The May Bank Holidays are here! And with the sun coming out and kids waiting to be entertained, the pressure is on to fill the time well.

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Well, luckily for parents, here at RadioTimes.com we've got guides for all sorts of days out, like the best animal experiences and best steam train experiences. But we think one of the best things you can do over the holidays, which the whole family will enjoy, is a trip to Thorpe Park.

What’s better than the wind in your hair and the adrenaline pulsing through your veins as you ride one of the hugely exciting attractions at Thorpe Park? Knowing that you bagged an absolute bargain on the trip, of course.

Thorpe Park is located in the middle of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, about an hour's drive from London. It boasts over 30 scream-tastic rides, including some of the UK's most well-known like Stealth, Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, and the Swarm.

There are plenty of attractions for youngsters, too, like the Flying Fish junior coaster, Storm Surge, Tidal Wave, Angry Birds 4D Experience, and tons more. And remember, under threes go free at Thorpe Park, too, as do carers. Let's find out how you can secure cheap tickets.

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For more tips on how to bag a saving, take a look at how to get cheap concert tickets, how to get cheap cinema tickets, how to get cheap football tickets, and how to get cheap Disneyland Paris tickets.

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How to get cheap Thorpe Park tickets

We're under no illusion that, with the cost of living, you want days out with the family to be as cheap as possible without compromising on the fun. Theme parks don't have to be a costly day out; there are simple switches you can do to bring the cost down, like making packed lunches and taking advantage of rail companies' discounts (we'll come to that in a bit). One thing that you can't avoid paying for, though, is a park ticket. Here's how to get them for less.

Book in advance. Theme parks, such as Thorpe Park and Alton Towers, sell tickets for significantly cheaper online in comparison to if you turned up to the park and bought tickets on the day. Booking tickets in advance also avoids potentially missing out, too. If you're a fan of theme parks, check out our guide on how to get cheap Alton Towers tickets.

Shop around. If you're looking to make the most out of a theme park, have a gander if there are any package deals or short breaks.

For inspiration on how to entertain little ones this summer holiday, take a look at the best UK family days out. Plus, we've got the best chocolate making experiences.

Best Thorpe Park deals at a glance

Best Thorpe Park discounts and offers for 2024

Get 56% off Thorpe Park tickets

family at a theme park how to get cheap thorpe park tickets
Joe McBride via Getty Images

This is one for the early birds, the super organisers, the bargain hunters: save over 50 per cent on Thorpe Park tickets when you book them in advance.

A day ticket to Thorpe Park will usually set you back £66, but if you book online, it’s £29; that’s a whopping £37 off or 56 per cent discount. For just under 30 quid, you can experience over 30 attractions, and get access to events if they’re on your chosen day.

Buy a Thorpe Park day ticket for £66 £29 (save £37 or 56%) at Thorpe Park

We've also got guides on how to get cheap Chessington tickets and how to get cheap LEGOLAND tickets.

Get two visits for £49 with the Thorpe Park Golden Ticket

Thorpe Park have recently introduced the new limited edition Golden Ticket. For just £49 you can get two days of entry to the park, with flexible and amendable booking available for the second date. Seeing as online booking normally costs £29 per ticket, this saves you £9, plus children under 1.2m tall go free.

Buy the Thorpe Park Golden Ticket for £49

Discounted Thorpe Park tickets with Tesco Clubcard

Who doesn’t have a Tesco Clubcard these days? Downloading it to save 50p on a Tesco meal deal is worth it in itself, in our humble opinion, but there’s also many more great savings to be made, too.

Scanning your Clubcard generates points, and you can convert these points into Tesco Reward Partners vouchers where you get double the vouchers’ face value to use on tickets: so £5 in points is £10 worth of vouchers, for example.

You can use these vouchers on attractions across the UK, including Thorpe Park.

Looking for more activity inspiration this bank holiday weekend? Check out the best London Shakespeare plays. Plus, be sure to read our BBC Earth Experience review and Witness for the Prosecution review.

Get Thorpe Park tickets for £27 off plus flexible booking at DaysOut.com

This deal from DaysOut.com is a great one for saving a bit of money, but the reason we think it's a great deal is because of the flexible booking policy. You might not save as much as in some of the other deals (although there's really not much in it), but anyone with kids knows how quickly plans can change. Someone gets a cold or there's a birthday party you haven't been told about and your plans are scuppered.

But with this deal, you can change the date of your visit even after you've bought tickets – so you won't lose out on money and you'll still get your day out. Just remember: you have to change your tickets 24 hours before your original visit date.

Buy Thorpe Park tickets for £64 £37 (save £27 or 42%) with flexible booking at DaysOut.co.uk

Save £42 or 66% on Thorpe Park tickets for students

If you have older children, it can be tricky to find something to do that everyone in the family will enjoy. Well, the good news is that anyone with a valid student ID can get a huge saving on tickets for Thorpe Park. Whereas day tickets would normally set you back £64, students can now get them for £22. That's a saving of over half price.

Buy a Thorpe Park student day ticket for £64 £22 (save £42 or 66%) at Thorpe Park

Get over 200 days entry with the Merlin Annual Pass

The Merlin Annual Pass gives you access to some of the UK's biggest attractions, including Thorpe Park, Chessington and Alton Towers. With prices starting at £99 you can get the Discovery Pass, which gives you over 200 days entry to any of the attractions available. Or, you can upgrade to the Silver, Gold, or Platinum passes, which give you 300, 340 and 364 days respectively, and extra perks like free parking and a discount on fast track vouchers.

To find out more, check out our guide to what is the Merlin Pass?

Get up to £40 off on the Merlin Annual Pass for students

The Merlin Annual Pass is your way into the UK’s top attractions, with Alton Towers, SEA LIFE centres and the London Eye on the list as well as Thorpe Park. There are different levels of the pass available, from the Discovery Pass all the way to the Platinum Pass which gives you extra fancy perks like £5 off fast track vouchers.

With Student Beans you can save £20 off a Discovery Pass which would normally set you back £99. You can save the same amount off a Silver Pass and get it for £149, down from £169. You can also get £30 off a Gold Pass which brings the price down to £200, or if you want to get all the benefits of a Platinum Pass you can save £40 which brings the price down to £259 annually.

How to get to Thorpe Park

family on a train how to get cheap thorpe park tickets 2023
Photo and Co via Getty Images Photo and Co via Getty Images

Thorpe Park is situated in Thorpe, Surrey, just outside of London. It’s easy to get to by train, and Trainline and National Rail have some great deals on to help you and your family get to your destination as cheaply as possible. Let’s check them out.

Staines is the nearest train station to Thorpe Park, and there’s a shuttle bus (number 950) which runs every 15-20 minutes. The shuttle bus starts running nice and early at 9am, and stops running from Thorpe Park an hour after the park’s closing time.

Perfect for the school holidays, National Rail has launched National Rail’s Days Out Guide, which sees you get up to two for one entry at top attractions around the UK, including Thorpe Park.

Trainline is great for cheap tickets, and we have some top tips to bagging the best deals in our how to get cheap train tickets guide. Some of the ones the RadioTimes.com team won't stop banging on about is to book tickets 12 weeks in advance, and to secure a Railcard: a Railcard will see you save up to one third of the fare price.

Save up to 1/3 on the train fare with a Railcard

Is there parking at Thorpe Park?

If you're travelling to Thorpe Park by car, you'll be pleased to know that there is in-resort parking. A car parking ticket will set you back £9 on the day, or £8 if you purchase online before. So why not save that extra quid and put it towards some car snacks instead?

Buy a one-day car parking ticket for £8 at Thorpe Park

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For more exciting things, like concerts, events, and sports matches, be sure to check out our Going Out section. If you're heading to the capital this month, why not treat the family to one of the best West End shows?

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