Tell me about the Netherlands!

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Hi, planning a trip for next summer and I'm thinking of the Netherlands. We've 2 kids who will be 11 and 9.

We will have 3 weeks in August and will be travelling light. Ideally I'd like to do it on a budget but not at the cost of missing the best attractions and I'd like a mix of general sightseeing and fun things with kids.

We would either fly or get the ferry from Hull. So my questions;

Is the rail network/public transport system good and easy to use? We travel very light so suitcases are not an issue.

Where would you go? I've been to Amsterdam and Rotterdam on previous trips a very long time ago.

Would you spend a full 3 weeks in Holland or venture into Germany or Belgium or somewhere else?

I've started a list of things the kids would love and so far I have:

De Efteling
Duinrell
Safari Beekse Bergen

Thanks!

Just back from 9 days in the Netherlands, though not with children.
Definitely recommend you return to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In Rotterdam there's the Euromast, Spido boat tours round the harbour, the Waterbus down to Dordrecht. Getting a Rotterdam Welcome card could save you a lot on visiting attractions and local transport.
Re. public transport, yes, it's very good and well-integrated but, as here, they're having problems with short-staffing, reduced services, over-crowding and industrial action... hopefully that will be ironed out before you go. The nationwide transport planner at 9292.nl (also available as an app) is invaluable and many different ticket types are available: smartcards (OV chipkaart), paper (disposable OV chipkaart) and, increasingly, e-tickets.
So many lovely places: Haarlem stood out for me, as well as the beautiful beaches and dunes that others have mentioned, such as Kijkduin near Den Haag. Also in Den Haag, Madurodam is definitely worth a visit and very much aimed at families, though a little pricey.
Since you'll be there for three weeks, popping down to Antwerp and/or Ghent in Belgium would also be do-able. Ghent is an absolutely beautiful city, while Antwerp has more of a modern feel to it.
Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time. Dutch people are generally so friendly and welcoming... it's my favourite country to visit.

I’ve just remembered that Rotterdam Zoo is great for kids. They can go down a little tunnel and dirt if pop up, like a meerkat in the middle of the meerkat enclosure. My kids loved that 😀

The market in Rotterdam also in the most amazing building!

We went for the first time this summer and stayed in Amersfoort and Delft with a day trip to Amsterdam. We loved it however it was expensive and the food was not amazing. If I were going for 3 weeks I would probably want to be self catering for at least some of that. I asked mumsnet about trains and someone suggested downloading the app which was really useful - and cheaper than buying at the station.

We have found ourselves in the Netherlands a few times now due to travelling between our home in Eastern France, family and friends in Northern England and Norfolk as well as dropping and collecting kids from hockey camps, so we have built a few mini breaks around those trips.

I haven't been anywhere I didn't like. I love the availability of gluten and dairy free food, reasonably priced grear fish, cycling to the shops for groceries and unpackaged vegetables, the fabulous windy beaches, lovely terraced houses, flowers and windmills.

Highlights: Texel island, Maastricht, Leiden, camping (the dutch are the best at camping in my humble opinion!) Duinrell, best gluten and dairy free brunches EVER!! (Bit of a niche but the other breakfast options also looked good!) To add to my list of places to explore next time: Friesland and Zeeland. Tentatively considering bike packing with my 16 year old while her brothers are at hockey camp.

To add to your list of places to visit, the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen is an open air museum that takes a day to visit. Also, the windmills at Zaanse Schans are touristy, but very interesting. Just nearby to Duinrell is the Corpse (body) museum in Leiden, which is also very different.

www.dezaanseschans.nl/en/discover/

This was great

Madurodam is the best model village I’ve ever been to.

We went to an open living history place that was amazing. Rather like the Black Country museum. Can’t remember it’s name but was definitely worth a visit.

Have stayed at Duinrell and centre parcs here
www.centerparcs.eu/in-en/netherlands/fp_HB_holiday-park-het-heijderbos?facet[PARTICIPANTSCP][adult]=2

Really recommend both.

We are going to Amsterdam during October half term so thanks for the thread OP!

I used to live just over the border in Germany and we would go to Efteling every year until we left when I was about 16
Texel is nice

Save belgium for a trip in its own right such an underrated holiday destination

The beaches are stunning - I liked Scheveningen, Noordwijk

Haarlem and Leiden are both nice. We went to Madurodam and thought it was brilliant. My mum used to go there when she was little too.

I love the Netherlands. Wish I could go there more often.

Following!

Loads of people we know went to the Netherlands this year, now I want to go!

I spent a week at Beekse Bergen earlier in the summer, it was fantastic and we’ll definitely go back in a couple of years, possibly earlier in the year as early August was so warm this year. We stayed at the Safari resort, being so close to the animals was brilliant, every evening a different species came near us to explore. Speelland looked great for older kids (mine are 5&2 and not great swimmers but they had fun on the trampolines and swings) and the beach was lovely but we were there in the heatwave so didn’t want to spend all day on the beach.
De Efteling was good too, we only really went around the fairytale forest section and saw the Ravelijn show, so you’d definitely need at least two days to cover the whole park. It was clean, the food was very nice, much fresher than typical tourist attraction food in the UK and reasonably priced.
We went on the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland and stopped in Breda for a wander and lunch, it was a very pretty town, the church was holding an interesting exhibition and the market had some wonderful bakeries.
Be aware that some of the Dutch supermarkets won’t take Mastercard (though I believe this should be resolved by the end of 2023?), Albert Heinz we had to go get cash out.

I would definitely recommend visiting National park the Hoge Veluwe. Maastricht is a lovely city, very pittoresk, with a lot of nice shops and restaurants. It’s a city near Aken (Germany). Easy to visit while your in the area.

Utrecht is beautiful as well. With all the cafes at the ‘grachten’.

The hoge veluwe national park is fun to cycle round.
netherlands open air museum - it’s very interactive and will show you the country in the past
kinderdijk for lots of windmills

it will be easier to have your car with you, public transport is good for the large cities but you will be able to see a lot more with a car

Some really good ideas here, a few I’ve not h

Oh not sure why the rest of my post didn’t appear!

I was going to say we visit the Efteling every June my dc are 18-13 years now and probably love it more now. Never too old!