Five family holiday parks you can visit without a car – from France to the UK
IF you don’t fancy a drive to get to your holiday destination, there’s a few amazing resorts that are easy to access by public transport from the UK.
It’s great to be able to load up your boot and drive to your destination, but that’s just not doable for lots of holidaymakers.
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Perhaps you don’t have a car or maybe you just fancy a break from driving – there’s more resorts than you might expect at the end of a train line or on a bus route.
One of my all-time favourite spots is Center Parcs Zandvoort-aan-Zee in the Netherlands.
It’s the perfect place to get to by public transport, as my family of five discovered last Easter when we visited for a week.
We were all very impressed by how spacious and comfortable our cabin was on the overnight ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam.
Then it was a quick hop to Centraal train station on a shuttle bus from the ferry terminal and a half-hour journey by train to the coast, where Center Parcs is a ten-minute stroll from the station.
We were splashing in the swimming pool by lunchtime and then took a wander along the beach to grab some fish and chips.
Another great place to visit overseas without having to hire a car is Vilanova caravan park near Barcelona in Spain.
There’s a bus that runs from Plaça d’Espanya in the city to the park entrance, which takes about an hour and a half.
The site has two big outdoor pools and the local bus takes you to the beach several times a day.
If you’re heading to Paris for the Olympics this summer, there’s a caravan park next to Faremoutiers-Pommeuse railway station.
The train to Le Chene Grise campsite takes just under an hour from Gare de l’Est, which is a short walk from the Eurostar terminal at Gare du Nord.
A single ticket would normally cost €5, but public transport prices are being increased during the Olympics, so it’s worth checking.
But if you don’t fancy leaving the UK then there are a few great options here too.
For example, Butlin’s is often a good bet to arrive by bus.
The Bognor resort is close enough to the train station to walk, but Skegness is a short bus ride from the railway station and Minehead’s nearest station is Taunton, which is 90 minutes away by bus.
Parkdean’s Vauxhall site is a ten-minute walk from Great Yarmouth railway station and well worth a visit, as it’s got loads of indoor activities, a good pool with a couple of slides and an impressive treehouse play area.
It’s also easy enough to walk into town from there and Aldi, Asda and Tesco are all close by.
And there’s even some hotels and hostels in the middle of the countryside that now have excellent public transport links, like YHA The Sill in Northumberland, which is on the route of a hop-on, hop-off public bus that takes visitors along Hadrian’s Wall.
Berlin Ostkreuz Youth Hostel is set up for families and has excellent train links as it overlooks the nearest railway station.
We visited Kandersteg Scout Centre in Switzerland for a budget base and the walk there from the railway station took about 20 minutes through lovely, flat countryside along a river.
There’s a bus if you’ve got lots of luggage, or you can leave bags at lockers at the train station if you’re only stopping off for an overnight stay on a longer trip.
If you want to head to a theme park by train, there’s a couple in France that fit the bill.
Obviously Disneyland Paris has its own station, although there are no direct Eurostar services there at the moment.
But it’s still possible to catch a local service out of Paris or a fast service through Lille to get your Disney hit.
I’ve got my eye on Futuroscope in Poitiers near the French coast.
It has its own train station and there’s a water park opening this summer to go with the rides and shows already on offer in the theme park.
Whether you want a seaside staycay or a theme park overnighter, it’s well worth leaving the car at home and making your way by train, bus or coach.
Then the journey can become part of the adventure rather than just a necessary evil to get to your break.
