Duinrell - Anyone been? Thoughts?

[Jesscarbqueen87]

I’m considering booking a family break away at Duinrell in Holland for a week over Easter 2022.

I just wanted to know if anyone had been before and what were their thoughts?

Is there a lot to do for small children? (Mine will be 3 and 6)

Right now it’s a toss up between booking duinrell for a week over Easter, or Center Parcs for 4 nights over Christmas. Including travel costs they’re both coming in that the same sorta price.

Thoughts?

Absolutely loved it. We were due to go for a second time August 2020, then May 2021 now May 2022 😩.

The pool is incredible and plenty to suit your DC ages in the amusement park. The village nearby is very pretty. We went to Leiden and Delft as well, both beautiful. Close to a huge beach as well.

The only problem you might have is the site is huge so depending on your accommodation could be walking a lot.

We’ve done it with similar age and combined it with an overnight stay at Efteling. I’d choose Duinrell over CP any day.

I do really like the look of duinrell and I like that you have access to the waterpark and theme park included in the price, whereas with centerparcs everything but the pool seems to come at an additional cost.

I suppose my only reservation with Duinrell is that my kids may be a little young to really get the most out of it. And also with CP the accommodation looks to be a little nicer but then I’ve only got the photographs I’ve seen online to go off.

I’ve just sat with my 5 year old DD looking at pics of videos of both places and it’s safe to say she definitely prefers the look of Duinrell!

We took our teen daughter to Duinrell a couple of summers ago (drove via Dunkirque and Eurotunnel). We combined it with a couple of quirky Airbnbs. We stayed in a safari tent, which was lovely. They are set back from the main lodges (which were rather crammed in together). Some of the lodges looked rather run down and we didn't bother with the restaurants.

The swimming area was always rammed and didn't strike me as being especially safe. There was a distinct lack of lifeguards and they didn't open the outdoor area for some reason. The theme park was quite fun, but quite small, but there should be a few rides for little ones.

If you have a fair sized budget (and/or can find a week when Dutch and French kids are at school and England isn't) I think you would have a much nicer time at De Efteling. They have a hotel, self catering apartments and lovely cottages. The theme park is spotless and it really is magical for little children.

Also have you considered one of the European Centre Parcs? They are considerably cheaper than the UK ones. They tend to have quite nice indoor adventure playgrounds (not sure if UK ones do)

I haven't been to duinrell but we went to Eftling and I would highly recommend it. I think we did 2 nights/3 days and stopped overnight in Ghent on the way there. Eftling is by far the most magical and best theme park. Just lovely. Super for littlies and big kids. Ours were 7, 10 and 12. We did self catering lodge thing but would have gone for the hotel if they'd have had a room available. Park is really clean, all about fairytales and it's not all burger and chips, they serve proper food with actual vegetables in the park restaurants.

We did everything we wanted to do at Eftling in 2 days so instead of spending the last day there, we left early, spent the day in Ghent, did a boat trip and explored the castle before heading back to Calais for a late Eurotunnel.

Just if you're thinking of heading that way, it's another option.

I haven’t been to Duinrell but my sister has been a few times with her primary aged boys and she thought Center Parcs was a bit underwhelming after her visit to Duinrell.

She said the pool was amazing and had a large area for younger children. The amusement park was also great, plus there were play parks and trampolines dotted about. She also hired go karts for her boys.

She said there was a really lovely beach nearby that they also spent time at. Plus it is near a really nice town.

We went to Efteling and it was amazing. We’ve got two nights there after a week at Duinrell. It’s an hour away so easy to do both.

We did a summer break there a couple of years ago. DS must have been about 7 at the time.

We had a fabulous holiday and loved every minute. We booked a duingalow - they are pretty basic, but nice enough (although DH hated the beds being 2 singles shoved together).

There are some fabulous restaurants in Wassenar and most are walking distance to duinrell. We would absolutely go back. It was so much better than Center Parcs.

It's great OP but I'm not sure the best choice while things are uncertain. They don't refund. I had a nightmare but luckily got the money back through the credit card. If you book, you won't see that money again if restrictions come in ! Don't think credit card thing would work now because Duinrell have changed their terms and conditions now.

Best advice I've seen for travelling abroad is to get a full package through an abta co for next few years ....

We've been a few times and loved it.
The refund situation depends on who you stay with at the park - there's Duinrell direct, Canvas or Eurocamp. Eurocamp were being very good about refunds/rebooking, though I haven't checked lately. Each operator also varies as to whether the pool is included in the price, so you do need to check that. We pick Eurocamp, their accomodation is far more basic than Centerparks, but tbh I prefer it, I love the tiny kitchens, very little to clean or keep tidy. Also Eurocamp booked the ferry for us and it worked out cheaper. There does look to be more choice with Duinrell's own accomodation, from basic to really nice - The Raddfords stayed in a gorgeous house there.

There are restaurants on site, though they aren't the cheapest and a shop. The theme park doesn't open all year round. You can hire bikes and go carts to get around.

The town near is lovely - Wassenaar, it has a Jumbo supermarket (Dutch supermarkets are fab) plus restaurants, other shops and a good ice cream shop.
Plus it's near a lovely beach and other fab places to visit. We went to The Hague and Amsterdam too, but we did take our car. We want to go to Leiden next time we go.

This FB group is really helpful.
www.facebook.com/groups/210616936267196/?ref=share

Yes that's true we had booked direct and I've heard eurocamp gave immediate refunds

Only other thing is if they close the pool due to restrictions they also don't refund anything

Have been before it it was great, and the location is really good also.

Haven't been there but Efteling is amazing.

Coming on to say/add to the advice to visit de Efteling too.

Re the NL school holidays, they split the country into N S E W regions for holidays so it may be impossible to find a week when England's half term week coincides with all Dutch kids being in school.

The British schools over there tend to have holidays in step with UK (well England, Scotland doesn't do half term holiday weeks)

I've been to Duinrell and Centre Parcs but would have to agree with posters above and say I think Efteling in the Netherlands would be best option. Mainly because it's better suited to the ages of your children.
Efteling is absolutely magical esp at the ages they will be. The fairytale forest is made for them!
Duinrell is really good but IMHO better for when your children are a bit older.

@Jesscarbqueen87 Also I forgot to say that the accommodation at Efteling is really lovely too, esp the self-catering village Bosrijk. Beautiful lodges set in forest surround. You even get bedtime stories told in evening by Mr Sandman!

We haven't been to Duinrell, but loved Efteling when our DC were a similar age. We stayed in an apartment in Bostrijk village, which was perfect for a weekend. We went at Easter and it was quite chilly, but never oppressively busy like British theme parks always are on holiday weekends. The food was really good too - nice, home-cooked type stuff, nice bread, waffles, proper meals rather than burgers and chips. I raved about it afterwards, because it was just such a pleasant experience and completely different from Disney or Chessington or Legoland or anywhere we'd been before.

We’ve been to Duinrell twice and hoped to go to Beekes Bergen, near Efteling this year. My DC are a few years older than yours and thoroughly enjoyed it. The theme park and pool are great and you can pop in for an hour or so after exploring the local area (Wassenaar, Den Hague, the beach etc). Madurodam is also worth a visit with children your age. So much more to see and do than overpriced CP!

We went to Efteling last year (was great - spent a few days in Rotterdam too), and were thinking about Duinrell for this year, but that'll probably be next year now. So thanks for the useful thread!

My questions to anyone:

• we'd be going by public transport. Any tips?
• how do you pronounce Duinrell? And Duingalow?

Down - rell

But you need to kind of turn your face down an not pronounce the w too much.

@Spindelina would you be flying into Schiphol/Eurostar to Amsterdam?

I think Leiden is the closest train station (quite a nice town BTW).

I am fairly certain there is a bus service from there (or get an Uber).

Alternatively the Duinrell website recommends a taxi firm for transfers.

Or there are plenty of car rental places at the airport. We use BB&L who very kindly posted us something we'd left in the car (so deserve a mention!).

danny thanks - that's more helpful than you might imagine. That has been bugging me for a long time.

Madcats no, no planes - train to Amsterdam / Rotterdam or ferry to Hoek.