An Easter Break At Haven Holidays 2015

For two years in a row I was a Haven Holidays ambassador for the blog which meant I was sent on two trips for the purpose of review. In 2013 we were sent to Rockley Park in Dorset and then last year we tried out their park in Hastings. We enjoyed the holidays so much that we actually went on two other Haven trips at our own expense to the resort closest to my Mum’s house in Norwich at Caister.

My Mum and I don’t drive (although hopefully if I can actually stop failing tests I will do soon) and Caister’s a great option for us to go away with the children when Jonny has to work because it’s easy to get to on the bus from Norwich City Centre.

I’m not a Haven Holidays ambassador for 2015 but we still decided to re-book and go back to Caister for a third trip. We went last weekend and had a fabulous time because mainly, the children love it so much. I probably wouldn’t go to a Haven Resort without little ones but with them it’s fabulous and the Caister Park, although not as swish as the other two we know, is pretty perfect for a lot of reasons.

Obviously there’s the public transport issue which makes it great for us but once at the park you are right on a gorgeously sandy beach, there’s a swimming pool, a soft play centre and plenty of out door play equipment as well as mini motor bikes which cost just 50p and a tower of high slides which are just 20p a ride. There’s also the arcade and the evening entertainment which isn’t my cup of tea but again, the children have fun and in small doses I don’t mind it at all. There’s a fair few activities the children can join in with such as bikes in the pool (£5) and bungee jumping trampolines (£4) as well as a few free activities like water confidence and mini sports madness in the mornings. It is a shame that more activities aren’t suitable for younger ones as mostly theiy are aimed at ages 4 or 5+ but when you’re a very almost 3 year old sibling it can be a bit sad to be left out. There’s a chippy, a Papa John’s Pizza place, a spa shop and just down the road within walking distance there’s a Lidl and a very sweet cafe called Elaine’s Diner.

The caravans themselves are spacious (we upgraded to a deluxe) and comfortable but they could use a little improvement in places. We had very flimsy quilts on this last trip and no radiators so it was mighty cold but you can upgrade further to have full central heating as well as the gas fire that we did have or you can hire fan heaters to help. All in all, we paid £125 for three nights and the four of us so we can’t complain too much. That price included the cost of evening entertainment passes which means you have access to the Live Lounge where it’s all at. I mentioned it’s not really my bag but Florence and Jimmy had fun from 6-7 every evening watching one of the characters sing songs and maybe play a game. I think it really kicks off after this time but for us that’s as late as we would like to be in there and it is a shame they don’t have a proper disco like they do at Pontins.

In my youth I worked as a holiday Entertainer for First Choice Holidays so I’m kind of particular about what makes something excellent and although it’s ok at Haven, they could make it brilliant if they worked on it. Haven probably don’t want my advice but if I was there I would change simply three things to start with:

Have a disco with child friendly pop songs from 6-6.30

Have games from 6.30-7

Lose the characters recorded American accents

Anyway, all in all, price wise and smiles on kid’s faces, it’s excellent value! The activities don’t break the bank and neither do the prices of drinks although I wouldn’t pay the prices they ask for the food in the Mash and Barrel restaurant which is fine but not incredibly good value. If it rains there’s the soft play which is huge and the indoor pool and if the sun shines, well, that beach is all you need!

We love going on a Haven Holiday to Caister despite the shortcomings and we’d highly recommend it. You absolutely get what you pay for and probably a bit more besides and although a little shabby in places the staff work very hard for their measly minimum (not living) wage so well done them!

Here are our favourite pictures from our trip this Easter holiday, I think they totally show what fun we had while we were there!