City
5 Best Activities In Ventnor
The same afternoon, done two ways. Version one is animals and sea air: the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary, free to get into, then the Ventnor Paddling Pool if the sun holds its nerve. Version two is rides and noise at Blackgang Chine. Of five entries in the town, only two put a roof over your head, which means version one needs the better forecast of the two.
Showing 1–5 of 5
Zoos and Wildlife ParksIsle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary
WaterVentnor Paddling Pool
MuseumsVentnor Heritage Museum
Theme ParksBlackgang Chine
Parks and PlaygroundsVentnor Botanic Gardens
12 more within 10 miles of Ventnor
Godshill Model Village
The Old Thatch Teashop
The Shanklin Treasure Trail
Shanklin Beach
Shanklin Chine
Shanklin Seafront Complex
Butterfly Paragliding School
Sandown Pier
Shipwreck and Maritime Museum
Arreton Craft Barns
Dinosaur Isle
Isle of Wight Zoo
Small town, short list, but the range is wider than the number implies: a sanctuary, a theme park, a garden, a paddling pool and a museum are five genuinely different days. Watch the sky, since most of them want you outside.
Visiting Ventnor with kids: FAQs
Is there anything free to do in Ventnor with children?
The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary asks nothing at the gate and holds the town's strongest rating at the same time, which is a rare pairing. A donkey keeps a three-year-old occupied long after a sea view has stopped meaning anything, and the site sits outdoors, so it wants a dryish day. The rest of the town is inconsistent on entry, so take each venue's own page as the source.
What can we do in Ventnor when it rains?
Two places keep the rain off. Ventnor Heritage Museum is a small covered stop. Ventnor Botanic Gardens carries covered space alongside open ground, making it the more resilient of the pair. Neither will fill an entire wet day with an energetic child in tow. On the Isle of Wight the sensible move in bad weather is usually to look well beyond the immediate town.
Is Blackgang Chine suitable for young children?
Blackgang Chine is an open-air theme park built for families rather than for anybody chasing a big drop, so younger children generally take more from it than teenagers do. Being outdoors, it is weather-dependent in both directions: a wet day is miserable and a hot one needs shade thought about in advance. Read the park's own page on opening arrangements before travelling.