Going to De Vossemeren next week. Confused as to which route to take

[pinkchampagne1]

It is our first time trying out a European Center Parcs and we are really looking forward to it.

I have heard that it is best to avoid the route through Antwerp as the traffic is horrific so we were planning to take the Brussles route instead. I mentioned this to a friend who has been before and she said that the route through Brussles was even worse and to stick to driving through Antwerp. We are now confused. We are travelling on bank holiday Monday so imagine it will be busy and I really don't fancy being stuck in traffic for hours with the boys no doubt arguing in the back of the car! Any advice from those who have been before would be great.

Anyone?

Didn't have any traffic issues last week when at peer. Wouldn't worry to much lots of new roads.

It isn't Bank Holiday Monday in Belgium, and I would say Antwerp was a much easier city to navigate through than Brussels.
Go to Via Michelin website and print out their route, they are very good and packed with information.

Thanks for the info - we will check out Michelin website. I had read many reviews advising to avoid Anwerp because of traffic so we thought it best to take the route through Brussles until now. Seems we may be best sticking to Antwerp route after all. We booked a 10.30am tunnel crossing so am hoping we miss the busy traffic.

Good luck - we got stuck in 2hr traffic jam around Antwerp 2 weeks ago around a similar tunnel time crossing to you. But that was a Friday, so may be different on a Monday. We went through Antwerp a few days ago and there wasn't any traffic.

We have also got stuck in a mega traffic jam on the route by Brussels, and saw signs on Friday for traffic jams on that route. Not sure there is much difference between the Brussels or Antwerp routes - we've had bad experiences on both routes.

It's all a bit of a nightmare when you're stuck in it, but will be worth it when you get there and quickly forgotten. Enjoy your holidays!

Not sure what age your boys are, but if they are into PokemonGo, the traffic was going slow enough around Antwerp to walk their eggs and hatch some creatures. Also caught a few Pokemon on the motorway by Antwerp and a few Pokestops! ;o)

There are also some semi-decent service stations around the Gent area to stop for Belgian snacks and break the journey up.

The kids also enjoyed spotting licence plates from different countries in the traffic.

Also would recommend you bring some mosquito spray for de Vossemeren. We didn't have any problems but our cottage was near the big lake rather than the smaller lakes (which I think are more prone to mosquitos) and we used lots of spray/candles etc. We've been previously eaten alive at the centerparcs in Kempervennen and Erperheide so played on the safe side this time. They also sell some plug-in mosquito repellent in the shop.

We're in De Vossermeren at the moment (but have been in the far east of Belgium for a few days - DH went to the GP at SPA). We travelled around Charleroi (so much further south) and I think we'd go back that route (as staying near Ypres the night before the ferry home).

If you managed to get wifi to work (doesn't seem to work on our iPads for some reason) and want to explore a bit (or find something to do on the way home) there is a brilliant play park at Bokrijk (about 45 mins south). Bokrijk itself has a massive open-air museum which DD(9) thought was great and kept us amused for 4 or 5 hours (there was a kids festival on too that day). What isn't as well advertised is the HUGE free playground (easiest to get to from "Kasteel parking 1" by walking through the walled garden). Parking is 5 euros/day.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday as much as we are.

Thanks all. We ended up taking the route through Antwerp on the way there but traffic was pretty bad so we went through Brussels on the return journey.

Absolutely loved De Vossemeren! There was loads for my boys to do and it seemed much quieter than the UK parks. Will definitely book again!

Glad you enjoyed it. We've been three times and love it there.