The Ultimate Butlins Bognor Regis Holiday Guide & Review

Table of Contents

Welcome to the ultimate Butlins Bognor Regis holiday guide and review. As we snuggle up back at home after yet another fun week at Butlins, I thought I’d give some insight into why we’ve been so many times, answer questions you might have and add some money saving tips to make your trip more affordable too. So, are Butlins holidays good? My kids would say absolutely – Finn and Lola want to go back every year! 😂 In my guide, I’ve added photos (old and new) of our Butlins Bognor Regis holidays, a review of the different accommodation types and as much info as possible to help with your stay.

Make sure you also check out my Butlins Minehead Review – as well as my ‘Which Butlins is best?‘ guide – if you’re trying to decide between Butlins Bognor Regis and the other resorts. This Butlins Bognor Regis guide / review is based on our experiences, and I’ll be answering questions like: is Butlins expensive; which activities are included for free, how can you prebook shows; is Butlins Bognor Regis dog friendly; when / how can you check in; what’s the Butlins PlayXperience like; which accommodation is best? And lots more!

Last trip: November 2024 (Updated 2025)

Where is Butlins Bognor Regis?

If you’re looking for a seaside escape with plenty to keep the kids entertained, Butlins is a fun option for a family holiday. Butlins Bognor Regis is in West Sussex, on the South Coast of England. It’s right by the seafront, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds — from traditional beach fun to all the exciting on-site activities Butlins is famous for. Getting there is pretty straightforward too, whether you’re driving or taking public transport. By car, it’s just off the A29 and has plenty of parking available. If you’re travelling by train, Bognor Regis railway station is only 2 miles from the resort (about a five minute taxi ride) and there are regular connections from London and other major cities.

What is there to do at Butlins Bognor Regis?

We’ve been to Butlins Bognor Regis at least seven times now – I’ve lost count – Finn and Lola absolutely adore it because it’s essentially kid heaven! There’s so much on offer to entertain the kids day and night – there’s really no getting bored on a Butlins break – get ready for a jam-packed schedule! And, there’s something at Butlins for kids of all ages – though I think Bognor Regis is likely the best Butlins site for teenagers, or for families looking to occupy children of varied ages.

First up, the Splash Waterworld is an absolute must! The little ones will love the shallow play areas, while the bigger kids (and more adventurous parents) can zoom down the flumes and splash about in the wave pool. It’s great fun whatever the weather, and it’s included in the price, so there’s no need to spend extra! The Skyline Pavilion is the heart of the action – with live shows, soft play and arcades to keep the kids entertained. There are loads of family-friendly shows throughout the day, from singalongs to character performances. There are several options and stages for the evening entertainment too – and these shows are perfect for when you’ve worn the kids out and just want to relax with a drink.

If you’re a fan of fairgrounds, Butlins has its own traditional funfair and the rides are free – it’s a great way to fill an afternoon without spending an extra penny. (Though my two love hiring the pedal and petrol go-karts as well!) And their new PlayXperience building has recently opened too – so keep reading for more info on that – it has loads of activities including VR, laser tag and escape rooms. Plus, let’s not forget the beach – Butlins Bognor Regis is right on the seafront if you fancy a paddle in the summer months.

How much is a holiday at Butlins Bognor Regis – is it expensive or good value for money?

I actually think a holiday at Butlins Bognor Regis can be great value for money, as long as you avoid the summer holidays – where the cost can be on par with a trip abroad. The other school holidays are generally a lot more reasonably priced, and term-time breaks are super cheap. The great thing about Butlins is that the holiday price includes so much. It can easily cost £100 for a family day out at a castle or to visit a zoo, but you get a lot for your money in comparison when you book a Butlins break – and there are no ‘per person’ prices either! Our latest stay (November 2024) cost us just £89 for a Monday-Friday stay in a 3 bedroom comfort apartment which slept 7. This was literally £5.50pp per night for our family of four – which is insanely good value for money given how many free activities are also included.

If you can get an inexpensive deal, you do get a lot of bang for your buck. Having said that, I think for the quality of the accommodation (some of which could do with a revamp) and the fact that some areas of the site felt a bit tired and neglected on our last visit to Butlins Bognor Regis, I could never justify the high summer holiday prices. For us it’s cheap and cheerful and good fun for the kids. If you can find a bargain week (we’ve got friends who booked for £50-£60 for a Mon-Fri this year!) then a stay at Butlins can be incredible value for money – and it’s blooming good fun too! 😍

Which activities and rides are free at Butlins?

As I mentioned above, there are so many activities included in the price at Butlins Bognor Regis, so you can visit knowing that you won’t need to spend a fortune when you get there – in fact you could get away with spending nothing extra at all just by bringing your own food. You can go on the rides or visit the pool etc as many times as you like without spending a penny so it really is every kid’s (and parents!) dream! Free activities at Butlins Bognor Regis include:

A fairground with loads of rides – my two love the bumper cars!
A fantastic pool complex with slides, flumes and a lazy river.
Craft activities
Puppet shows
Evening entertainment shows
Soft play
Indoor rides
Silent Cinema
Daytime shows for the younger ones

There are also loads of new activities in the PlayXperience building – which I’ve included further down. We usually let the kids do a couple of paid activities, and then for the rest of the time we make the most of the freebies! They adore the petrol go-karts (£7 per kart) now that they’re tall enough to drive themselves! Paid activities include:

Arcades
Go karts
Bowling
Adventure golf
Kid’s driving school
Aerial adventures
Laser tag
Archery
Pottery painting

What’s the new PlayXperience building like – which activities are on offer?

We were actually really impressed with the new PlayXperience building at Butlins Bognor Regis and thought that the prices for the activities on offer were pretty reasonable. If you’re visiting in the winter when it’s cold (or just any time of year in the UK since it rains so much! 😂) it’s really handy having so many indoor activities for the kids to enjoy. The activities in the new Bognor Regis PlayXperience building include:

Tech golf
Laser tag
Escape rooms
VR room
Glow Pong
A batting cage area
Shuffle board
Neo games
Digi darts

The PlayXperience activities at Butlins run on a token based system – with different activities costing different amounts – the prices are cheaper before you arrive on site so it’s worth pre-planning which you might like to do in advance. It does also say that different holiday dates may impact these prices too – but here’s what we paid during our November 2024 stay:

Finn and Lola did the laser tag (1 token) and the neon golf (1 token), other activities like the VR room were 2 tokens for an hour, and the escape rooms were 4 tokens for up to 6 people. We bought the tokens in advance so that meant that the activities my kids did were £6.15pp which we thought was good value for money. It also means that you can do an escape room for around £20 per family (4 tokens) which is so much cheaper than they are usually! However, these were all fully booked when we visited so we couldn’t try one unfortunately – so make sure you book it in as soon as you can as they’re really popular.

The PlayXperience building is themed in a very ‘cool’ way which I think really appeals to teenagers too (as will the types of activities on offer) so whilst younger ones can also enjoy it, I think it’s great for the older ones to have lots to keep them occupied. It’s definitely made Bognor Regis Butlins even better for children of all ages, and as I said before it’s probably the best Butlins site for a holiday with teenagers. All of the PlayXperience activities can be booked really quickly and easily on the Butlins app – once you’ve got your tokens you can just select the activities and time slots that you want. Though, there’s also a reception desk in the building if you need any help.

The PlayXperience building also has a large bar area and a large cafe too, as well as benches in the hallways near activities like the laser tag. Being able to grab a cuppa in peace in the cafe was really handy whilst the kids were busy in the laser tag so, particularly if you’ve got older ones who are happy to amuse themselves, it makes for a relaxing break for us parents too!

What’s the Butlins Bognor Regis swimming pool like?

Bognor Regis’ Splash Waterworld swimming complex is the best we’ve come across on a UK holiday; there are so many slides, flumes and play areas, and multiple pools – one with waves too. The kids spend hours in there every day when we’re away, and have to be dragged out! It’s definitely one of their favourite reasons to visit Butlins, and as we usually visit over the winter it’s a great way for them to have fun whilst staying warm!

What’s the entertainment like at Butlins Bognor Regis?

In our experience the evening entertainment at Butlins is pretty good, and they have several shows a night to choose from. The standard is much higher than other UK holidays and caravan breaks we’ve had in the past. My son loved the wrestling night – and tickets outside of Butlins for the four of us would be around £50 if this was a paid show. There’s also a year round pantomime, a silent cinema and tons of other shows. In the past the entertainment changed fairly regularly too, so you could have a different experience each time you visit, but for our last few trips it has been quite repetitive, so that’s something to consider if you’re visiting multiple times.

For our last three visits the shows have been almost identical – so we snuck out to Bognor Regis Cinema for one evening as it’s only five minutes away and the tickets are really cheap – about £4pp. Having said that, we’ve been lucky enough to see the fabulous Cirque du Hilarious show (which would also cost upwards of £50 for a family of four), Diversity, The Animal Guyz (Animals vs Dinosaurs) and also Andy and the Odd Socks, whose songs the children were still singing a year later! 😂

We’ve found that the entertainment is generally better during the school holidays than during the Christmas Fantasy or term-time breaks, so that’s something think about. Although, we love The Animal Guyz who we’ve been fortunate enough to see on a couple of our trips. And, Lola had a great boogie to the Abba tribute band – she’s a big Mamma Mia fan! Our Easter Holiday break probably had the best shows, looking back on our different visits. The summer holidays are filled with big names and the bigger budget shows (things like Stephen Mulhern and the Masked Singer) but these come at a premium because the summer break is a lot more expensive than the rest of the year – we’ve never visited at that time of year.

How / when can we book the shows and activities at Butlins?

Butlins will email you 4 weeks before your break to enable you to see which shows and activities will be available during your stay. On their app, you’ll then able to book time slots for the shows and craft / sport activities etc and plan what you’d like to do, and when, before your visit. Don’t worry if you change your mind though, you can cancel and re-book other show times etc easily on the app. We’ve never had an issue with over-subscribed evening entertainment, but it’s worth noting that the free activities (things like craft) get booked up very quickly so they’re definitely something to sort as soon as you receive the email. Everything you’ve booked can viewed on the app throughout the trip, and you’ll just need to show the applicable QR code on each booking when you enter for the shows / activities.

When / how can we check in / out at Butlins Bognor Regis?

Check in will either be 3pm or 4pm, dependent on your particular booking, but you can basically arrive at Butlins Bognor Regis at whatever time you like from 1pm on check-in day, and then use the facilities until your accommodation is ready. (Pack a separate swimming bag and you can pop to the pool!) Check-in at Butlins Bognor Regis is a super easy ‘drive through’ service, where you’ll be given everything you need for your break. And, when it’s time to check out, simply post the key into the check out box at the exit when you leave. Check out time is 10am.

When’s the best time to visit Butlins?

As well as my review of our Butlins Bognor Regis breaks, I thought I’d add a little guide on what the costs might look like at different times of the year. The best thing about Butlins is that there’s so much to do indoors, this means that you’re guaranteed to have a good time even if the weather isn’t perfect – you can wait out the rain and have fun whilst you do so. Some of the Butlins sites are also cheaper than others, so just keep your eyes peeled for a great deal.

For school holiday bookings: After Christmas, they usually have special offers and school holiday times are included in these. The long weekend is also great, we did a three night stay for £220 one February half-term. For Easter half term a few years ago, we paid about £450 for a Mon-Fri stay. If you need to book a school holiday getaway, you can still do so affordably outside of the summer holidays.

For term-time bookings: If you’re able to go term time, you can visit Butlins very cheaply, and they have weeks which are just for tots (under fives) featuring acts like Justin Fletcher. Because our children are home educated, we’re fortunate to be able to benefit from very cheap breaks. You can easily book a Monday-Friday trip under £100 during term-time.

Christmas Fantasy breaks: The Christmas Fantasy breaks are for all ages – these run from late November through to the New Year. Christmas Day – New Year is expensive, but the earlier dates are cheaper. We’ve paid between £88 and £166 for a Mon-Fri silver apartment during November/December which is just amazing value for everything included.

Although it’s winter, there’s so much to do indoors that a bad weather day isn’t a prob. And, when it’s dry, just wrap up warm and make the most of the fairground. So, what’s Butlins Bognor Regis like at Christmas? With the Christmas lights and music playing in the fairground, alongside festive shows / activities we’ve found Butlins to be pretty magical. The children get a free Christmas gift and they usually have a snow storm in the centre, which Finn and Lola adored when they were younger!

Which accommodation is best at Butlins Bognor Regis?

To be honest, we’ve often just booked whatever’s cheapest at the time. 😂 At Bognor Regis, we’ve stayed in the silver rooms, the apartments a few times, and the Shoreline Hotel. They’ve recently changed their apartment names to Comfort / Comfort Plus, so I’ve included the old names and the new, and here are some photos so that you know what to expect from the accommodation.

The Shoreline Hotel

The Shoreline Hotel was fab and we really enjoyed it – the kids had a little bunk room and it was decorated beautifully. The whole room was really well thought out and spacious with blackout curtains too – there were some lovely extra touches for the children too such as a disco light and a pirate play wall. The rooms also have a small fridge, which helps if you’re self-catering, but generally staying in the hotel does make it harder. The hotels are definitely of a higher standard and better maintained than the apartments, and you can often book a room fairly cheaply too, but for those of us on a budget not having somewhere to prepare food makes them less practical and so for us we tend to book an apartment instead. (I don’t know what happened to the photo I took of the main hotel room but here’s the kids’ bunk area!)

The Silver Rooms

The Silver Rooms are perfectly doable but the space is tight and it’s quite basic – you get the bedrooms and a bathroom. Again, it’s fine for a cheap break away as you’ll only be sleeping there, but with no self-catering facilities that is something to think about. For the hotel and the silver rooms we’ve always taken a toaster with us, some cereal, carton milk, spoons and plastic bowls so that we could have a cheap breakfast in the room.

The New Style Silver Apartments – now Comfort

The apartments are a better option for stays longer than a weekend I think. Although it’s not as cool as the hotel (and we’ve found the apartments can be quite tatty from wear and tear) you get a kitchen and dining area, as well as a lounge area, so it’s easier to function as a family with the extra space. Plus, being able to prepare and cook meals is a big money saver. There are supermarkets nearby so you can grab a food shop and only eat out then if you want to. I’ve included some accommodation photos below from our 2023 Butlins Bognor Regis visit – there’s certainly no frills and they could use a bit of a makeover but the space is clean and functional, and perfectly adequate as a base for eating and sleeping. (Though these apartments and beds are smaller than in the silver accommodation.)

The Silver Apartments – now Comfort

We actually didn’t originally book a Silver Apartment, but there was a problem with our original accommodation so we were relocated on our 2023 holiday last year, and I wish we’d discovered these sooner. Our particular apartment had three bedrooms (sleeping 7), the rooms were all larger so the beds were full size and there was a lot more room to move around. It also had more seating etc which was fab as we usually visit with family and so tend to get together for meals. This apartment was also in better condition than the New Style Silver apartments, so we booked a Silver (Comfort) Apartment for our holiday this year too – they are similar in price but much more spacious, and it’s so much better to have 3 bedrooms so the kids don’t have to share now they’re older.

What’s included with the accommodation at Butlins Bognor Regis?

Inside the apartments, there will be a small welcome pack with things that are useful for a self-catering holiday – like a bin bag, dish cloth, washing up liquid and a tea towel. There are also some sachets of tea/coffee/sugar to get you started. (We always bring sellotape and extra bin bags to put up at the windows just in case the curtains are rubbish too!) We also had a bathroom hand towel, a hand soap and 4 toilet rolls in our apartment accommodation. Bed linen is included with all stays, and towels are included with all hotel stays.

Where should we eat – are the Butlins Bognor Regis dining plans worth it?

We’ve always self-catered so we haven’t used the dining plans offered. They seem pretty expensive to me – when we booked our recent Mon-Fri break they offered us a REDUCED price of nearly £300 for the four of us 🙄 – you can definitely feed yourselves for a lot less. If you’ve got the budget it’s probably a nice feature to have all of your meals catered for, though my friend wasn’t overly impressed with the quality of the food when they used the dining plan. But if you like a budget break away, like we do, then feeding yourselves will always be a winner!

Food wise, the normal restaurants are pretty decent and they’re priced similarly to chain restaurant type places. We sometimes eat out once or twice but generally cook our own food to save money. There are other cheaper options like pizza places, Burger King and fish and chips on site too. There are supermarkets close by so it’s easy to do a shop for the week and self-cater:

Butlins Bognor Regis to the nearest Morrisons is just half a mile so it’s only a three minute car journey or a 10-15 minute walk.
Butlins Bognor Regis to the nearest Tesco is around a five minute car journey.
Butlins Bognor Regis to the nearest Aldi is also around a five minute car journey.

The mini-supermarkets on site have a good range too – they’re not as cheap as your standard Aldi and Tesco prices, but they’re not extortionate either if you need a few bits. For lunch, they have reasonably priced hot food like sausage rolls and pasties in the shop, so that can make things more affordable if you fancy a day off from making sandwiches. For the evenings, take snacks and drinks with you to the entertainment. The prices are reasonable inside the venues, but you can’t beat multipack supermarket prices, so that saving would definitely add up over the week.

I spent £70 on a food shop for our meals, drinks and snacks (taking it all with us) on our last visit, and aside from £15 spent in the fish and chip shop, we didn’t venture into the supermarket nor buy any other food or drink on site for the whole trip. If you do want a night off from cooking, the most affordable dinner option on-site is likely to be from the chippie.

Can I bring my dog to Butlins Bognor Regis?

If you’re hoping to take your four-legged friend along for the family holiday, unfortunately Butlins Bognor Regis isn’t a dog friendly resort, with the exception of assistance dogs.

Can you visit Butlins Bognor Regis for the day?

If you’re staying locally, you can also visit Butlins Bognor Regis for the day – day visits start from £10 for children (2-14) and seniors (60+) and £17 for adults (15+). Prices may vary slightly depending on the season or special events, and it’s a good idea to book in advance online to ensure availability. The day pass gives you access from 10am to 6pm, and it includes unlimited rides at the fairground, access to Splash Waterworld and live daytime shows.

For more information, and prices for your Butlins Bognor Regis holiday, click here to head to the Butlins website. I hope my ultimate guide (and review!) to Butlins Bognor Regis has been helpful, and if you have any questions pop them in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer! 😊 If you’re still not sure which to pick check out my Butlins Minehead review or my comparison article: Which Butlins is best?