Netherlands experts?

[StillWantingADog]

Husband, I and two sons (9 and 8) would like to take the car to the Netherlands this summer, probably taking the boat from Harwich to Hoek. Over the course of a week we'd like to go to Amsterdam (and probably Den Haag), some pottering round the countryside and probably Efteling. At at loss of where to stay - Duinrell initially looked good - kids would love the water park - however having read some reviews on trip advisor I don't think it is for us (we prefer peaceful cottages to busy holiday parks but can tolerate the latter if the kids like it).

I'd appreciate advice on which broad parts of the Netherlands are best to stay in, bearing in mind it will be a base for travelling round. A small pretty town with some local facilities would be ideal. I really don't know where to start. Alternatively we could consider splitting the week between Amsterdam and Efteling (staying at Efteling itself). But if we did this I am really not sure what we'd do with the car in Amsterdam as it doesn't seem very car friendly. Perhaps we'd stay in the suburbs and train it in?

Parking is expensive most everwhere in NL. 7,50 an hour central Amsterdam. :-O

There's parking at the Efteling. No idea how much, it was so long ago.

You could also do the train from London to Amsterdam. The public transport system in NL is excellent. Not cheap though.

You could also do the train from London to Amsterdam. The public transport system in NL is excellent. Not cheap though.

I go to NL a lot and find the trains really cheap compared to UK!

Are you just wanting to stay in the Amsterdam area? Utrecht is a nice city, calmer than Amsterdam. There are a lot of nice places to visit in NL.

Indeed am aware that trains from london are good however we are in the NW and trains between here and london are currently a disaster

I go to NL a lot and find the trains really cheap compared to UK!

Ah, fair enough. Haven't been on a train in UK for years..... but I do remember them being expensive.

Have a look at roompot.com and landal.com. They have different holiday villages up and down the coast (and inland) - some are all singing all dancing, but others are more sedate. They have some beach houses too like these:www.roompot.com/destinations/the-netherlands/south-holland/roompot-beach-villas-hoek-van-holland/?fh_location=//roompot/en_GB/site%3E{1}/park_filter=566055/epi=1/parktheme%3E{507}/region%3E{1_3519104;1_3519172;1_3519200;1_3519201;1_3519407;1_3519563;1_3519565;1_3519620;1_3520050;1_3520051;1_5486804}&sort=1

www.roompot.com/destinations/the-netherlands/zeeland/water-village/?sort=1&fh_location=//roompot/en_GB/site%3E{1}/park_filter=561184/epi=1/parktheme%3E{507}/region%3E{1_3520051;1_3519565;1_3519563;1_3520050;1_5486804;1_3519407;1_3519200;1_3519104;1_3519172;1_3519620;1_3519201} We stayed here for a week - the main Roompot beach resort with activities/shops etc was across the road, but this part was lovely and quiet.

Leiden is a lovely town - a bit like a miniature Amsterdam with a windmill and canals. 30 mins on the train to Amsterdam / the Hague. The beach at Scheveningen has lots of beach clubs. Noordwijk and Katwijk are smaller and quieter.

Your kids would love Duinrell.
there are also a few centre parks in the Netherlands I’ve stayed in one on the border with Germany which was great and a lot cheaper than the ones in the uk.

Vaalserberg area is good 3 countries meeting point

Amsterdam isn’t car friendly at all your better off staying out of the centre than train/tram into the centre. There are some campsites around that have units you can rent. If you want a hotel look at the Botel

I used to live in The Hague, and visiting family stayed at the holiday village in Kijkduin a number of times very happily. A MUCH more family oriented beach than Scheveningen north beach. Can recommend.

As regards Amsterdam, they have a terrific park and ride system that includes family tickets on public transport. I'd do that over train anytime, it'll be much cheaper. From The Hague, iirc it'll be the Olympic Park, with a direct tram line 10 mins into the centre.

Re smaller places - Leiden as suggested, also Harlem is very pretty. Or look inland - any number of cute little towns such as Gouda. For North and South Holland, everything's pretty close.

Try to get to Kinderdijk in the south/middle. See how people really lived in windmills, can cycle around, takes a few hours. Bring a picnic if you go, food there is not up to much.
Also recommend Lieden and Utrecht. Maastricht also nice and can cross easily into belgium, Liege.
My son is in college there and we have gone twice with him and teen brothers. They all adore Amsterdam, particularly the second hand clothes markets (one is very into fashion).

Just to add, we had a car which we rented in Maastricht and returned to Schiphol so didn't have to navigate Amsterdam in a car. Found it really easy to get around and to park.

The CentreParcs by the German border is het Heijderbos, but it's not a good base for visiting the Amsterdam area. However there is plenty to do on both sides of the border. In Germany you have Anne of Cleve's castle, the Roman archeological park in Xanten, which in itself is a beautiful old town, Irrland adventure park etc.

On the Dutch side there is Nijmegen and boat trips on the Waal, or you can drive to Arnhem or the Veluwe for palaces, museums, art galleries.

Friesland and Groningen are worth visiting, as is the Afsluitdijk, the giant dike which closed off the South Sea turning it into the IJssel lake. You can get some fabulous accommodation in the northeast of the country, which tends to be cheaper too. My DS is utterly obsessed with the bedstee - basically you get to sleep in a cupboard!
Bortagne is a fortified town in the shape of a star, there are prehistoric remains in Groningen, a seal sanctuary in Pieterburen, and Giethoorn is a village built on canals much like Venice.

Texel and Vlieland are islands and you could spend a week on either and not get bored.

The Efteling is definitely worth a visit and the area would be a good base for trips to Amsterdam, Rotterdam etc, as would Utrecht, which is also a railway hub if you didn't want to drive.

Do you want to be in or near a city or prefer beach/woods etc? If you want to visit Amsterdam or Den Haag and don't mind using a little bit of public transport, then I can recommend Roompot holiday park in Noordwijk. Very close to the beach on the edge of a village and you can park your car for free at one of the train stations in the neighbouring towns and then take the train to Haarlem, Leiden, Amsterdam or Den Haag.

this is all very helpful, very grateful. The Roompot options in particular look attractive

Regular visitor here (Dutch wife). Do look at the Center Parcs - in my memory de Eemhof is closest to Amsterdam, small and friendly. The Zandvoort one is old but in a great location right by the beach And the train from Zandvoort to central Amsterdam is easy. Cheaper than the UK but do book up early.

Think about what you want to do in Amsterdam. Whatever you do, don't take the car - it's impossible. Trams, trains are easy. It's very walkable but if you want to do Anne Frank booking on line is essential you can book the Rijsmuseum on line too. For children your age, I think a day would be fine. You can walk all the sites in a day.

The coastal villages are great (Volendam); there are castles; yes Lieden is great as is Utrecht, but it's mostly walking, buildings and museums.

Hire bikes (so safe and easy) and in Amsterdam we actually hired an electric boat as well although you do get the commentary with a canal boat trip,

Accommodation is not cheap in the summer holidays and food/eating out much the same as here.

I have been to Dunirell but a few years ago, its not my cup of tea but my dd loved it and the flumes etc. So we stayed for 4 days on site in the camping section (we had a camwpervan)

Why not look at staying Arnhem or nearby - there is a fabulous open air museum there and also a Second World War museum that your dc may like. Train into Amsterdam?

Not really answering your question, but...I’ve regularly taken my kids to the Netherlands when they were that age. They don’t remember any of the nice looking cities I took them to, but they do remember (and loved!) long cycle rides, visits to the Apenheul (a zoo just for monkeys and primates, with a lot of monkeys running around loose), Madurodam (massive model of the country in miniature) and, weirdly, Rotterdam. Apparently that’s just the coolest city when you’re 10, with all it’s modern architecture. Amsterdam felt more like a museum to them 🤷🏻‍♀️

Rotterdam is more modern and arty. I didn't love it but I can see why it would appeal.

We did exactly the type of trip you described about 6/7 years ago, short 2-night stay at Efteling and then a week at Zaandvoort centre park. It was quite a quiet place and not many facilities except for the pool complex, but with a beautiful sandy beach next door, which is all we were looking for, and we had a great time. Looking at their website the cottages seem to have had a face-lift since then. And from there it's an easy day trip by train into Amsterdam.
And by coincidence we're doing it again this year (teenage/YA 'kids' now), Efteling is booked but the holiday will then take us a bit further into Germany where we're looking for a private holiday let.

@ChangedToday
ah great, am I wrong in thinking that my kids might be a bit 'old' for Efteling? They are not really into magic/fairytale stuff but am sure will like the rides.

@StillWantingADog No you can swerve the fairytale forest entirely, and it has quite a few "thrilling" rides, as well as more sedate options, it really caters for all ages from toddler to granny. I think their website has quite detailed maps & descriptions of the rides.
Now my kids are not quite your typical teenagers (ASD), but they were keen to return now they're 15 and 18. I've not been to Alton Towers or any UK park so I can't compare, but I'd say it's more like Legoland Denmark (but with more exciting rides) and not quite as hectic as Disney Paris.

@ChangedTodaysounds perfect!

Duinrell is fantastic for kids. My two loved it. You can hire really good bikes snd cycle to some fantastic beaches snd towns. Great base to stay. Walking distance to a beautiful town with the best ice real parlour ever. Restaurants at the beach are brilliant.

My lot loved Duinrell. Last time we were there they were 11, 8 and 5 and there was plenty for all of them.
Now they're 15, 12 and 9 and we're planning the Netherlands again for this summer!

If in NW you might want to consider the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam. It's usually a bit more expensive but lon enough to get a decent night's sleep. Maybe consider Landal for places to stay. They're a lot quieter than center parcs and the like.