Warwick Castle Ticket Prices
You cannot look up what Warwick Castle costs, because it does not have one price. What you can look up is the shape of it, and the shape is simple enough to act on. Book online and a day ticket starts at £26. Pay at the gate and it is £31. Add parking, and the Castle Dungeon if you want it, and you have your number. Here is every way of paying, and which one wins for your party.
Every way of paying, side by side
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| One-day entry, booked online | From £26 | Admission plus the live shows and attractions running that day, and the Rainy Day Promise |
| One-day entry, bought on the day | £31 | The same ticket, £5 more. The gap is fixed, not a sale |
| Family one-day entry | From £86 for a family of four | Covers a family of three, four or five, with a maximum of two adults aged 16 or above |
| Parent & Toddler ticket | From £22 | Online only, selected dates. The live entertainment and the grounds |
| Warwick Annual Pass | From £49 | A year at this castle. Two day tickets bought online cost more |
| Merlin Annual Pass | From £139 | This castle and the rest of the group's attractions |
| Short break, per person | From £60 | One night, breakfast, one day's entry and parking, quoted for a family of four in a Standard Room |
Two things to notice. The first is that the online figure is a “from” — the castle prices by date, so a wet Tuesday in February is not a Saturday in August. The second is that the gate price is not a “from”. It is £31, fixed, whatever day you turn up.
The £5 you save by booking the night before
This is the cheapest decision on the page and it takes two minutes. Booking online rather than at the gate saves you £5 a head. For a family of four that is £5 four times over, and you have not changed anything about your day.
You do not need to book weeks ahead to get it. You need to book before you arrive.
What your ticket does not cover
- The Castle Dungeon. From £10 per person on top of your ticket, bought at the Courtyard Ticket and Information Office. Not suitable for under-10s, and under-18s need an adult with them
- Parking. £7.50 on Stratford Road and the overflow field, £10.00 in the Stables Car Park. Coaches park free
- Have-a-go Archery. Seasonal, and an additional charge
- Food and drink. There are places to eat inside; none of them is in the ticket, and you are allowed to bring a picnic
The Castle Dungeon is the one that catches people, because it is the attraction most first-time visitors have heard of. It is not in any admission ticket. You add it inside, from £10 a head, and it is ten-and-over only. If you are bringing children under ten, plan the day without it rather than discovering it at the door.
Is an annual pass worth it? Do the sum
A Warwick Annual Pass starts at £49. An online day ticket starts at £26. So the pass pays for itself on your second visit, and anything after that is free. If you live within an hour and have children, that sum answers itself.
The Merlin Annual Pass at £139 is a different question entirely. It only makes sense if you will use the group’s other attractions as well, and if you will not, you are paying £139 for a castle you could have had for £49.
Family tickets, carers and under-2s
A family one-day entry starts at £86 for four, and covers a family of three, four or five with a maximum of two adults aged sixteen or over. That last clause matters: three adults and two children is not a family ticket here, however it looks to you. A Parent & Toddler ticket starts at £22 online on selected dates.
Under-2s go in free. A carer accompanying a disabled visitor goes in free too, but the ticket must be booked in advance rather than claimed at the gate — the accessibility page lists the five proofs the castle accepts.
A ticket and a train, against a coach day
Now the comparison that actually decides most bookings. If you are starting in London, you have two ways in and they buy different things.
Do it yourself and you pay for a return from Marylebone, a ticket from £26, and nothing else if you walk the mile from the station. What you get is the castle’s own stated six hours: both towers, the Great Hall, the Kingmaker and two shows, at your own pace.
Take a coach day and you pay one fare that covers the driving, a guide, and Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford as well. What you get at the castle is ninety minutes. Read the booking grade before you pay: on three of these days castle admission is sold as “including entries” or “excluding entries”, and the headline price is the one without.
Compare the fares against a ticket
Every day trip here shows what its fare covers and how long it leaves you inside the walls, so you can put it against a ticket and a train ticket.
Parking, which is not in anything
Whatever ticket you hold, you pay to park. The Stables Car Park is £10.00 and sits closest to the entrance. Stratford Road and the overflow field are £7.50 and sit on an incline; allow ten to twenty minutes to walk up. Coaches park free, which is one small argument for arriving on one.
Add it up honestly: two adults driving in and paying at the gate spend £31 each plus £10.00 to park. The same two booking online and taking the train pay £26 each and nothing to park. Warwick Castle day tour options are set out with their fares, and the map page has the car parks and the walk from each one. Warwick Castle Tours lists every way in with what its fare covers.