When is Dinosaur Isle open?

Dinosaur Isle is open: Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 2:45 PM

What hotels are near Dinosaur Isle?

Hotels near Dinosaur Isle: (0.38 mi) Inglewood Guest House (0.24 mi) Sands Hotel (0.34 mi) The Wight (0.40 mi) Denewood Hotel (0.25 mi) Fort Holiday Park View all hotels near Dinosaur Isle on Tripadvisor

What restaurants are near Dinosaur Isle?

Restaurants near Dinosaur Isle: (0.15 mi) The Bandstand Restaurant (0.50 mi) Bellamy's Bistro (0.30 mi) The Caulkheads (0.52 mi) The Old Corner Bank (0.35 mi) The Sundial Cafe View all restaurants near Dinosaur Isle on Tripadvisor

Dinosaur Isle (Sandown) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

1,009 reviews

#5 of 23 things to do in Sandown

Natural History Museums • History Museums

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The area

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Best nearby

Restaurants

145 within 3 miles

The Bandstand Restaurant

970

0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • British • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options

The Caulkheads

694

0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Bar • British

Bellamy's Bistro

892

0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options • Gluten Free Options

The Sundial Cafe

122

0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Cafe • British

Yaverland Kiosk

84

0.3 mi$ • Quick Bites • Cafe • British

The Reef

1,064

0.4 mi$$ - $$$ • British • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options

The Old Corner Bank

235

0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • British • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options

The Ocean Deck Bar & Restaurant

700

0.4 mi$$ - $$$ • Bar • Seafood • British

Eastern Eye

344

0.4 mi$$ - $$$ • Indian • Asian • Balti

Slush Shack

4

0.3 mi$ • Cafe • Fast Food • Barbecue

See all

Attractions

106 within 6 miles

Sandham Gardens

21

0.1 miAmusement & Theme Parks

Wildheart Animal Sanctuary

3,070

0.2 miNature & Wildlife Areas

1.3 miWineries & Vineyards • Farms

Sandown Pier

1,501

0.7 miPoints of Interest & Landmarks

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0

1,009 reviews

Excellent

330

Very good

365

Average

188

Poor

78

Terrible

48

Mark T

21 contributions

A must for every dinosaur enthusiast

Jun 2021 • Family

Booked this for our 12 year old dinosaur nut. Was a bit worried it may be more for younger visitors but we all loved it. We booked in advance over email which was really simple. The price was fantastic - £17.50 for a family of 4 (£15 when they refund your parking) and they provide a lovely colouring pack with pencil, postcard and stickers. My Dino mad son loved it and was very impressed with the amount of Dinosaurs discovered on the island. He wants to do the museum again when we return to the island and also do a fossil walk which was unfortunately fully booked the week we were visiting. The gift shop has brilliant products at very reasonable prices.

Written June 4, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

SWH100

Cardiff, UK1,005 contributions

Small but really interesting dinosaur museum

May 2022 • Friends

After learning about how many dinosaurs had been found on the IOW, I was really keen to visit dinosaur Isle to learn more and see some of the finds. I really enjoyed the museum. It is small - with two main rooms, but it is packed full of fossils and bones that have been found. I found it super interesting and I learnt a lot about the finds on the island. I was lucky enough to find a couple of small fossilised dinosaur bones back in the summer so it was also great to learn a bit more about iguanodon’s at the museum. It also has an epic gift shop with more dinosaur related gifts than I have ever seen and at pretty good prices too. At £6 for an adult, I think this is a really reasonable museum where you can spend an hour or so looking around.

Written May 3, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Laura

Taunton, UK8 contributions

Good rainy day activity

Aug 2021 • Family

We visited here on a rainy day, Facebook page states you need to book to go, but you can’t book online And Facebook messenger not monitored, & phone wasn’t answered so we went anyway hoping we would still get in. It was very busy being a wet and very windy day. Luckily we only had to wait 45mins for a slot.
When we got in there we’re free activity sheets for children, 2 different age ranges which was great. The displays are slightly old but that didn’t matter to the children, some of the interactive sessions were very dated but not sure how much this was because of covid restrictions ( perhaps some missing).

All in all a good way to depend an he on a rainy day without spending a fortune. Really could do with the car park next to the museum being repaired as anyone in a wheelchair or walking aids who is unable to get one of the disabled spaces would really struggle.

Written September 13, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Elle c

Hitchin15 contributions

Complete disappointment and rip off!

Jun 2021 • Family

We came here last week, expecting it to be really good. Both my 6 and 8 year old are dino mad and also my partner and I love anything to do with dinosaurs and fossils.
Well, firstly I thought it was meant to be free as this is what I had read online, but this must have been old information.
We arrived at about 2pm the first time we came to be told we needed to book and there were no spaces. OK, fair enough, so we booked for 12 o'clock next day.
On arriving they deducted £2 off the £17.50 price as we'd used the carpark so was still £15.50. Was a bit surprised at the price, but thought it must be worth it and we must be in for a treat......
Well, 20 minutes later we'd seen everything and were leaving!!
Seriously, i am still shocked as to what we actually paid for?
The few fossils that were there were either small, pretend plastic replicas or were not with any info as to what they were.
Your left wondering alot of the time if it's real or another replica?!
Its meant to be an interactive museum.....this must mean the few buttons kids can press that make dino sounds, that didn't actually work properly.
There's an electric dinosaur that you can press buttons to move its body, legs and head..again only the head moved up and down, no other buttons worked and my kids got bored within 30 seconds of playing with it.
Its basically one big room. You will not be spending any longer than half hour here and that's if you read everything!
We left this place feeling thoroughly disappointed and extremely ripped off!
Please don't waste your money

Written June 6, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

DC7697

9 contributions

Short and sweet visit

Oct 2021 • Family

A small museum mostly contained in one large room but the entry fee reflects that. A lot of info and facts to read, plus models, skeletons, and fossils to see. May be suited to older kids though there's a handful of interactive things too. Saying that, we came for my son and he was in his element taking photos of the exhibits. Hand gel available throughout, and friendly staff. We spent just over an hour here, then of course the gift shop. Apparently it's busier on rainy days.

Written October 30, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Fiona T

10 contributions

Excellent museum for dinosaur enthusiast

Aug 2020 • Family

We checked the website and called up to book our visit for the same day as they are limiting numbers, details given as expected for track and trace. Parked in the Dinosaur Isle car park, minimum charge £4 for 4 hours. We enjoyed a good hour and a half taking in the exhibits and chatting to the palentologists on site. My son who is a 13 year old dinosaur enthusiast really loved everything and we took many photos. We spent some time in the shop and overall enjoyed it all. As we had a dog my husband stayed with her on the beach where we joined later, making the most of the car park 4 hours car park fee. The following day my husband decided to go to the Museum as we had said how good it was, so called for a slot , however this time the staff member advised that if you park in the Dinosaur Isle car park bring your ticket from the machine (it prints 2) and you get £2.50 off entry, so he did and the lady on the admission desk was a bit dismissive as this is something they don't openly advertise and not all staff taking phone bookings will tell you. Its a great place, very educational about the geology and fossil finds from the Isle so if you have kids who love this kind of thing, it's well worth it.

Written August 6, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Mr P

5 contributions

Great value

Aug 2020

We visited Dinosaur Isle as a family, my son received a children’s pack upon entry which included activities, crayons, pencil and an ammonite fridge magnet.
The museum is quite small but is jam packed full of exhibits, and is great value for money. The staff are very friendly and were happy to talk about the local fossils and exhibits.

Written August 8, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Craig E

Valras-Plage, France38 contributions

Disappointing

Aug 2021 • Family

The “Dinosaur Isle” name suggested an experience rather than an exhibition- as did the price. As another reviewer said, it’s one big room - some interesting stuff for older kids and adults but you can do an hour there tops before younger kids will get restless. Not much interactive content. Definitely not worth the entrance fee.

Written August 8, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Tilda841

Twickenham, UK70 contributions

A lot smaller than expected - not worth the money

Sep 2022 • Family

We took our dinosaur-obsessed, 3.5yr old to this museum with high hopes to fill a rainy afternoon.
Although interesting, it really lacks any exciting interactive bits for younger children and it’s definitely aimed towards older kids that can read everything. There was one animatronic dinosaur and some big models but we were in and out within 15mins. Quite a lot of money for what it is!

Written September 7, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

ScoobyDoo31

Hants, England6 contributions

Perfect balance of informative & fun

Jul 2022 • Family

Was very pleasantly surprised by this place. Really professionally done, with the opportunity to see the palaeontologists at work and ask questions (confirmed my photos were indeed dinosaur footprints!) And lots to keep my 7 year old boy interested, with dinosaur jigsaw, fossil rubbing, robotic dinosaur for him to operate, fossils to uncover, and buttons to make dinosaur noises. And all at a very reasonable price - cheaper than the fibre glass dinosaur golf down the road!! Would definitely recommend. I believe they also do fossil hunts/ tours which I imagine would be fantastic based on the museum.