Things to do in Bournemouth in the rain: indoor prices

Indoor attractions compared

Every price and opening time below comes from the attraction’s own website, read on 23 October 2026, with RockReef, Splashdown and Red House Museum hours read again on 1 November. Where an attraction has an outdoor part that a wet day would spoil, the “Indoors?” column says so.

Indoor things to do by Bournemouth Pier

Three of the options above are within a short walk of the pier, so a wet morning can be spent without moving the car. The Oceanarium on Pier Approach is open every day of the year except Christmas Day, from 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm. Booking online saves money: £13.99 against £17.50 for an adult, and £32.99 against £39.99 for a family of four. Online tickets cannot be refunded or moved to another date, so they suit a day when rain is forecast with some certainty.

The only part of the Oceanarium that is outside is the Penguin Beach exhibit, and the aquarium suggests wet-weather clothing for it. Under 3s go free, and a registered carer with a disabled visitor goes free alongside a paying ticket. Gate discounts, family tickets and memberships are compared in Bournemouth Oceanarium tickets.

RockReef, at the sea end of the pier, says a covered shelter runs along the pier up to its entrance. Inside are 28 Clip ’n Climb walls, the HighLine aerial course (minimum height 1.1 metres, maximum weight 100kg), a vertical slide and the Pier Cave. A Clip ’n Climb session lasts 90 minutes, of which about 30 are the safety briefing and kit-up, and one adult can supervise up to three children under 16 (RockReef: FAQs).

RockReef’s PierZip zip wire is outdoors, but its FAQs say it runs in most weather including rain, closing only for extreme conditions such as high winds or thunderstorms, when riders are offered another date. RockReef publishes prices only inside its booking system.

Check prices for Bournemouth Oceanarium on GetYourGuide →The ticket prices on this page are the Oceanarium’s own; the price through this link may differ.

Check prices for RockReef and PierZip on GetYourGuide →

Free indoor options

Two museums in the area charge nothing to get in. Poole Museum, in the Old Town by Poole Quay, reopened after a £10.3 million redevelopment supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which brought step-free access across the ground floor and new lifts, including the first in Scaplen’s Court (Poole Museum: redevelopment). Its Harbour Life exhibition covers sustainable fishing, marine ecology, trade and climate change.

Poole Museum and Scaplen’s Court are open daily from 10am to 5pm, with last admission to the museum at 4pm, and close on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Children aged 13 and under must come with a parent. Donations are by card or contactless only. For an afternoon on the water once the rain stops, the Brownsea and Swanage boats leave from the same quay, compared in boat trips from Poole.

The Red House Museum in Christchurch is free with no need to book. The building was the parish workhouse for Christchurch and Bournemouth from 1764, and its collections began with a local collector, Herbert Druitt. For the week from 1 November it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 12pm, and closes on Monday. The museum says there is one hour of free parking outside and a pay and display car park at the end of Quay Road.

Splashdown waterpark at Tower Park

Splashdown at Tower Park, Poole (BH12 4NY) has 13 indoor and outdoor flumes and two splash zones for under 5s, one inside and one outside. Some flumes open only in season. All tickets have to be booked online before arrival, there are no tickets on the door, and the FAQs recommend booking at least 48 hours ahead.

A two-hour session is £20 a head and three hours is £23, with a £1.25 booking fee per transaction. On some evenings a Sunset Splash ticket (£21) gives up to four hours after 4pm. Under 5s cannot use the flumes on an under-5 ticket, and each needs an adult companion ticket. The price table shows £9 for the pair, reduced from £18 while the Ricky’s Reef toddler pool is closed, but the FAQs give £9 each, £18 for the two, so check the price at checkout. Spectators pay £7, which includes a drink.

Riders must be at least 1 metre tall for the flumes and 1.2 metres for Infinity. Children under 9 must be supervised by an adult everywhere in the park, under 5s one to one, and one adult can supervise no more than two children aged 5 to 8 (Splashdown Poole: FAQs). Opening hours change with the date; on 1 November the park was open from 10am to 6pm.

For a pool without the queue for a ticket, hotels that let guests swim are compared in hotels with pools in Bournemouth.

Bowling in Bournemouth and Poole

Hollywood Bowl runs two centres on the Bournemouth side of Poole, each with 24 lanes, arcade games and a bar and diner. Branksome is at 382 Poole Road (BH12 1DA). Tower Park is beside Splashdown in the same leisure complex, which puts a waterpark and bowling within one car park.

Both open at 11am Monday to Thursday and 9am Friday to Sunday, and stay open until 11pm or later every night. Neither page gives a single-game price: the lowest listed bowling offer is three games from £10 a person at Branksome and from £11 at Tower Park, and Hollywood Bowl says prices shown are indicative and confirmed at checkout. Its Branksome FAQ says a game takes around 45 minutes for a group of up to six players.

Booking online is the only way to guarantee a lane, and walk-ins are taken when there is space, according to the Tower Park page.

Historic houses: Russell-Cotes and Highcliffe Castle

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum stands on the East Cliff Promenade above the beach. The house, galleries and café are indoors; only the garden is outside. Adult tickets are £12.50 and a family of up to two adults and three children is £30, prices that include an optional 10% Gift Aid donation that can be left off on request. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and on bank holiday Mondays from 10am to 5pm.

The Russell-Cotes will be closed from Monday 4 to Monday 18 January 2027 for conservation and building work, reopening on Tuesday 19 January, and is also closed on 25 and 26 December 2026.

Highcliffe Castle, east of Christchurch, opens its rooms Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 4pm (last entry 3pm) until 23 December 2026, when its season ends. Admission is £10 for anyone 16 and over and £3.50 for ages 5 to 15, and the Castle Pantry tea room is open every day from 9am to 5pm. Its December Christmas events are listed in Christmas in Bournemouth.

Rainy days in winter and the Christmas holidays

RockReef publishes no fixed hours between school holidays, saying session times vary, so check its booking calendar for a November weekday. RockReef and the PierZip are next open every day from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Oceanarium opens every day except 25 December.

The Russell-Cotes and the Red House Museum both close on Mondays outside bank holidays, and Highcliffe Castle closes on Fridays and Saturdays. On a wet Monday the options that publish Monday opening are the Oceanarium, RockReef in the holidays, Poole Museum, Highcliffe Castle and both bowling centres. Splashdown says it may not open every day at some times of year, so check its calendar. Outdoor attractions such as the Lower Gardens mini golf and Hengistbury Head are covered in things to do in Bournemouth.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a cinema in Poole town centre?

Yes. The Lighthouse arts centre at 21 Kingland Road, Poole (BH15 1UG) shows a programme running from the latest releases to cult classics (Lighthouse Poole: Film Pass). Its website does not show a standard ticket price outside the booking system. A Film Pass gives five free tickets a year plus £2 off other tickets, and full-time students can get a free pass that brings films down to £5.

Do you need to book Splashdown in advance?

Yes. Splashdown Poole sells all standard admissions online only, with no tickets on the door and no phone bookings. Tickets are non-refundable, but creating an account when booking allows a change of date up to 120 hours before the visit.

Are dogs allowed in Bournemouth’s indoor attractions?

Mostly not. The Oceanarium admits trained assistance dogs only. Poole Museum says all dogs are welcome in Scaplen’s Court. Hotels that take dogs, for a rainy day spent in the room, are compared in dog-friendly hotels in Bournemouth.

Related guides

• Things to do in Bournemouth: outdoor and seasonal attractions, with prices
• Spa hotels in Bournemouth
• Hotels with pools in Bournemouth
• Family hotels in Bournemouth
• Bournemouth town centre parking: car parks near the pier