Aquarium · 10:00–11:30 (1h30m)
SEA LIFE Brighton
Book online to guarantee entry; under 2s go free.
An indoor aquarium in Brighton.
PaidIndoors
- Pushchair friendly
- Baby changing
- Café on site
- Toilets
- Good on a rainy day
Photo: visitsealife.com
Start under the Victorian arches of the oldest working aquarium in the world, then climb up to a quiet Kemptown park with a playground and duck pond for lunch. Finish back on the seafront with rides, ice cream and a long walk out over the waves on the Palace Pier.
One dayAges 3–7Cost ££10:00–15:303 stops
The plan
- 10:001
- 11:502
Park · 11:50–12:50 (1h)
Queen's Park
Playground and duck pond; picnic or use the park café, with toilets beside it.
A sloping valley park in Kemptown with a children's playground, a duck pond and a café, a short walk uphill from the seafront. A good free stop to let little ones run between seaside attractions.
FreeOutdoors- Café on site
- Toilets
- Accessibility
Photo: Paul Gillett
- 13:103
Theme Park · 13:10–15:30 (2h20m)
Brighton Palace Pier
Stroll to the end of the pier and pick a few rides; a wristband suits ride-hungry children.
Brighton's Victorian pleasure pier, with fairground rides, a helter skelter, arcades and food kiosks stretching out over the sea. Rides are paid individually or with a wristband, and simply walking the boards is a seaside classic.
Free / PaidIndoors & out- Café on site
- Accessibility
Photo: Ian Stannard from Southsea, England
More days out in South East
South EastModel villages and Roald Dahl in the Chilterns
Beaconsfield
Walk through a miniature 1930s England at the world's oldest model village and ride its little railway, then drive into the hills to the village where Roald Dahl wrote, for an afternoon of story-making in his museum.
Bekonscot Model Village → The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
One dayAges 3–7Cost ££
South EastIsle of Wight in two days: a queen's beach, castle donkeys and the Needles
East Cowes and Yarmouth
Day one crosses to East Cowes for Queen Victoria's holiday house, gardens and her private beach, then heads inland to a hilltop castle where donkeys still work the well wheel. Day two is in the West Wight: animals and indoor play at a farm park, then a chairlift down to Alum Bay to see the Needles.
Osborne House → Carisbrooke Castle → Tapnell Farm Park → The Needles Landmark Attraction
WeekendAges 3–7Sunny dayCost £££
South EastArundel: a hilltop castle and a boat through the reedbeds
Arundel
Climb the keep of Arundel's huge restored castle in the morning, then walk down past the river to the wetland centre for a quiet electric boat ride through the reedbeds and some pond dipping.
Arundel Castle → WWT Arundel Wetland Centre
One dayAges 3–7Sunny dayCost ££