Mersea Island Holiday Park

View prices & book 8.6 14 reviews
Indoor pool (added by manager 07 Aug 2019)
New
Tents on site
Mersea island
View of the pool

  • Dog-friendly site with beach access on the Blackwater Estuary, Essex
  • Colchester half an hour’s drive; Curve Water Sports 45 minutes
  • Playground and indoor pool; restaurant and bar; evening entertainment
With expansive sea views, direct access to a private sandy beach on the Blackwater Estuary and heaps of on-site facilities, Mersea Island Holiday Park has plenty to commend it – to both humans and canines. Your four-legged friends should enjoy accompanying you on long walks (or perhaps on your paddleboard?) as you explore the Essex coastline. Sea water too chilly (or choppy) for you? Weather not playing ball? No worries: the on-site indoor swimming pool has a large area with deckchairs, plus floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass roof letting in plenty of natural light so you can feel like you’re outdoors even when you’re not. The kids will probably spend most of their time in the pool, but should you be able to drag them away from the water, there is an outdoor adventure playground with swings and climbing structures, not to mention a humongous grassy area where the entire family can kick a ball around or have a game of cricket. Adults are not left behind, either, as they gather for drinks or a game of pool at the Muddy Duck Clubhouse. This is also the spot to grab a bite to eat – whether a pizza or a burger – and to catch the evening entertainment, which includes bingo and live music, as well as outdoor cinema nights from late July to the end of August. There’s a food shop on site, and more supermarkets (plus restaurants) in West Mersea (10 minutes’ drive).

Site type

Lodges, cabins, pods or huts 2
Caravans for hire 30
Tent pitches 25
Opens 4 August 2025
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The site does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act (i.e. XL Bully, Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Group bookings of 3 or more units (e.g. tent, touring caravan, motorhome or accommodation hire) travelling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Group bookings of 6 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • Single-sex bookings of 3 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Reception is unmanned after 5 p.m.. Please inform the site while on your way there should you expect to arrive after this time, so that the team can provide information about your unit/pitch.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.
  • Bookings must not consist of more than 3 different households.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Mon, 4 Aug to

Away Resorts AA Holiday Centre
View all Away Resorts parks.

Reviews

93%

would recommend this site to a friend

93%

would stay here again

  • 57%
    10
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    1

Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Beautiful place, very clean in the camping area, and very friendly caravan…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 10
Jaime W. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Beautiful place, very clean in the camping area, and very friendly caravan owners across from us. Clubhouse was nice and friendly staff. Swimming looked great although it was fully booked so we didn’t get to use it

Disliked: The shower blocks and toilets we saw being cleaned but still weren’t great. Paper towels weren’t replenished

Recommend to friends Visit again

Overall a lovely place for families. We will be coming back next year.

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The camp site was beautiful and the fields were very well kept and the beach is a lovely addition. The toilets were kept clean (mostly) and well stocked with hand wash and tissue when needed.

Disliked: The long grass (not accessible for public) had a lot of rubbish in it, which may have blown from the bins. And the swimming pool changing/showering facilities were dirty and full of stale water.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Small, quiet, stunning

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 6
Wifi No rating
Victoria Hazel P. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The site is stunning. The view is amazing! The place is small and we loved that! The adventure playground a 2 minute walk away was fantastic! The pool was so warm (a bit too warm 🤣) yea the shower block is a wooden block but the water was powerful and hot! All the staff are so lovely and helpful. The shop on site was so reasonably priced I was really surprised. The food was great. We had such a great time.

Disliked: Toilets and showers just need updating

Recommend to friends Visit again

It was a nice location. Muddy duck, kids play area and indoor…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: It was a nice location. Muddy duck, kids play area and indoor swimming pool. Staff friendly.

Disliked: No Toilet paper - has Wi-Fi (if you could connect) mobile phone signal coverage is poor.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean shower and bathroom Great location next to country park with lots…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 8
natalie c. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Clean shower and bathroom Great location next to country park with lots to do for the children and dog

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Danielle B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Absolutely loved our stay, very clean, ontop of beach, great facilities, swimming pool to use everyday free of charge. Park on site. Friendly shop staff and reasonable prices for items. Shower block nice hot water and private cubicles.

Disliked: Could be more options on bar menu for food.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean facilities and friendly staff. Great camping site

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Izabela C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: When we were booking Mersea pitch I've read comments saying the toilets are long walk. Having children with us wouldn't be ideal buy we booked it anyway. Turns out toilets were very close and clean. Staff was changing hand wash and toilet paper. There are showers that came handy too. Drinking water in the same place and washing station also clean. Activities for the whole family, friendly bar and swimming pool that children loved. Good size pitch itself. It was our first camping and we came back happy and relaxed.

Disliked: Disappointed as it was advertised as sandy beach access however there wasn't much sand

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely place, great location

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Iain J. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Lovely views, clean site, friendly and helpful staff, access to a private beach, on site facilities. Lovely place really enjoyed our stay and can’t wait to go back

Disliked: Not a dislike but the toilet block is showing its age but it’s clean and practical

Recommend to friends Visit again

Will go again

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 6
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
stephen s. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The view The staff The organisation

Disliked: Could do with more toilets and showers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Below average

Overall 2/10
Location 8
Value for money 6
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 4
Child friendliness 4
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Location right next to the sea.

Disliked: Toilet / shower / washing up facilities dirty the whole time there. Not checked at regular intervals. Pool much smaller than demonstrated in photographs.

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Beach access Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site cafe On-site restaurant On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Car parking by pitch/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Local produce Off licence Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Peaceful

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 pitches)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Seasonal pitches

Location

Mersea Island Holiday Park

Fen Lane

East Mersea

Colchester

Essex

England

CO5 8UA

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

51.7903°N
0.9842°W

Nearest transport

Coach
6.5 km Brightlingsea Road
6.5 km Colchester Road
6.5 km Colchester Road
Rail
7.1 km Alresford (Essex) Rail Station
7.6 km Wivenhoe Rail Station
8.8 km Great Bentley Rail Station
Ferry
2.9 km Point Clear Ferry Landing
3.2 km Brightlingsea Ferry Landing
21.7 km Burnham on Crouch Ferry Landing
Airport
31.4 km London Southend Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Residents at Colchester Zoo (25 minutes) include cheetahs, elephants wolves and Komodo dragons. The Australian Rainbow experience puts you right in the middle of an aviary populated by colourful lorikeets, or you can feed the giraffes or explore the Dinosaur Realm. After visiting the zoo, head into Colchester (half an hour) to see the well-preserved 11th-century castle, which now houses a museum displaying Ancient Roman mosaics, Celtic coin hoards and medieval armour. The fortress sits on the edge of Castle Park, where you can picnic on the grass by the banks of the River Colne, play miniature golf or watch a game of cricket. At Curve Water Sports (45 minutes) you can have a go at paddleboarding or wakeboarding in a calm, enclosed body of water – no waves or currents to worry about here. There’s also an inflatable adventure course with climbing structures, trampolines and slides.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Brightlingsea 2.5 km Estuary N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
West Mersea 4.3 km Sea N/A Good N/A N/A
Jaywick 9.1 km Sea N/A Good Good Good
Clacton Beach Martello Tower 10.8 km Sea N/A Good Good Good
Clacton 12.9 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

firstsite 12.3 km

Colchester Castle Museum 12.5 km

Colchester Zoo 13.1 km

East Anglian Railway Museum 21.6 km

RHS Garden Hyde Hall 31.4 km

National Trust

Bourne Mill 10.8 km

Flatford: Bridge Cottage 18.9 km

Thorington Hall 21.5 km

Coggeshall Grange Barn 22.3 km

Paycocke's 22.7 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Cudmore Country Park - East and West Mersea - Cudmore 1.3 km

Brightlingsea 3.2 km

West Mersea 4 km

Brightlingsea - Colne Estuary - Crab and Winkle Path 4.7 km

Mersea Island Circular 5.9 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Essex?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Mersea Island Holiday Park have a swimming pool? Yes View all features
  • Is Mersea Island Holiday Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Mersea Island Holiday Park? Residents at Colchester Zoo (25 minutes) include cheetahs, elephants wolves and Komodo dragons. The Australian Rainbow experience puts you right in the middle of an aviary populated by colourful lorikeets, or you … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Mersea Island Holiday Park?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  11:30 a.m. –  5 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Mersea Island Holiday Park? From €44.16 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.