Butlins Just For Tots Breaks - Everything You Need To Know For 2022

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Satisfied customers at a Butlins Just For Kids breaks (image from Butlins)

Butlins Just For Tots Breaks are a good way to ease yourself into a family holiday with young children. You don't need to get them a passport or endure a flight with a screamer and you won't be the only one whose child is embarrassing you at breakfast. 

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Where are Butlins Just For Tots holidays? Which is the best location?

Butlins Just For Tots holidays are held at the Butlins resorts in Lincolnshire (Skegness), West Sussex (Bognor Regis) and Somerset (Minehead).

There isn't a great deal between the three resorts, so I would probably go for whichever is closest to you. The differences certainly aren't big enough to drive further than you have to with a toddler.

Butlins Bognor Regis is closest from London and anywhere in the South East of England. Butlins Minehead is closest from the Westcountry and South Wales. Butlins Skegness is closest from the East Midlands and North of England. From Birmingham, the resorts are roughly equidistant. 

If you're midway between two Butlins resorts then you might want to consider the following:

• Butlins Bognor Regis and Butlins Skegness get marginally better reviews than Butlins Minehead. On Google Reviews they all score the same (4.3/5) but on TripAdvisor, Butlins Minehead scores 3.5/5 whereas the other two resorts score 4/5.
• All three resorts are next to beaches, but the beach at Butlins Bognor Regis is stonier so it isn't a good one for sandcastles. If the beach is important, then Butlins Skegness is a better option.
• The swimming pools at Butlins Skegness and Butlins Bognor Regis are more modern than the swimming pool at Butlins Minehead. Butlins Bognor Regis probably has the newest swimming pool and splash park, although a lot of the flumes and slides are aimed at older children.
• Butlins Bognor Regis has three hotels onsite, including one which is ideal for toddlers called The Shoreline Hotel. Butlins Skegness and Butlins Minehead don't have hotels. Butlins Minehead has the best choice of posher lodges and chalets, so is a better choice if you want your own space and can afford to upgrade. Butlins Skegness has some 'fairground' themed apartments which are good fun.​

Butlins Skegness is the most convenient resort from the North of England and from the East Midlands

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What happens on a Butlins Just For Tots break?

Butlins Just For Tots breaks are held on weekdays during term time, so you won't have some six foot tall teenager trampling their way round the soft play area. In fact, Butlins won't let you book unless there's an under five in your party.

You can pick and choose what you turn up for - a few things need booking when you arrive, but not everything. Most activities are free. If your child has a horrendous tantrum because you've told them they can't have ice cream for breakfast then you can change your plans without any problems.

Some of the main things that you might want to take advantage of:​​

• The Butlins entertainment lineup is the main event for a lot of people. You can expect CBeebies and Milkshake stars putting on shows. The 2022 lineup is a dream ticket for four year olds.
  
  Headliners includes Justin Fletcher, Mister Maker and Rebecca from CBeebies, PJ Masks, Thomas the Tank Engine and Peppa Pig. Take note that you won't see every act on every holiday, so pick your dates carefully if you have promised your little darling that they'll be seeing Justin Fletcher. Also note that he performs as Justin Fletcher rather than Mr Tumble.
  
  Some shows are repeated a couple of times during the week and you don't pay extra to go to them. You can usually expect one show in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening - although you won't go to all of them. ​

Justin Fletcher is bigger than The Beatles in our house (picture from Butlins)

• The Butlins swimming pools are good sized waterparks which you'll want to visit. You'll be able to use quite a lot of the pool with young children. For example, Splash Waterworld at Butlins Bognor Regis has a family raft ride for 3+ and a tots pool. There are also some things in the pool which are suitable for children who are more than 90cm tall (about 2 1/2 or 3 year olds+) including the Stick Of Rock slides and the Helter Skelter waterslide.

Splash Waterworld at Butlins Bognor Regis cost £40m and includes several toddler friendly activities

• There's soft play for rainy days and some fairground rides for younger children. Again, these are included in the price so you can avoid tears and arguments over how many rides they are allowed to have. The fairgrounds are indoors at Butlins Bognor Regis and Butlins Minehead but it's outdoors at Butlins Skegness. Perhaps it doesn't rain in Skegness...​

There are some free funfair rides at Butlins which are ideal for toddlers.

• Most arts and crafts activities are included in the price. In 2022, that includes a Play Doh kitchen thing. There are also some craft things which you pay extra for, such as pottery painting.

Most arts and crafts activities are free on Just For Tots breaks

• Other sports and activities include football, minigolf and toddlers discos. 

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How much do Butlins Just For Tots holidays cost?

Butlins Just For Tots breaks are relatively cheap, as they are outside of school holidays. Midweek during term time is usually very quiet for Butlins, so this is a clever way to bring in plenty of visitors.

There are three choices of accommodation:

• Apartments, which are self catering chalets with a kitchen, lounge, bedrooms and a bathroom. You can either cook for yourself all the time or pay extra for a dining package.
• Rooms, which are a bedroom with a bathroom. You don't get a kitchen so you'll need a dining package or a large supply of Pot Noodles.
• Hotel Rooms, which are a posher bedroom and bathroom. Again, you don't get a kitchen with most of these but you can get upgrade for sea views and you can dine in the hotel. These are only at Butlins Bognor Regis.

We did a price comparison for Just For Tots breaks for two adults and one child under five.

We looked for a four night break in the cheapest apartment available. It's slightly cheaper to get a 'room' but I would recommend paying a little bit extra so you have a lounge.

Four nights in May 2022 for two adults and one child:

• Bognor Regis - £261 (Mister Maker)
• Minehead - £272 (Mister Maker)
• Skegness - £289 (Justin Fletcher)

In this instance, there wasn't much difference in price but Bognor Regis was about £30 cheaper than Skegness.

We then searched for a four night Just For Tots break in late September or early October 2022 with an apartment plus food included:

• Bognor Regis - £351 (Milkshake Live)
• Minehead - £357 (Justin Fletcher)
• Skegness - £374 (Mister Maker)

Again, the difference in price between the three is pretty small but Bognor Regis is just about cheapest. There was also some accommodation upgrades which were very reasonable. For example, we were offered a Gold Apartment for an extra £7 which is certainly worth the money. 

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What about food and drink at Just For Tots holidays?

If you go for a 'room' rather than an 'apartment' then you will want to go for a dining option. If you get an apartment, then it's up to you whether you want to cook for yourself or pay for a dining package. 

In our price comparisons above, it was only about £140 to add on breakfast and evening meals for three people for a four night break for the cheapest package. That's pretty reasonable when you compare it to eating out an outside restaurant. For example, two main courses, a kids meal, three puddings, three soft drinks and two coffees at The Beachcomber restaurant at Skegness Butlins will cost you about £40. Breakfast will cost you another £20, so you've spent £60 on one day's food. Over four days you'd spend about £240.

The dining options at Just For Tots holidays is:

• The cheapest option is Food Court Dining, which is an all you can eat buffet. You can usually expect a salad bar, five or six hot main courses, several sides (potatoes, veg etc), as many hot drinks or soft drinks as you want, three different kids' meals, five or six puddings and the legendary 'ice cream factory'. The main meals are familiar things like shepherd's pie, curry, sausage and mash, roast dinners etc. You can buy a beer or a glass of wine, but you have to pay for it. The breakfasts are all-you-can-eat cooked breakfasts, plus cereals and fruit.
• If you want to upgrade from the Food Court Dining, you can go for a Premium Dining Plan. It is served in more of a restaurant environment rather than in a huge dining hall and you get a bit more variety. The salad bar is bigger, there's a carvery, there are more main meals to choose from and there are themed nights.  Again, you can expect three different children's options. The breakfasts with this option have more choice - as well as cooked breakfasts, there are more continental breakfast things available. Alcohol isn't included.
• The next upgrade is the Dinearound Dining Plan, which is similar to Premium Dining but means you can eat in different venues each night. It also includes an alcoholic drink for grown ups and allows you to have your main meal at lunch instead of tea time if you prefer.

The final option is hotel dining, which is only available to those staying in a hotel at Butlins Bognor Regis. It's similar to the premium dining plan, but it's more convenient as you only have to wander downstairs from your room.

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