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Which Isle of Wight holiday park should I stay in?

There are more than 20 holiday parks on the Isle of Wight, and many more if you include those that just do camping and touring rather than static caravans and lodges. Needless to say, they vary massively, but here's our guide to which ones are most likely to suit you, depending on whether you are after a low-cost raucous family holiday or a chance to escape the smartphone and live the simple life.

Best Isle of Wight holiday parks for family friendly facilities 

If your family holidays are akin to transporting a circus, complete with wild animals, then I would plump for a busy holiday park with lots of facilities for children.

In my view, Lower Hyde Holiday Park has the biggest range of facilities, and it is also well located for the sandy beaches and old fashioned attractions at the seaside resorts of Sandown and Shanklin. ​
Picture
Sandown is a peerless seaside resort, although it isn't pierless
Lower Hyde itself has indoor and outdoor swimming pools (the former being a holiday-saver if it decides to rain on the first day of your holiday), with various activities involving rafts and the like.
 
There is also a sauna and spa at Lower Hyde, although you are doing a much cleverer job of parenting than us if you actually manage to use such things with children in tow. Lower Hyde also has an adventure playground, Boathouse restaurant and bar, launderette, darts and pool. They also put on things like football tournaments and archery (no shooting of siblings allowed), as well as evening entertainment.

Lower Hyde certainly isn't the only Isle of Wight holiday park though with family friendly facilities, so I would also consider:
It's worth having a read of our guide to Which Isle of Wight Town Should I Stay In? if you aren't familiar with the different parts of the Island.

Best Isle of Wight holiday park for cheap accommodation 

If you are transporting a family of 11 children, three grandparents and an odd 'uncle' who isn't related to anyone, then finding the cheapest holiday park on the Isle of Wight may be high up on your list of priorities. 

​We did a price comparison for our top 10 holiday park guide to holiday parks and found that prices for a family of 4 for a week in August 2020 ranged from £459 to £1396 - although it is worth saying that there is often a big difference in the quality of the accommodation and facilities on offer (we searched in October 2019).
St Helen's Beach on the Isle of Wight
Nodes Point is near to St Helen's beach
We only looked at one week and went for the cheapest option for 4 people without comparing quality, but for what it's worth the top 10 cheapest Isle of Wight holiday parks were: 

  1. Fairway Holiday Park - £459 (pool and play area, 3 out of 5 on TripAdvisor)
  2. Silver Glades Caravan Park - £530 (woodland setting, simple facilities)
  3. Fort Holiday Park - £549 (near Sandown, simple facilities)
  4. Waverley Park - £550 (outdoor play area)
  5. Thorness Bay Holiday Park - £559 (busy Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts site with indoor swimming pool, sports court, bar)
  6. Sunnycott Caravan Park - £559 (quiet holiday park, simple facilities)
  7. Lower Hyde Holiday Park - £583 (busy Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts holiday park with swimming pool, restaurant, entertainment and playground)
  8. Cheverton Copse Holiday Park - £589 (quiet park with great reviews)
  9. Nodes Point Holiday Park - £599 (busy Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts holiday park with swimming pool and beachside location)
  10. Landguard Holiday Park - £609 (busy Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts holiday park, similar to Lower Hyde Holiday Park)

We did a similar price comparison for Isle of Wight campsites and found prices for a family of four ranged from £175 to £346.

Again, we only looked at one week in August in 2020, but this time it was for 4 people camping. We went for the cheapest option (no extras, such as electric hookups) so it's only a rough comparison. Anyway, the 10 cheapest Isle of Wight campsites in our comparison were:
  1. Carpenters Farm - £175 (East Wight, simple facilities)
  2. Brighstone Holiday Centre - £178 (West Wight, heidi hi campsite, simple facilities)
  3. ​Kite Hill Farm - £178 (near Wootton, simple facilities)
  4. ​Thorness Bay - £182.70 (near Cowes, Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts site, swimming pool, play areas, restaurant) 
  5. Whitecliff Bay - £210 (near Bembridge, busy holiday park with lots of facilities and beachside location)
  6. Compton Farm - £245 (West Wight, simple facilities)
  7. Chine Farm Camping Site - £259 (West Wight location, simple facilities)
  8. Southland Campsite - £272 (near Sandown, quiet site)
  9. Whitefield Forest - £272 (near Ryde, quiet site)
  10. ​Nodes Point ​- £274 (East Wight, Park Resorts site, indoor swimming pool, play areas) 

Best Isle of Wight holiday parks for nature

If you'd rather be punched in the face than join in with holiday park evening entertainment then you may be better looking for a park with fewer facilities and a focus on nature, wildlife and peace and quiet. As a value broad rule, you'll find more of these type of holiday parks in the West Wight as they are further from the popular tourism resorts of Sandown, Shanklin and Ryde. ​
Purple plant on the cliffs at Compton Bay
The West Wight cliffs are abundant with plants - like this purple thingy (Latin name: Purpleus Thingyus)
You might like to consider these quieter holiday parks: 

Best Isle of Wight holiday park for beach access

Several holiday parks are right on the beach, so you can avoid the challenge of piling children, dogs, teddies and windbreaks into the car each day. Some beaches have near exclusive access for residents, by which I mean that whilst the beaches are technically open to non-residents, they are a bit of a faff to get to if you have to walk through a holiday park first. 
Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight
Whitecliff Bay is adjacent to two caravan holiday parks
So, if proximity to a good beach is your priority then you won't get much better than Whitecliff Bay Caravan Holiday Park or ​​Sandhills Holiday Park near Bembridge which both lead straight down a steep hill to a sandy beach (Whitecliff Bay). The beach looks almost foreign on a sunny day and is nice for a swim, or for games at low tide. Whitecliff Bay Caravan Holiday Park is a busy park with lots of facilities and entertainment for children, whilst ​Sandhills Holiday Park is a simpler park.

Other options for beachside holiday parks:
  • Thorness Bay has pretty much exclusive access to a fairly scrubby beach which seems popular with fishers and sunset watchers (not so much for swimming).
  • Woodside Coastal Retreat has sea views and direct access to a shingly beach around Wootton. 
  • Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat is next door to Woodside Coastal Retreat and has a woodland area which leads to the beach.
  • Nodes Point (a Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts holiday park) is a very short walk away from the beach at St Helen's which has a lovely outlook and very shallow waters for paddling (you'd need to walk out into the middle of the Solent for a proper swim).
  • Salterns Village Cottages is walking distance to the beach at Seaview.
  • Fort Holiday Park isn't quite on the sandy beach at Sandown, but is only about 200 metres away from the Esplanade towards the Yaverland end.
  • Grange Farm on the Military Road is right on the beach at a quiet section of the pretty West Wight coastline. ​
  • Brighstone Holiday Centre is on the cliff edge but doesn't have a path directly down to the beach. 
  • Brambles Chine and Linstone Chine is very near to the beach at Colwell.​

Best luxury Isle of Wight holiday park

Posh holiday parks don't tend to use the word 'holiday park' at all, usually picking something like 'lodge retreat' 'holiday home' or 'country club'.

Three of the most luxurious holiday park style resorts on the Isle of Wight are: 
See our main guide to Isle of Wight lodges
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ The information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please do check opening times and details with attractions directly if you are planning a long journey - and please contact us if you find anything inaccurate. 

Related guides from Isle of Wight Guru: