The middle price for a Santa visit this Christmas is £19.23 per child, across the 114 grottos that publish a price. 98% include a present, and 4 have already sold out.
We read each grotto’s own booking page for its 2026 dates, price per child and what’s included. Prices are the cheapest child ticket as published; where a grotto hasn’t published a price we leave it out rather than guess.
By city
| City | Grottos | Priced | Middle price | From | With a gift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester | 16 | 3 | £27.50 | £18 | 12 |
| Oxford | 8 | 4 | £25.24 | £4.75 | 5 |
| Glasgow | 13 | 3 | £25 | £15 | 11 |
| London | 13 | 5 | £25 | £15 | 10 |
| Norwich | 8 | 3 | £25 | £24.25 | 6 |
| York | 14 | 7 | £24.95 | £6 | 12 |
| Plymouth | 12 | 4 | £24.48 | £15 | 9 |
| Leeds | 12 | 10 | £21.95 | £12 | 10 |
| Manchester | 12 | 4 | £21 | £7 | 10 |
| Southampton | 10 | 5 | £20 | £10 | 9 |
| Brighton | 13 | 7 | £19.50 | £10 | 10 |
| Cambridge | 15 | 4 | £18.50 | £11.75 | 14 |
| Liverpool | 14 | 5 | £18.15 | £14 | 10 |
| Cardiff | 12 | 8 | £18 | £14.50 | 10 |
| Birmingham | 18 | 9 | £17.50 | £13.50 | 17 |
| Newcastle | 14 | 10 | £17.48 | £10 | 11 |
| Bristol | 14 | 10 | £16 | £6.49 | 12 |
| Edinburgh | 12 | 5 | £15 | £7.50 | 7 |
| Sheffield | 15 | 6 | £13 | £5.95 | 11 |
| Nottingham | 12 | 3 | £12.50 | £9 | 8 |
When grottos open
| Opens | Grottos |
|---|---|
| Before 21 Nov | 27 |
| Sat 21 – Sun 22 Nov | 37 |
| Sat 28 – Sun 29 Nov | 61 |
| Early December | 59 |
| Later in December | 16 |
What kind of visit
- Santa experience (story, elves, workshop): 106
- Grotto visit: 87
- Santa train: 39
- Breakfast with Santa: 20
- Other: 4
Where grottos say how long a visit lasts (79 of them), the middle is 50 minutes, from 2 to 180. Experiences with a story or an elves’ workshop run longest.
Already sold out
Santa's Grotto at Selly Manor (Birmingham); Breakfast with Santa at Dalkeith Country Park (Edinburgh); Santa's Grotto at Dobbies Birtley (Newcastle); North Pole Express at Tanfield Railway (Newcastle).
Using these figures
You’re welcome to quote these numbers. Please credit SeasonHopper and link to this page; they update as grottos publish prices.
Common questions
How much does a Santa’s grotto cost in 2026?
Across the 114 grottos that publish a price, the middle price is £19.23 per child, from £4.75 to £50. Santa trains and breakfasts cost more than a simple grotto visit.
Do Santa’s grottos include a present?
203 of the 207 grottos that say either way include a gift for each child (98%).
Do adults have to pay for a Santa visit?
120 of the 144 grottos that state a policy charge for adults, often a small fee or included in site entry.
When do Santa’s grottos open in 2026?
The earliest we track opens on Saturday 7 November (Santa at Pugh's Garden Village, Wenvoe). Most open on the weekends of 21–22 or 28–29 November.
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