The £1 passes that make a family trip to Butlin's cheaper than a swim at my local leisure centre

The Sun

05-05-2025

My family loves a Butlin's trip and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the latest day pass deal of just £1 for children.
That actually makes it cheaper for me to take my three boys for a swim at Butlin's than at my local leisure centre, where I have to pay more than a fiver per person.
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Instead of spending £20 for an hour in the pool, I could spend £15 for an adult day pass and then £3 for the boys and enjoy a full day out at the seaside resort, with swimming, funfair rides and shows in the Skyline Pavilion all included.
With the incredible Skyparks at Skegness and Minehead and the brand-new soft play at Bognor, now's a good time to head to your nearest site for a day to try out the latest family-friendly facilities, particularly if you have a school inset day in May, like we do.
This deal is only available term-time midweek until May halfterm, so you need to be quick if you're going to take advantage.
Prices for day passes in halfterm rise to as much as £33 for adults and £23 for children depending on the resort, so it could be a huge saving to go midweek in May.
Plus it'll be much quieter when everyone else is at school, so you can make the most of your family fun without battling crowds of holidaymakers.
If you've always wondered whether a Butlin's break is for you, this could be the perfect way to give it a go with minimal investment in time or money, before you decide whether you'd like to book a longer stay.
And it's a great deal if you've got little ones who aren't school age yet, as they will love all the shows in the Skyline such as Peppa Pig or the Skyline Gang, which tend to be geared towards their age group.
In fact, for some of the day pass dates, you'll need to have a tot in tow as you can't get onto site during the weeks aimed at young families without someone aged 14 or under in your party.
As always, you need to factor in the age of those you're taking to work out if you might actually be better off going on a May weekend, when day passes are £15 for adults and £5 for children.
For example, if you have grandparents in your party, they only cost £5 at weekends, but £11 during the week.
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Day visitors won't be able to see the shows in venues like Studio 36, Reds or Centre Stage, so if you're hoping to catch a headline act like Justin Fletcher aka Mr Tumble during a Showtime Tots week, that won't be possible.
And your ticket doesn't include parking, so you need to factor that in to your budget for the day as well.
The best value is at Skegness, where parking is available on resort, with a charge of £1 per day to be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Parking for Bognor Regis day visitors is at the council pay and display car park opposite the day visit entrance on Gloucester Road and costs £13.90 for more than six hours.
At Minehead, day visitors can use Warren Road Upper car park, which costs £7.30 for the day.
While on site, you'll be able to take advantage of the 'kids eat for a quid' deal, that runs at the resort restaurants from midday to 3pm.
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For each adult meal purchased at Papa John's, Firehouse Grill, the Diner or the Beachcomber Inn, you can add a £1 child's meal.
Day visitors at Bognor can book Playxperience activities if there is availability, but they do need an existing day visit booking to do so in advance.