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3 Best Butlins Resorts 2024
The waffle-free summary: Butlins Skegness gets the best reviews. Butlins Minehead is the cheapest. Butlins Bognor is somewhere in the middle. Also take a look at the two former Butlins sites that are now Haven resorts - Haven Craig Tara is often cheaper than Butlins. Haven Hafan y Môr gets better reviews than Butlins.
Butlins has come a long way since knobbly knee competitions. Nowadays, there's decent accommodation including budget and more luxurious options as well as modern waterparks and restaurants.
But which is the best of the three Butlins holiday parks in the UK? Your choice is Butlins Skegness on the Lincolnshire Coast, Butlins Minehead on the Somerset Coast or Butlins Bognor Regis on the South Coast.
Before we give our top three, let's also consider some excellent alternatives to Butlins:
But which is the best of the three Butlins holiday parks in the UK? Your choice is Butlins Skegness on the Lincolnshire Coast, Butlins Minehead on the Somerset Coast or Butlins Bognor Regis on the South Coast.
Before we give our top three, let's also consider some excellent alternatives to Butlins:
- Two Haven resorts are former Butlins sites. Haven Craig Tara in Scotland was Butlin's Ayr and is usually a lot cheaper than Butlins. Haven Hafan y Môr in Wales was called Butlin's Pwllheli and currently gets better review scores than all of the Butlins resorts.
Haven Hafan y Môr is a former Butlins that gets better reviews than Skegness, Bognor and Minehead
- A handful of other UK holiday parks offer a similarly action packed holiday to Butlins. Parkdean Resorts Trecco Bay in Wales is massive, as is Haven Devon Cliffs. Both are roughly similar in price to Butlins. Bluestone in Wales is big but is usually more expensive than Butlins.
Parkdean Resorts' Trecco Bay is a massive holiday park with similar reviews to Butlins Bognor and Minehead
- Center Parcs UK is usually a lot more expensive than Butlins. However, Center Parcs Europe is a good alternative that can offer cheaper prices than Butlins. Book it through the French version of the Center Parcs website for the best price. The best value ones include Center Parcs Het Meerdal in the Netherlands, Center Parcs De Vossemeren in Belgium and Center Parcs Le Bois Aux Daims in France.
Center Parcs Europe (such as this Vossemeren in Belgium) can be cheaper than Butlins
Also worth mentioning is that it is sometimes cheaper to book a privately-owned caravan at Butlins Skegness rather than booking direct. You need to add on the cost of buying entertainment wristbands. Caravan owners usually tell you the extra cost in the property listing.
Anyway, without further ado, here are our top three Butlins in the UK.
Anyway, without further ado, here are our top three Butlins in the UK.
1. Butlins Skegness - best reviews, modern swimming pool, sandy beach, cheap prices
Butlins Skegness has a lot going for it and it wins our top spot for 2024. In 2022, we gave the top spot to Bognor but Butlins Skegness has been our choice for 2023 and 2024 holidays.
For a start, it gets the best customer reviews with an average of 4/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Google Reviews. That's a little bit ahead of Butlins Minehead and Butlins Bognor.
Butlins Skegness sits in a decent location, right alongside a long sandy beach whereas Butlins Bognor Regis is more shingly.
The swimming pool at Skegness is modern, having been built in 2013 and it's a got a good range of accommodation to choose from. The most recent big investment is the Skypark, which opened in 2023. It's an extra-large playground with four climbing towers, an extra-long slide and wheelchair friendly play areas.
In other areas, there isn't much between the resorts. Butlins Skegness has a couple less funfair rides than Butlins Bognor Regis but that's a minor thing compared to all other sports and activities which are available. Skegness has the same number of restaurants as the others and offers a similar number of shows and included activities.
In terms of location, it's the northernmost resort by far so it's the most convenient to reach from anywhere north of Birmingham.
There are several types of accommodation at Butlins Skegness, but it doesn't have quite as good a range as Bognor Regis or Minehead. The budget options are standard rooms which offer a bedroom and a bathroom or a standard apartment which also gives you a kitchen and lounge.
If you can afford an upgrade, go for a Newer Style Silver Apartment or the Fairground Apartments which are unique to Butlins Skegness.
Price: Butlins Skegness was the most expensive of the three resorts when we looked at prices for three different dates in 2024.
For each date we looked at the cheapest available holiday for a family of four staying for a week in self-catering accommodation and in catered accommodation with evening meals and breakfast included.
Skegness and Bognor were quite close to each other one price overall, but Minehead was notably cheaper.
Butlins Skegness prices started from £1480 in early August 2024 for self-catering or £1916 with dining. During October half term 2024 prices started at £761 for self-catering or £1197 with dining. In early July 2024 prices started at £675 for a self-catering apartment or £1051 with dining.
For a start, it gets the best customer reviews with an average of 4/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Google Reviews. That's a little bit ahead of Butlins Minehead and Butlins Bognor.
Butlins Skegness sits in a decent location, right alongside a long sandy beach whereas Butlins Bognor Regis is more shingly.
The swimming pool at Skegness is modern, having been built in 2013 and it's a got a good range of accommodation to choose from. The most recent big investment is the Skypark, which opened in 2023. It's an extra-large playground with four climbing towers, an extra-long slide and wheelchair friendly play areas.
In other areas, there isn't much between the resorts. Butlins Skegness has a couple less funfair rides than Butlins Bognor Regis but that's a minor thing compared to all other sports and activities which are available. Skegness has the same number of restaurants as the others and offers a similar number of shows and included activities.
In terms of location, it's the northernmost resort by far so it's the most convenient to reach from anywhere north of Birmingham.
There are several types of accommodation at Butlins Skegness, but it doesn't have quite as good a range as Bognor Regis or Minehead. The budget options are standard rooms which offer a bedroom and a bathroom or a standard apartment which also gives you a kitchen and lounge.
If you can afford an upgrade, go for a Newer Style Silver Apartment or the Fairground Apartments which are unique to Butlins Skegness.
Price: Butlins Skegness was the most expensive of the three resorts when we looked at prices for three different dates in 2024.
For each date we looked at the cheapest available holiday for a family of four staying for a week in self-catering accommodation and in catered accommodation with evening meals and breakfast included.
Skegness and Bognor were quite close to each other one price overall, but Minehead was notably cheaper.
Butlins Skegness prices started from £1480 in early August 2024 for self-catering or £1916 with dining. During October half term 2024 prices started at £761 for self-catering or £1197 with dining. In early July 2024 prices started at £675 for a self-catering apartment or £1051 with dining.
Reviews for Butlins Skegness are on a par with Butlins Bognor Regis
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Butlins Skegness has a modern swimming pool and positive reviews
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2. Butlins Bognor Regis - joint second-best reviews, mid-priced, newest swimming pool, shingly/sandy beach
We reckon Butlins Bognor is the second-best value out of the three Butlins resorts. It's a close run thing as they all have a lot in common, but it has plenty going for it.
Reviews at Butlins Bognor Regis are almost identical to Butlins Minehead when we checked with an average of 3.5/5 on TripAdvisor (exactly the same as Minehead) or 4.3/5 on Google reviews (again, exactly the same).
One of the biggest factors in Butlins Bognor Regis's favour is that it opened a new swimming pool (Splash Waterworld) in 2019. The pool has slightly more features and rides than the waterparks at the other Butlins pools, including a neat helter skelter waterslide. The new pool cost a whopping £40 million, which is a huge investment for a holiday park.
Besides the pool, Bognor Regis has the usual wide range of things to do at a Butlins resort much of which is included in the price. It has an extra couple of rides at the funfair compared to Butlins Skegness.
Much like Skegness and Minehead, Butlins Bognor Regis is next to the beach but it's not as sandy as the other two so don't expect to be taking part in many sandcastle competitions.
Butlins Bognor Regis has the usual apartments and standard rooms, but it is unique in also having hotels onsite. If you can afford the upgrade you can stay in modern accommodation with a good view at either The Shoreline Hotel (best for under-5s), The Wave Hotel (best for tweens) or The Ocean Hotel (best for teens and adults).
Of course, its location on England's south coast means that it is much easier to reach for people travelling from the South East. It'll take you two hours to reach Butlins Bognor Regis from London compared to 3 1/2 hours to Skegness or Minehead. The South Coast of England also gets a tiny bit more sunshine than you get in Skegness (in 2018 it was somewhere around 20 minutes per day of extra sunshine over a year).
Price: Butlins Bognor Regis was the second most expensive option overall when we looked for the cheapest holiday we could find for a family of four.
In August 2024, a week started from £1368 (self-catering) or £1804 (including evening meals and breakfast). October half term 2024 was from £892 (self-catering) or £1328 (including dining). Early July 2024 was £574 (self-catering) or £950 (including dining).
Once we'd added all those numbers together, Butlins Bognor Regis was cheaper than Butlins Skegness by an average of £28 a week, but was £220 more expensive than Butlins Minehead (see our Butlins price comparison for the full details).
Reviews at Butlins Bognor Regis are almost identical to Butlins Minehead when we checked with an average of 3.5/5 on TripAdvisor (exactly the same as Minehead) or 4.3/5 on Google reviews (again, exactly the same).
One of the biggest factors in Butlins Bognor Regis's favour is that it opened a new swimming pool (Splash Waterworld) in 2019. The pool has slightly more features and rides than the waterparks at the other Butlins pools, including a neat helter skelter waterslide. The new pool cost a whopping £40 million, which is a huge investment for a holiday park.
Besides the pool, Bognor Regis has the usual wide range of things to do at a Butlins resort much of which is included in the price. It has an extra couple of rides at the funfair compared to Butlins Skegness.
Much like Skegness and Minehead, Butlins Bognor Regis is next to the beach but it's not as sandy as the other two so don't expect to be taking part in many sandcastle competitions.
Butlins Bognor Regis has the usual apartments and standard rooms, but it is unique in also having hotels onsite. If you can afford the upgrade you can stay in modern accommodation with a good view at either The Shoreline Hotel (best for under-5s), The Wave Hotel (best for tweens) or The Ocean Hotel (best for teens and adults).
Of course, its location on England's south coast means that it is much easier to reach for people travelling from the South East. It'll take you two hours to reach Butlins Bognor Regis from London compared to 3 1/2 hours to Skegness or Minehead. The South Coast of England also gets a tiny bit more sunshine than you get in Skegness (in 2018 it was somewhere around 20 minutes per day of extra sunshine over a year).
Price: Butlins Bognor Regis was the second most expensive option overall when we looked for the cheapest holiday we could find for a family of four.
In August 2024, a week started from £1368 (self-catering) or £1804 (including evening meals and breakfast). October half term 2024 was from £892 (self-catering) or £1328 (including dining). Early July 2024 was £574 (self-catering) or £950 (including dining).
Once we'd added all those numbers together, Butlins Bognor Regis was cheaper than Butlins Skegness by an average of £28 a week, but was £220 more expensive than Butlins Minehead (see our Butlins price comparison for the full details).
The £40 million swimming pool at Butlins Bognor Regis is a big attraction
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Butlins Bognor Regis has a slightly bigger funfair than Minehead and Skegness
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3. Butlins Minehead - often cheapest, beachside, joint second best reviews
Butlins Minehead is our third choice, but that doesn't mean you should overlook it - particularly if it's your closest Butlins resort.
Customer reviews on Google Reviews are 4.2/5 which is the same as Butlins Bognor Regis. However, it was a little behind Skegness on TripAdvisor reviews when we checked with an average of 3.5/5. Keep in mind that TripAdvisor scores in half marks, so the average may not actually be as significant as it looks.
The swimming pool at Butlins Minehead isn't quite as new as the other two and it doesn't have quite the same range of features of rides but it's still interesting enough to provide plenty of entertainment on a rainy day.
As with the other Butlins resorts it is right by the beach, although I'd pick Skegness beach as the best.
Besides that, Butlins Minehead offers the same great range of stuff to do including the same number of restaurants as the other two resorts, a well-equipped funfair which is included in the cost of your stay and various sports (some cost extra, but not as many as at somewhere like Center Parcs).
Butlins Minehead hasn't been changed over the years from the original designs as much as the other two Butlins resorts, so it also has a nostalgic appeal about it. If you live in the Westcountry or South Wales it's obviously the most convenient to reach, but otherwise it is a little bit out of the way.
In terms of accommodation, Minehead stands out for offering three different types of apartments and lodges at the posher end of the market. You can stay at Bayside Apartments which is a nicely designed five storey building overlooking the beach. The West Lakes Chalets give you waterside views whilst the Seaside Lodges are a bit like the spacious detached lodges you get on posh caravan parks.
If you're looking for budget accommodation, Butlins Minehead has a better choice of basic rooms than Bognor. It is also unique in offering bungalows, which are a good option for people with mobility problems.
Price: Butlins Minehead scored very well in our price comparison, as it was the cheapest on most occasions. We looked for the cheapest holiday available for a week for a family of four.
In August 2024, prices started from £971 (self-catering) or £1407 (including breakfast and evening meals). October half term 2024 was from £761 (self-catering) or £1292 (with breakfast and evening meals). Early July 2024 was from £574 (self-catering) or £723 (with breakfast and evening meals).
Customer reviews on Google Reviews are 4.2/5 which is the same as Butlins Bognor Regis. However, it was a little behind Skegness on TripAdvisor reviews when we checked with an average of 3.5/5. Keep in mind that TripAdvisor scores in half marks, so the average may not actually be as significant as it looks.
The swimming pool at Butlins Minehead isn't quite as new as the other two and it doesn't have quite the same range of features of rides but it's still interesting enough to provide plenty of entertainment on a rainy day.
As with the other Butlins resorts it is right by the beach, although I'd pick Skegness beach as the best.
Besides that, Butlins Minehead offers the same great range of stuff to do including the same number of restaurants as the other two resorts, a well-equipped funfair which is included in the cost of your stay and various sports (some cost extra, but not as many as at somewhere like Center Parcs).
Butlins Minehead hasn't been changed over the years from the original designs as much as the other two Butlins resorts, so it also has a nostalgic appeal about it. If you live in the Westcountry or South Wales it's obviously the most convenient to reach, but otherwise it is a little bit out of the way.
In terms of accommodation, Minehead stands out for offering three different types of apartments and lodges at the posher end of the market. You can stay at Bayside Apartments which is a nicely designed five storey building overlooking the beach. The West Lakes Chalets give you waterside views whilst the Seaside Lodges are a bit like the spacious detached lodges you get on posh caravan parks.
If you're looking for budget accommodation, Butlins Minehead has a better choice of basic rooms than Bognor. It is also unique in offering bungalows, which are a good option for people with mobility problems.
Price: Butlins Minehead scored very well in our price comparison, as it was the cheapest on most occasions. We looked for the cheapest holiday available for a week for a family of four.
In August 2024, prices started from £971 (self-catering) or £1407 (including breakfast and evening meals). October half term 2024 was from £761 (self-catering) or £1292 (with breakfast and evening meals). Early July 2024 was from £574 (self-catering) or £723 (with breakfast and evening meals).
Butlins in Minehead has an older swimming pool than Skegness and Bognor Regis
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Butlins Minehead has some lakeside chalets which aren't available at Skegness or Bognor Regis
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Images are from Butlins. We checked prices and review scores in November 2023.
