Kent with Kids: The 10 best indoor rainy day attractions!

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I’ve put together a list of the 10 best indoor attractions for kids in Kent, so if you’re looking for something to do on a chilly or rainy day then you’ve come to the right place. It can be so hard to entertain the kids with the good old British weather can’t it? I’ve included lots of activities for older kids as well, as it can be even trickier to amuse them once they get too old for play-centres! These activities are perfect for keeping the kids amused over the winter months, on wet weekends and during the school holidays – when summer doesn’t always show up! Check out my mini reviews – from indoor golf, to ninja courses, castles, roller skating, pool inflatables, family bowling discounts, cinema deals and more – I’ve got you and the kids covered! So, here are our favourite rainy day indoor attractions to keep the kids busy in Kent whatever the weather:

1. Lost Island Indoor Adventure Golf Margate, Kent

We stumbled across Lost Island indoor crazy golf after a day out in nearby Broadstairs turned wet! It’s actually deceivingly larger than it looks from the outside, and a real gem if you want to play crazy golf when our British summer has other ideas! The 18 hole crazy golf course is engaging and well thought out – it starts off easier and gets trickier near the end, but it’s not too challenging and the whole family can have a go. We all really enjoyed it. (Address: Flamingo Arcade, 17 Marine Gardens, Margate CT9 1XJ)

2. Kent Roller Disco

Finn and Lola often go to Kent Roller Disco which runs from various venues around the county – the kids really enjoy it and it’s an inexpensive way to pass a chilly or rainy afternoon! The discos are held in large halls or venues, with a DJ and disco lights to make it fun. Skates can be rented from the roller disco from children’s size 10, to adult’s size 12 – so it’s suitable for all ages once the kiddies have big enough feet and are comfortable taking part. The price (£7-£9 depending on the location) includes all safety gear (helmets and knee / elbow / wrist pads) and skate hire, but you can also wear your own if you’d prefer. Each disco lasts 90 minutes which is plenty of time to wear the kids out indoors! I’d highly recommend Kent Roller Disco – it’s great fun and much cheaper than lots of other kids’ activities!

3. Hyperspace Laser Tag, Folkestone, Kent

Hyperspace Laser Tag is a 3,000 square foot indoor Laser Tag arena – and it’s blooming good fun for adults and kids! The arena has high and low areas, places to hide and lots of different routes to take – it’s the perfect place to have family fun when the weather is rubbish. Finn and Lola love it! Hyperspace is suitable for children aged 8 and above, over 1.2m. And, if the grown ups would prefer to have a rest while the kids play, then there’s a cafe with a viewing screen available. Scores are recorded for teams and individuals – so everyone can get super competitive and check those out afterwards! (Address: Unit 3, Centurion Park, Caesar’s Wy, Folkestone CT19 4AH)

4. Dover Leisure Centre Swimming Pool Inflatables, Kent

The pool inflatable session at Dover District Leisure Centre is one of the best things to do indoors in Kent with kids on a rainy day! (Or just any day really! 😂 Finn and Lola love it!) It runs on weekends and school holidays, and is available for children age 5 and up. (All children are given a life-jacket to wear making it absolutely fine for the younger ones even if they aren’t yet confident swimmers.) The lifeguards are always really friendly and helpful – and fun too, chucking buckets of water over the kids which they think is hilarious! The pool is also well kept and clean, and my children both say that it’s warmer than other pools that we’ve been to which is a bonus!

Sessions are £11.50pp – each session is an hour long, allowing for a 15 minute safety briefing and 45 minutes on the equipment. Children under 8 must be accompanied by someone age 16+ but kids over the age of 8 can use the equipment unattended. Parents are able to watch from a seating area overlooking the pool – so if your kids are a little older then you can relax in peace whilst they have fun! The leisure centre is also home to a Clip n Climb and other sporting facilities (things like badminton) if you want a whole day of indoor entertainment! (Address: Fitness Fields, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3FZ)

5. Kidz Planet Soft Play, Folkestone, Kent

My two spent a large chunk of their younger years having loads of fun at Kidz Planet soft play in Folkestone. (It’s right next door to Hyperspace Laser Tag too if you’ve got little and older ones to amuse.) My two are now too big for it, but if you’ve got a child aged around 10 and under then it’s a brilliant option for indoor fun. The huge warehouse has a massive soft play area with tunnels and slides for the older ones, a smaller area for toddlers, a drop slide, a cafe, a ball pit and a rocket train ride. Each session is a couple of hours, so you can head home afterwards knowing that the kids are well worn out – and (before I had to go gluten-free) this was always my favourite place to get a cheese toastie – Kidz Planet toasties are the best! 😂 (Address: Unit 1-2, Centurion Park, Caesar’s Wy, Folkestone CT19 4AH)

6. Chatham Bowl, Kent

Bowling is a great way to pass the time on a rainy day – and it’s an activity that the whole family can enjoy too! There are plenty of different bowling alleys in Kent, and I have to admit that we’ve often used the Hollywood Bowl in Ashford as it’s not too far to travel, but I’ve included Chatham Bowl in my top ten because I recently discovered that they do a really good family bowling offer, and we had a brilliant time! Available all day everyday, use their drop down menu when booking (select latest offers) to book a family hour for £25 (+ £5pp for extra kids). This makes it more affordable than many other bowling alleys, though lots of them offer food options too – so be sure to check out the offers section wherever you choose to book. (Address: The Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham)

7. Ninja Warrior Adventure Park, Chatham, Kent

Ninja Warrior UK in Chatham, Kent, is child heaven and it’s one of the best indoor attractions for occupying the kids on a rainy day. It’s basically a giant warehouse filled with a huge inflatable obstacle course, and there’s also a ninja assault course which reminds me of the gladiator TV show! Finn and Lola were exhausted and super sweaty by the time they’d finished their two hour stint – it’s 2 hours for the price of 1 on a Sunday evening – but they really loved it and it’s a great way to wear the kids out! They happily went straight to bed when we got home! 😂 Ninja Warrior is suitable for children aged 5 and above, though under 8s should be accompanied. It’s a great place for the kids to let off steam when the weather’s rubbish, and good fun for teens and adults too! (Address: Maritime, Chatham ME4 4LL)

8. Tenterden Leisure Centre, Kent

Tenterden Swimming Pool is a great place to hide out from bad weather – with waves and a flume as well as the pool, it’s one of my children’s favourite places to swim. They have family changing areas too, which makes things easier with the kids, and shallower play areas for toddlers. Tenterden pool is a good option for entertaining the whole family. If the weather brightens up, there’s also a brilliant play park just before the turning for the leisure centre, so you could pack up a picnic and make a day of it if you’re lucky enough to get a bit of sunshine too! Photo taken from the pool’s own website. (Address: Recreation Ground Rd, Tenterden TN30 6RA)

9. Dover Castle, Kent

Kent’s Dover Castle is actually a pretty good rainy day attraction – the vast castle itself is interesting to explore, and can be a good place to shelter with the kids from the wet weather. If you’ve got an English Heritage membership you’ll be able to visit at no extra cost (family passes are around £10 each month), and if not Blue Peter Badges will give free entry to the children to make your day out more affordable. The best bit about Dover Castle has to be the wartime tunnels – whilst they aren’t suitable for younger children they are really engaging and immersive if you have slightly older children or teens to entertain. We’ve been into the tunnels several times and it never fails to be interesting! Check out my Dover Castle article for all the details. (Address: Castle Hill Road, Dover CT16 1HU)

10. Kent Cinemas

There are lots of cinemas in Kent, so if the weather is bad then snuggling up to watch a movie might be a good option. Here’s how to visit Kent cinemas on a budget:

Cineworld offer family deals which can make tickets a bit cheaper. Alternatively, the ‘movies for junior’ showings are just a few pounds, or use your Tesco Clubcard Vouchers to see a movie for free. Rochester Cineworld and Dover Cineworld generally have cheaper ticket prices than the Ashford branch too, so compare prices between the different cinemas before you book.
The Ashford Cinema has fantastic comfy sofas, and they offer a family ticket for £25 for a family of four to make cinema trips more affordable.
Folkestone Cinema is a lovely little independent cinema which offers tickets for just £5.50 each.
There are also Odeon cinemas in Chatham and Maidstone. If you have Amazon Prime, you can get two tickets for £10 on Monday-Thursday screenings once a month with Odeon – which could be good for cheap school holiday entertainment.
Meerkat Movies offer 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Tuesday and Wednesday – and you can get this deal for about £1 by buying the cheapest qualifying insurance policy through Compare the Market. Grab an insurance that you don’t need (like a 1 day travel insurance) and you’ll benefit from the 2 for 1 deal for a year.
Kids Pass have up to 30% off cinema tickets year round.

How can I save on the big attractions?

If you want to enjoy some pricier days out, never pay full price for your adventures with the kids without having a good hunt around for the best offers! Lots of reward schemes and discount providers offer brilliant savings to make your family adventures more budget-friendly, so here are some ways to save money on paid attractions when you’re out and about with the kids:

lovetovisit.co.uk: The ‘Love to Visit’ website offers discounted tickets for family-friendly days out with the kids all over the UK – so it’s worth checking their current prices for your favourite attractions before you book.
Tesco Clubcard points: Lots of popular attractions are part of the Tesco reward scheme so save your points and you could visit for free!
National Rail 2-for-1 offers: If you’re travelling by train you can get 1/3 off or 2 for 1 tickets on loads of attractions when booked through the National Rail 2 for 1 scheme.
English Heritage: English Heritage memberships can be a great investment; once you’ve signed up you can use them time and time again for free days out. Payments can be made monthly so that they don’t seem too overwhelming – family memberships are usually about a tenner each month.

Kids Pass: You can sign up to a Kid’s Pass trial for just £1 to access discounts on days out and eating out all over the UK.
Supermarket promotions: Cereal brands like Kelloggs run promotions for discounted tickets (things like 2 for 1 tickets) for days out with the kids by purchasing specially-marked boxes so look out for these in the supermarket.
Blue Peter Badges: Blue Peter Badges are awesome because the kids can get in for free at over 200 UK attractions – literally halving the cost of your family days out! You can use them at places like ZSL London Zoo, The Tower of London, the HMS Belfast, The Heights of Abraham, The Eden Project, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, The London Bridge Experience and loads of other places – read more about it here: How can my child get a Blue Peter Badge?
Multi-attraction tickets: Look for combination tickets to get the best deals. For instance, Merlin have five main London attractions, with each typically priced at around £30pp, but book a multi-attraction ticket and it’s so much more affordable. You get 90 days to enjoy your chosen attractions so it’s worth buying in bulk – their 5 attraction deal works out at less than £12 per attraction!

Merlin Annual Pass: With a Merlin Annual Pass you can access absolutely loads of attractions including: Alton Towers, Chessington, LEGOLAND Windsor and Thorpe Park; indoor fun like SEA LIFE centres, Shrek’s Adventure!, The London Eye and Madame Tussauds; and historical and immersive experiences like Warwick Castle, The Dungeons and even Cadbury World. Kids under 90cm go free and you can check out all of the pass options and what’s included here: Are Merlin Annual Passes worth it and which pass is best?

Travelling in Kent with the kids?

If you’re in the South East, kids can travel on the train for just a quid – making getting away, or having days out, so much more affordable. For all of the info you need on how to benefit from this deal, check out my post on Southeastern Rail. And, for even more fun with the kids in Kent, take a look at these articles too: