Anyone been to Duinrell? I have a few questions

[Guitargirl]

Looking for some words of wisdom please from anyone who's been to Duinrell.

1. We will be travelling from London and not taking a car. Do you think it's best to get there by Eurostar or plane?

1. How easy will it be to do a daytrip to Amsterdam from the site?

1. My children will be aged 10 and 8. Will they be able to go on most of the waterslides alone? From what I can see from the website a height of 1.20m will get them on most of the slides apart from 4 where they have to be 1.50. They're both well over 1.20 so that should be ok but I don't want to get there and then be told that they need me to go on the slides too (as that won't be happening). Am happy to be in the pool with them but not on slides. Also - for some of the slides it says you need a proof of swimming certificate. DD is in stage 6 and DS is in stage 4 so if I ask their leisure centre for certificates for stages 5 and 3 will these be accepted there do you think?

Thank you!

Swimming certificates are a dutch qualification. We have been to duinrell and dutch CP and never been asked for them.
Sorry cant gelp you with first 2 questions as we went by car. I think you can get train to Amsterdam. The town is walkable so i would have thought there was public transport near by

here are various routes to amsterdam

Thank you bruffin

We went a few years ago when our boys were a similar age. We got the Eurostar via Brussels. There is a stopping train from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Leiden and then a bus. We did a day trip to Amsterdam on the bus and train and also went to Madurodam by bus I think. I think we got a taxi from Amsterdam with our cases at the start and end, but you could get public transport.

There were a few slides they weren't big enough to go on but they went on most without me. No one asked for swimming certificates.

We had a great time and they often said they wanted to go back but we never got round to it.

Thank you! Ooo, am quite excited now! I went to Madurodam as a child on a school trip - it will be weird to go back 30 years later...

We went on the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook van Holland, you can buy tickets which include the train at both ends. There is a bus (2 per hour I think) from the site direct to Den Haag central station where you could catch a train to Amsterdam. There is also a bus from Wassanar town (10 min walk) to Leiden which is not far.

We weren't asked about swim certificates at any point but my children were not desperate to go on the more extreme slides anyway. The pool did sometimes get very busy, we had 2 hours included each day and if we went when it opened had to queue for quite a while so we found it was better to go about 2 hours later when people were coming out - changing rooms upstairs were nice.
We had a fantastic time, thinking about going again when dd can ride a bike alone (she had a tag-along behind dh)
HTH

We went last year with 3 kids that were then 10,8 and 5.
We flew (not from London), it was great - transfer was cheap and quick and driver was lovely - gave helpful tips

We went to Amsterdam for the day, easy as. Bus to The Hague, bus left from outside the park, train to Amsterdam - quick, easy and painless.

Our eldest two were fine on the slides - there was a quick height check with dd2 but it was fine - no mention of swimming certs.

we went last year with DS age 6.

1. We flew into Amsterdam and then arranged taxi transfer to/from the site (although depending on flight times and time of year you could do public transport). By car from airport about 30-45mins I think and cost 100euro for return.

1. The site booked us on to an arranged day trip to Amsterdam by coach. Collected us from the site. Visited a cheese/clog making factory, had boat trip in Amsterdam, then free time to wander. But it's fairly easy to do public transport too. Bus to Den Hague and then train to Amsterdam (train station and bus station are next to each other).

1. We were never asked fro swimming certificates, so if you're going into the pool with them then you should be fine.

we also did a day trip to Leiden - really nice town, and we actually preferred it to Amsterdam. You can also hire bikes and cycle to the beach. Hope you have fun

Thanks everyone! Am going to sort out the travel side of things this week - looking forward to it now!

Without a doubt try and get to Efteling for the day, you wont see all of it - don't plan to get on many rides - but check it out, lots to do and your dc are perfect ages for it.

9292.nl/en is helpful for public transport, although it won't have any summer times on there yet. However in high season the buses run more frequently, low season about one an hour to/from the park.

If you fly then it might be cheaper to arrange a pre booked transfer.

They may ask borderline height children to show they can swim across the pool. If they can't they have to use arm bands.

If you go to Amsterdam the NEMO science museum is excellent.

Efteling from Duinrell will be a struggle without a car. It's doable, but takes about 2.5 hours each way and involves multiple changes.

Actually, if you do arrive by public transport get the bus that stops at the park, not the one a 10 minute walk away. I think this means getting a bus from The Hague rather than Leiden. It's categorically not a 10 minute walk with children and a shed load of luggage.

Glitter how worth is a trip to NEMO?We will have one day in amsterdam only - is it reallly worth missing walking round for

We've been twice and love it!

I like getting the day sailing from Harwich and booking a cabin so I can chill out with my book while the kids and DH go to the on board cinema. Get a cabin with a window otherwise it's like sitting in a cupboard all day!

Last time we were there they were quite hot on checking swimming ability and picked my daughter out to do a short swimming test. From memory I think they gave her a band to prove she was a strong enough swimmer.

The slides are quite full on I found - my 7 year old definitely didn't have as many that she could go on as my very tall 10 year old. She was a bit inbetween as the toddler slides were a bit boring for her.

We did the day trip to Amsterdam by getting a bus from Wassenaar to Leiden and then a train from Leiden to Amsterdam. I believe it's just as easy to drive and use the park and ride service.

You do need a car as there are so many lovely places to explore and the beach is not walking distance from the park.

Make sure you go to Lucianos in Wassenaar at least once day for ice cream!

Nemo was really, really good. However, you can easily spend the best part of the day there. Personally I'd pick a wander round Amsterdam over nemo, but children may feel differently. Maybe have a look at their website?

You don't need a car for duinrell. The beach is in cycling distance. You might miss out on some other places, but lots can be reached by public transport or bike. That's assuming you can drag the children away from the site.

Thanks Glitter so many people have said how brilliant it is but we do go to the London Science museum quite a bit too. I think if we got to Amsterdam early enough perhaps we could do the am there - then walk around etc.

Is Durinell worth day visit? What could DC do in the day - we are doing Efteling for the week but water park would be fun, is it possible to go for the morning and do that does anyone know?

Op I hope you dont mind me asking this on your thread

Gobbolino - please ask away

We won't have a car there am afraid. Thanks for all the tips!

We've just booked duinrell for summer too. Have you requested their magazine brochure thingy? Ours just arrived and it's great with loads of info and day out suggestions etc.

Thanks Misty for that suggestion, I have just put in a request for the magazine.

I think have decided now to spend the full 4 nights on site and tag on an extra 3 nights in Amsterdam to the end of the trip. That should mean we can do the science museum, Anne Frank's house and 1 day trip from Amsterdam to Efteling. Looking forward to it now!

We went to Duinrell a few times when the kids were younger - happy memories. When we first got there check in took a long time and it seemed v overwhelming - the site was very busy. But once you settle in you get in to the swing of it and it's quite charming. If you don't want to go into the NEMO museum in Amsterdam you should at least go up the steps up the side to the beach on the roof - v good fun and is free (I think). Also if you are going through Leiden make time to stop at the Natural History Museum. It's ace.

I know I am resurrecting an old thread but this all looks quite relevant/ideas for trips. I think we might end up at Duinrell for a few days this summer with DD(10).

My initial thought is to do the overnight ferry from Harwich...then a short drive (but a trek across England to get there first) and then back from Dunkirk maybe. This means we can take our bikes (or should we hire them there or maybe we don't need them - we are used to walking a couple of miles/day to/from school).

Or we could fly from Bristol and get a train/hire a car (so we potentially save a day or so sat on a boat or in a car).

Are the Stena ferries any good? I am hoping that we will be going in the opposite direction to a lot of families.

Any hints and tips gratefully received.

Hi madcats we have booked to go to duinrell for a week at the end of August with dc 14, 12 and 7.5. We're excited to be trying something different from our usual South of France campsites. I've booked the 2.15pm ferry from hook of Holland to harwich on the way home but eurotunnel on the way out. That's because the traffic at the Dartford tunnel on the way home is a killer. I've booked a cabin for 5 and look forward to the easy trip.

I'm not sure about taking bikes, maybe just scooters and hire go karts whilst there.

Stena ferries on this route are pretty new i think

Were you planning on using bikes for trips out or just cycling round the site? I don’t think you’d really need them for round the site - the main bits of the site, namely the pool, theme park, and plaza are all close together. Bikes are from €10 a day, cheaper for a week.

I quite like the overnight ferry. Drinks watching the sun go down, go to sleep and arrive at your destination.

Duinrell booked !

It is good to know that Duinrell is comparatively compact. In the past we've just used bikes for getting to from pools/car parks and maybe a short outing of a few miles (primarily because we'd brought the bikes).

I hadn't thought of using the tunnel (DD might enjoy that).

Time to dust off the guidebook and decide where else to visit after 4 days at Duinrell.

The Duinrell map is here: www.duinrell.com/holiday-park/book-via-park-map

If you’ve booked direct you’ll be able to see your pitch. If you’ve booked through someone like eurocamp then it doesn’t list the pitches, but the green areas without numbers are where they will be located. They’re labelled Eiland, Middenveld etc. Might help with deciding if you want to take bikes - although bikes aren’t allowed in the theme park during opening hours.