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?

I've never been but there's a Center Parcs in Zandvoort at the beach. Zandvoort has a train station and I believe it's about a 20 min ride to Amsterdam Central Station.

The museum in Enkhuizen is fun too, old houses and traditional stuff.

Lived and worked in NL for almost 20 years, with many visitor/kids/holidays along the way.

Agree with lots of the above and especially not bringing a car to Amsterdam.

Would add that if you want, and have time, to go to the North, the island of Schiermonnikoog is one of our all-time family favourite destinations for a few days cycling safely through woods and sand dunes. No cars allowed except for residents, different lodging options, nature and nice food. It’s amazing.
if not, try the Hoge Veluwe area, also amazing for kids to cycle, eat pancakes etc.
we are not keen on Centre Parc type holidays but really liked the Landal Parks which were lower key and quite simple, often in nice areas like Limburg in the South.

Jumping on this thread with my question if that's okay - could you spend 2 weeks in Duinrell or would you get bored? We like to unpack and settle down somewhere for the 2 weeks of our holiday.

I really enjoyed the fairytale wood last time I went. It was a boiling hot day and there were lots of schools there, so it was nice to have a slightly calmer and cooler wander before going back to the rides!

We stayed in Den Haag and caught the shuttle bus. That was a nice place for a wander too. I'd only ever been to the Achterhoek before, so it was quite different but very nice. I've been to Utrecht since too, and enjoyed that.

Interested to hear people’s views.
reading tripadvisor I think it would be really noisy. Apparently the staff are not great and everything is really expensive.

Indeed we have but that is a p&o ferry which we’d rather not given their rep for dealing with their staff

Fair enough, I forgot it was now P&O. Depending how far north you are there's also a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam.

Don't take a car to Amsterdam; you won;t be able to park it. Amsterdam is best explored on foot/ by bus/boat.

The Hague (Duinrell) is a good base for day trips by car or train to other places. Delft (pretty and quaint) is well worth a day trip and in the Hague I would look at Madurodam (massive model village) and Scheveningen (beach area). There is a good railway museum in Utrecht. A natural history museum in Leiden. NEMO science museum in Amsterdam.
Lots of options in NL for kids for when the weather is less than fine.
www.madurodam.nl/en
www.spoorwegmuseum.nl/en/
www.museum.nl/en/naturalis
www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/en/

If you stay in Duinrell ( you should , it’s wonderful) just book the Premium Plus accommodation.
The only negatives you read on TA are from people who book the Comfort / Budget accommodation . It’s grim .
The lodges we stay in even have their own sauna . Highly recommend.
We have been going for years and still love it .

This is what we stay in www.duinrell.com/holiday-park/duingalows/premium-plus-8-person-with-sauna.

Renesse (Zealand) has miles of amazing sandy beaches and good swimming/ water sports.

Sorry to jump on the thread, can I ask if it's easy to get around speaking English? Signs in English etc?

Also is it diverse in NL?

I can't give you ideas of where to say, but for days out places like Volendam (just north of Amsterdam), Enkhuizen (Zuiderzeemusem, an interactive open air museum not dissimilar to Weald & Downland in Sussex), and De Zaanse Schans are fab. All of those are easily reached by train from Amsterdam (all are in North Holland province, which is north/north west of Amsterdam).

Efteling is amazing, even if your DC aren't into fairy tales. It's just such a fascinatingly different theme park.

Whilst Amsterdam is lovely, Den Bosch (very near Efteling) has the most amazing vibe, and the best boat tour (canals run mostly under the city). And if you go you'd have to try a Bossche Bol, the local delicacy. You'll never settle for a choux bun ever again.

I'm an Amsterdam/Netherlands family blogger. My husband is Dutch so we go incredibly often.

I don't monetise the blog it just started as a resource for friends and family who wanted tips and has grown from there.

You should find loads of useful advice. Start with these two links

amsterdamwonderland.com/category/kids/

amsterdamwonderland.com/the-22-best-day-trips-from-amsterdam-with-kids/

I loved Efteling aged 50 :)
And Dunirell - though we camped.

We did duinrell last October with 10, 13 and 15 yr olds. They loved the waterpark but weren't really in to the rides in the theme park bit. Theme park rides a bit tame with very long queues, around 40 mins for the big rides. So not as long as height of summer at alton towers but neither were the rides as big so they didn't think it was worth it. Location wise it is a good base for Amsterdam, the Hague, beach just up the road. If we went again we'd skip the theme park altogether and hire bikes and do more exploring of the local towns and cities.

We did go to Eftling in Oct 2019 when they were 7, 10 and 12 and we all loved it. It's a really lovely and special then park unlike any other. All of them would still like to go back even now, so yours are definitely not to old for it.

Both times we Eurotunneled Folkstone to Calais and then drove from there. Highly recommend Ghent in Belgium as a beautiful town/city to stop in. Fabulous comedy audio guide around the castle, take a boat tour and just wander about, it beautiful to look at everywhere.

Yes. Really easy especially in the cities where English is widely (well) spoken.
No problem- maybe if you're in the smallest Dutch rural backwater.

Super, thank you @Gingerwarthog !

I have a friend from Rotterdam that says he can never understand why people go to Amsterdam as Rotterdam is much nicer!
I've never been so I wouldn't know, but I'd like to give it a try one day.

My daughter went to Efteling theme park and loved it when she was about 8 or 9. She still talks about it now.

Efteling is great for all ages. Tinies love it. Teens love it. Even DH loves it, and he hates theme parks. I think it's the pancake house... Anyway...

Just came to say that Rotterdam is really cool, and much easier with a car, than Amsterdam. There are longstays and the hotels will be able to recommend where to park. Stay on the SS Rotterdam, go to the pinball museum, eat at Hotel New York (need to book), take a boat ride on the Maas, visit the Boijmans gallery and see the amazing new architecture of their art depot (seriously!)... Then the next day take a 40 minute fast train up to Amsterdam for the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank's house (need to book soon).

My Dutch relatives all reckon their English is good because television shows aren't generally dubbed. So they're used to listening to English with Dutch subtitles. I don't know how true that is, but I presume it must help?

We spent the night in Rotterdam last week - it's a great city. I want to go back in the summer and stay on a houseboat.

Delft is like a mini-Amsterdam, sooo pretty. We did a campsite there and it was only an hour or so out of Amsterdam (memory hazy mind you) so you could easily drive into a park and ride from there. Not tonnes to do apart from walking, eating and pool/lake/wood wanders but a great change of pace.

We’re doing something similar with DS6. We looked at booking Duinrell through Eurocamp, but were put off with the reviews saying how busy it was and having to pay extra for swimming.

We’re staying 1 night in an air b&b in Delft, 1 night at the Loonsche Land hotel in Efteling (2 days theme park tickets and breakfast included), then 7 nights at TerSpegelt. There seems to be a lot going on for kids there but hopefully not as busy as Duinrell.