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5 best caravan holiday parks near London - 2020

There are a couple of reasons why you might want a caravan holiday park or lodge near London - either for cheap family-friendly accommodation near London, or for a quick getaway from the city.

There aren't holiday parks within the centre of London (obviously...) but there are quite a few cheap caravan holiday parks and lodges with hot tubs within about an hour or 90 minutes of the city centre.

If you're visiting London you've got an exhausting choice of things to do, many of which are free. The most popular museums include the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A Museum. Art galleries include the National Gallery, Tate Modern and the National Portrait Gallery. And then there's the Tower of London, the London Eye, The Shard, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge and so on. 

We've picked out five of the best holiday parks near London based on location, facilities, value for money and customer reviews: 

1. Tilford Woods Lodge Retreat Surrey - peaceful park, lodges, hot tubs - 1 hour from central London

Tilford Woods Lodge Retreat is a good choice if you want somewhere for day trips to London (although it could also be an escape from the city).

It's a 35 or 40 minute train from London Waterloo and then 20 minutes by car from the railway station at Farnborough.  If you're driving, it's an hour from central London or quicker if you're coming from South or West London.

The park itself gets exceedingly strong reviews, which were at a red-hot 5/5 on TripAdvisor (or 9.4/10 on Hoseasons) when I checked. There aren't facilities to speak of onsite, but some lodges have hot tubs and they are priced similarly to many caravan parks. 

There's also a good choice of accommodation, with lodges which sleep 2, 4 or 6 people.

​Price: £1085 for a week in a Sturt Lodge for a family of four in August 2020.

Also consider...Edgeley Holiday Park is another holiday park in the area with lodges. It takes a similar time to get to London but its main advantage is that it has a swimming pool, playground and tennis court.

2. Lee Valley Caravan Park Hertfordshire - huge green space with some caravans/lodges - 45 minutes to London

Lee Valley Caravan Park is part of a massive public park (10,000 acres if you're interested) which offers things like white water rafting and more relaxed outdoorsy activities for people in London, Essex and Hertfordshire.

The holiday park is only a small part of the huge site, but they've got a modest choice of cheaper holiday homes/caravans as well as more luxurious lodges with hot tubs. The accommodation sleeps between 4 and 6 people.

It's a good one if you want a cycle or walk along miles of trails or go fishing but it doesn't have loads of its own facilities onsite. 

It'll take you about 10-15 minutes in the car to get to Waltham Cross railway station, which is then a journey of 30 minutes to North London. Alternatively, you can get to Whipsnade Zoo in just under an hour if you head north-west. According to the official blurb it is the 'the UK's biggest zoo'.

Price: £770 for a week in a 'Button' caravan for a family of four in August 2020. The posher lodge with hot tub was £1140 for the same dates.

3. Haven Allhallows Holiday Park Kent - coastal, swimming pool - 1 hour from central London

**Winner: best value holiday park**

Haven is probably the best-known name in the UK caravan holiday market with about 40 parks along the country's coast. Haven Allhallows is the nearest for people coming from East London.

As you'd expect from Haven, you get an indoor swimming pool, on-site food and plenty of kids' activities and entertainment.

However, it's worth noting that the beach at the park is a pebbly bit of the Thames Estuary, so not quite the Copacabana. You need to travel a bit further to get to more appealing beaches. Also, reviews on TripAdvisor are about 3.5/5 whereas there are several Haven parks which score 4.5/5 (see our Haven guide).

Still, if you're in East London and want a very convenient family getaway with a trusted holiday park name, it's certainly worth considering. You'll probably need a car to get to Allhallows, otherwise it's a long bus ride from Rochester.

Price: £667 for a standard caravan for a family of four, staying for a week in August 2020

4. St Margaret's Bay Holiday Park, Kent - coastal, swimming pool - 1hr 40m minutes from central London

St Margaret's Bay Holiday Park will tick your boxes (oooerr missus) if you want a good-value, busy, family friendly holiday park which is near the beach. 

The park gets reviews of around 4/5 and is run by Parkdean Resorts, which has dozens of caravan holiday parks around the UK. Their other local park is Romney Sands but that will take you quite a bit longer to reach. 

You can have a swim in their indoor swimming pool, look at yourself in the mirror at the gym and then take the children to the play area. There's even an 'alternative therapy clinic' (there's an extra charge for some things).

It's another which is good for coming from East London.

Price: £609 for a family of four in a Lydford Bungalow in August 2020.

Also consider... Seaview Holiday Park in Whitstable is about 20 minutes closer, and it gets similar reviews. It only has an outdoor swimming pool but it does have things like kids' entertainment. 

5. Warren Lodges Essex - hot tubs, swimming pool - 1hr from central London

Warren Lodges at Maldon in Essex is convenient for north or east London, with a train from nearby Chelmsford to London taking only 35 minutes. 

It's a peaceful lodge park within the grounds of a golf and country club, which has an indoor swimming pool, nature trail and a clubhouse. There's also a gym and children's play area.

Reviews are generally positive, with an average of 4/5 or 8/10 on most sites.

Price: £1375 for a family of four for a week in August 2020 staying in a Bassetts lodge with a hot tub.

And finally...Lower Hyde Holiday Park Shanklin - coastal, indoor swimming pool - 3 hours from London

Alright, alright, a three hour journey isn't quite as close to London as you had in mind. Hear me out though...

You can drive or get the train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth in about 90 minutes. It's then a 20 minute passenger ferry to the Isle of Wight, or a 45 minute car ferry. 

Sure, that's longer than the others on this list but I personally feel like I'm on holiday once I'm on the ferry. And you can quite easily eat breakfast in your tiny, overpriced London flat and then have brunch by the seaside on the Isle of Wight. 

Lower Hyde Holiday Park is by the train station in Shanklin, so you can get from London Waterloo to the holiday park in less than three hours using public transport. 

Onsite, there's a swimming pool and lots for children to do. This one isn't right by the beach, but you can walk to Shanklin seafront in about 20 minutes. Reviews are about 4/5. 

Price: £583 for a  family of four in a 'Seagull' chalet for a week during August 2020. 

Also consider: Cheverton Copse Holiday Park is a quiet and cheap holiday park with outstanding reviews whilst Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park is right by the beach. St Helen’s Coastal Resort has modern lodges.

Price comparison of 5 holiday parks near London

We looked for a week's holiday in August 2020 for a family of four for the purposes of a rough price comparison. We didn't include any extras like bedding or pets, and we carried out our search in November 2019. ​From cheapest to most expensive:
 
  1. Lower Hyde Holiday Park Isle of Wight - £583
  2. St Margaret's Bay Holiday Park Kent - £609
  3. Haven Allhallows Holiday Park Kent - £667 **Winner: best value holiday park**
  4. ​Lee Valley Caravan Park Hertfordshire - £770
  5. Tilford Woods Lodge Retreat Surrey - £1085 
  6. Warren Lodges Essex - £1375

Other guides from the Holiday Park Guru

Holiday-Park-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: All the information on this page is accurate, as far as we know. However, facilities at holiday parks change so please check with the park before booking.