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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Centre Parcs Europe

51 replies

leobeebs · 01/07/2012 15:27

Has anyone been and if so which one? We love Longleat is it the same set up as the ones here?
Heard there is a cheaper time to go in our school hols as the european kids havent broken up but cant remember when.

OP posts:
bruffin · 22/07/2012 23:43

There is an all you can eat buffet restaurant in all the centerparcs, not sure how much veggie food there is.

Ds has nut allergy and we have not had a problems with that at any of the restaurants.

We are in Kempervennen last week of august as well.
When have you booked Eftling. We went last Saturday of august one year and it was heaving. Couldn't get anything to eat because of the queues, you can book though.

saffrone · 10/09/2012 02:09

Hi all, Huge Thanks to bruffin & gardeningsarah in particular for a fabulous holiday at de Efteling & Kempervennen. Family loved it especially the swimming & snorkelling alongside sharks! & we took advantage of large discounts to rebook for summer halfterm holiday, which is particularly cheap as Dutch & Belgian children don't have a holiday then. We used the Eurotunnel. Very happy to pass on any tips!

Portofino · 10/09/2012 10:22

Yes - there is no summer half term over here. We spent the weekend at Duinrell camping last week - thought it was fabulous. CP De Haan is also very nice. We went to Eperheide a few years back but wasn't hugely impressed. For CP type breaks for less £££, have a look at www.landal.com - they are a Dutch company with sites in Holland, Belgium and Germany. We have stayed at a few of their sites and have been really impressed.

IWishICouldThinkOfAFabName · 15/03/2014 10:15

Hi All. Am hoping to reanimate this thread on centre parcs Europe. Thinking of trying one in Netherlands in 2015 as have heard they cheaper in UK school hols. Any feedback on recent experiences appreciated.
Also, are the prices the same on the English site compared to other languages ( eg Dutch, French). My DC will be 7, 10 and 14 so need somethings that the older one can do. Thank you

AryaUnderfoot · 15/03/2014 15:06

I can't give any recent reviews of a park in the Netherlands, but we went to De Vossemeren (near the Dutch border in Belgium) at February half term and loved it. The break cost us 430 euros for a premium cottage, whereas Longleat were quoting 879 for a comfort cottage for the same week. I think part of the reason it was so cheap was because the school holidays in Belgium/Netherlands/France were during a later week.

I had a look at getting a quote based on residing in the UK and Belgium. The UK price appeared different, but that was because early booking discounts and taxes were applied on the front page of the Belgian site. Overall, I don't think there was a difference, but you would need to check.

There seemed to be a good range of activities on offer for all ages.

Let me know if you have any questions.

bruffin · 15/03/2014 15:15

My teenages loved Kempervennen, they were just coming up to their 15 and 17th birthdays when we went in 2012 ( i think we had booked to go when i wrote on this thread last time). They spent most of their time on the water skiing lake and didnt get a chance to try the snowdome.

nozza76 · 07/04/2014 15:12

We went in June 2013 to a new one in France, Moselle- Domain des trois forets which was our first visit to Center parcs in Europe. It was slightly cheaper last year than their advertised prices this year as I think they wanted to attract people as it was a new location. Our DS starts school in September this year after which we will be tied to school holidays. We were amazed at the price difference between Europe and the UK, and also given a better chance of good weather, it is Europe all the way from now on. UK is way too expensive to go in school holidays. Thanks for the tip for the week in August when the local schools are not on holiday.
We have started thinking about next summer (2015) and would like to go back to the same DTF site again as we couldn't fault it, and also really liked Strasbourg. Last time we drove which was a nice journey, but as DS is a train fanatic, we thought we would look at the Eurostar/SNCF connection from London to Strasbourg, then hire a car for the week when we get there. Also means we can have a night in Paris on the return journey to do some exploring. The train is actually cheaper than I thought so was pleasantly surprised. 400 return for the 3 of us.
I can see that currently we can book for January 2015 online. I'm wondering does anyone know what is the earliest you can book ahead ? Can you book further ahead if you do it over the phone?

GoodtoBetter · 20/04/2014 15:18

Reanimating this zombie thread to ask which CP would e est in Holland with DCs of roughly 7 and 4 (for next year). Been to Duinrell and absolutely loved it and going again in September. Have friends in southern Holland so anything down that way would be interesting too, to see them while we're over.

dingit · 20/04/2014 15:23

We have just come back from De Kempervennan. your DC would love it. Great pool, playgrounds and children's farm.

GoodtoBetter · 20/04/2014 15:24

Thanks dingit, wasn't sure if I'd get a response on such an old thread! Will check it out for next year.

zipzap · 20/04/2014 16:43

We went to Het Hijderbos when the dc were 6 & 3 and they loved it. In fact only today they were asking if we could go back there on holiday this year, only this morning. (so it was 2 1/2 years ago that we went).

They particularly loved the tropical jungle dome - similar size to the swimming pool dome but instead filled with tropical plants and birds and a huge adult sized adventure climbing frame - think of a huge jungle themed set for the crystal maze complete with caves, streams, rope bridges, zip wires, huts and so much more.

Can highly recommend it!

dingit · 20/04/2014 20:44

We paid 660 euros for a VIP villa in Easter holiday. We had sauna, jacuzzi, towels, toiletries ( which dd hoarded) and rolls and croissants delivered daily ( enough to make lunches too). The activities were a bargain too. The cost in the uk would have been twice that.

Asheth · 21/04/2014 09:35

Has anyone been to one of the German ones? Are they any good? We'd like to combine a centre parcs trip with DS1 practicing his German!

PortofinoRevisited · 21/04/2014 09:41

We have just come back from De Kempervennen too and had a fabulous time. Paid similar to Dingit - and rented bikes and paid for the dine around option on top.

PortofinoRevisited · 21/04/2014 09:42

There is up to 20% discount on at the mo, if booking for the Autumn.

dingit · 21/04/2014 12:42

The dining option was good. I had the best steak I have ever had!

PortofinoRevisited · 21/04/2014 12:48

Yes - I was very impressed that you could have anything from the menus with no need to pay anything extra. All the food we had was nice. Not to mention the stroopwaffel pancakes in the cafe.....

loopsngeorge · 22/04/2014 22:31

We've just come back from Duinrell and loved it too! I discovered it thanks to all the rave reviews on here. Now tempted to try De Kempervennen and explore more of Holland....

SteadyEddie · 23/04/2014 15:02

Zipzap - did you go for a week to Het Hijderbos? Is there enough to do to keep a 13yo, an 8yo and a 6yo entertained?

I8toys · 01/06/2014 16:56

Just come back from De Vossermeren Belgium- Monday-Friday - 400 euros. Got eurotunnel via tesco club card vouchers. 100 euros plus for activities - water skiing was brill. That was for 5 of us. Has a pirate cove - beach and high wire. Second visit.

Went to Kempervennan last year - skiing was fabulous so cheap for a 3 day session.

Also been to Hijderbos - it has a wannabe fireman session - great for little ones as they travel on a little fire engine and go to the lake side to put out pretend fires. They also have the jungle dome where you can have breakfast and the little animals come and pinch your croissant.

Going to De Emhof next year.

I8toys · 01/06/2014 16:57

Should have mentioned - last week in May - half term is one of the cheapest weeks as is last week August. The resort is overrun with english people as they have the same idea as us obviously.

JohnFarleysRuskin · 01/06/2014 17:07

Wow. We had the worst time ever in Kempervennen (after rave reviews on here!) I wonder if its changed since then - 2 years ago. Cars racing around the road, smokers absolutely everywhere, large groups of drinking men, unsupervised kids etc.
Maybe we were just unlucky.
I did hear this was the worst one of the lot...

daniellemairyoung · 05/08/2014 17:15

Hi! I'm planning on booking a Midweek trip to De Kempervennen NL, im from the UK and am fleeing from the mad prices!!

Does anyone know what activities are included in the adventure pass?
Whether the total of 3 hours over 3 days skiing is really worthwhile?
What rental prices of ski equipment/clothing is?

Would really appreciate this information as the website doesn't do a great job!
THANK YOU.

daniellemairyoung · 05/08/2014 17:17

Hi! I'm planning on booking a Midweek trip to De Kempervennen NL, im from the UK and am fleeing from the mad prices!!

Does anyone know what activities are included in the adventure pass?
Whether the total of 3 hours over 3 days skiing is really worthwhile?
What rental prices of ski equipment/clothing is?

Would really appreciate this information as the website doesn't do a great job!
THANK YOU.

Figrus · 05/08/2014 17:24

The german one sounds interesting, thanks