, as well as the old-fashioned seaside resorts of Torquay and Paignton, the fishing town of Brixham and the pretty sailing towns of Salcombe and Dartmouth. North Devon has choppier waters, so it is popular with surfers around Croyde and Westward Ho! The north of Devon also has several seaside resorts including Ilfracombe.
Here are 10 of the best holiday parks, including busy parks with indoor swimming pools and quieter parks to get away from it all:
Most of Devon's holiday parks are along either the north or south coast of the county, although we have included a couple of highly rated parks near Dartmoor.
South Devon includes the cities of Exeter and Plymouth, as well as the old-fashioned seaside resorts of Torquay and Paignton, the fishing town of Brixham and the pretty sailing towns of Salcombe and Dartmouth. North Devon has choppier waters, so it is popular with surfers around Croyde and Westward Ho! The north of Devon also has several seaside resorts including Ilfracombe.
Here are 10 of the best holiday parks, including busy parks with indoor swimming pools and quieter parks to get away from it all:
1. Woodovis Park (Tavistock), small inland park, lots of facilities
**Winner: best value holiday park**
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Woodovis Park wins our best value award because of the consistently glowing reviews from visitors (5/5 on TripAdvisor, 9.5/10 on Hoseasons).
It's one of the few inland holiday parks in Devon which we recommend, and you'll have to drive about 40 minutes to reach a beach, but it is well placed if you want to explore Dartmoor or parts of Cornwall. Facilities and entertainment at Woodovis Park are a bit quirkier than the usual pool-table-with-3-balls-missing which some holiday parks offer. As well as an indoor swimming pool, children's play area and table tennis, they also put on circus skills, pony and carriage rides and storytelling sessions. It's also quite near the National Trust's Lydford Gorge which has a big waterfall (by UK standards, it's certainly not Niagara Falls...) and River Dart Country Park which is a good day out for outdoorsy children. The caravans are named after birds, so you can stay in something with the fantastic name of a 'super finch plus'. Price: £855 for 2 adults and 2 children in August 2020 in a Finch caravan (the caravan is actually a 6 berth). |
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2. Devon Cliffs Holiday Park (Exmouth) - busy seaside Haven park, indoor pool
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Haven only has one holiday park in Devon, but it gets good reviews (4/5 on average) so it's a good option if you like the style of Haven parks. As you would expect from Haven, it is a big, busy, family-friendly park so one for those seeking entertainment and space for the children to run around.
Devon Cliffs has an indoor swimming pool, as well as an outdoor pool, just in case the weather doesn't match the photos on the Devon tourist board website. There's also a high ropes course, mini-golf, water sports on the nearby beach and a Segway course (those two wheel things silly American businessmen stand on). The location is very good, with a short walk down to Sandy Bay. It's also only a short drive into Exeter, which is well placed for some of the county's bigger attractions or a day shopping. It's also near Torquay which I personally find a bit twee, but it appeals if you want the classic English riviera seaside experience. It's also not too far from the rather lovely Dartmouth Steam Railway. Price: £884 for 2 adults and 2 children for a week in August 2020 in a standard caravan. |
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3. Ladram Bay Holiday Park (Otterton, South Devon) family facilities, beachside location
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Ladram Bay Holiday Park in South Devon ticks a lot of boxes for me, as it has a lovely beachside location and also has loads to do onsite.
The onsite facilities include (take a deep breath if you are reading this out loud to a disinterested spouse): indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam room, club with entertainment, children's and teenage clubs, restaurant, bar, waterwalkerz, raft building, indoor soft play, adventure playground, crazy golf, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing. You have to pay extra for some things. The local beach is gorgeous too, so I probably wouldn't get around to using much onsite. It's a short drive to Sidmouth or Exmouth, which are pretty little towns, and it's also close to West Dorset's Jurassic coastline. Average reviews are 4.5/5 (TripAdvisor). Price: £1085 for 2 adults and 2 children in August 2020 (6 berth Otterton caravan) |
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4. Devon Bay Holiday Park (Paignton) busy park, near attractions
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Devon Bay Holiday Park is in Paignton, so it's near to several of Devon's busiest attractions including Paignton Zoo and Greenway (Agatha Christie's holiday home). It's about 45 minutes drive to the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. It's walking distance to the beach at Goodrington Sands and isn't too far from the pretty coastal towns of Brixham, Salcombe and Dartmouth.
The park is run by Hoburne which has a few parks across the Westcountry, and it has enough to entertain excited children for a week. I would say it's not one to choose if you want to get away from it all, but it's a good choice if you want lots to do at the park and nearby. There's an indoor swimming pool with flume, as well as an outdoor pool. There are also children's clubs, indoor soft play, an outdoor playground, crazy golf, basketball and football areas. Just in case you get five minutes to yourself, there is a gym, sauna and steam room. Reviews are very good, averaging 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor when I checked or 8.7/10 on Hoseasons. Price: £1338 for 2 adults and 2 children for 7 days in August 2020 in a standard caravan (6 berth caravan). |
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5. Surf Bay Holiday Park and Beachside Holiday Park (Westward Ho!) cheap, near surfing beaches
**Winner: cheapest Devon holiday park**
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There are two holiday parks run by the same company in Westward Ho! which are ideal if you are looking for a cheap base for a week of surfing or bodyboarding.
Surf Bay Holiday Park and Beachside Holiday Park are right in the heart of North Devon's best beaches which offer choppy water for long haired men called Brad to catch gnarly waves, man (sorry, my surfing knowledge is based on Point Break). The caravans at both parks are walking distance to the Golden Bay beach in Westward Ho! or a short drive to Croyde (one of the most popular surfing beaches). Both sites are basic (there's not a swimming pool or restaurant), but get very good reviews. When I checked, Beachside Holiday Park scored 5/5 on TripAdvisor whilst Surf Bay Holiday Park averaged 4.5/5. Price: £483 at Surf Bay Holiday Park for a family of four people for a week in August 2020 in a Kittiwake caravan (although it's worth noting that it was a one bedroom caravan for four, so two people would be sleeping in the lounge). The cheapest for a family of four at Beachside Holiday Park was £615 when I checked. |
Nearby Clovelly is about as twee as you can get
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6. Langstone Manor Holiday Park (Dartmoor) cheap caravans, rural location
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If you aren't coming to Devon to spend a week on the beach, you might consider Langstone Manor Holiday Park on Dartmoor. It is one of the cheapest options we've found for a holiday in Devon in high season and it gets 5 out 5 from most TripAdvisor reviewers.
It sells itself as a base for touring the area, so facilities onsite are limited to a restaurant/bar for the grown ups and a playground for the younger visitors. They also do a thing where they offer bread baked to order, which adds a certain charm. Price: £675 for a family of four staying in a caravan for a week in August 2020 (it was a Langstone Dartmoor Super which would sleep six people if you didn't mind getting cosy). |
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7. Manleigh Park (North Devon) quiet park, cheap caravans
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Manleigh Park is a quiet holiday park which is ideal for exploring Exmoor and the surfing beaches around Croyde and Westward Ho! As a general rule, North Devon's beaches are a bit choppier, whilst South Devon's beaches are a bit calmer for swimming and sandcastles.
Facilities at the park are limited to a play area for children and a lounge for guests but it is within rolling countryside and gets very good reviews. It's quite a small holiday park with nine chalets, three log cabins and ten caravans at the time of writing. Most of the accommodation is dog friendly. There are quite a few family friendly attractions in North Devon, including Lynton and Lynmouth (with the steam powered lift), a sheep themed park (The Big Sheep) and Exmoor Zoo. Reviews are glowing red hot at 9.6/10. Price: £735 for 2 adults and 2 children for a week in August 2020 in a Manleigh standard plus caravan. |
Manleigh Park is a small and quiet holiday park
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8. Castle Brake Holiday Park (near Sidmouth) quiet park, basic facilities
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Castle Brake Holiday Park is another one in South Devon, so it's good for days out to resorts like Sidmouth or admiring some of West Dorset's Jurassic Coast.
It's a much more basic holiday park than those offered by big names like Haven, so it's one to consider if you can't think of anything worse than a noisy indoor swimming pool with flumes. Facilities are limited to a restaurant, bar, woodland walks and a children's play area but it gets good reviews because of the amount of green space. Most of the caravans are for 6 to 8 people, and some of them of the accommodation at Castle Brake Holiday Park is pet friendly. If you're a fan of animals, you might also like the nearby Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth. When we checked, it was scoring 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 8.7/10 on Hoseasons. Price: £739 for 2 adults and 2 children in their cheapest caravan for a week in August 2020 ('Bronze Willow 2' caravan). |
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9. Waterside Holiday Park (Paignton) family park, quite good facilities
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Park Holidays UK runs six caravan parks in Devon, and the one which tends to get the best reviews is Waterside Holiday Park in Paignton (averages 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor).
It's in the classic style of English seaside holiday parks with kids clubs, adventure playgrounds and somewhere to eat. The local beach has a blue flag (which means you will hopefully be the only thing floating in the sea) and it's also near to Torquay which is a busy tourist town. One slight reservation I've got is that Waterside Holiday Park only has an outdoor pool, which is fine on a sunny day in summer but might reduce your options if you arrive to find the forecast is seven days of rain. Still, it is well placed for exploring places like Salcombe and Brixham or for visiting Paignton Zoo or the big aquarium in Plymouth. Price: £1108 for a week in a 'bronze' caravan for 2 adults and 2 children in August 2020 |
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10. South Bay Holiday Park (Brixham) cheap family park, indoor pool
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There are four Devon caravan holiday parks run by John Fowler holidays. The two which get the best reviews from visitors are South Bay Holiday Park and Sandaway Beach Holiday Park which both score 4 out 5 from TripAdvisor reviewers.
I've picked South Bay Holiday Park, as some of the cheaper accommodation at Sandaway scored poorly from Hoseasons reviewers. The park is well equipped with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. There are also evening entertainments for adults (bingo etc.) and children's clubs. Another plus point is that it is along the so-called 'English riviera' so there are lots of nice sandy beaches to explore, as well as only being a short drive to Dartmoor. Price: £839 for a two bedroom 'value caravan' for a family of 2 adults and 2 children for a week in August 2020 |
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Which is cheapest? Price comparison of 10 of Devon's best holiday caravan parks
We looked for the cheapest accommodation available for a family of four, for a week in August 2020. We searched in October 2019 and looked for a holiday starting on either a Friday or Saturday. From cheapest to most expensive:
- Surf Bay Holiday Park - £483 **Winner: cheapest holiday park**
- Manleigh Park - £675
- Langstone Manor Holiday Park - £675
- Castle Brake Holiday Park - £739
- South Bay Holiday Park - £839
- Woodovis Park - £855 **Winner: best value holiday park**
- Devon Cliffs Holiday Park - £884
- Ladram Bay Holiday Park - £1085
- Waterside Holiday Park - £1108
- Devon Bay Holiday Park - £1338
