Haven Seashore is a really popular holiday park for visitors travelling from London, Essex and Suffolk. It is located on England's east coast in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.  Find out why we think this is one of the best holiday parks Haven has for families, what there is to do and tips to get the most out of your stay and have a great time.

What you need to know about Haven Seashore

Haven Seashore Review - The Family Friendly Holiday Park in Norfolk

Why you should visit Haven Seashore

• There are 38 Haven holiday parks across the UK and Haven Seashore is one of the best.
• The site has had a makeover in recent years with the pool, restaurant, arcade and entertainment venue all getting a refresh.
• There is a great range of free and paid for activities for children.
• You can enjoy free entertainment every night in the Marina Bar and Stage (peak times).
• The park is close to the attractions of Great Yarmouth seafront, but far enough away to have it's own stretch of golden sandy beach.
• It's really easy to book and manage activities and even order food to your caravan via the Haven app.

Get entertained by the new Seaside Squad at Haven

What is there to do at Haven Seashore Holiday Park?

There is so much to do in Haven Seashore that you don't need to leave the site during your holiday if you don't want to, although Norfolk has plenty to offer nearby.  It's worth downloading and logging in to the Haven App at least 12 weeks before you go because this is the easiest way to see and book activities. You can also book activities online or in person after you arrive (depending on availability).

Free Activities at Haven

If you are on a budget and want to spend as little as possible during your stay then take full advantage of the free activities at the holiday site.  

Free Activities that don't need booking:

Playgrounds 

There is a play area outside the entrance to the swimming pool which is great for younger children.

The main playground is between the Seashore Pavilion and Sales & Letting buildings. It is best suited to older children, but there is another small playground in a sand pit close by on the other side of the all-weather sports court.

The hard courts have a football area and a larger multi-use court.

There are several play areas at the Seashore holiday park

Soft Plays

There are two small soft plays:

In the corner of the restaurant area there is a very basic space for toddlers and a slightly larger area with a slide for children up to age 12. It is enough to entertain younger children while you wait for your food or have a drink, but it's not a destination soft play.

At the back of the arcade there is another slightly larger soft play. Again there is a really small space for toddlers and a bigger one for children up to 12. There are a few seats outside for parents, but most of the frame is raised and over the arcade so there isn't easy visibility across all of it.

Soft play in Seashore's Coast House Restaurant

The family arcade and soft play at Haven Seashore

Entertainment

Most of the entertainment takes place in the Pavilion building in the Marina Bar and Stage. There are normally a few children's activities during the day and in the early evening which are mostly based around the Seaside Squad supported by the entertainment team. 

The Seaside Squad has been transformed for 2023 and the new group consists of: Rory, Jaz, Annie and George. Of course Rory the tiger is still there, but he has been given a fresh look as has Annie the elephant (previously Anxious), George the gorilla (previously Greedy and now blue) and they have been joined by Jaz (a bear). They have been updated to keep with the times and so their style, behaviours and attitudes are more in line with current thinking.

From around 8pm the entertainment is aimed at adults, but it is still family friendly and children are welcome to stay until closing as long as they are appropriately supervised. Evening activities include: singing performances, bingo and interactive shows.

Just off the park the beach will provide plenty of entertainment in warmer weather. There is direct access to the sandy beach which runs along the edge of the resort. It is a short walk across the sand dunes. If children need some inspiration while there bring along this free beach scavenger hunt game.

Prebookable Free Activities 

The most popular prebookable activity is swimming in the Shore Water Park (this is an indoor pool, there is no outdoor pool at Seashore Haven). You can book up to 14 swimming slots from 4 weeks in advance (read all about the Shore Water Park below and tips for booking extra swim slots in this post).

Other prebookable activities can be booked up to 12 weeks in advance. Activities for young children include: bug hunt, football, mini archery, mini fencing and a treasure trail.

Paid For Activities

There is a wide range of activities you can take part in onsite. The bookable activities can be booked up to 12 weeks in advance, but many will have spaces so you can book after you arrive. Indoor activities including: pottery painting, make a bear and sand art spaces get booked up quickly when rain is forecast. Age recommendations vary across activities.

Options include: Crazy golf, bike hire, archery, activitots sessions, bungee trampoline, climbing wall, leap of faith, sand art, make a bear, pottery painting, slime creations and target shooting.

Leap of faith, climbing wall and Pavilion at Seashore

Crazy Golf at Haven Seashore

Family Arcade

Inside the Pavilion there is a large Family Arcade with a wide range of games you can play and win tickets on. These include: 2p and 10p slots, skill games, virtual reality and computer games. You can get change to use via contactless payment or notes. There are lots of low value items you can trade your tickets for including sweets.

The arcades are good fun whatever the weather

There is also plenty to see and do in Great Yarmouth itself which is a couple of miles away. You can get to the sea front attractions or town centre by a short drive, walking, by bus or on the land train. The train costs £2 per person and goes from the road outside the shop every 15 minutes during the day (peak times) to the Britannia Pier. Attractions include Joyland (token rides for younger children), the Pleasure Beach (with rides like a wooden roller coaster and ghost train), a model village, the Sea Life Centre and more. Read more about visiting Great Yarmouth’s beachfront and it's attractions in this post. 

The Accommodation at Haven Seashore

The accommodation at Seashore is mainly in a range of caravans from the basic Saver grade through to Gold and Signature caravans. There are also a few lodges which are larger and have a more luxury finish. You can find out more about the differences between caravan types in this post, but all the caravans I have seen are in good condition so how much you want to upgrade will depend on how much space you want and extra facilities.

Haven Seashore has over 600 caravans and the community facilities are in divided into 2 locations near to the middle of the site. If you want to be in a particular area then you can choose your location for an extra cost. We have found that caravans near to the central location tend to have a lot more noise as people walk buy at night, although the entertainment stops around 11pm so the noise isn't too late. Locations nearer the edge of the site will be quieter (other than the sound of the sea and wind).

We always used to choose Silver caravans because they came with towels and bedding, but they no longer come with towels which is frustrating for the price. Otherwise they come with all non-consumables you will need (check this packing list for what you do to take). Most caravans have parking next to them and there is a small amount of general parking. There are lots of rubbish and recycling points around the site. 

Where is there to eat at Haven Seashore?

If you want to eat onsite (and you don't want to cook) there are a number of options: 

• Burger King and Papa Johns are in the Pavilion. You can order in person, online or get food delivered to your caravan (in the evening). There is no indoor seating for these restaurants so you'll need to eat outside or back at your caravan.
• The Marina bar has snacks as well as drinks.
• The Coast House restaurant has a wide range of meals and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can prebook your table via the Haven app to be sure of getting a space.
• The Cakery is in the same building as the Coast House, it's a cafe which serves hot and cold drinks, cakes etc. 
• Cook's (serving fish and chips) and The Pizza Deck are both outside the Coast House building. They are open evenings in peak times and have no indoor seating.

Coast House Restaurant

What else is there onsite?

There is a laundrette with washing machines and dryers. You need to purchase tokens at the Nisa.

Nisa Supermarket has a wide range of food and drink as well as gifts. 

There is another smaller gift shop near the Marina Stage, only open early evening when there is entertainment.

What Are The Bad Bits About Haven Seashore ?

Seashore is a great site and I don't have many negative things to say about it. If pushed I would say: 

There is no wifi in the caravans, although there is free wifi in the restaurant and entertainment space. We had phone reception, but it wasn't brilliant. 

Our most recent caravan location was quite noisy in the evenings, luckily my children slept through it and I brought ear plugs with me. 

In wet weather activity options are limited so it's worth bringing entertainment, although there is a television in all caravans with Freeview.

We struggled to find anywhere to park after we arrived and before we could go in our caravan. We would have had the same issue after check out (10am) until we left the site, but made sure to move the car before 10am to grab a space. Parking isn't an issue while you have your caravan though because you can park by your caravan. 

Everything You Need To Know About The Seashore Water Park

The Seashore swimming pool has had a £6.5 million transformation and reopened in 2019 as the Shore Water Park. It is a brilliant pool, but the term “water park” might suggest more than it is. It was perfect for visiting with our family and we went in every day during our stay. There is lots packed into the space for the new pool so families will be happy for the 1 hour swimming slot you get. Older children and thrill seekers might be underwhelmed.

The Main Pool 

The main pool is 1.2 metres deep throughout so children 8 and over should be able to stand up. It is a rectangular pool and good for general swimming and messing around.

The Toddler Pool

The toddler pool has varying depths, but it is all very shallow so children can sit down in it and happily splash about. There is a wide slide at one end of the pool which parents can go down side by side with children. The pool has several water features to run through and play with.

The Splashzone

The splashzone has 2 small flume slides (closed tunnels, but very short and designed for children) and a short side by side open slide. There are also lots of wheels and pulleys which control various water features so you can splash other people. At one end of this space there is a giant bucket which fills up and tips out creating a huge cascade of water. An alarm sounds before the bucket tips out giving time for you to either move out of the way or head over depending on your preference. At the back of the splashzone there are some moving waterfall parts. They used to have dam attachments, but they aren’t there any more. My 4 year old loved playing with everything in this area and it kept him entertained for ages.

Slides

There are multi slides which are 4 side by side open slides suitable for anyone over 0.91m. They are either the same or very similar to what was there before the transformation.

There are also 2 11 metre high tyre flumes - Tidal Twist and Coastal Cyclone. These are proper flumes which you have to take the inflatable rings up the stairs to go on. They have a minimum height of 1.2 metres. There are single or double rings so you can go down alone or with someone. The blue slide (Tidal Twist) is a more gentle flume and the green (Coastal cyclone) is a faster flume where you go up the sides of the pool more. Both are pretty good and surprisingly long.  The entrance of the slides are next to each other so there is one queue, if you want to go down the blue slide you can often skip some of the queue as most of the people queuing seem to be for the more popular green slide.

Seashore Water Park and Swimming Pool

The toddler pool at Haven Seashore

What else you need to know about the Seashore Swimming Pool

• Pool ratio: Haven don't make it very clear what their pool ratio is, but it seems to be a maximum of 2 under 8s per adult. Under 8s have to wear a wristband and should be accompanied at all times. Under 14s who are non swimmers must be supervised in the pool.
• We found the water and air temperature warm enough that my children didn't get cold.
• At the entrance of the pool there is a small shop selling towels, floats, toys etc. There is also a sweets vending machine.
• There is a small viewing area next to the pool for non swimming adults.
• The changing rooms have plenty of lockers which require £1 (returnable). 
• There are about 6 good size family changing rooms and a number of smaller changing rooms. Because most people are exiting the pool at the same time these changing rooms get busy and you might have to wait for one. There is also an accessible changing room and toilet.
• There is a buggy park area (unattended) inside the door to the changing room. 
• There are free hairdryers.
• The only toilets in the pool area are unisex and they are to the right of the shower area as you enter the pool. The toilets are all very wet so if you need the toilet when not in swimwear you would be better off leaving the building and going into the restaurant next door or you will get wet. 

Haven Seashore is a great place to visit with family. You can book here to stay at the Seashore Haven site or any other Haven Holiday. Other Haven sites nearby include: Hopton and Caister-On-Sea which are near the coast and Wild Duck Holiday Park which is further in land.

Seashore Holiday Park
North Denes
Great Yarmouth
Norfolk
NR30 4HG