Updated October 2026 with 2027 prices.
Every parent who has priced up Center Parcs for the school holidays knows the feeling. You pick the most basic lodge, hit search, and get a number that looks more like a car repayment than a few days in the woods.
For the last week of August 2027, a two bedroom lodge at Woburn Forest is listed from £2,608. That is before a single activity, a hired bike or an on-site pizza. The pool is free. Almost nothing else is.
The good news is that the Center Parcs formula (lodges in the trees, a big pool, activities on tap) is not unique. The UK has plenty of holiday parks doing a version of it for far less. This guide covers nine places like Centre Parcs but cheaper, with real 2027 prices where they are published, and honest notes on what you give up.
A quick spelling note: the brand is Center Parcs, but most of Britain searches for Centre Parcs. We use both.
The quick answer
Closest like for like: Bluestone, Pembrokeshire. Woodland lodges, a proper water park, and many activities included.
Cheapest comparable break: Tattershall Lakes, Lincolnshire. Off-peak caravan stays from £30 a night in January 2027.
Cheapest of all: a Haven or Parkdean caravan, booked off-peak or in a flash sale.
Best for the north: Landal Darwin Forest in the Peak District, or Ribby Hall Village in Lancashire.
Most included in the price: Butlins, with most entertainment included and 2027 midweek breaks from £39 in the sale.
What Center Parcs costs in 2027
To judge a cheaper alternative you need a baseline. Here is what 2027 looks like so far.
Break | Price |
|---|---|
Woburn, 2 bed lodge, 7 nights, last week of August 2027 | from £2,608 |
Whinfell, 2 bed lodge, 7 nights, last week of August 2027 | £2,228 |
Whinfell, same lodge, first week of September 2027 | £1,208 |
Elveden, 7 nights, early July 2027 (before most schools break up) | £1,628 |
Elveden, same break two weeks later | £2,328 |
February half term 2027 (12 to 19 Feb) | from £699 |
"Book early for 2027" breaks | from £499 |
Then the extras. Bike hire for four nights is about £45 per adult and £35 per child. Archery starts at £21 a head. Aqua Sana spa days start at £69 per person. A family that books two paid activities a day can add £500 to a short break.
The pattern is simple. Center Parcs is fair value in term time and very expensive in school holidays. If you are tied to the holidays, as most families are, the places below start to look very good.
Cheaper than Center Parcs: same dates, real prices
These are like for like checks run on the same dates, not cherry-picked deals.
Same dates | Center Parcs | Cheaper alternative | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
October half term 2026, 2 bed, 7 nights | Whinfell £2,528 | Landal, Cornwall, £557 | £1,971 |
September 2026, 2 bed | Sherwood £1,228 | Bluestone, Pembrokeshire, £538 | £690 |
Now the detail on each one.
1. Bluestone National Park Resort, Pembrokeshire: the closest thing to Center Parcs
Ask parents on Mumsnet or in family travel Facebook groups which place is most like Center Parcs, and one name comes up more than any other. Bluestone sits in 500 acres on the edge of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and follows the formula closely: lodges, a car-free village, a water park, a spa for the adults and a long list of activities.
What is the same: the Blue Lagoon water park has flumes, rapids and a wave pool, and of all the alternatives it is the pool most like the Subtropical Swimming Paradise. Cars are parked up on arrival and you get around on foot, bike or golf buggy.
What is different: Bluestone is more open countryside than dense forest, and it is better geared to younger children. It also has something no UK Center Parcs can offer: the coast. Saundersfoot and Tenby are a short drive away, so a beach day is easy to add to the week. Playgrounds, soft play, seasonal entertainment and village events are all included, which removes that Center Parcs feeling of paying for everything. Paid extras include coasteering on the actual Pembrokeshire coast, which beats most of the Center Parcs activity menu for bragging rights.
Price reality: on matched September dates a two bed lodge was £538 against £1,228 at Sherwood, less than half the price. Early bird January 2027 breaks start from £176 for four nights.
The catch: west Wales is a long drive from most of England, and Bluestone is completely pet free.
Best for: families with children under seven. The pool, the play areas and the included activities are pitched at exactly that age.
2. Tattershall Lakes, Lincolnshire: the budget winner
Run by Away Resorts and built around eight lakes in the Lincolnshire countryside, Tattershall changes the character of the holiday completely. Forget woodland: this is a watersports park.
What you get: jet skiing, wakeboarding, paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing on the lakes, plus high ropes, archery and axe throwing on land. There is an indoor pool, outdoor pools, a splash area and a man-made beach with an entertainment zone. Accommodation runs from basic caravans up to lodges with private hot tubs overlooking the water, plus a few novelty options including The Rockstar, which is exactly as subtle as it sounds.
Price reality: off-peak caravan stays have been listed from £30 a night in January 2027 (two night minimum). Hot tub lodges by the water cost more but still undercut an equivalent Center Parcs lodge, and midweek and term time prices drop further still.
The catch: it is louder and more entertainment led than Center Parcs, with evening shows and themed weekends. Some families love that. If you want silence and trees, look at Forest Holidays instead.
Best for: older kids and teens who would swap forest walks for jet skis without a second thought, and anyone for whom price decides it.
3. Landal: Darwin Forest, Sandybrook and Cornwall
Landal GreenParks is the Dutch holiday park group behind some of the best lodge parks in the UK. On October half term dates, a two bed Landal lodge in Cornwall was £557 for the week against £2,528 at Whinfell. That is the biggest like for like saving we found anywhere.
Landal Darwin Forest, Peak District: 47 acres of woodland near Matlock, still run day to day by the Grayson family who built it. The lodges are proper log cabins made locally in Bakewell, reviewers regularly say they beat the Center Parcs equivalents, and many have hot tubs. On site there is an indoor pool, two soft play areas, archery, bike hire, mini golf and a restaurant. The real difference is the approach: Center Parcs is designed so you never leave, while Darwin Forest is a base. Your car stays by the lodge, and Chatsworth and the Heights of Abraham are a short drive away.
Landal Sandybrook, near Ashbourne: a similar feel on the southern edge of the Peaks, dog friendly, and around 40 minutes from Alton Towers, which is either a selling point or a warning depending on your children.
Best for: families who want lodge comfort with a national park on the doorstep, and anyone in the north west or Midlands.
4. Forest Holidays: the cheaper choice if you skip the pool
Forest Holidays runs 13 small cabin sites inside Forestry England woodland, from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands. One is in Sherwood Forest itself, a few miles from where Center Parcs opened its first UK village.
The big difference: there are no swimming pools. None. Instead you get a cabin surrounded by trees, a private hot tub on the deck of most cabins as standard, and a wood burner, on a site small enough to walk across in ten minutes. A handful of activities run from the Forest Retreat hub, but the product here is peace and quiet.
Price reality: prices vary a lot by site and cabin, so compare your exact dates. The trick most people miss is Tesco Clubcard: vouchers can cover up to 25% of the cabin price.
Best for: families who, if they are honest, only use the Center Parcs pool once anyway. Also one of the best options for dog owners.
5. Parkdean Resorts: the cheapest formula
With more than 60 parks, Parkdean is the budget volume option, and most of its sites are classic seaside caravan parks rather than anything like Center Parcs. A few punch well above that.
The standouts: Warmwell in Dorset is set in woodland near Weymouth and has an indoor pool with a flume and wave machine, a 110m Snowflex ski slope and a roller rink. Nodes Point on the Isle of Wight has direct access to a sandy beach. Trecco Bay in South Wales is regularly rated one of the best in the group for facilities.
Price reality: this is where the cheap breaks live. Caravan holidays can come in at a third of a Center Parcs week or less, especially in the regular flash sales. Deposits start at £25 on bookings over £200 made at least 16 weeks ahead, so you can lock in a summer price early.
The catch: quality varies across the estate, so read recent reviews for your exact park.
Best for: maximum holiday for minimum money, if you are relaxed about it feeling like a holiday park rather than a forest resort.
6. Haven: the cheapest seaside version
Haven runs around 40 coastal parks and sells two different products, which is worth knowing before you book. A standard Haven holiday includes the pools, activities and entertainment, and is the version that competes with Center Parcs. Haven Hideaway is cheaper but only includes the accommodation and restaurants, with no access to the facilities, which rather defeats the point.
Price reality: off-peak Haven is very cheap. A four night March 2027 break at Weymouth Bay for a family of four in a two bed saver caravan worked out at around £3 per person per night. Paid activities are typically a few pounds a go rather than double figures.
The standout: Hafan y Môr in North Wales is the park most often mentioned as having outdoor activities to rival Center Parcs.
Best for: budget families who want a coastal break with plenty laid on, and one of the easier options for taking the dog.
7. Sandy Balls, New Forest: the southern all rounder
Yes, the name. Everyone makes the joke, the kids will make it all week, and the park has heard them all. Sandy Balls Holiday Village has been running in New Forest woodland for over a century and is now part of Away Resorts.
What you get: indoor and outdoor pools, woodland lodges and caravans with hot tubs, cycle trails, archery, forest laser tag, a spa, and Paultons Park (home of Peppa Pig World) about 15 minutes away. For a certain age of child, that last one beats anything Center Parcs offers.
Price reality: like most Away Resorts parks, the best value is midweek and in term time, when a hot tub lodge here generally costs less than the Center Parcs equivalent.
Best for: families in the south who want the woodland feel without driving to Wales or the Midlands, and anyone with a Peppa fan at home.
8. Ribby Hall Village, Lancashire: the northern pool option
If you are in the north west and want a pool, Ribby Hall is the nearest thing to Center Parcs without the drive to Whinfell. It sits in 130 acres at Wrea Green, ten minutes from the beaches at Blackpool and Lytham St Annes, with cottages and lodges (the biggest sleeps 14), a swimming pool, soft play, a spa, a nine hole golf course and several bars and restaurants.
Price reality: the big win is the drive as much as the price. The large lodges work well for two families sharing, which brings the cost per head well below a Center Parcs lodge.
Best for: families in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire, and multi family trips.
9. Butlins: the most included in the price
Butlins is not a forest retreat, so go in with the right expectations. It is three seaside resorts, at Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, built around shows, fairground rides and Splash Waterworld. What it does better than Center Parcs is include things. The waterpark is in the price at all three resorts, as is most of the daytime and evening entertainment, where at Center Parcs nearly every activity is extra.
Price reality: 2027 breaks have been on sale with up to 30% off, with four night midweek breaks from £39. The lakeside chalets with balconies at Minehead are the upgrade worth looking at.
The catch: it is busy and loud, and the rooms and chalets are simple. You are paying for what happens outside them.
Best for: younger kids who love shows, slides and characters, and parents tired of paying for every activity.
Which cheaper alternative is right for you?
If this is you | Go here |
|---|---|
Children under 7 | Bluestone |
Teens who want jet skis | Tattershall Lakes |
You mainly go for the pool | Bluestone, Warmwell or Ribby Hall |
You barely use the pool | Forest Holidays |
Taking the dog | Forest Holidays, Landal Sandybrook or Haven (Bluestone is pet free) |
Live in the north west | Landal Darwin Forest or Ribby Hall |
Live in the south | Sandy Balls or Warmwell |
Tightest possible budget | A Haven or Parkdean caravan, off-peak |
You want the entertainment included | Butlins |
How to make any of these even cheaper
Avoid the last week of August. Moving a Whinfell week from late August to the first week of September 2027 drops it from £2,228 to £1,208.
Use inset days and odd term dates. A week in early July, before most schools break up, can be hundreds cheaper.
Go midweek. Monday to Friday breaks are almost always cheaper than weekends.
Share a big lodge. Two families in one four bed lodge pay far less per head than two separate lodges.
Bring your own. Bikes, towels, food and fire logs from a supermarket on the way in.
Pay with points. Tesco Clubcard vouchers work on Forest Holidays.
Or book the real thing abroad. Center Parcs UK and Center Parcs Europe are separate companies, and the continental parks price very differently. For the last week of August 2027, a two bed lodge at Les Ardennes in Belgium is about £1,032, or £1,452 with flights for four: £1,156 less than Woburn. Book through the local Belgian or Dutch site, which is often cheaper than the English one for the same lodge.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest alternative to Centre Parcs?
For a lodge and activities break, Tattershall Lakes in Lincolnshire, with off-peak caravans from £30 a night in January 2027. For the absolute cheapest break, an off-peak Haven or Parkdean caravan beats everything.
What is the closest place to Centre Parcs but cheaper?
Bluestone in Pembrokeshire. It has woodland lodges, a water park and a car-free village, and on matched September dates it cost £538 against £1,228 at Sherwood.
Is Bluestone cheaper than Center Parcs?
Usually, yes, and more is included once you are there. Playgrounds, soft play and village events are free at Bluestone, so the real gap is bigger than the lodge price suggests.
Is Butlins cheaper than Center Parcs?
Usually, and more is included. Splash Waterworld and most of the entertainment come in the price at all three resorts, and 2027 midweek breaks have been on sale from £39.
Are there places like Centre Parcs in the north of England?
Yes. Landal Darwin Forest in the Peak District and Ribby Hall Village in Lancashire both have pools and lodges, and save north west families the drive to Whinfell.
Is there a dog friendly Centre Parcs alternative?
Forest Holidays, Landal Sandybrook and most Haven parks take dogs. Bluestone does not allow pets at all.
Is Center Parcs in Europe cheaper than the UK?
Often by a lot. A late August 2027 week at Les Ardennes in Belgium works out £1,156 cheaper than Woburn, even after £420 of flights for a family of four.
When is Center Parcs cheapest?
Term time, midweek and late deals. A Whinfell week in the first week of September 2027 is £1,020 cheaper than the week before.
Why is Center Parcs so expensive?
Demand. The UK villages run close to full in the school holidays and have little reason to discount, which is exactly why the alternatives above are worth a look.
Before you book
Prices in this guide were checked in October 2026 against operator listings and published comparisons. Holiday park prices move daily, so always confirm on the operator's site before booking. If you have stayed at any of these parks, we would love to publish your story: every TravelPen review comes from a real trip.
Planning further ahead? Our UK family staycation guide covers five regions that work on a budget, and Eurocamp holidays for UK families is the next step up if Center Parcs Europe has you thinking about the continent. For evenings once the kids are down, here is what to do on holiday when the kids are asleep.