Things to do in Bournemouth: prices and opening times

Bournemouth attractions compared

Prices and hours below are from each attraction’s own website or BCP Council, read on 16 October 2026. Where a price changes with the date or the way you book, the table gives the lowest published figure and says so. Opening times are those in force from mid-October; several outdoor attractions close or cut back after October.

Things to do in Bournemouth town centre

Most of the paid attractions sit within a few minutes of the pier. The Oceanarium is on Pier Approach, beside the west end of the seafront; the land train’s west stop is described by BCP as next to it. Online tickets are cheaper than the gate: £13.99 against £17.50 for an adult, and £32.99 against £39.99 for a family of four. Children are 3 to 15, under 3s go free, and a carer with a disabled visitor gets in free with proof. Online tickets cannot be refunded or moved to another date.

The Oceanarium warns that on wet days in school holidays and at weekends it can get extremely busy, with a possible long queue partly outside, and that it stops admitting people at a sensible limit. Its Penguin Beach exhibit is outdoors. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve it closes at 4pm, and on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day it opens at 11am.

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is on the East Cliff Promenade, which the museum puts at two minutes’ walk from the pier and five from the town centre. Adult tickets are £12.50 and a family of up to two adults and three children is £30. Those prices include an optional 10% Gift Aid donation, and the standard fee is charged if you ask staff to leave it off. The café and shop are free to enter, and pre-booking is no longer essential.

The museum is closed on Mondays except most bank holidays, and on 25 and 26 December 2026. It also says building work in the new year will close it for a short period, with dates still to be announced (Russell-Cotes: forthcoming closures).

Between the pier and the shops, the Lower Gardens hold the 18-hole mini golf course, a bandstand, an aviary, the Hedgehog Kiosk and an open-air art exhibition, according to BCP. Twelve of the mini golf holes are accessible to wheelchair users. Card payment only, and if the weather is bad the course stays shut, so BCP suggests calling 01202 123 800 first.

The Tourist Information Centre is on Pier Approach (BH2 5AA), open daily from 10am to 4pm on the same number (BCP Council: Bournemouth Tourist Information Centre). Car parks close to the pier, and their winter and summer rates, are in Bournemouth town centre parking.

The pier: RockReef and the PierZip

RockReef, at the sea end of Bournemouth Pier, is an indoor climbing attraction with 28 Clip ’n Climb walls, the Highline aerial course, a vertical slide, a Leap of Faith and the Pier Cave. A Clip ’n Climb session lasts 90 minutes, including an induction of up to 30 minutes. Every activity has a minimum age of 4.

The PierZip is a 250-metre dual zip wire from the pier to the beach, so two riders can go side by side. Riders must be at least 1.3 metres tall and weigh between 30kg and 120kg, and RockReef says the weight limits can change with the weather. Its FAQs say the PierZip runs in rain but can close in high winds or very heavy rain, in which case the ride is rebooked. The zip wire opens at weekends and daily in the school holidays (RockReef: FAQs).

RockReef’s site does not list prices outside its booking system. Phone bookings are on 01202 983983, and online discounts do not apply to bookings made by phone or in person.

Free things to do in Bournemouth

• Bournemouth Gardens. The Lower, Central and Upper Gardens run for about 3 kilometres from the pier to the Poole boundary, crossed by small red bridges over the stream, and have held a Green Flag every year since 1999. The Central Gardens have a play area with a zip wire; the Upper Gardens have a Giant Redwood that BCP says is believed to be the largest in the country. Beyond the rockeries the path is unpaved and can be boggy, and BCP says it is not suitable for wheelchairs.
• Hengistbury Head. No entry charge is listed for the headland at the east end of the bay, and its visitor centre is open daily from 10am to 4pm (Hengistbury Head: opening times). Parking beside the Hiker Café is charged; seafront car park rates are in Bournemouth beach parking. From April to October the land train runs from there to Mudeford Sandbank at £4.95 a single, and in winter it does not run.
• Red House Museum, Christchurch. Admission is free. The museum covers Iron Age Hengistbury Head, Saxon burial finds and Victorian Christchurch in a building that was the parish workhouse from 1764, with a family area and gardens.
• Bournemouth Natural Science Society museum. Open most Tuesdays from 10am to 4pm at 39 Christchurch Road. Its website does not give an admission charge.
• Christchurch Priory. The priory church says it is open daily for visitors, with guided tours and self-guided visits (Christchurch Priory).
• The beach. From 1 October to 30 April dogs are allowed on every beach in the area, and the rules for summer are in dog-friendly beaches in Bournemouth.

Bournemouth Pier itself was free to walk in 2025, according to BCP Council’s pier page, which had not been updated for 2026 when read on 16 October.

Things to do in Bournemouth for adults and couples

None of the attractions above is adults-only, but several suit an adult day out on their published terms. The Russell-Cotes is a historic house with galleries and a garden, and a café serving light lunches and afternoon tea from 10am to 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Its child band runs to 17, and its dogs rule allows them on a short lead in the garden only.

Highcliffe Castle, east of Christchurch, is a Grade I listed house owned and run by BCP Council. The castle is open Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm, until 23 December 2026. Admission is £10 for anyone 16 or over, card only, and Historic Houses members go free. The grounds stay open all year from 7am, and in November to March the gates close at 6.30pm. Dogs are welcome in the grounds and gift shop on a lead, but not in the castle.

The PierZip takes adults up to 120kg, and RockReef runs Clip ’n Climb for adults as well as children. For time on the water, Jurassic Coast cruises, the Swanage boat and the Brownsea Island ferry all leave from Poole Quay, compared in boat trips from Poole. Hotels with spas and treatment rooms are in spa hotels in Bournemouth.

Seafront: land train and lifeguards

BCP’s seafront land train is down to one route. The east service runs from Bournemouth Pier (boarding next to Harry Ramsden’s) to Boscombe, with a drop-off stop at Toft Zig Zag and a stop at the East Cliff lift on request. The west route to Alum Chine and Branksome Chine is not running because of cliff slips. Trains usually run daily from 10am from Easter to October, weather permitting, and payment is by card on board. BCP’s page gives no fare.

RNLI lifeguards cover Bournemouth East and West beaches, Boscombe East and Sandbanks from 28 March to 27 September, with other beaches covered for shorter summer periods, all from 10am to 6pm (BCP Council: lifeguards and beach safety). From late September there are no lifeguards on any beach in the area until the following spring. The beach at Sandbanks, which keeps its lifeguards for the same long season as the pier beaches, is covered in Sandbanks beach.

October half-term and winter

RockReef is open daily from 24 October to 1 November 2026 for half-term, and from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Oceanarium stays open every day except Christmas Day. The Lower Gardens mini golf is listed as open daily, while the Boscombe Chine course and café have closed for the season. Christmas in Bournemouth also runs Glow Golf in the Lower Gardens from 12 November to 24 December; whether it replaces the standard course in that period is not stated.

From 12 November 2026 the Christmas market and ice rink take over Bournemouth Square and the Lower Gardens, and Highcliffe Castle holds its Christmas Tree Festival from 28 November to 23 December. Dates, hours and prices for those are in Christmas in Bournemouth.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Bournemouth Air Festival on in 2026?

No. BCP Council’s Cabinet decided on 18 June 2025 to stop any further work on an Air Festival for 2026 onwards, after looking for an outside organiser to fund and run it. No replacement event has been confirmed by the council.

Is Adventure Wonderland open?

Not as of 16 October 2026. The theme park at Hurn says on its website that it is currently closed for a restructure, with no reopening date given.

Which Bournemouth attractions are open on a Monday?

The Oceanarium, the Lower Gardens mini golf (weather permitting) and the Tourist Information Centre open daily, and Highcliffe Castle opens Sunday to Thursday. The Russell-Cotes and the Red House Museum are closed on Mondays, although the Russell-Cotes opens on most bank holiday Mondays.

Can you take a dog to Bournemouth attractions?

Only assistance dogs are allowed inside the Russell-Cotes house and galleries and inside Highcliffe Castle. The Oceanarium welcomes trained assistance dogs and says emotional support animals are not permitted. Dogs can go on a short lead in the Russell-Cotes garden and on a lead in the Highcliffe Castle grounds and gift shop. Hotels that take dogs are compared in dog-friendly hotels in Bournemouth.

Related guides

• Where to stay in Bournemouth: the areas compared
• Family hotels in Bournemouth
• Bournemouth beach parking: every seafront car park, summer and winter
• Mudeford beach huts: the Sandbank, ferries and the land train
• Boat trips from Poole