Want to raise responsible travellers? This guide offers practical tips and advice on teaching your kids to be mindful and respectful while exploring the world.
MINDFUL TRAVEL
Welcome to Mindful Travel, a space for gentle, intentional escapes that help you slow down, reconnect, and recharge. From family-friendly caravan trips to peaceful weekend retreats, these guides and reflections are designed to inspire calm, stress-free travel that nourishes your creativity, wellbeing, and sense of adventure.
Getting From A to B Abroad In A Changing Environment
It doesn’t matter how much of an experienced traveller you are. Here are some tips on how to become savvy when it comes to staying safe and saving money when getting from A to B abroad.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Stay-At-Home Holiday
Planning a stay-at-home holiday can be quite challenging. This guide has all the resources you need to make it a memorable experience! Follow our steps for some great ideas on how to fill your day with fun and joy.
How to Plan your Post Lockdown Family Holiday
Since the end of March, all non-essential travel has been postponed indefinitely with no date yet set to when these travel restrictions will ease. What will this mean for holidays already booked? Or for those wanting to book trips either abroad or in the UK? There will be so much more worth considering before you book your post lockdown holiday.
How to Plan a Girl’s Weekend in the UK – Plus My Top 5 Tips
What makes the perfect girl’s weekend getaway? Perfect city hotel? A luxury cabin in the woods? Glamping or travelling around Cornwall in a campervan? Please keep reading for planning a perfect girl’s weekend in the UK with my top five tips!
Hand Luggage for a Trip to Disneyland Paris
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you will know that we spent our summer holiday in Disneyland Paris last year, below is a link to all my previous posts should you want to check out Disneyland Paris Trip Report 2019. Originally, I had this idea of just doing a general packing post. However, I decided it made more sense to split it into different posts as there was far too much to cover in one post. This post is all about what I packed in my disabled son’s hand luggage and perhaps offering some ideas of what sort of things to buy and where.
Travelling by Eurostar with a Wheelchair
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Why We Should all be Having Weekend Breaks in Cornwall
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Hotel Cheyenne at Disneyland Paris Review
We spent three nights at the Hotel Cheyenne, it was our first stay and here is the review of Disneyland Paris: Hotel Cheyenne.
Haven Perran Sands Holiday Park Review 2019
For those who don’t know, Perran Sands is a Holiday Park owned and managed by Haven Holidays (Bourne Leisure). Haven has a variety of holiday parks across the UK, with two in Cornwall. Perran Sands and Riviere Sands, in Hayle. Both are located near beautiful Cornish beaches and easily reach significant family attractions. This is an independent review; I have not been gifted or paid in any way. We were given a voucher for our holiday from the Family Fund. We are a family of four, and this was our seventh year staying at Perran Sands, but the first time visiting in May Half-Term and trying an adapted caravan. This is usually our annual summertime holiday in July, but we moved it forward. This is our Perran Sands Holiday Park Review.
About Perran Sands
Perran Sands is an average-sized holiday park in North Cornwall, in a small seaside town named Perranporth; it’s pretty much the surfing capital of Cornwall! It has a private sandy beach with access from the park, but please be advised that due to the stairs, it isn’t suitable for wheelchair users, pushchairs, or those with mobility issues! Believe me, after a day at the beach, it’s a killer!
One of the reasons we return to Perran Sands year after year is the fantastic sea views. You can’t fault the location of the local beaches, with Perranporth Beach just a short ride away. TripAdvisor is the best place to check them out if you want more reviews. Overall, it has a great score, and we’ve only ever had issues that were not directly linked to Haven or the park.
Check-In & Finding Our Way Around
Check-in is always smooth. Like last year, it was inside the Dune’s Bar. An enthusiastic and friendly team member greeted us, confirmed our accommodation, and pointed us in the right direction of our caravan. The good thing about Perran Sands is that finding your way around is straightforward; the signposting is obvious. If you find yourself lost, staff members often point you in the right direction.
As a side note: This year, we booked an adapted caravan for the first time; however, our son, who has special needs, was not impressed. This is not reflected in Haven and their standard of accommodation; it was neat, tidy, and had direct access to the park, but unfortunately, he liked his routine and didn’t settle. So I spoke to reception to see if moving was possible. Thankfully, they moved us to a three-bedroom prestige caravan with a partial sea view for four nights (we had to cut our trip short). Our caravan was located at the top of the park in an area called ‘Pentreath View’ and, ironically, right next door to the caravan we stayed in the year before. I have included a few photographs of the standard below.
Our caravan included: Microwave, dishwasher, hob, cooker and hood with fan, fridge with small freezer, digital TV with DVD player, Bluetooth sound system, ensuite toilet, TV in the bedroom, plenty of storage, radiators (believe me, it was cold for May) and plenty of space for a large family to spread out.
Onsite Facilities at Perran Sands
Let’s talk about food: Like most holiday parks, there are some excellent facilities on site, including The Surf Bay Restaurant, Cooks Fish & Chip Shop, Papa John’s Pizza, mini supermarket and laundrette. A large entertainment complex includes an indoor and outdoor swimming pool and an outside lazy river. Two bars, ‘The Dunes bar’, which was closed during our recent trip and the ‘Live Lounge’, where the primary entertainment is and just the spot to unwind late into the evening.
On previous visits, we have eaten at Surf Bay, a cross between a Harvester and a Beefeater—good quality food with an outside bar. You cannot pre-book, so you can expect a wait during busy times, but you get to eat in the ‘camper’ if you are lucky. Great atmosphere, but always busy!
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There are two takeaways onsite: Cooks’ Fish & Chips and Papa John’s. Both can be busy at times but are convenient, and Papa John’s even delivers to your caravan! Both offer decent meals and right-size portions and are not hugely expensive compared to nearby Perranporth.
The swimming pools are open to everyone from 9.30 a.m. I suggest arriving early, as we queued for over 45 minutes to enter due to the sheer volume of people in the pools. There is one large indoor pool, a separate slide, a smaller toddler pool, and a large outdoor pool with a lazy river. It was too cold to venture outside this year, but the lazy river is extremely popular and worth investigating.
Aside from the central park, there are surf lessons, football pitches, and plenty of play parks dotted around. If you are all about arcades and pool tables, the Live Lounge area has that as well. During our visit, there were large extended families with lots of younger children.
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Perranporth
If you prefer to venture further afield, Perran Sands places you at a great location as a base. You are an 8-minute drive from Perranporth, where you will find shops, bars, food outlets, ice cream and quaint gift shops. Newquay is only a 15 – 20-minute drive away, where you can find a large town, restaurants, bars, and supermarkets. Truro is the largest town, just 25 minutes away, with its beautiful cathedral, cobbled streets and Primark (sorry, I’m a sucker for some shopping). There are also some excellent coastal drives with the most amazing beaches, such as Porth, Mawgan Porth, Watergate Bay, and Crantock, to name a few.
Top Tips
As a family who likes a home-from-home, Perran Sands offers us the option of eating in or out while not feeling obligated to eat onsite. Many options exist, from camping to beach houses, glamping to chalets. Over our previous visits, we have stayed in various caravan classes, so there is a budget for everyone from standard to platinum with decking.
- Booking early can save you ££££. We often book nine months in advance and save 25%. Sometimes up to 50%, depending on the offers available.
- In peak season (July/August), you often queue in the Live Lounge to access the launderette. So it’s best to get there early to avoid disappointment, as, in Summer 2017, we couldn’t even get into the main Live Lounge to get seats at 6.15 p.m.!
- If you are interested in activities, book in advance using the app; you will be surprised by how quickly everything fills up.
- There is much to see and do in the local area, from zoos and waterparks to railways and theme parks (Flambards is…amazing!)
- Get up and out early; you can imagine how busy places get in peak summer. We’ve struggled to park in Newquay in August due to the number of people.
So there you have it; next time you consider a ‘staycation’, maybe Perran Sands is worth a look. Perhaps you’ve previously been? Maybe you are staying this year? Let me know if you have any comments to add.
Haven Perran Sands Holiday Park, Perranporth, Cornwall, TR6 0AQ
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