Is this too much for little ones?

[Notsureaboutittoday]

Flying from Gatwick to Amsterdam
Staying 2 nights in Amsterdam
Then train to Efteling (1 hour plus short bus ride)
Stay in Efteling Hotel for 2 nights then back up on the train to Amsterdam, bit more of a look round then fly home.

Is it too much travelling and not enough time in one place? 2 adults and 2 children ages 2 and 7.

Please help, I am posting for traffic and just getting stuck but need to book soon.

My 7 year old would enjoy now

Neither of mine would have liked it at 2, it would have been awful

Oh! Sorry your trip has been changed. I think you need to be prepared that won't be as you planned originally!
Is there any reason for the second location? I think I would aim to stay in one place and for an apartment over hotel so you can actually put the kids to bed and have some adult time.

Well presumably the 2 year old will be in a pushchair. Will they nap when they’re out? I think it’s fine… the flight is short. The train will be cool and they don’t need to sit down the whole time they can take a little walk if need be. I would just take the stance that the family is having an adventure together and it will be fine. Find a playground in Amsterdam and cake / ice cream and have plenty of pit stops.

I don't think it's too much. If the bus is only an hour then they'll be fine. I would have done it if I'd wanted to.

It was supposed to be 4 nights in Amsterdam adults only staying at the beautiful Esthrea hotel😭 can't stay there with 2 kids anyway now and thought efteling is more fun for kids (we've always wanted to go there too) so thought I'd combine the two trips. We have to fly into Amsterdam regardless so thought 2 nights in each place would be fun. Still not sure 😕

Yes the 2 year old naps anywhere.

Sounds like fun to me. Just have a lot of colouring and age appropriate activity books for the trains and planes.

We had a similar trip to Amsterdam and Efteling last year with my dcs aged 1 and 5 last year. They loved it, and were fine. We did the Eurostar rather than flying. Ours are used to multi-stop holidays and buggy naps, and they've done US trips every year since they were born.

Bosrijk is one of the onsite accommodation areas at Efteling - it has hotel rooms and self catering houses in a lovely wooded area around a lake, there's a pub, an indoor pool, climbing/play equipment dotted around and a stretch where kids can paddle. The Sandman comes at night to tell the children bedtime stories -mine didn't mind a bit that it was in Dutch and they only speak English!

It's a pleasant 10 ish minute walk into the main theme park.

This doesn't seem to be coming up on the website for me to book, I must check again that sounds amazing and I had no idea there was a pool. Thank you.

Thank you mine are vastly under travelled thanks to covid and lack of funds but we're looking to change that drastically now our house is renovated and has stopped eating all our money so hoping this will be the start. They've both been on a couple of short haul flights before though so I'm not worried about that part at least.

If its more kid friendlybthen sounds like a good idea. I think with only short journey times (flights and trains) I'm sure it will be fine. And you can adjust day to day plans when there. I'm sure you will have a lovely time.

The Hague is a lovely city and is by the coast. DS particularly loved the miniature city at Madurodam.
We have travelled by sea from Harwich to the Hook of Holland on the overnight ferry and returned via Calais to Dover.

Sounds fine. The train to the Efteling is very straightforward.

It will be absolutely fine. The pace might be slower than if the DC were not there. I think they will enjoy the train ride. You could do a boat trip in Amsterdam. The Vondelpark is also good for down time, if they are tired.

Esthera looks lovely. We considered it but booked Marriott as teen DC could use the gym.

Mine would have been fine with the travelling- but I do have to say that my ds was utterly terrified by Efteling, and still shudders when reminded about it as a young adult. He may be unique though!

I would just stick with Amsterdam.

https://www.efteling.com/en/bosrijk

The accommodation rates include park access for every day (so 2 nights accommodation includes 3 days park entry). Works out pretty good value, I think.

Oh really? We've been twice with large groups of friends, multiple kids aged from 2 the first time and up to 14 the second time and all of them have absolutely loved it.

Depends if they travel well. We have 3 under 3 and they love travelling as do the older ones but they've been used to breaks away since arrival lol

I've voted YANBU but then again I think it depends on the individual child.
My youngest would have been able to cope with that, my eldest not so much

I'm so torn now on whether to just do 1 night in Amsterdam when we arrive there and then do 3 nights at efteling 🫠 my fear is that no one really likes efteling (even though we all love theme parks and have merlin passes) and we regret not spending more time in Amsterdam. Or vice versa. Damn my ADHD inability to make a decision.

I'm just thinking at 2 they can be unsettled and you have bundles of stuff to cart with you.

Would Eftling work as a daytrip from Amsterdam?
Or do it the other way round do Amsterdam as a day trip from Eftling.

Our youngest was about 2 we did 4 or 5 nights at the Center Parks near Disney Paris Mon & Tuesday in the park Wednesday in Paris and Thursday & Friday back in the Park. Can't quite remember but it was something like that. But it meant we had one base rather than moving between places

I have done this exact trip, not train though but rental car. Have done it with younger sets of kids, absolutely fine!