Balkenna Caravan Park

View prices & book 8.3 182 reviews
Sea view
Grass pitches
Pitches
Play park

  • Small Ayrshire camping and tourer site with Ailsa Craig views
  • Turnberry Beach and Trump Turnberry golf course five minutes’ walk
  • Family-friendly with an all-day tearoom, picnic tables and a play park
Whether you’re passing through on the way up north or down south, or hanging out in Ayrshire to explore the area’s many attractions, Balkenna Caravan Park is a handy little biker, camping and tourer site with easy access directly off the A77 (please note there may be some traffic noise). Welcoming dogs and kids, this low-key spot has a small play park safely fenced off for the latter, while Turnberry Beach is right across the road for families and their canine companions to stretch their legs. And the park has three more USPs up its metaphorical sleeve. First is the on-site Balkenna Tearoom, where you can grab a constant supply of hot drinks, breakfasts, snacks, main meals, vegetarian dishes, desserts and ice cream throughout the day. Secondly, the views out over the Firth of Clyde to the rocky bluff of Ailsa Craig are truly spectacular, and you get to see them from all over the pitches – and finally, the Trump Turnberry is five minutes’ walk away, a bucket-list attraction for any golfers among you. Some practical stuff too: there’s drinking water on site, as well as a chemical toilet disposal point and hot showers.

Site type

Tent sites 21
Motorhome sites 21
Caravan sites 21
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.
  • Firepits must be raised off the grass.

Languages spoken

English

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

  • 46%
    10
  • 7%
    9
  • 23%
    8
  • 4%
    7
  • 7%
    6
  • 1%
    5
  • 4%
    4
  • 1%
    3
  • 2%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
9
Value for money
9
Accommodation
8
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
9
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
7

82% would recommend this site to a friend

80% would stay here again

What customers say

Awesome views, especially Ailsa Craig, and handy to the beach. Staff are legend, and the tea room gets a solid thumbs up. Facilities mostly clean, but a bit tired. Road noise can be a bit much. Still, a top spot for exploring or an overnight, many keen to come back.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 19
Arrival date (latest first)

Wonderful campsite. Very clean an amazing…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
No rating
Value for money
10
Accommodation
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No rating
Joel S.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Wonderful campsite. Very clean an amazing sunset. I appreciated the use of the gazebo in the evening. One of the best values of have found in Scotland.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Friendly site with sea views, clean facilities and great tearoom.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Leon K.

Powered grass caravan site

Liked A very warm and friendly welcome on arrival. My pitch (number 4) had a stunning view over the sea – absolutely beautiful. The pitches are spacious and well laid out, giving plenty of room. The sanitary facilities were spotless and well maintained, with the added bonus of showers where you can adjust the temperature – a real plus point. Another highlight was the delicious breakfast at the tearoom right next door. The location is also excellent, right off the main road, making it very convenient for travelling.

Disliked The road nearby can be quite busy, but personally I didn’t find it disturbing at all during my stay.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Tearoom recommended but not our cup of tea as a campsite. Too noisy.

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
1
Value for money
1
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
4
Customer service
7
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
5
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Unpowered grass caravan site

Liked Tearoom cakes (and staff 😀) were lovely .
Shower block and toilets were clean and tidy although there were no hand towels in the gent’s toilets when my husband used them.

Disliked Hadn’t realised campsite was situated right next to extremely busy A77 - a major trunk road ! Noise from fast moving traffic was horrendous - especially at night when delivery/ container lorries etc. were thundering past .Didn’t sleep a wink . Advertised as being across road from beach but anyone crossing over to get to said beach took their lives in their hands.
We really wanted to for a walk to explore but there was only a very narrow pavement outside the site about 50 metres long. It ended at a blind bend across the road from which there was apparently a path down to the beach, however, anyone crossing there was definitely tempting fate as the traffic came round so fast you wouldn’t stand a chance.
Even walking along the narrow pavement was scary as you could feel the drag from the traffic.
Site itself was a bit untidy with grass needing cut and molehills beside our pitch.
Sink area for washing dishes wasn’t very clean with people leaving food residue in the sink and underneath it.
Baffled a bit by outside toilet beside washing up sink . Not sure if that was the ‘chemical toilet’ .

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site with a great price, would definitely be back

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
No rating
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
9
Wifi
No rating
Tracy H.

Powered grass caravan site

Liked Great wee site. Lovely views over the water and a lovely cafe on site.

Disliked Entrance into site was really busy,
Challenging with a tourer caravan.
Open fires are allowed on site and although this is a bonus for some, we felt we were being smoked out.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Stopover with no sleep!

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
5
Kenny J.

Powered grass caravan site

Liked Very handy site with everything you need for a stopover.

Disliked The VERY noisy road, we only stayed for one night instead of two because of this.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Enjoyed our stay…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
5
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
5
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
3
Wifi
5
Iain T.

Powered grass tent site

Liked Enjoyed our stay

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site very friendly staff

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Graham H.

Powered grass tent site

Liked When we arrived and went to the reception we were greeted by a very nice girl who offered to show us around we had breakfast and lunch a few days at the tearoom on site it was not expensive and the food was great the dish washing facilities are basic but was always clean and tidy the site is in a good location for visiting places like Girvan and Ayr it is a dog friendly site the camping is split into 2 parts the small part and the large field

Disliked There is only one toilet block and it’s situated in the small camping area it would be better if there was a toilet block at the big camping area there are not a lot of lights at the place

Recommend to friends Visit again

The staff were very helpful and…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
1
William M.

Unpowered grass caravan site

Liked The staff were very helpful and friendly
We would definitely stay here again when next in that part of the country.

Wm. Morrison.
👌👌👌👌

Recommend to friends Visit again

Easy to find, small, clean campsite…

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
8
Value for money
6
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
6
Customer service
7
Child friendliness
7
Cleanliness
7
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Unpowered grass caravan site

Liked Easy to find, small, clean campsite close to the coast.

Disliked Close to the road but not too busy at night.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site. Would definitely return.

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Victoria M.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Beautiful views
Super friendly staff
Clean amenities
Tearoom was fantastic onsite.

Disliked Close to road. Was more an issue with children than noise levels though I can imagine it would maybe be annoying but we didn’t notice it eventually.

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

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

Amenities on site

Baby-changing facilities Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Local produce Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Rallies welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Gastronomic delight Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby

Type

Small (11-25 sites)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Leisure/theme park nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Balkenna Caravan Park

Balkenna Tearoom and Caravan Park

Girvan Road

Turnberry

Ayrshire

Scotland

KA26 9LN

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

55.30898°N
4.83385°W

Nearest transport

Coach
21.2 km Bus Station
45.2 km Dashwood Square
46.5 km Port Rodie
Rail
7 km Girvan Rail Station
10.7 km Maybole Rail Station
21.2 km Ayr Rail Station
Ferry
7.4 km Girvan Harbour Ferry Terminal
21.6 km Ayr Compass Pier
28.4 km Troon Ferry Terminal
Airport
26.4 km Glasgow Prestwick International 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

The whole family will enjoy the proximity of sandy Turnberry Beach (five minutes’ walk) for strolls along the dunes or a section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, all backed by views out to Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde. Take a boat trip from Girvan (10 minutes’ drive) to this dumpy, rocky islet to see the puffin and gannet colonies on its cliffs. Back on dry land, Culzean Castle and Country Park (15 minutes) sits on cliffs high above the Firth of Clyde; tour opulent rooms packed with priceless antiques and have a stroll around the formal gardens. Any culture vultures among you can also visit the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (20 minutes) to learn more about Scotland’s favourite bard in his childhood home; displays include original manuscripts and period furnishing. If it’s time to treat the kids, Heads of Ayr Farm Park (25 minutes) has cuddly sheep, llamas, ponies and donkeys to keep them smiling, as well as mini-train and go-kart rides. Galloway Forest Park (half an hour) is the spot for woodland walks and games of hide and seek, and when younger kids need a bit of downtime, you can all chuff through wooded hills on the Doon Valley Railway (35 minutes).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Maidens 3.5 km Sea N/AN/AN/AGood
Culzean 4.7 km Sea N/AN/AN/AN/A
Girvan 8.3 km Sea N/AN/AN/AN/A
Heads Of Ayr 16.8 km Sea N/AExcellentPoorPoor
Ayr (South Beach) 19.5 km Sea N/APoorPoorPoor

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Culzean Castle & Country Park 5.8 km

Burns National Heritage Park 18.1 km

Scottish Maritime Museum 34.8 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Turnberry Bay - Bruce's Castle 0.1 km

From Croy Bay at Goatsgreen to Culzean Park and back 7.2 km

Dailly to Viewpoint in Kilgrammie Wood 7.5 km

From Dailly to the Barony Hill and back via Falfar 7.7 km

Curling-Stone Walk 8 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.

Want to know more about camping in Ayrshire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Balkenna Caravan Park have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Balkenna Caravan Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Balkenna Caravan Park? The whole family will enjoy the proximity of sandy Turnberry Beach (five minutes’ walk) for strolls along the dunes or a section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, all backed by views out … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Balkenna Caravan Park?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  noon –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Balkenna Caravan Park? From $39.18 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.