EXCLUSIVE Where should we take the kids? These are the most expensive family days out from Alton Towers to Legoland - so where will YOU go?
A MailOnline investigation can today reveal the shocking cost of parking at some of the country's most popular tourist attractions, with families forking out as much as £30 just to leave the car - on top of steep ticket prices.
At Legoland Windsor, a walk-up family ticket for four comes in at a staggering £272, before adding up to £18 just to park.
At Chessington World of Adventures, the gate price for a family of four reaches £264, plus £20 for an 'express' car space - taking the total to £284 for a single day.
It is a similar story at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where entry for four costs £156, with a further £20 to park at its North Car Park.
At Whipsnade Zoo, families who don't want to use a distant free parking area face a £30 charge for a space closer to the entrance.
Money and business expert Maddy Alexander-Grout, 41, said 'It's expensive enough to visit these theme parks without adding parking charges on top.
'Families are already stretched day to day with rising costs, so to then face a hefty parking fee feels like a hammer blow which prices many out.
'Attractions already make huge profits through ticket sales, food and drink, and adding parking charges just feels greedy. You're already spending so much once you're inside the park.
'I really think parking should be free as part of the experience. I'm lucky that at Paultons Park, just down the road from me in Southampton, parking is free - it makes a real difference and more attractions should follow that example.'
Standard parking at Alton Towers costs £12, but for a premium space, families must cough up £20. That is on top of £272 for four walk-in tickets.
Other Merlin-run destinations do not fare much better - with Thorpe Park charging up to £20 and Warwick Castle asking up to £10 for parking.
Meanwhile families in the UK could spend up to £65 on parking alone during day trips to the most popular visitor attractions, which do not have dedicated car parks.
The nearest private car park to Buckingham Palace costs £64.99 for an eight-hour Saturday stay, dwarfing the £38 charged near the British Museum, or £36 close to the Tower of London.
In Edinburgh, parking near the Castle or National Museum of Scotland could cost up to £40.
A few big-name attractions still offer free parking, including Chester Zoo, Flamingoland in North Yorkshire, and Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire.
In Northern Ireland, Titanic Belfast charges by the hour -with a full day and entry for four costing £78.60, though officials insist online deals could bring it down to £65.60 with early booking and shorter stays.
A spokesperson said: 'We continually benchmark parking prices across Belfast city to ensure that we are in-line with others.'
Many venues offer free or discounted entry for smaller children, and online ticket deals can help cut the cost.
ZSL, which runs Whipsnade Zoo, said it offers free parking in an off-site area and free entry for children under three.
For visitors to London Zoo, a spokesperson added: 'As well as supporting ZSL's conservation work at London Zoo and beyond, the car parking charge ensures the spaces in it are reserved for London Zoo's visitors.'
Merlin, which runs Thorpe Park, Chessington, Alton Towers and Legoland, said: 'We regularly review our prices to ensure that we continue to deliver the best possible value and experience for our guests.
'The prices quoted are our gate prices, however the overwhelming majority of guests book online in advance to get the best deal. A number of our attractions provide on-site parking, with prices in line with market standards.
'In 2024, we saw a further year-on-year increase in visitor numbers and our highest ever levels of guest satisfaction. We are confident that the vast majority of guests will continue to book in advance to get the best deals and have memorable days out at Merlin attractions.'
Catherine Warrilow, visitor attraction brand strategist at The Plot, told MailOnline: 'For many attractions, parking fees have become a vital source of revenue to cover rising costs ranging from maintenance and security to staff and insurance.
'Separating parking charges from ticket prices enables attractions to keep headline admission fees more competitive in a market where visitors shop around online for deals and discounts.
'It makes tickets also appear more affordable, even if the total cost tells another story
'However, for many families, the cost of parking is now the straw that breaks the camel's back on a supposedly fun day out.
'It's not just an annoyance, it's a major factor pricing people out of precious summer experiences - that's before you've even got to the restaurant or gift shop.'
Lavania Oluban, 38, a parenting blogger from Birmingham, West Midlands, and mother to Arlo, eight, said attractions' steep parking charges 'wind her up'.
She said: 'Even when you hunt for special offers or discounts, the hidden costs like parking really sting.
'What's worse is how unclear these charges often are online, so you don't even know the full cost until you arrive.
'It feels unfair when ticket prices are already sky-high and there's no real alternative, especially for theme parks or rural attractions where public transport just isn't practical.
'You'll get there and pay £20, only to be directed onto some boggy overflow field with no attendants.
'Then, at the end of a long day, you're exhausted, the kids are tired, and you end up stuck in a car park gridlock with no proper system to get out.
'It's hard to see how they justify these prices when the service doesn't match. It makes me more reluctant to spend money at these attractions and so I will take my own packed lunch and avoid the gift shop to claw some of that expense back.'
How much do some of Britain's top attractions really cost?
Attraction Tickets Parking Total
Alton Towers £272 £12-£20 £292
Legoland £272 £12-£18 £290
Thorpe Park £264 £12-£20 £284
Chessington World of Adventures £264 £12-£20 £284
Blackpool Pleasure Beach £156 £15-£20 £176
Warwick Castle £156 £7-£10 £166
Longleat Safari Park £157.30 Free £157.30
Eden Project £157 Free £157
Whipsnade Zoo £115.60 £30 £145.60
Tower of London £99 £36 £135
Chester Zoo £131.80 Free £131.80
London Zoo £114.20 £17.50 £131.70
Windsor Castle £105 £24 £129
Edinburgh Castle £77 £40 £117
Roman Baths, Bath £86 £13.90 £99.90
Titanic Belfast £68 £10.60 £78.60
Buckingham Palace Free £65 £65
British Museum Free £38 £38
National Museum of Scotland Free £36 £36
Parking for whole day or eight hours for attractions in italics, which are for parking closest to the site. Tickets are for two adults and two children.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
How to make Great British Railways a success
Before Labour ministers choose slick slogans for their new state-run trains they should recall Henry Ford's words: 'Nothing happens until somebody sells something.' Contrary to what some in the rail sector and Whitehall seem to think, rail services cannot exist without their passengers — what they want and what they are prepared to pay. A herculean effort to win more customers from the airlines and road users is essential. Britain's railways are at a watershed. Under privatisation, passenger journeys almost doubled. By the 2010s, private franchises were running three times as many trains between London and Manchester as the old British Rail (BR) had in the early 1990s. During the two decades between privatisation and the pandemic, passenger journeys increased by 107 per cent and services by 32 per cent. Passenger satisfaction in Britain was higher than for any other major European railway. Revenue increased by 145 per cent in real terms, compared with only a 16 per cent rise in operating costs, and £14 billion of private investment went into improving the train fleet. • Ministers heading for union clash in bid for hi-tech rail travel Privatisation introduced innovations in marketing, ticketing and operational efficiency. The volume of rail travel in Britain rose to a level not seen since the 1930s, on a network half the size and with a very good safety record. The pandemic was devastating for rail. It wasn't just that train travel collapsed during the lockdowns, requiring subsidies of £20.5 billion in 2023-24 prices) to cover losses. People's travel and working behaviour changed, probably for ever. Traditional flows of revenue from business travel, first class and five-day commuter season tickets, particularly in London and the southeast, have fallen away. In the year to March only 13 per cent of journeys were made using season tickets, compared with 34 per cent before the pandemic. Even though passenger numbers are close to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, revenue is still down by £1.4 billion, at 89.1 per cent. Passengers are paying less to travel outside the old peaks. The taxpayer continues to cover an unacceptably high annual subsidy of £12 billion for a sector that only delivers 2 per cent of all journeys taken by the public. Consequently, ministers must now prioritise growth as they prepare to introduce the bill to create the state-owned Great British Railways (GBR), almost 80 years after Clement Attlee first nationalised rail. Without a ruthless focus on what passengers want alongside a demand-led model, a spiral of decline — higher subsidy and fares — could easily take root. GBR risks being a solution in search of a problem and morphing into the ghost of BR unless ministers develop a viable long-term vision. New research from the Centre for Policy Studies highlights four key areas which, if supported, would deliver more passengers, more income and better services for passengers. • Great British Railways 'won't be run by civil servants' First, ministers should support a mixed model across the intercity high-speed network so GBR trains faces competition from non-subsidised 'open access' operators. For 25 years this model has successfully delivered passenger growth and satisfaction on the East Coast Main Line between London, the northeast and Scotland. It has meant better services, more routes, faster trains and cheaper tickets while also bringing more passengers to the route. This has led to new, popular rail operators entering the market, which has pushed the dominant, government-run train operator, LNER, to deliver better services for its customers. European railways that have copied this successful model have seen a 40 per cent increase in passengers and fare reductions of between 20 and 60 per cent. Second, GBR should not regulate itself, especially as the white paper proposes taking key sector powers away from the independent Office of Rail and Road. In no other regulated sector does the dominant market operator also control and deliver key elements of its own regulation, such as decisions on market access and charging. This could have huge implications for growth, open access and more rail freight. Only last week the environment secretary slammed the water companies for 'marking their own homework' and pledged to end 'operator self-monitoring'. But there is a risk that this will become the case on the railways. Third, GBR must adopt an unforgiving focus on making train travel as easy, cheap and user-friendly as possible, not least when designing a new GBR ticketing app to replace those of existing train companies. In addition to competing with popular ticketing sites it must be designed by the world's leading retail software companies rather than civil servants. GBR should deliver a 'Rail Miles' loyalty scheme, which is years overdue and could be linked with purchases made in the hospitality and retail sectors. • The Times View: Prejudice against private train operators is misguided Fourth, the vast 52,000-hectare railway estate can and must generate much more income. Commercial and residential development, renewable energy generation, light parcel freight, health hubs at stations alongside a higher-quality retail offer are all underused sources of income. We must learn from countries such as Japan, where railways earn at least one third of their revenue from non-ticket sources. Rail can and must be at the centre of Britain's industrial, employment, housing and regeneration strategies. The ghost of BR hangs over GBR. But if the passenger is put first and proven models are embraced then the future could be very different. Rail might not get another chance. Tony Lodge is a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies and author of Rail's Last Chance, published today by the CPS
Telegraph
21 hours ago
- Telegraph
As Med temperatures soar, prepare for underground hotels and air-conditioned beaches
With fans whirring and paddling pools filled across Britain, it seems strange to contemplate going somewhere even more sweltering to sightsee, or even just lie on a beach. But summer holiday tourism remains big business, despite unbearable temperatures becoming a regular occurrence across mainland Europe (in June 2025, it reached 46C in parts of Spain). According to figures from the European Commission, more than a third of all overnight stays on the Continent booked via online platforms in 2024 were during July and August. Faced with an influx of tourists and increasingly high temperatures, some countries have already been forced to take drastic action. At the beginning of July, with temperatures set to reach 38C in Athens, Greece's Ministry of Culture shut the Acropolis for the safety of staff and tourists, something they'd already been forced to do during 2024. In a sweltering France, the summit of the Eiffel Tower closed too. In years to come, operators, authorities and resorts will need to do more to keep holidaymakers cool, happy and safe. But what might that involve? New horizons Some operators are turning their back on the hottest destinations altogether. In February 2025, Accor announced that it was shelving plans to build new Fairmont and Raffles resorts on Mykonos, citing concerns over fires and water shortages. As areas such as northern France and Spain begin to seem more appealing, expect further development away from the Med's hottest points: a Raffles hotel is set to open on Lake Como in 2027. Tourists are already swapping Spain's southernmost reaches for the slightly cooler, lusher Costa Blanca. It means destinations such as Alicante are experiencing a surge in interest and could see a renaissance among British tourists. Cold comforts For hotels, just whacking up the air conditioning isn't the perfect solution to keeping guests cool. It will drive up their electricity bills, put a strain on local power grids and increase greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, some are exploring innovative ways to keep out the heat. At Crete's Tella Thera, a chic boutique hotel set to open in summer 2025, suites are semi-subterranean so they remain naturally cooler. Rooftop gardens act as natural insulators, reducing the heat absorbed by the buildings, and corridors are partly open to the elements for natural light and breezes. Developers could also look to the east – where innovative solutions to stifling temperatures have already taken root – for inspiration. At Singapore's Park Royal Collection Pickering, 3D-modelling of wind flows and sun paths influenced the building's design while 50 types of plant flourish on the jungle-like facade, helping to keep interior temperatures down while improving air quality and encouraging wildlife. Other cooling devices are fast becoming de rigeur, from lobby misting systems to shady outdoor areas. For Iberostar, which has 120 hotels including several in the Balearics, 'strategically incorporating plants and shading elements in outdoor areas serves as a passive measure to combat the 'heat island' effect,' says Álvaro Sánchez, the brand's Director of Product Sustainability. ' This creates noticeably cooler environments. The benefits extend beyond just outdoor comfort; by cooling the immediate surroundings of the building, we reduce the amount of heat transferred indoors. When this strategy is combined with façade designs featuring shading on the most exposed orientations, the result is a substantial reduction in the amount of energy required for air conditioning.' The brand also maintains cool common areas, provides fresh, infused water and schedules activities for less stifling parts of the day – or for air-conditioned rooms. Inside track Realistically, holidaymakers may spend more time indoors in the future. In Dubai, a tourist city built for the heat, many of the must-sees were designed with the desert climate in mind – from the icy indoor slopes of Ski Dubai to the imagined sunken city of Deep Dive Dubai, housed in the world's deepest (indoor) pool. Though it would require significant investment, it's easy to see how Europe's balmiest regions – where water parks and other outdoor attractions have traditionally thrived – may choose to go undercover. Indoor versions of mini-golf and go-karting have already hit Europe's major cities, so it's safe to assume they're coming to coastal resorts soon. The reopening of the Costa del Sol's Tivoli World theme park (which closed in 2020 and is scheduled to return in 2028) will bring a new mall with air-conditioned attractions alongside its outdoor rollercoasters. Spain already does malls like nowhere else on the Med. Just outside Granada, Nevada Shopping rivals its Middle Eastern cousins with 120,000m2 of outlets, restaurants and palm-fringed atriums. There's bowling and a pirate-themed amusement park too. Night walks and air-conditioned beaches Long lunches and indoor activities are the norm for Greeks and Spaniards during the summer months, with early mornings for beach walks and swims and evenings spent embracing the night breeze. For those determined to visit in summer, a shift in routines may be required to avoid the hottest parts of the day. Aware that being inside would benefit tourists too, Madrid has launched Refúgiate en la cultura, an annual summer programme which began in 2024 and includes free flamenco shows in the air-conditioned splendour of its most popular museums between 3pm and 5pm. In Cyprus, an outpost of the kid-friendly Paradox Museum (which has branches in London, Paris and Barcelona) opened in a shady cultural centre in Limassol in 2023. More far-sighted museums and cultural centres may be setting up seaside branches soon. As for sports lovers, at Mark Warner Resorts, tuition sessions are already scheduled outside the hottest parts of the day and kids' clubs are air-conditioned. The increasing popularity of padel and climbing coincide neatly with a need to keep active types inside at those times too. But there may be some hot-weather solutions deemed too extreme for European tastes. Time will tell whether air-conditioned beach cabanas (offered at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai and The Venetian Las Vegas) or fake drizzle-filled roads (such as Dubai's Raining Street, which is kept at a constant 27C, will catch on. It's not just holidaymakers who need respite from extreme temperatures. Hospitality staff in kitchens, restaurants and outdoor jobs are at risk of illness when the gauge rises. Following the death of a street cleaner in Barcelona in July 2025, trade unions are again calling for EU-wide legislation to protect workers from extreme heat. It means more attractions may be shut down when temperatures rise in the future, as employers protect both their staff and visitors from its effects. A plan for all seasons With unsustainable summer visitor numbers firmly on their minds, tourist boards have been working on lengthening the season in some of Europe's most popular destinations for a few years. In Ibiza, where the season used to begin at the end of June and shut in September, October half-term is becoming a sleeper hit with families. Skyscanner has already noticed a lengthening of the summer season to include June and September. And, for those with school-age children, it's reasonable to expect that summer holidays might become Easter or October half-term ones in the future. After all, mooches around the Las Dalias hippy market and lunches at the island's beach clubs are more enjoyable later in the season, once temperatures have dropped and the crowds have gone home.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Death of the British summer holiday job: Hospitality job postings fall by more than 20,000 in a year as industry blames Rachel Reeves' Budget
Rachel Reeves ' budget has been blamed for killing the British summer holiday job with hospitality postings falling by more than 20,000 in a year. The drastic reduction comes despite a booming tourism industry which saw visitors in England spending £48.4 billion on day visits in 2024, a six per cent rise from the previous year. Job postings for temporary hospitality work is down 25% year-on-year, with 22,369 fewer unique postings for jobs this year compared to last, according to data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). In 2024 there were 88,414 hospitality jobs on offer, but that fell markedly to 66,045 in a single year. Meanwhile, the number of tourism jobs have also been largely reduced. This year there have been just 15,650 unique unique job postings, a 14 per cent drop from the 18,118 last year. The fall in employment opportunities will largely impact students and teenagers looking for their first jobs and will threaten the temporary job market as schools and universities break up for the summer, according to UKHospitality, a trade body for the industry. It will put at the risk the skills provided by having hospitality as a first job, they claim. Allen Simpson, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said: 'This is the time when hospitality businesses would be frantically hiring staff for the busy summer months, when the sector expects to welcome families to their hotels, and serve millions of people with ice cream on the beach, fish and chips on the pier, and cold pints in the pub garden. 'I know from personal experience how important hospitality summer jobs are for getting young people experience of work, however hiring this year has fallen off dramatically, with 22,000 fewer jobs available compared to last year. 'It is sadly reflective of the impact we have seen from increased costs over the past nine months – less employment, less opportunity and less growth in the economy. The reduction in hiring comes after Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves hiked the National Insurance rates for employers. The October budget also lowered the threshold for when employers must start paying the tax, as she looked to raise around £20 billion. It has resulted in £3.4bn in additional annual cost for hospitality businesses, with 84,000 job losses, UKHospitality estimates. Mr Simpson added: 'Unless the Government acts, we could well be seeing the death of the great British summer job. That's not good for the economy, for businesses, or for the people that need this flexible work during the summer. 'We need to see action at the Budget to reverse this damage. That starts with fixing NICs, lowering business rates and cutting VAT for hospitality businesses.' Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said: 'Hospitality is one of the UK's biggest entry points into work, but right now, we are shutting people out before they even get a foot in the door. 'A drop of over 22,000 job postings as we reach the height of the summer season is not just a staffing gap, it is a red flag for the wider economy. It puts recruiters, hospitality businesses and customers under massive pressure to make the most of the short-lived English summer. 'We cannot keep loading new costs onto employers if we want vibrant high streets, thriving pubs and strong local economies.
