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Which Isle of Wight holiday park should I stay in? (2021 guide)

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 such as Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park, Lower Hyde Holiday Park, Landguard Holiday Park or Nodes Point.
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  • Whitecliff Bay near Bembridge has an indoor and outdoor pool, indoor soft play and adventure playground. It is right by a gorgeous sandy beach which is only used by residents at a couple of holiday parks so it isn't too busy. It's got a very steep slope to access the beach though.

  • Lower Hyde Holiday Park and Landguard Holiday Park are sister parks in Shanklin. They have a good range of facilities but they're a 15 minute walk to the sandy beaches and old fashioned attractions at the seaside resort of Shanklin. You can drive to nearby Sandown or get a train. ​​They both have indoor and outdoor swimming pools, although Landguard's indoor pool is much bigger. An indoor pool can be a holiday-saver if it decides to rain on the first day of your holiday, with various activities involving rafts and the like.
     
    Lower Hyde and ​Landguard Holiday Park also have adventure playgrounds, restaurants and bars, launderette, darts and pool. They also put on things like football tournaments and archery (no shooting of siblings allowed), as well as evening entertainment.​ The entertainment at Lower Hyde is a bit livelier than the 'leisurely' entertainment at Landguard.

    I'd say Lower Hyde is a good option if you aren't bringing a car to the Island as it is near a railway station which links up with the ferry at Ryde Pierhead.
    ​​
  • Nodes Point Holiday Park near St Helen's ​has an indoor swimming pool, sports court, adventure playground and restaurant. It's run by the same company as Lower Hyde and Landguard and has the big advantage of being right by a beach. It's a quieter part of the Island so you'll need to drive 10-20 minutes to visit attractions in Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin.
Diners at cafe at whitecliff bay Isle of Wight
Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park is in a fantastic beachside location...
Swimming pool at Landguard Holiday Park
...whilst Landguard Holiday Park is in a bucket-and-spade resort on the Isle of Wight
​​Those certainly aren't the only Isle of Wight holiday parks 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 parks guide and found that prices for a family of 4 for a week in August 2021 ranged from £600 to £1665 - 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 2020).
Caravans at Cheverton Copse on the Isle of Wight
Cheverton Copse is one of the cheapest caravan parks on the Isle of Wight
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. Waverley Park - £600 (in East Cowes with an outdoor play area)
  2. Sunnycott Caravan Park - £715 (quiet holiday park with simple facilities)
  3. Cheverton Copse Holiday Park - £739 (quiet holiday park with great reviews and playgrounds)
  4. The Orchards Holiday Park - £785​ (quiet holiday park with indoor and outdoor swimming pools)
  5. Fairway Holiday Park - £803 (pool and play area, scores 3/5 on TripAdvisor)
  6. ​Salterns Village Cottages - £805 (chalets near to a beach, no facilities)
  7. Thorness Bay Holiday Park - £809 (coastal Parkdean Resorts/Park Resorts site in a remote part of the Isle of Wight)
  8. Landguard Holiday Park - £859 (action-packed Parkdean Resorts/Park Resorts caravan site in busy Shanklin, two swimming pools)
  9. Lower Hyde Holiday Park - £889 (sister park to Landguard, offering a similar sort of thing)
  10. ​Appuldurcombe Gardens Holiday Park - £899 (quiet and attractive caravan park near Ventnor with outdoor swimming pool)

We excluded those which didn't have any prices for 2021 when we checked

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

This time we looked at one week in August in 2021 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. Camp Wight - £105 (West Wight, no electric, simple site)
  2. Carpenters Farm - £175 (East Wight, simple facilities)
  3. ​Kite Hill Farm - £193 (near Wootton, simple facilities)
  4. ​Thorness Bay - £182.70 (near Cowes, Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts site, swimming pool, play areas, restaurant) 
  5. Southland Campsite - £232 (near Sandown, quiet site)
  6. Orchards Holiday Park - £271 (West Wight, swimming pool)
  7. Whitefield Forest - £272 (near Ryde, quiet site)
  8. Grange Farm - £291 (West Wight, quiet site)
  9. Landguard Holiday Park - £293 (East Wight, busy site with lots of facilities)
  10. Waverley Park - £301 (East Cowes, busy site near the car ferry)​

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 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. ​

​You might like to consider these quieter holiday parks: 
Woodside Bay Coastal Retreat
Woodside Coastal Retreat is next to a woodland and right on the beach

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. 

​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 is a Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts holiday park which is a very short walk away from the beach at St Helen's. It's got 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 at low tide.
  • Salterns Village Cottages is a simple site which 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.​
Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight
Whitecliff Bay is adjacent to two caravan holiday parks

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 and our guide to Isle of Wight hot tub holidays.
A lodge at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat
Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat is one of the posher holiday parks on the Isle of Wight
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: