Waxham Sands Holiday Park Reviews

Absolutely fantastic family camping holiday

Check in. This was so easy, just pull into the check in lane you you get greeted by one of the happy members of staff. Gill greeted us with our welcome pack and talked us through where everything was and where to go and all the things going on during our stay. She was also knowledgeable about the area and helped us with an emergency vet. Pitch and facilities. The pitches are all a good size and well marked with the electrical hook up, easy to access. They are all equally flat and well maintained. We also liked that there were several toilet blocks, so no matter where you were pitched you had easy access to a toilet, drinking water and washing up facilities. The shower and laundry blocks are near the main reception, so easy to access, and they are all cleaned regularly throughout the day. The showers are lovely and warm, our little boy didn't actually want to leave each time he had a shower as they were "so lovely and warm". I've read that someone complained about the temperature and state of the showers, we honestly can't understand this as the water was always warm, the pressure was good and they were clean. Yes, you can see there has been some mould, but you can also see that this is cleaned and been treated. There was also an outdoor doggy spa to hose down your sandy dogs and shower for the humans to hose down their sandy feet, very handy! There are two parks, we only used the one by the main reception and it's fab. Plenty for all the children to play on and enjoy themselves. There is also a number of outdoor and covered seating areas around the park where they have different food and drink carts visiting each day. There is a timetable outside that clearly shows what is going to be there and at what times. The fire pit was also a surprise addition, you could also buy large marshmallows ready on long sticks to toast from the on site shop. These were extremely popular, just don't forget the wet wipes, lol! The book and beach library was a great addition, with plenty of buckets and spades etc for the kids to borrow during their holiday. The on site shop and reception were fab too. All of the staff couldn't do more to help, they were also really happy and friendly. The shop is very well equipped, they had thought of everything; from camping bits, toys, souvenirs, windbreaks, food, drink and well a little bit of everything. Location. Honestly can't beat it! The beach is literally right in your doorstep. Head to the corner of the site to the left of the shower blocks and there are steps that take you straight to the sea front. Within 5min of leaving your tent/caravan you can be sat on the beach or paddling in the sea. Not only that the seals come out to say hello, they swim along the shore line and are quite confident, they will even sometimes put on a bit of show for you by swimming around and waving their fins. They are so beautiful to see. Staff. We don't really know where to start! Absolutely every single person that works on this site are just wonderful people. They are always smiley, happy, welcoming and happy to help in anyway they can. They always make a fuss of the children and the doggies on site and nothing ever seems like too much trouble, they all work so hard. We want to give a huge thank you to Gill and Darcie. We had a rather scary experience and were very close to losing our little dog, Waffle. Thankfully due to Gill and Darcie's local knowledge, and quick thinking we got her into a fabulous vets down the road. After specialist treatment and an animal hospital stay, Waffle returned to us fighting fit. Waffle was a little famous by the end of our visit, with staff coming out to check on her and see how we were all doing after our scare. Their genuine affection and care made the difference in this holiday, what could have been devastating, was actually one of the best holidays thanks to these wonderful people.

Site's response

Thank you for the amazing review. We're so glad you had such a lovely time except for your little adventure with Waffle, who is the cutest little doggy by the way. We all loved him very much and so happy that he was ok. You and your family are welcome at Waxham anytime. All the very best, Kate.

Great beach access

Fantastic location for beach lovers.

Coming on nicely

The site and the team at the site are fantastic. The only few qualms I have with the site were the cleanliness of the loos. They were brilliant at the start of the day, but as the day progressed, they got quite smelly at times and the lack of toilets for men was quite poor. If they added more toilets and cleaned then more regularly, that would hit the spot. There was also a lack of showers really, with 8 showers for male and 8 for female for the entire site and the closing of them during certain times made it madness at times. I think the info site gives could be better, like details on local hospital, doctors, supermarkets and local attractions would be ideal, as there was nothing given to us on arrival and due to poor signal, it was difficult to find these things for ourselves.

Site's response

Thank you for your review. Our cleaners work extremely hard with the upkeep of the facilities, unfortunately, not everyone takes care in using the facilities which give our cleaning team such a hard job. The cleaning team are regularly in and out of the blocks all day and the Warden takes over the duties in the evening. I'm so sorry you found at times the blocks to be unsuitable. We will certainly look into this. We hope to see you return to Waxham again soon, all the best.

Our stay

Great location right onto the beach, food vans on an evening is a great idea, kids park is good and the shop is very handy also. It is however very expensive to say we were camping. The cleanliness of the toilets and showers really let this site down, more so the showers. The washing up area looks like it never gets even a wipe down. Because of the cleanliness of the facilities and the expense of the stay, we would not return to this site or recommend.

Site's response

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. Our cleaners work extremely hard with the upkeep of the facilities. Unfortunately, not everyone takes care in using the facilities which gives our cleaning team such a hard job. The cleaning team are regularly in and out of the blocks all day and the Warden takes over the duties in the evening. I'm so sorry you found at times the blocks to be unsuitable. We will certainly look into this. We hope to see you return to Waxham again soon, all the best.

Amazing place

Amazing place with unique facilities and beach few minutes a way. Staff were very friendly and polite as well.

Site's response

Thank you for your wonderful review. So happy that you had a lovely time. See you again very soon.

Wonderful stay!

The stay here was lovely, the facilities were great and the campsite is right next to the beach which is fab! The store is well stocked, the sites large and the staff are lovely. Thank you for a great stay, we would definitely stay here again!

Site's response

Thank you for your lovely review, see you back at Waxham again soon.

Noisy campsite and shower situation not great

We were disappointed with this site - on first glance it could offer everything. Location is great, staff are friendly and helpful. There is nowhere that we could see to plug in a hair dryer, charge a phone or a toothbrush. We have camped a lot and this is the first site we have ever found this. The showers are open twice in the day, so there are long queues and they are dirty. The paint is leaking off the mouldy ceiling and you leave with dirtier feet than you go in with. To top things off, we were surrounded by a large party of about 4 tents who stayed up very late drinking and shouting over our tents. Someone else complained about them I believe, but they were the same the second night too. Perhaps would have been better to place groups together on the edge of the site not next to family tents with small children. All in all, has potential but we won't be back and lots of people felt the same.

Site's response

Thank you for your review. I am so sorry you had this experience. It does get very busy during the school holidays, our night warden is always on hand via the out-of-hours number we give on check in, if you need to report any incidences. He is also patrolling the site regularly, so I will look into this for you to see what happened and why it happened. Yes unfortunately yes, we do not offer a charging service for devices for those who book non-electric pitches. Most customers book none electric for the back-to-nature feel and to deter from electricals. Thank you for your feedback, it is very much appreciated.

Amazing, really nice campsite

Amazing campsite, we had a fabulous time as kids and adults. Staff are polite and playground is amazing for my 6-10 yr old. Beach is even better, felt so relaxed. Would definitely go back. X

Site's response

Thank you so much for your review, Amy. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

A great campsite in a picturesque location

This is a lovely campsite, situated next to a beach. It's perfect if you want to be a bit out of the way and enjoy the quiet of the beach and watching the seals swim and play. The campsite is very clean and tidy, with plenty of toilet blocks. The only slight downside was only one shower block for the whole site that was on restricted opening hours due to local water issues. We had a fantastic time and there was lots of places to visit close by. Would definitely recommend.

Site's response

Thank you for your lovely review, we totally understand the water situation is frustrating. We are working hard to resolve it. Apologies for this. Hope to see you again soon.

Excellent campsite

What an amazing campsite. Such a perfect location with the beach just a sand dune away. Facilities were plentiful and clean and a decent play area for the children. The dog was fully welcomed and the new woodland adventure area is fantastic. I can't recommend this place enough. Our stay wasn't long enough - we will be back!

Site's response

Glad you had a wonderful stay, Rebecca. We hope to see you here again soon.

Recommend

I would recommend a visit to Waxham Sands. The campsite has lots to offer, especially families with their shop, food vans, coffee "shop" and play park. The beach is a very short walk where the local seals come in for a swim with the humans. Its a bit more expensive than other campsites, but I thought it was run very well and had a very warm welcome on arrival. My only grumble was that the shower ceiling (ladies' showers) had mould on them and given the amount of campers the toilets could have been cleaned more regularly. I would go back to the campsite and can recommend a stay there despite this.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, all feedback is appreciated. Unfortunately, we had treated the mould on the ceiling, the issue being the block doesn't have adequate ventilation which we're looking into improving during our winter break. This is not something we can do while we're in open season as they are so regularly needed. We will be looking into this. We do hope to see you back at Waxham again very soon. All the best.

Seal encounters

We had a great time staying at Waxham Sands. The food carts and bar made meal times easy and varied and are a great addition. Location is amazing and facilities very clean.

Site's response

Thank you Steve for your review, we are so happy you had a lovely time. You're welcome back anytime.

Fantastic campsite!

This was one of the best camp sites me and my family have been too! The camp site wasn't too big so you didn't find yourself walking around trying to find facilities. Quite a few toilet blocks which was fab as we have little ones and having a loo near by is always a winner! Lovely little park for the kids to play in, a campfire and tent right near by, with pop up drink and food cabins (fantastic pizza and waffles!) and the shop on site wasn't too overpriced! The best thing by far about this place was having the beach right next to the site, perfect for night-time walks! All the staff that worked here are so lovely and friendly and nothing seemed to be too much! A very secure well looked after campsite! We can't wait to come again next year already!

Site's response

Thank you for your lovely review, Olivia. You'd be more than welcome next year. See you again soon.

Review by our family

Nice site our dog absolutely loved it. On our stay, the whole site suffered from loss of water and hot water, but we enjoyed our stay and would return. Could do with another shower block at the other end of the site.

Site's response

Thank you for the lovely review, you're welcome back anytime.

Nice size site, but needs some upgrades

Nice size site, but needs some upgrades and signs about using the water on site for right things. Lovely location, shame that other campers were inconsiderate with use of water, washing surf boards on site using all water, which resulted to no toilets working and no water for showers. There was confusion with my booking. Before checking the error, I was just told I would need to up and move. Luckily it was resolved quickly and I didn't have to move. Given how modern day camping kit his a lot more high spec now, electricity pitches didn't cope with accessories and could only plug one item in at time, which made cooking for the kids difficult as I had to make things in stages which meant some food was cold. Beach was lovely, camping community and it was lovely meet some amazing Norfolk friends. Site have already raised prices for next year. Unfortunately, we won't be returning.

Site's response

Thank you for your feedback. We take all feedback seriously and I will be looking into the issues raised so we can improve for 2024. We do hope to see you again back at Waxham.

Great site

Great site. From start to finish, brilliant all in. Staff really helpful and facilities all nice and clean. Family friendly and this shows from the minute you arrive. Beach and sand dunes are amazing and the seals are a must to see. Definitely be booking and staying again.

Site's response

Thank you for the amazing review, Jonny. We look forward to welcoming you and your family back to Waxham very soon.

Fab first camping trip stay

First time camping for us this year, choose this location as closer to home for us first timers. Pitch could of been a little bigger for our size tent but we made do with what room we had. Beach was lovely, kids loved the play park and plenty of food options at night. Was also lovely to hear others play music and enjoying themselves and also hearing the children playing on bikes, with balls laughing, and making memories.

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Clare, we do have other options of pitch sizes available. All of our standard electric and non electric are 9x9 metres and our premium pitches are 10x10 metres. We look forward to welcoming you all back to Waxham again soon.

A great campsite next to an amazing beach

Waxham Sands is right next to a beautiful huge sandy beach. The sea is clean and you will definitely have seals pop up next to you when you swim. The check-in was friendly and efficient and the showers are very acceptable. Pop up catering every night and a fire pit to toast your marshmallows on. Dog friendly and family orientated, the staff were super helpful when we lost a phone and found it and returned it at ten pm. Plenty of field space to fly a kite. Generally quiet, our stay was slight marred by a large group of adults who were noisy till 3am - the site might reconsider booking adjacent pitches to large groups. Otherwise totally great and we would highly recommend.

Site's response

Thank you for your wonderful review, Crawford. We're glad you had such a lovely time. Hope you come back to see us again very soon.

Good place to stay

The site was really good, but I feel it could do with more things for the kids to do. My 12-year-old was bored with just the park to play in so maybe things like mini crazy golf or other fun things to do. There is so much room that more things could be added. The toilets and showers were okay, but not always kept clean. Staff were amazing and friendly. Food vendors were great.

Site's response

Thank you for your lovely review, Sarah. We are constantly looking into what to add for the younger ones. I am so sorry you found issues with the toilets/showers. Our cleaning team work extremely hard to keep up with demand, so I do apologise you were not quite satisfied this time. We are looking into a better timetable to ensure the checks are more regular. We hope to see you back at Waxham again soon.

Great for families

Great for a family stay with beautiful beaches- but noisy if you're looking for a peaceful stay, which we did know beforehand, but we were meeting up with friends. Very helpful and friendly staff with good, pop-up facilities. Highly recommend.

Site's response

Apologies for your noise issues Mandy, it can get quite loud and busy in the school holidays. Hope you come join us again out of peak season for your relaxing stay.

Fantastic site!

Absolutely fantastic site, staff all lovely and helpful. Staff regularly found around the site, facilities a little dated is the only room for improvement!

Site's response

Thank you for the great review, Hannah. We are looking into what changes we might be making in the winter, so fingers crossed :) Hope to see you back at Waxham again soon.

Not impressed

Positives are location and large size pitch. Minuses are for size of campsite. Not enough shower blocks, whose opening hours need to be extended. Toilet and shower blocks were dirty and not cleaned enough during the day's use. No hair drying facility and no phone charging points. Shop was great but daughter in law took back 2 out of date items - pot noodle and mouldy bread. I feel for the price paid, the standard was not quite up to scratch and that's comparing to other sites I have used over the years.

Lovely beach but won't be returning

Just back from a week's stay at Waxham Sands, and whilst not a terrible site, I certainly would not return or recommend as some major changes are needed. And here's why. Firstly I'll start with saying the positives. The beach is stunning, lovely clean and 5-10 minutes walk up a steep sand dune. Reasonably well spaced out pitches. The coffee van every morning was great and fairly priced too. One of the children's parks is great, and lots of field space to play ball games. We also thought the borrow a bucket & spade box the site had was a brilliant idea and think all sites should implement this as nothing worse than buying a plastic bucket & spade and taking them home to never be used again! But here come the negatives. The main problem was the facilities are poor! Outdated (supposedly upgraded this year?), an open drain runs through all the showers that smelled, it had people's empty bottles (admittedly that's a problem by messy, lazy guests) and clumps of hair. The ceiling of the showers and all the grout around the tiles in the showers seemed mouldy. Cleaners were on site only twice a day, which clearly wasn't enough, and both toilets and showers were filthy throughout most of the day. There are only 8 showers with changing areas, so in the evening, we experienced queues. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the fact the showers are closed at 9pm. The toilets were far too small and narrow, especially as this is a family site. We had a toddler with us and it was a tight squeeze to get us and them into a cubicle. The 'laundrette' was one very over priced washing machine and one dryer for the whole site. The site shop was far too over priced and badly stocked - very few fresh items. 1 litre UHT milk £2.50, pack of ham £7. Given that the nearest supermarket was 20/25 minutes away, you had to rely on the site shop for the fresh items that you ended up paying far too much for. Also, don't recommend taking kids in there as it'll cost you a fortune if they fancy a treat! It's sad really, as it has potential but unfortunately, I feel that some major changes are needed.

3 night stay

We stayed at this park last year. The pitch we had was a brilliant location for the beach. This time, loved the fish and chip van on-site. It saved us from looking for dinner on arrival! The toilets were spotless, I didn't use the showers but my partner said they were lovely. Shop is well stocked up and pitches were plenty big enough! Just wished we could have used our fire pit!

Site's response

Thank you for your review, Kerry. We are so glad you enjoyed your stay. Unfortunately, we do not allow fire pits on the pitching field for fire safety reasons but we do have a warden-controlled communal fire pit near our Safari tent and Warren food area. We hope to see you again soon back at Waxham.

Fantastic site with beautiful beach

Very well maintained site with ample shower, toilet and washing up facilities. A lovely woodland walk, kids playgrounds and an amazing beach. Different food vendors on some evenings and a well stocked site shop which is most welcome, as the site is very remote. Great place to stay if you want an escape, but if you want to visit the seaside resorts and local attractions then it is a drive. We stopped off for lunch in Poppylands which is about 2 miles away - a lovely little spot and very unique experience.

Site's response

Thank you for your lovely review Fiona, we look forward to welcoming you back to Waxham again very soon.