Action packed family fun with Haven

So like millions of others we decided this would be the Summer of the staycation and after the year we’d had a caravan on the coast sounded like paradise.

We jumped at the opportunity to visit Haven’s Hopton Holiday Village on the Norfolk coast, just south of Great Yarmouth and see what this family friendly resort had to offer.

It was our very first caravan holiday as a family of three and we quickly settled into our prestige two-bedroom caravan with a spacious open- plan kitchen/living area, decking and charming seaside decor.

We were excited to see what the site had to offer with the promise of everything parents needed to keep their little ones entertained right on the doorstep.

A spacious heated indoor pool complete with a flume slide, an outdoor pool, soft play area, amusements, day and night time entertainment at the Marina Bar and just a hop, skip and a jump to the beach.

We had already pre-booked a number of activities to enjoy during our stay and my four-year-old daughter Primrose was keen to get stuck into the first activity of the holiday ‘Seaside Slime’. Mixing glitter glue and the secret solution she was thrilled to see her gelatinous substance take shape.

Other activity highlights included sand art, a nature trail around the picturesque caravan site and numerous dips in the swimming pool.

In fact the furthest we ventured was a two minute drive across the holiday park to access the beautiful secluded beach where we enjoyed surfing, sand castle making and sandy ham sandwiches. We even enjoyed some British sunshine to boot – a real bonus!

We only scratched the service of the activities on offer but families are spoilt for choice with Segways, mini golf, den building, go-karting and more.

Staff at the site were friendly and went above and beyond to ensure Covid safety measures were maintained in a relaxed manner. Restrictions meant a lot of activities and swimming slots had to be pre-booked to avoid disappointment but ensured we could enjoy the activities without feeling overcrowded.

I was dubious what that children’s entertainment would be like on an evening but found it was the perfect mix of audience participation and child friendly shows with a bit of family bingo thrown in for good measure.

Primrose was thrilled when we won the prize for a line at Bingo and she ran onto the stage to pick up her bag of Haven mascot teddies.

A nice covid friendly touch in the Marina Bar was table service – ordering drinks and takeaway pizza or fish and chips from the app meant we could sit back and enjoy the shows.

The arcade was also a regular haunt for us and we went wild reliving our youth playing on 2p machines and teddy grabbers. In fact winning tokens became our daily obsession.

We were thrilled at the end of the holiday to trade them in for a teddy octopus, slime, sweets and a make your own magnet kit – quite the loot considering a lollipop required 100 tokens.

Haven now offers two separate packages at all their sites so you can create a tailor made holiday to suit your needs. For those wanting to access all the activities and facilities the site has to offer, the pricier Stay and Play package is the way to go. With the Stay and Play package you get a prestigious Play Pass, which gives you the chance to pre-book a range of free and paid for activities, tables at food venues and entertainment, and swimming pool slots.

For those without children or families who prefer the idea of using a caravan as a base to explore the surrounding area, Haven now offers a basic Stay package. The Stay package gives you access to accommodation and dining on site and the flexibility to do your own thing when it comes to making holiday memories.

For a full list of price options and to find out more visit haven.com or call 0333 202 5250 for details.