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Haven Craig Tara Holiday Park reviews, discounts and facilities 2021
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Haven's Craig Tara is a huge caravan holiday park in Scotland with an impressive swimming pool, beachside location and dozens of onsite activities.
It's in South Ayrshire, about an hour south west of Glasgow. It used to be called Butlins Ayr before it was revamped and re-opened as a Haven caravan park about twenty years ago. Here's our (fascinating) guide to Craig Tara holiday park, including advice on getting discounts, offers and the cheapest accommodation as well as a summary of the facilities and activities. We'll also look at what customers think of Craig Tara Holiday Park. |
Craig Tara Holiday Park has several activities which you pay extra for such as "The Drop" and "The Jump"
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Does Haven Craig Tara Holiday Park get good reviews?
Haven's Craig Tara gets decent reviews of 3.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.2/5 on Google reviews, at the time of writing. The difference in score between the two may be partly due to the fact that TripAdvisor gives review scores in halves rather than more precise numbers.
Those scores are marginally behind Haven's smaller Scottish caravan park (Seton Sands Caravan Park) but is still pretty good compared to most larger caravan parks in Scotland and the UK.
Those scores are marginally behind Haven's smaller Scottish caravan park (Seton Sands Caravan Park) but is still pretty good compared to most larger caravan parks in Scotland and the UK.
How much does a Haven Craig Tara holiday cost? How can I get a discount at Haven Craig Tara?
I'd consider Haven's Craig Tara to be a very good value caravan holiday park. We've carried out various price comparisons over the years and it tends to be one of the cheapest Haven holiday parks.
We did a comparison of Haven's Craig Tara and Haven's Seton Sands and found a week at Craig Tara from £669 in August 2021 for a family of four. That compares to £1000+ at some of Haven's holiday parks in England.
Of course, holidays at Craig Tara are cheaper outside of the school summer holidays as well. In mid-June, prices were about half the cost of a peak time week in August.
As a very general rule, holiday parks in the UK get cheaper as you travel north. In most of our price comparisons, Scotland and Northumberland resorts are cheaper than a week in Cornwall or Devon. Of course there are exceptions, but that's our general rule.
There are also some tips and tricks for getting better value out of a holiday at Haven's Craig Tara caravan park (or any Haven resort for that matter):
We did a comparison of Haven's Craig Tara and Haven's Seton Sands and found a week at Craig Tara from £669 in August 2021 for a family of four. That compares to £1000+ at some of Haven's holiday parks in England.
Of course, holidays at Craig Tara are cheaper outside of the school summer holidays as well. In mid-June, prices were about half the cost of a peak time week in August.
As a very general rule, holiday parks in the UK get cheaper as you travel north. In most of our price comparisons, Scotland and Northumberland resorts are cheaper than a week in Cornwall or Devon. Of course there are exceptions, but that's our general rule.
There are also some tips and tricks for getting better value out of a holiday at Haven's Craig Tara caravan park (or any Haven resort for that matter):
- Don't arrive on a Saturday, as that bumps the price up. If you can arrive on a Friday or Monday you can often save about £100 during the high season. Obviously that might not be as convenient for you but it's worth keeping in mind.
- Book a large caravan and fill it full of people. An eight person caravan usually works out much cheaper per person than two caravans for four people. You'll be living on top of each other a bit more than you might like but the saving can be hundreds of pounds over a week so you might feel it's worth it, particularly if you plan to eat out a lot and spend the days exploring.
- Book as early you can. If you leave it too late to book you'll find that the choice of caravans is greatly reduced and you might end up paying for an upgrade you don't really need. The other option is to hang on for a late deal at Craig Tara, but that tends to work best if you have a lot of flexibility about which holiday park you want to stay in.
- Keep an eye out for an offer. Haven's Offers page is updated pretty regularly. They don't tend to do discount codes (well, I've never spotted them) but they do special deals around certain times of year.
- Book a Haven Stay holiday rather than Haven Stay + Play. This option won't work for a lot of people but you can choose whether you want the full Haven holiday with access to activities, kids' clubs and swimming pools (Stay + Play) or if you just want to use a caravan and the restaurants (Haven Stay). The saving is most significant during the summer holidays, but we've found several examples where a family of four save £100+ by not using any of the facilities. Personally, I know that we would end up spending more money off-site if we couldn't use onsite facilities but that might be the case for you. See our guide to Haven Play + Stay for more waffle.
How far is Haven Craig Tara Caravan Park from the beach?
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Haven's Craig Tara caravan site sits right next to a stretch of coastline and some of the caravans have a seaview. You can walk down to the beach but there are a couple of caveats (well, three actually).
Firstly, it's not a sandy beach where dads will be impressing passers-by with their massive sandcastles. It's more suited to searching for odd-shaped rocks at low tide. Secondly, Craig Tara is a very large holiday park so walking from the furthest point to the beach is a long way. If you were to walk from the site entrance to the beach it would take you about 20-25 minutes. I reckon it would take about twice as long if you're trying to carry a toddler and are being held back by a dawdling teenager who is staring at their phone. Thirdly, it's in Scotland so paddling in the water is more like an ice bucket challenge than a dip in the Med. I expect you'd guessed that already. My advice is to decide whether you'd rather be near to the impressive facilities or the beach. The Haven website has details of how you can 'Choose your holiday home' in advance rather than being allocated one. There's a map of Craig Tara caravan park on the Haven website which gives a good idea of how the site is laid out. |
The beach at Craig Tara Holiday Park is good for collecting rocks and pottering about
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What facilities and activities are available at Haven Craig Tara Holiday Park?
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Haven's Craig Tara may not have the sandy beach of some holiday parks but it does have a terrific range of things to do.
Some activities are included in the cost of your stay whilst others cost extra (see a rough guide to prices on this page on the Haven website). The swimming pool - called Splashaway Bay - had a massive revamp in 2015 and has slides, a lazy river, waterfalls, flumes and pools of different depths. Besides the indoor swimming pool, Craig Tara also offers:
As I said, you pay extra for some things so you'll want to budget for that or perhaps just manage expectations with the younger members of your party before you arrive... |
Craig Tara's swimming pool is large and impressive with slides, flumes and waterfalls
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Which is the best accommodation at Haven Craig Tara Holiday Park?
As with most Haven resorts, Craig Tara has a big range of accommodation including various grades of caravans and apartments. There are also caravans in a part of the park called 'Dalrymple Village and Balmoral' which are 'within a quiet and peaceful area of the park and include more space around your holiday home'.
If you want a caravan at Craig Tara you've got a number of upgrade options. The cheapest caravans are the 'standard' ones and then you can pay extra for newer models and ones with upgrades such as outside decking, sea views, bigger TVs and quieter locations.
As I said earlier, once you've booked have a look at the 'Choose your holiday home' section on the Haven website as it explains how to select which specific caravan you want. You're a bit limited by which grade you've chosen but it's preferable to being allocated automatically.
Haven's Craig Tara doesn't seem to have any lodges unlike some other Haven holiday parks. Instead, they've got apartments. I think I'm right in saying that this is because of the site's former life as a Butlins although they've obviously been improved over the years.
Haven's Craig Tara also has camping and touring, which is something which is not offered at all Haven resorts. At the time of writing, there are 44 camping and touring pitches including the option of an electric hookup.
If you want a caravan at Craig Tara you've got a number of upgrade options. The cheapest caravans are the 'standard' ones and then you can pay extra for newer models and ones with upgrades such as outside decking, sea views, bigger TVs and quieter locations.
As I said earlier, once you've booked have a look at the 'Choose your holiday home' section on the Haven website as it explains how to select which specific caravan you want. You're a bit limited by which grade you've chosen but it's preferable to being allocated automatically.
Haven's Craig Tara doesn't seem to have any lodges unlike some other Haven holiday parks. Instead, they've got apartments. I think I'm right in saying that this is because of the site's former life as a Butlins although they've obviously been improved over the years.
Haven's Craig Tara also has camping and touring, which is something which is not offered at all Haven resorts. At the time of writing, there are 44 camping and touring pitches including the option of an electric hookup.
Can I hire caravans direct from owners at Haven Craig Tara?
Yes, several of the caravans at Craig Tara holiday park are owned privately and are available for hire. Several of them are listed on Airbnb.
The main advantage of booking privately is that you can see photos, reviews and location of the specific caravan. You can usually see if it's got a sea view. The Haven website just shows photos of a typical caravan of the grade you are booking.
Of course, you might also get a bargain as prices are set by owners.
The main advantage of booking privately is that you can see photos, reviews and location of the specific caravan. You can usually see if it's got a sea view. The Haven website just shows photos of a typical caravan of the grade you are booking.
Of course, you might also get a bargain as prices are set by owners.
Conclusion
Craig Tara is a great choice if you like holiday parks on a big scale. The swimming pool is impressive and the range of activities is enough to keep you entertained for a whole week if you don't mind coughing up for the more exciting things. The range of restaurants and places to eat is good but not quite as wide as some Haven holiday parks (there are about twice as many places to eat at Haven's Devon Cliffs holiday park, for example).
On the downside, the beach isn't as sandy as a lot of beachside holiday parks and customer review scores are a little bit behind some Haven resorts.
There also aren't lodges at Craig Tara, which tend to be more spacious than caravans. However, there is camping and touring which isn't offered at all Haven resorts.
On the downside, the beach isn't as sandy as a lot of beachside holiday parks and customer review scores are a little bit behind some Haven resorts.
There also aren't lodges at Craig Tara, which tend to be more spacious than caravans. However, there is camping and touring which isn't offered at all Haven resorts.
Images are from Haven.
