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Center Parcs Top Tip: Booking Center Parcs Europe holidays through CenterParcs.fr ​is nearly always cheaper than CenterParcs.eu for the same holiday. ​Your browser will translate CenterParcs.fr to English if you don't speak French! You can't book Center Parcs UK holidays through CenterParcs.fr unfortunately. Read more.

Center Parcs Europe or Center Parcs UK - Which Is Best Value? (2024 Guide)

There are 5 Center Parcs in England and 27 across mainland Europe, including parks in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands/Holland (sometimes wrongly called Centre Parcs).

At peak times, Center Parks UK can be pretty expensive, with a week for a family of four in August costing at least £2000 - and a lot more once you’ve included onsite activities.

However, Center Parcs Europe is a separate business and so we wanted to know which is best and cheapest - Center Parcs UK or Center Parks Europe? Is it worth the emotional cost of a car journey across Europe with a car full of children?

If you don't want to read through all our waffle, the short answer is that Center Parcs Europe is sometimes about half the price of Center Parks UK. However, you need to pick your park carefully and it's usually best to book through CenterParcs.fr to get the lowest price.

I would start with these Center Parcs in Europe, which are our picks for value for money:
​Also bear in mind that the bigger savings are available if you stay during peak season for a whole week rather than just a couple of days in the middle of winter.

Anyway, for those who want to see more detail, we’ve done a comparison based on facilities, price, convenience, cost of travel and customer reviews. You're welcome.
Sherwood Forest Center Parcs
There are five Center Parcs in the UK

Which gets the best reviews? Center Parks UK or Center Parcs Europe

Center Parcs UK is remarkably consistent when it comes to customer reviews. All five parks in England score 4/5 on TripAdvisor or 4.5 or 4.6/5 on Google reviews. That works out as about 85% as a percentage.

CenterParcs Europe is much more inconsistent, with reviews ranging from 3/5 to 4/5 on TripAdvisor. 
​
Seven Center Parcs Europe sites receive comparable reviews to Center Parcs UK:
(Checked in November 2023)

Sure, there are many more Center Parcs in Europe but for the purposes of comparison I think it’s more useful to just look at these seven - plus Les Villages Nature Paris, which is a Center Parcs very near to Disneyland Paris (3/5 on TripAdvisor, 3.6/5 on Google, 7.2/10 on Booking.com = 68%)

It’s worth noting that some of the Center Parcs Europe sites were once Sunparks or Landal Greenparks and have been rebranded as Center Parcs. The UK Center Parcs were all built for the brand (as far as I’m aware) so that may explain the consistency.
Center Parcs Kempervennen swimming pool
Highly rated Center Parcs resorts in Europe including Kempervennen in the Netherlands...
Center Parcs Terhills Resort lake
...and a smaller, newer Center Parcs called Terhills Resort in Belgium

Is CenterParcs Europe cheaper than Center Parcs UK?

Center Parcs Europe and Center Parcs UK are actually separate companies, so they have different approaches to pricing. You will rarely see significant discounts at Center Parcs UK (discount codes for Center Parcs UK are rarer than hen’s teeth). However, Center Parcs Europe frequently have special offers, discounts and last minute bargains.

As we all know though, some companies use discounts to lure you in to feel you’re getting a deal so you need to look at what you’re actually getting rather than what you’re supposedly saving.

It’s worth noting that we looked for the cheapest accommodation available. We initially started trying to compare different types of accommodation but the whole thing turned into a great big confusing mess…

Anyway, we looked for the cheapest price for a family of four in early August 2024 (without any extras) and found the following prices:
So, the seven cheapest Center Parcs on the list were all in Europe. The cheapest European Center Parcs was about £1000 cheaper than the cheapest Center Parcs UK (or roughly half). The most expensive of all was Center Parcs Longleat Forest, with the new resort in Belgium as the most expensive European resort.

Next, we looked for the cost of a week over Easter 2024 and found the following prices for a family of four:
Again, the seven cheapest options were all Center Parcs Europe resorts. The cheapest European Center Parcs (Center Parcs Le Bois Aux Daims) was about half of the price of the cheapest Center Parcs UK (Woburn Forest on this occasion) - or about £1200 cheaper.

We then looked for an off peak break - a week in early October 2024 during term time. We found the following results:​
Again, the seven cheapest Center Parcs were all in Europe. Most of the European Center Parcs were about half the price of Center Parcs UK.  In some cases, you could save yourself about £700 by travelling to a Center Parcs in Europe.

​Prices checked in November 2023.
Center Parcs watersports at Park Bostalsee
Park Bostalsee is our pick of German Center Parcs...
Lazy river at Center Parcs Het Meerdal
...whilst Het Meerdal is a good choice for a Center Parcs in the Netherlands

But wait! You can save more money off the cost of a Center Parcs Europe holiday!

Sorry for the excessive exclamation marks but we were pretty excited when we found out about this cunning (and simple) way to get another 5-12% discount (ish) on Center Parcs Europe holidays.

For some reason, you will find different prices for the same holiday on CenterParcs.eu (the English language site for Center Parcs Europe) when compared to CenterParcs.fr (the French one), CenterParcs.nl (the Dutch one) and CenterParcs.de (the German one).

For the purposes of research, we spent a happy couple of hours looking at prices for Center Parcs holidays across Europe on all four websites at various times of year (August, Easter and October 2024). 

After looking at 81 different holidays and 324 different prices, we found that CenterParcs.fr was the cheapest or joint cheapest option 74% of the time. That's regardless of whether you are visiting a Center Parcs in Germany, France, Netherlands or Belgium. CenterParcs.eu was cheapest or joint cheapest about 12% of the time whilst the Dutch site was cheapest or joint cheapest about 7% of the time. The German site was cheapest or joint cheapest about 22% of the time. You might assume that - for example - booking a German Center Parcs would be cheapest from the German version of the Center Parcs website, but that wasn't the case in our comparison.

The savings varied but there was often a saving of about 5-10% (or about €100) between the cheapest and most expensive price. On one occasion you could save about €300 which was about 15% of the total holiday cost. CenterParcs.eu was usually the most expensive, with occasional exceptions where it was the cheapest.

If you don't speak French, you can just ask your browser to translate it for you (right click if you're on a desktop and click 'translate to English'). Mobile browsers should offer it automatically. When you get to the booking form, if you can't find the United Kingdom, search for 'Royaume Uni' (Google Translate sometimes struggles with translating drop-down boxes).

So, my advice is to check prices on CenterParcs.fr and CenterParcs.de. You could also check CenterParcs.eu and CenterParcs.nl but we didn't find them to be cheapest very often.

Read the full guide if you want to see our 324 numbers (warning: this guide may cause drowsiness).

Which has the most activities? Center Parcs UK or Center Parcs Europe?

There is some variation in how many activities are on offer at each site in the UK, but it’s not major. According to the official blurb on the Center Parcs UK website there are between 171 and 181 different activities at the 5 parks.

​If we just look at the seven Center Parcs Europe sites with the best reviews, there are between 50 and 116 activities on offer, so a little lower than the UK parks.

​However, these numbers might not tell the whole story. Some similar activities at the UK Center Parcs are counted several times. For example, when we looked at Elveden Forest activities, squash was listed three times in different formats whilst bowling was listed as two different activities depending on how long you play for.

Honestly, I think Center Parcs UK or Center Parcs Europe will offer plenty of activities for a week's holiday.

​Bear in mind that you have to pay extra for most activities at Center Parcs.
Center Parcs Erperheide aquamundo
Center Parcs Erperheide in Belgium offers a good range of activities...
CenterParcs Vossemeren swimming
...as does Center Parcs Vossemeren in Belgium

Are Center Parcs Europe swimming pools as good as Center Parcs UK's swimming pools?

Anyone who has been to a Center Parcs in the UK will know that the swimming pool/waterpark is one of the main attractions. The best ones have several flumes, a wave machine and rapids which drag you round on your bottom whilst you try to avoid bumping into strangers.

In the UK, these swimming pools/waterparks are called 'Subtropical Paradise'. In Europe, they are usually called 'Aqua Mundo', meaning water world (nothing to do with the Kevin Costner film).

With a big of searching, we found reviews for each waterpark. The Center Parcs UK Subtropical Paradises all score between 4.5/5 and 4.8/5 on Google reviews (which is a pretty impressive level of consistency).

For Center Parcs Europe, it is a bit more varied. About two thirds of the Center Parcs in Europe score 4/5 or higher for their waterparks, whilst about a third score lower then 4/5. The highest rated waterparks across Europe are:
So, whilst the UK Center Parcs have the best scores for their waterparks, there are Center Parcs in Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium that come very close.

If the swimming pool/waterpark is important to you, my advice is to check our pages about Center Parcs in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium to read more about the swimming pool ratings or search for the park you are interested in alongside the words 'Aqua Mundo' to read reviews.

How long does it take to travel to Center Parcs Europe?

Here’s an area where Center Parcs UK will come out on top, but by how much? The UK sites are well spaced out around the country so most people should be able to get to one of the five sites within a couple of hours.

  • If you live in Scotland or the North of England, Whinfell Forest in Cumbria is closest
  • If you live in the West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire then Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire is closest
  • If you live in the Westcountry, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire is closest 
  • If you live in East Anglia or London then Elveden Forest in Suffolk or Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire will be closest​
Center Parcs Le Bois Aux Daims aquamondo
Le Bois Aux Daims gets good reviews but it's a bit further away than several other European Center Parcs
Getting to some the Center Parcs in Europe takes a bit longer but it's not actually all that tricky, particularly if you live towards the South of England.

If you’re in the South East of England, I would get the Eurotunnel/Le Shuttle from Folkestone which takes 35 minutes. When we checked, a return for a car and passengers on Eurotunnel cost from about £250 in August 2024 or from about £200 in October.

You can then drive from Calais to the highest-rated Center Parcs in the following times:
Door to door from London, De Kempervennen takes about 6 hours from Central London (ish).

Obviously, there are many other routes into Europe by ferry which leave from Portsmouth, Plymouth and other UK ports. There are also other Center Parcs which are a bit nearer, but I personally would go for the ones with the better reviews.

The closest Center Parcs Europe for UK visitors is Center Parcs Park de Haan in Belgium. It is only 1 hour 25 minutes from Calais, but its review scores aren't as good as the selection above (it scores 3/5 on TripAdvisor) and it isn't particularly cheap. Personally, I would travel a little further to one of the resorts we've mentioned above.

Conclusion - is Center Parcs Europe better and cheaper than Center Parcs UK?

In terms of reviews and activities, Center Parcs Europe seems to compete well with Center Parcs UK as long as you do some research and choose the better parks. 

And yes, it would seem to be true that Center Parcs Europe is usually much cheaper than Center Parcs UK for accommodation.

However, it's important to look at the full cost including travel rather than just the cost of accommodation.

During August, we found that the difference in price was pretty significant. A family of four staying for a week could save themselves about £500-£1000. At Easter, you could could easily pay £1000 more for a UK resort than a decent European Center Parcs resort.

Unsurprisingly though, the difference for off peak holidays was less significant (about £300-£700 in our price comparison).

As a very rough guide you can expect to pay at least £300+ in extra travel costs if you go to a Center Parcs in Europe once you've paid to get over the Channel and for fuel. That gobbles up quite a lot of your savings for an off-peak holiday or for a weekend away. And then of course there's the extra time you'll spend travelling rather than actually at the accommodation.

Personally, I'd consider Center Parcs Europe for a week or two in school holidays but would go for Center Parcs UK for off-peak holidays or for a weekend.

Finally, if you go for Center Parcs Europe make sure you compare prices on CenterParcs.eu with CenterParcs.fr as there can be a significant difference in price for the same holiday (based on our searches for 2024).

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.