Margate Caves Reviews Summary

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a charming little cafeteria where I could not only find souvenirs but also enjoy some delightful cookies and drinks."
• "The clean restroom at the back was a welcome convenience."
• "The entrance building is clean, modern, includes a cafe for drinks and light meals, and has excellent toilet facilities."
• "Very well maintained café, toilet facilities and gift shop in the entrance building."
• "There is a small gift shop, lovely cafe inside and outside seating."
• "Great gift shop, clean toilets and a coffee shop too!"
• "Nice cafe/gift shop also. Nice place to take young kids."
• "Lovely cafe and shop here too."
• "There's also a cafe, gift shop as well as a children's area on site."
• "The gift shop has a good selection of nice gifts and trinkets, not the usual junk, and the cafe had delicious home-made mince pies."
• "The cafe looked pleasant and the lentil soup smelt amazing, but we'd just eaten."

Cons:

• "The coffee shop was chaotic too."
• "We found the caves interesting, but what ruined a pleasant visit was the lady in the cafe, her customer service was appalling, very rude, we felt we were an inconvenience for her."

Staff and Guides

Pros:

• "What truly made this visit memorable was the incredibly helpful and friendly staff."
• "Another friendly member was in the caves with lots of information about the caves and answered questions."
• "The lady inside the cave had lots of really interesting knowledge about the caves and the paintings on the cave walls."
• "The staff were extremely friendly and the guide in the cave was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions, as well as showing us some hidden features that we had missed!"
• "The staff and volunteers were friendly, and whilst the passage down was a little narrow/short, the caves itself are spacious."
• "Very good value and something a bit different. Informative staff and the right amount of stuff to read after."
• "All staff are lovely, with the volunteers based in the cave itself welcoming and professional."

Cons:

• "Only issue is there isn’t much info once you’re down in the caves."
• "The staff were superb (the best at any place I visited in Margate), and it's definitely still worth doing if you're in town - and also not very expensive."
• "There were 2 staff on hand for questions but replied 'I dunno' to most questions so came away not knowing much more."
• "There wasn't really any tunnels to explore. There was a few different areas to look at. We were done in about 10-15 after taking it all in. Bit disappointed as it took an 1.5 hours to drive there."

Experience and Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Margate Caves not only offers a fascinating underground adventure but also takes care of its visitors' needs and provides exceptional hospitality."
• "The caves were bigger than expected I thought and the entry fee was very reasonable."
• "It was my first time in a chalk mine, nice to walk through and to know the history."
• "The murals also are very artistic and amazing. Worth the time for the visit."
• "You can walk around on your own and free to take photos."
• "The caves are not extensive in size, but they are impressive and fascinating, with wall paintings to see as well as the tunnels to explore."
• "Impressive chalk caves with striking wall paintings and an informative exhibition room."
• "It takes 15-30 minutes to walk around. Nearby, within walking distance, there is also the Shell Grotto."

Cons:

• "Came across this by chance. £10 for a family of 4 was very reasonable. Quite claustrophobic as you walk down the tunnels but the man-made caves are high and the odd paintings add to the atmosphere."
• "If you're claustrophobic, might want to avoid. Tall people, beware too, low ceilings."
• "The caves are small but we enjoyed it. Little one found then interesting and the volunteer had her engaged with the history of the caves."
• "It doesn’t take too long and a fun excursion especially on a hot day as inside the caves it is much cooler than outside."
• "It was OK, had free tickets to look around so that made it better as not sure its worth £4.50 each. Spent 20 mins looking around."
• "Smaller than I expected but worth a visit if you are in the area."
• "Not really caves, more an underground pit somebody dug. The facts and info before you go in were interesting but was underwhelmed by the caves."
• "Visited Friday afternoon 30/08/19, was refused entry due to 30min before 5pm closing rule."