Netherlands Summer ‘23

[blondie87]

Hello!
Over some rosé in the garden, we have decided to do the Netherlands as our family holiday next summer. I have three young children (3, 6 & 8 by next year) and with Covid we haven’t done a vast amount of travelling with them.

We are planning a fortnight next August; driving via Calais so very flexible with what we do. Kids are v outdoorsy but also enjoy museums and theme parks etc.

Any must-dos/sees gratefully appreciated!

www.netherlands-tourism.com/efteling-largest-theme-park-netherlands/

www.efteling.com/en

They are the perfect ages for Efteling!!! Oh I am so jealous. We adored it. It is the most magical magical place. Do it! We had 3 nights there then went to Beekse Bergen staying with Eurocamp which the kids loved as there's animals and a sort of theme park on-site. I didn't love it really- I'm not sure why. I think as it's so big you have to get the little train to get around the site so it wasn't that relaxing really as you always had to check the times.
I hear good things about Duinrell.
Check out Littke Clogs in Facebook they specialise in holidays ti the Netherlands.

We had a gorgeous week in Delft and actually, I would take small people to Amsterdam in a heartbeat - It's really easy to avoid the dodgy bits.

Efteling for sure has to be on your list.

We had a great time at Port Zelande Centreparc (about half the price of an English Centreparcs). The beach is vast. We stayed a few nights and were blessed with fantastic weather. We found a windmill to visit nearby which was neat too.

Then we moved on to Rotterdam for several nights, for me that was unmissable - we did a historic tram ride, a short boat ride round the industrial port, the food hall, and the incredible maritime museum which your kids would love - there are lots of kids activities, a play zone and lots of boats to climb on. however by far and away the best thing about Rotterdam was Plaswijckpark - absolutely fantastic. You can get there by tram/bus (can’t remember which) and at first it doesn’t look to promising; it’s very cheap… but inside it is fantastic. My dd, who is a huge fan of playgrounds, theme parks and so on, and we have been to a LOT, still says it has the best play area she has ever seen. It just has a little bit of everything and you can scamper round without being overwhelmed. If you go on a warm day, take swimwear for the splash area.

We also day-tripped to Amsterdam by train but that might be hard work with a 3 yo, and I wish we had had time to stay there overnight too.

Train museum in Utrecht!

We’ve just come back from our second Netherlands trip. We stayed at Duinrell just North of The Hague. Huge holiday park with amusement park and pool complex on site. Handy for Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Delft, Gouda. Close to a lovely beach as well. Highlights for us were Amsterdam, Leiden and cycling through the dunes to the beach. We had two nights at Efteling EHCP is not to be missed. Totally magical.

Not sure where EHCP came from!

Miffy museum in Utrecht

Definitely check out Zeeland, or the islands further north (eg Texel). Weather is pretty nice in the summer.

Hi. I'm a Netherlands/Amsterdam family blogger and the family blogger for the City of Amsterdam website iAmsterdam.

I have dozens of suggestions for you. Take a look at this link on my blog which should answer your question perfectly and do browse the other categories as well. Feel free to message me via the the contact form if I can help with anything. You will have a wonderful time!

amsterdamwonderland.com/category/kids/kids-activities-out-of-town/

(Worth adding that the weather is usually the same as here, so August can be glorious beach weather or rainy - usually both - take clothing for all options)

This should help with age-tailored suggestions for Amsterdam as well.

amsterdamwonderland.com/category/kids/

Wow, thank you all so much! Great recommendations to start checking out. I’m so excited to start planning our itinerary. Sounds like the ideal destination for our family at the stage we’re at.@MrsWonderland I will definitely check out your blog, thank you.

I hated Duinrell. The camping is really overpriced, crowded and the facilities aren't great. The rides are good for 1 morning but aren't that exciting. Ardour do much nicer and cheaper sites or you can camp at Centreparcs.

Other things you could do, depending on the kids:
-Den Helder & Texel: the naval museum is great with a real submarine and Texel has lovely beaches. It's easy by public transport.
-Hoogse Veluwe & Kröller-Müller museum, good for camping
-Den Haag: museums & Scheveningen beach
-Utrecht: museums and hire a canoe to paddle through the middle of the city

• another vote for the Efteling.

Bear in mind that eating out costs a fortune at the moment. A pizza is €15 and a latte is €5. Even a scoop of ice cream has gone up to €2.50 in our town! It's not a cheap place to go on holiday

Can I ask the Efteling experts if 12 is too old?

Def not, just been with our 14 and 12 year old, they loved all of it! I did to - mid 40s and not a huge theme park fan. Would def stay onsite, we stayed in Loonsche land, a little house, such good fun.

I went for the first time at 22 and loved it. The magic might switch to WTF but that's still funny :D

Delft and Edam are beautiful. We stayed in delft last time and was so easy to get around from there. Love the Netherlands

My kids enjoyed Efteling more at 11 and 14 than they did when we went in 2017. The older especially appreciated all the effort in the theming details and felt it was properly magical (and she is a real cynic). Python, George and Dragon, Vogel Rok, Baron and Flying Dutchman are decent roller coasters.

I’m 48 and I’m not too old! I just love that place, as someone upthread said, the details are wonderful. We were there last week and it was amazing. There are some good rollercoasters for older children (anyone over 120 cm tall can go on most of them), if they like that sort of thing.

The Efteling accommodation is really good value because it includes entrance to the park during and on either side of your stay, plus car parking. The themed suites in the hotel are wonderful, but even the standard rooms have lovely details. We had a tiny mouse popping out of a hole under the bedside table and the red shoes from the story in our wardrobe!

My dc loved madurodam! Four hours we were there! It’s close to schenvingen beach.

I am in NL right now and have been to the Efteling twice this week. My kids have been coming here regularly for years and enjoyed it form age 3 to 17.

I think Amsterdam is too big for you age kids op. I would choose Delft and also Madurodam.

We've just come back from a half term break at Efteling and we all loved it. Would definitely recommend.

stodgystollen I get what you mean about Duinrell being pricey even in a tent, but the location is fantastic. We cycled everywhere, The Hague, Leiden, the beach, train station to Amsterdam. I don't know of any other campsites with facilities and location to beat it. You mentioned camping at Centre Parcs, I didn't know you could. Do you have a link to that please?

www.centerparcs.nl/nl-nl/camping-port-zelande_ms

Cenrerparc is in Zeeland