Centerparcs Holland

[crackingon]

Looking to take 4 teenagers to centerparcs in Holland next year in the summer holidays. Is it any good ? Is there lots to do ? What's the best park ? Any tips gratefully received !

Bump

They are the same as the uk ones but half the price

You realise it's a Belgian / Dutch company don't you?

Go to de Kempervennen and there's a ski / snowboard centre with real snow and the equipment hire and lessons are very reasonable

Look at Duinrell in Holland.. Not centreparcs... It's fab with so much to do! Theme park on site.. Water park on site is fab at a small charge( 3 euro?). We are going again for October half term.

I don't think teenagers will be very impressed with duinrell to be honest. And I speak as someone who has been many times

Thank you - been looking at prices - unbelievable difference to uk parks !

I have friends who have been to De Kempervennen several times and love it. The prices are far cheaper than the UK Parcs during school holidays, especially the last week in August as Dutch and Belgium children are back at school.

We are going to De Vossemeren in Belgium tomorrow. It is 20 mins away from De Kempervennen and looks really good. Cost us £399 for 4 nights in a VIP lodge compared to £1000 for the same 4 nights in Elveden Center Parcs! We also got to choose location for free (we have chosen to be close to the centre) and you get 3 free activity vouchers. Amazing value for money!

Have been to Duinrell and De Kempervennen. Both excellent, and both had a resounding thumbs up from the DCs.

Duinrell we went to when they were primary-aged. It has a great theme park (mini-Chessington) and massive waterpark with some fiendish slides. The usual bike/go-kart hire and whatnot, and it's close to the coast.

De Kempervennen we went to last year, when they were all teens - much better, I think. It is huge, with two lakes, and just about every water activity you could think of - waterskiing, scubadiving, kayaking - also, there are things like high-ropes, zip wires, an indoor ski centre with proper snow, a mini-zoo.....honestly, it's fab. Pick your type of house carefully - we don't like anything basic, so the one we chose was amazing - overlooking the lake, with three bedrooms, a sauna, posh kitchen. Before you go, you can book various activities, hire bikes (essential!) or select bundles of restaurant meals / morning bread delivery to your door / BBQ kits.

Getting there is simple; both are a fairly straightforward drive from Calais, or if you can stretch to it, get the sleeper ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland, and you'll be 30 minutes away.

Writing this makes me want to go again - it was brilliant.

Oh yes, get the Harwich ferry overnight. My kids think it's brilliant! (Held that only live 45 minutes from harwich though)

You could try Hof Van Saksen. Most of the activities are free, accommodations lovely and it's a really relaxed place to be.

We have been to de Kempervennen this summer with two kids 11 and 8. The snow dome is fab. We booked it in advance. The pool was nice, wasn't that busy and there was 3 slides I think plus a wave bit, an outdoor bit and an underwater aquarium. There is a beach plus lots of other extra activities. The kids got a free activity each when we booked.

I booked the bikes in advance and they were good quality we didn't really need them but the kids liked cycling round the park which is actually quite big. We took our own bike helmets which seem to be a novelty in Holland, we were over there for 10 days (not all at CP) and no one wears them. We all still did

The downside for me was the accommodation. We booked a medium range (forget the actual name) cabin. It was quite basic compared to what I would like but it was very similar to the one we had at CP in the UK so that it obviously just their style.

Food wise - the restaurants there are ok, we found the ski centre did nice lunches (and had free wifi) but the supermarket is obviously not that cheap so bring breakfast/lunch bits unless you are eating out at every meal.

I am not a huge CP fan but we had a great weekend. Make sure you go to Efteling if you like theme parks - it's great and has a good mixture of big rides and smaller stuff.

We've been to de Kempervennen twice now & are planning on coming back next year. We've been to Centre Parcs twice in the UK & this is far better.

As others have said, there's loads to do, especially for teenagers. Book the VIP package & you get activity vouchers, Wifi & breakfast rolls delivered every morning.

Things like the skiing, zip wire, tower jump etc book up quickly but you can book online before you travel.

My brother takes his family there quite regularly in school holidays and he reckons that even when you take into account the petrol and overnight ferry cost its still cheaper than the UK version.

Thank you everyone - getting over the channel is easy for us as we are 20 minutes from the tunnel. How much are the activities ? Wondering if it will add up providing stuff for 4 teenagers ?

It will add up but if they are still happy to swim each day which is free - plus will they do a bike ride one day ( you could just hire for a day) I had a cycle map showing routes of the surrounding area, which if I can find it I'm happy to post to you (they were 5Euros I pre ordered thinking it was a map of the park!) there were some good circular routes, roads are safe as its all cycle lanes on roads.

there is a darts board in one of the bars which is free. You could dispatch them off there for a bit! I think there were pool tables there too which would prob not be too much. There was an air hockey table in there which was a euro a go. I guess at that age you can give them some money per day?

Meant will post for free - obv don't want anything for it!!

I think it cost us around €70 for three skiing lessons plus hiring suits etc.

Paintball was €12 per person, laser combat is €11 pp. I'm not sure about water skiing/scuba diving. Most activities seem to be €10-30.

My boys did wild water rafting in the swimming pool which they loved - that was €10 each, but only for ages 8-14 so depends on how old your teens will be. There's also snorkelling & an aqua battle, both of which are free.

There's also a beach & lake which you can swim in, & they have beach volleyball & football everyday there. Plus the pool so it depends if they're going to do a paid activity every day or would be happy to stay in the pool or lake a couple of days.

Oh yes I forgot they have a free evening inflatable thing in the pool on some nights.

Skiing was the most expensive, particularly if they need a lesson (only needed if they are total beginners, otherwise you can just pay for slope access by the hour).

Take ski socks with you; also gloves (although you can hire the latter if you need to).