As most of you will know by now, I have just gotten back from a week at Haven’s Blue Dolphin caravan park in Scarborough. We were really lucky with the weather, out of our seven days, except for the odd shower, it only rained one day. Of course, we choose that day to go to Scarborough beach.
I thought today I would share with you what we got up to and what’s available there.
Reception
Haven Blue Dolphin: The Site
Haven Blue Dolphin is pretty similar to all the Haven sites really. There are a lot of facilities and activities going on throughout the day and early evening for the kids.
The view from just outside of our caravan
They have plenty of places to eat and drink plus the arcades, swimming pool, soft play, art and crafts building, outdoor play areas, a boating lake, go karts and quad bikes, sports courts and a sports drome.
One of the outdoor play areas
Entertainment
There are swimming activities, archery, sports, sensory play and the character breakfasts plus loads more through the day. There is also a soft play and art and craft centre where children can paint or make clay models. We didn’t stay on the park much through the day, but we did try out the soft play area. The child that was with us, my friend’s baby Lizzie, is 22 months and to be honest, there wasn’t a lot for her on the site, although she did love the characters.
The soft play and arts and crafts building
The evenings entertainment is pretty much what you would expect from a caravan park – bingo, kids disco, the characters dancing etc. They do have entertainment on a weekend after 9pm from bands etc that aren’t just the Haven reps.
Rory the Tiger, Bradley Bear and Greedy the Gorilla
The reps, known as Funstars at Haven, are really good at getting the children involved, and considering they aren’t professional singers or dancers, the entertainment isn’t too bad. They really do put their heart and soul into it.
Anxious the Elephant
Food and Drinks
There is the main restaurant and bar, which is The Brigghouse here. The food and drink isn’t as expensive as you would imagine, it’s not much more than what you would pay anywhere. The food here is ok. The service is very fast and the Sunday carvery was nice. The kids meals aren’t too great, they seemed to me like microwave meals, but Lizzie seemed to enjoy them so they did the trick.
The Brigghouse outdoor area (there was even a sandpit)
There’s also a Burger King, a Papa John’s pizza place and a fish and chip place. These are available to eat in or take away and Papa Johns also does free delivery to your caravan.
The main complex where the food and drinks places are plus the arcade and swimming pools
As well as the restaurant doubling up as a bar, there are two other bars where the entertainment takes place. they have some reasonable offers on the drinks. The cocktail jugs are good value. They were £13.75 and worked out at about three pints.
There’s also a fairly well stocked Spar shop if you want to eat in your caravan. I thought the prices were similar to home, but the people I was with seemed quite shocked at the prices, and they thought I was mad saying it was reasonably priced.
The famous Haven Blue Dolphin deck chair
The Caravans
There are options for a basic caravan running right through to the luxury ones. We went for the basic option as we weren’t planning on spending a lot of time in there. It had everything we needed – a fridge with a small freezer, a TV with DVD player and Free View etc. The beds were even made up for our arrival.
The luxury caravans have full central heating and are double glazed, which would be a great option if you are going in the colder months.
Our caravan which was in a great location – right next to the bus stop and not far from the main complex
The caravan was clean on a rough glance around, but be prepared to need to finish off the bathroom and kitchen to get the proper hygiene standards.
If you don’t want to book direct with Haven, there are lots of caravans advertising private rental, but be aware that with this option, you will need to purchase your Funworks passes separately.
We were really lucky with check in. We had a 4.30pm check in with booking a basic van. The check in time is 1.30pm if you’re in a more expensive one. We arrived at 1.15pm and were given the keys straight away which really was brilliant.
Haven Blue Dolphin: Out and About
Scarborough is fantastic for public transport. It seems there’s nowhere you can’t get to using it as a base. We didn’t have a car with us, my friend’s dad dropped us off and picked us up, so we used public transport to get around.
There are bus stops right outside the gate to the site which run to Filey and Bridlington in one direction, and Scarborough in the other, these run regularly throughout the day.
These are the places we visited while there:
Filey
Filey is a small seaside town about fifteen minutes drive away from Haven Blue Dolphin. There are a good few shops, but we mostly avoided high street shopping as none of us enjoy it. We made our way down to the seafront and had a poke around in the arcades and gift shops. There were some little rides for the children too.
Be prepared to walk down, and then back up, a very steep bank.
Scarborough Sea Front
Scarborough sea front is very similar to Filey sea front except there is more of everything. There’s also donkey rides on the beach and some bigger rides for adults or older children. I’ve been to Scarborough a few times and love it there, but in the rain, it really wasn’t much fun at all. We even bought one of those hideous bright yellow ponchos, which are basically bin bags with sleeves.
Scarborough SeaLife Centre
I loved the SeaLife Centre. The shark tunnel is fab, and the fish will keep kids amused for hours. I have to admit we were like big kids ourselves, getting excited pointing out Dory, Nemo and friends – there’s even a giant sea turtle. Admission is £18 per adult, but if you pre-book at Haven’s reception, you get the tickets for the bargain price of £8.50.
My Friend Gemma and her daughter Lizzie. This was at Anxious’s sensory play session which she loved!
Peasholm Park
We actually ended up here by mistake. We were supposed to be going to the beach, but we got off the bus where we thought the attractions were and it turned out there was only like three shops and that was about it. It was a beautiful day and we spotted this park over the road from the bus stop so we went in.
There’s waterfalls, pedalos, oriental gardens and loads more. It’s free entry and well worth a look around on a nice day.
Flamingo Land
Haven Blue Dolphin run a bus service from just outside the park direct to Flamingo Land. It only runs on Wednesdays, and only on certain dates, and the week we were there wasn’t one of the dates. We decided to get the bus there. It was a mission and a half. We had no idea how long it would take.
We set off from Blue Dolphin on the first bus to Scarborough which was at 9.17am. We then had to get a bus to Pickering and change there to the one that went to Flamingo Land. I thought the trip to Pickering would take half an hour or so. I was wrong. It took over an hour. We eventually got to Flamingo Land at 12.30pm!
This wouldn’t be ideal with bigger kids who want to go on all the rides, but as we only had a little one with us it was ok. We spent the afternoon there showing her all the animals in the zoo which she loved.
At £37 each, it probably wasn’t worth it for the time we spent there, but for all day and riding as much as you want, I think it’s pretty good value.
Whitby
We didn’t actually go into Whitby, but I thought I would mention it here, because it’s pretty close and really easy to get to from Scarborough. We didn’t go because we had all been loads of times, but its a really nice place and definitely worth a visit.
Haven Blue Dolphin: Overall
I love Haven. I know it’s not for everyone, but if you enjoy caravan holidays somewhere that’s reasonably priced with loads to see and do roundabout, then you will enjoy Haven. It’s perfect for kids and teens, there’s always something going on for them.
The Lake where you could fish or have a go on a pedalo
This was my first time at Haven Blue Dolphin, we usually go to Haggerston Castle. I did enjoy it, but I prefer the site at Haggerston Castle. It’s a lot bigger and has more going on, but I prefer the location of Blue Dolphin because there’s so much to do out and about.
The play area for little ones
I would definitely return though.
I apologise that there aren’t any photos of our days out. I refused to be that person that constantly had a camera in everyone’s faces, and to be honest, I forgot about it most of the time. I went around the site on the last day panicking that I had no pictures at all. There are no pictures of the inside of our caravan because within about 30 seconds, it looked like a bomb had hit it.
Go Karts!
This isn’t a sponsored post and we paid for the holiday ourselves, I just decided to share it with you.
Have you ever been to Haven Blue Dolphin? What did you think? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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Love this part of the country. Spent many happy holidays here. Glad you enjoyed it.
I do too, all the people were so friendly! Thank you 🙂
It’s a shame there wasn’t more to do at the park for the little one, although she looks happy enough 😊 This makes me realise how much I need a holiday – even just a few days away is enough and I’m a saddo in that I’d love getting pizza delivered to the caravan and stocking up from the local Spar! Glad the weather was good for you. #AnythingGoes
She seemed to enjoy it, she loved dancing along with the characters, she’s just at that age where there isn’t really a lot they can do activity wise. I must admit when we’ve been before and it’s been raining I don’t mind a chilled out night in myself 🙂
I have never heard of a caravan park. They don’t have things like that in my neck of the woods. Glad you had a great vay-cay.
I think they call them trailer parks in the US, but generally the Haven ones aren’t somewhere people live, it’s just somewhere we stay rather than a hotel. Thank you, it was fab 🙂
Sounds like you had lots of good days out! I went to Whitby a few years back and really enjoyed it. Did you see the big whale bone? Scarborough is actually quite pretty. We’ve had a lot of fun in caravan holidays in the past.
Sally @ Live Loving
We did have lots of days out 🙂 I love Whitby! I don’t think we did see the whale bone, or if we did, I didn’t know what it was!
We used to own a static caravan at a haven caravan park when I was growing up. I have so many childhood memories involving Rory the tiger and playing in arcades and dancing to silly songs with the holiday reps. It’s a shame your friends little girl didn’t have much to do on site but it sounds like you can’t out and about enough to make up for it xx #anythinggoes
I love Haven (Rory’s my favourite too)! I think she’s just at that age where there isn’t much the reps can do with them, but she did enjoy dancing along with the characters. We got out and about a lot! x
I’ve never been to Scarborough but its somewhere I’ve always been interested in visiting. This sounds ideal for my family! #AnythingGoes
Scarborough is fab – there’s loads to see and do in the town itself, and it is fantastic for public transport to get to so many nearby places too 🙂
I enjoy visiting the Haven sites. There’s always so much to do and the kids do enjoy the characters at the club don’t they. You did well with the weather, it seemed like it was raining all week where I live 😊
I love Haven, like you said there’s loads to do and yeah the little one loved the characters 🙂 Oh that’s not good, the rain is such a nuisance when it’s meant to be summer!
I’ve never been to Scarborough or that part of the country actually. Sounds like there’s loads to do. Will definitely need to plan to visit on one of our holidays! Thanks for sharing x
There’s so much to do and it’s a lovely place – everyone is so friendly! x
Looks a nice holiday. I’ve been to a few Haven sites, Rockley Park being our favourite which is handy as it’s 10 minutes from my husbands nan! My little one was obsessed with Naughty Ned Maximus when she was younger. Luckily now at 8 it’s wearing off!! #bloggerclubuk
That is handy! Oh they do love the characters don’t they 🙂
I’ve found all Haven sites to be so different. Some are better equipped than others- I’ve found this with food, activities for young babies and pricing. Reviews like yours definitely help when trying to decide #bloggerclubuk
I know what you mean. Having only been to Haggerston Castle before, I thought this one would be the same, but it was a lot smaller. In a sense though, being that bit smaller worked well. It was busy enough to have some atmosphere but not massively over crowded. Thank you 🙂
Sounds like you had a lot of fun and packed a lot in. I don’t know this bit of coast too well but would love to explore more. #bloggerclubuk
We sure did! It’s a lovely part of the country and well worth a visit 🙂
Looks like a great holiday. We’ve been to the Primrose Valley Haven in Filey a few times, love it there x #BloggerClubUK
Filey was a lovely place but I’ve never been to Primrose Valley
It sounds like you had a good time. I haven’t spent much time in that part of the UK so maybe we’re due a visit. The craft and soft play area sound great for kids and it’s nice being within striking distance of a few other destinations.
Potty Adventures
#bloggerclubUK
We did have a good time 🙂 It’s a fab area to visit, I would definitely recommend it, there’s always something going on and there’s plenty to do
we just went to Haven in Filey – Primrose Park – I blogged abt it too 🙂 our trip was great but we didn’t have a great caravan this time. stunk of smoke, so that was crap. but the park and location was great. like you say, the entertainment is fine for the little kids and the team really do work so hard. my boy loves greedy, rory and Bradley bear – we have them all haha! #BloggerClubUK
not sure if my first comment posted…meant to say too that Peasholm park is lovely isn’t it – so pretty 🙂 #bloggerclubuk
first comment: e just went to Haven in Filey – Primrose Park – I blogged abt it too 🙂 our trip was great but we didn’t have a great caravan this time. stunk of smoke, so that was crap. but the park and location was great. like you say, the entertainment is fine for the little kids and the team really do work so hard. my boy loves greedy, rory and Bradley bear – we have them all haha! #BloggerClubUK
I loved Peasholm Park, I’m really glad we got off the bus in the wrong place! I’ve never tried that one but I’ve heard good things about it. It’s a shame you got a smelly caravan! I kind of like the characters myself (well Rory lol) 🙂
I’ve always wanted to visit somewhere like this looks, I’ve always read good things about it. It’s great you all enjoyed yourselves, I like that the kids entertainers are good at getting the kids involved, always feels good knowing your little ones are have fun! #BloggerClubUK
Jordanne
It was really fab, I would totally recommend Haven. The funstars are brilliant with the kids 🙂
Glad you had a good time!
#BloggerClubUK
Thank you 🙂
We love Blue Dolphin, have been a couple of times now. Havens are fab for kids, we are off to Devon Cliffs this weekend and it’s just the perfect way to keep them entertained isn’t it? #BloggerClubUK
I do too now 🙂 Yeah, it really is fab for kids. Have a great time!
Looks like a fab holiday! Have not been to this caravan park yet, have been to one in Lake District with wonderful amenities as well. It’s great to read reviews like this for future reference. #BloggerClubUK
We had a fab time, I would definitely recommend this park 🙂
It looks lovely. I’ve often wondered what a Haven holiday would be like, as term time prices are quite pricey. It’s really good to get an insight – thank yoy. Alison x #BloggerClubUK
We had a great time, I would definitely recommend Haven 🙂 x
Sounds like you had an ace holiday. We had a lovely holiday in Scarborough a few years back Flamingo Land was a real highlight for me, as was Whitby. I’d love to go back. #BloggerClubUK
We did 🙂 I want to go back already!
I love this part of the country, it’s one of my favourite. I’m lucky enough to have family to stay with really near here but I’ve heard good things about this Haven park. We have had lots of great Haven holidays. #bloggerclubuk
It’s lovely there, you really lucky 🙂 I love Haven
I have never been to Scarborough, but it looks so lovely, there’s a huge amount to do. I think my kids would love it!
It’s a lovely place, loads to do and the people are so friendly 🙂 I’m sure they would!
I looks like you had a great holiday. We are into our camping at the moment but I am sure we will squeeze a few caravan hols in too. #BloggerClubUK
It was fab! I used to love camping, haven’t been for years now 🙂
Oh I love Haven holidays!! We usually go to Marton Mere near Blackpool! I’ve never been to Scarborough though so thank you for sharing! #BloggerClubUK
Me too 🙂 I fancy the Blackpool one, I love Blackpool, there’s loads to do there
Sounds like a good holiday. We have been doing at least one holiday a year like this since the boys were born. You know pretty much what you are going to get and its nice and safe/kid friendly. I havent tried this one though. My youngest used to freak out if the mascots dressed up in the animal suits came anywhere near him but he’s got better the older he’s got. I remember him and a load of other little ones practically climbing over us when a full sized peppa pig tried to come near us!:)
Mainy
#bloggerclubuk
It was great 🙂 I’ve been a few now and I agree – you know what you’re going to get which is a bonus. I think quite a lot of the littler kids are scared of the characters. Aww I can imagine, a full sized Peppa must have been horrifying lol
We dont have caravan park holidays camps of this kind in south africa, so this was an interesting read for me. It looks like a great place for a family holiday when you have kids. #anythinggoes
I’m glad you liked it 🙂 It’s fab for the kids!
We went to the Presthaven Sands earlier this year and loved it. I was considering this one next as I’ve not been to Scarborough before. It looks a little more dated than Presthaven but I wouldn’t really mind that as I’d like to spend time actually in Scarborough too #BloggerClubUK
Yes, it’s not as modern as some of the parks, cheap and cheerful lol! It’s a brilliant location though!
This looks great, I will need to remember this. The parks look brill and the kids would love the go-carts!! xx #AnythingGoes
It was a great and I’m sure your kids would have a fab time 🙂 x
It sounds like a brilliant complex. I think when you get a good holiday park it makes it such a special time away. I’m amazed at the facilities they have there, you really wouldn’t need to leave site and since our holidays tend to be centred around our kiddies it’s the amenities that we look for in a holiday now. It sounds and looks like the perfect getaway for families x
Haven sites are perfect for families, and I agree – if you want to keep the kids entertained, you really don’t need to leave the site at all x
I’ve never been to one of these sites, or indeed stayed in a caravan. Sounds fun for kids. I remember Scarborough & Filey from school trips. & I really love Whitby – would recommend it! #AnythingGoes
I love a good caravan holiday, give it a try 🙂 I love Whitby too