De Vossemeren - Center Parcs

[Ieatmypeaswithhoney]

Any recent tips or recommendations for Center Parcs at De Vossemeren?

We're going in Feb with kids aged 12, 10 and 8. We've been to Woburn and Longleat before, so if there are any particular differences between the continental version and the UK version that would be really helpful to know about (2 of our children are autistic so preparing for differences is really helpful). We know about the no oven thing.

Thanks so much for any help!!

We've been multiple times with the DC, from when the youngest was 2 until the oldest was 12. They and we loved it every time so I'm quite envious. I've been to Elveden and Woburn. It's nothing like Woburn but the swimming pool is almost identical to Elveden.

Tips from me:

• Take your own loo roll. They only give you one roll for the week.
• Feeding the animals at the farm is free when it opens every morning.
• They only allow pony riding for under-5s. My DC were very sad when they got too old.
• Expect to see toddlers in the rapids. The splash pool at the end has a very strong undertow, so stand up and get out ASAP.
• The buffet restaurant Evergreenz is fantastic. Even though it's a buffet, they happily catered for a lactose intolerance. There's a huge range - enough to have variety even if you eat there every day.
• Take water shoes for Discovery Bay. The high ropes course is designed for people taller than me (5'4").

Have an amazing time!

Just bumping this in the hopes that the OP @Ieatmypeaswithhoney or anyone else has any other tips for De Vossermeren. We are going in the Easter hols with our 2 DC age 10 & 12, hoping there is is enough for older ones.

@Ieatmypeaswithhoney

Hello! We had a really successful trip there and are going to De Kempervennen this year. My kids favourite activity was the laser tag game - we wished we had booked it twice.

Otherwise we did climbing which was good, and both indoor and outdoor mini golf which were fun and very available but not amazing. And of course we swam everyday.

If you like cycling, the cycle paths are amazing and you could cycle up to the border with the Netherlands (I ran up there one morning and enjoyed running into a different country!) it's not a very exciting border otherwise. In the other direction is a canal which I think you could cycle along and you could cycle into Lommel pretty easily.

I think your kids will be too old for Discovery Bay - mine were not interested ☹️. They loved the turtles in the tropical dome though.

There is a very helpful Centre Parcs Facebook group - Center Parcs Europe Just for Brits - where there is a LOT of advice about differences between the UK and European CPs and what to take. It's worth joining although if you are seasoned travellers outside the UK you'll be all over some of it.

Any specific questions just shout - I'm sure you will have a lovely time!

... my kids LOVED the table cooking option and ate things they would never have tried otherwise...

Thanks so much @Ieatmypeaswithhoney for the info, really helpful! We will bring our bikes. Pretty sure my kids will be into the laser tag too, what is the table cooking option you mentioned? Is it a bookable activity? Hope you have a great time at De Kempervennen.

Yes you can book it while you are there or in advance. They deliver a hot plate to your villa which you plug in. You also get various packs of pre-marinaded meat and sliced veg (onions, peppers, mushrooms). You then cook them on the hot plate yourself.

My lot called it 'mystery meat' as all the labels were in Dutch so we couldn't work out what we were eating. They tried everything and had a great time! Easy tea too...

Hi @Ieatmypeaswithhoney hoping you can answer a couple of very specific questions for me! We were about to book de Kempervennnen but it’s full so looking at de Vossemeren instead. DK has a clip and climb climbing wall that my son would love and it’s from age 6. DV has a climbing wall but it says it’s for age 8 upwards only. Are the age limits strictly enforced? DS is a really good and brave climber, and he’s 7.5 so could just tell them he is eight if needs be…

Also, would you say that having a bike is necessary or is it walkable? DS is as bad at cycling as he is good at climbing and I don’t hold out much hope of getting him cycling about happily, so are we going to have to get a trailer or golf buggy or something?

Finally, a lot of threads say that you can use facilities at other Center Parcs (so we could just go to DK if DV climbing a no-go), but I saw one suggesting that reciprocal use was no longer possible? Did you hear anything about that when you were there?

Hello.

I don't know about the age limits I'm afraid - my daughter was 8 when we did it so it wasn't an issue. There was a bouldering type wall to one side that was accessible for the smaller ones I think. So there would always be that to do? There is a high ropes thing as well which was fully booked when we were there - no idea about age limits though.

We didn't have bikes and were fine but picked our cabin so we knew we would be quite close to the pool etc. It's quite a big site though but the pool / indoor stuff and the indoor pirate play are close together so if those are your main focus and you are close by then I expect no bike would be fine!

I have seen lots of references to reciprocal use as well but we didn't try it as there was enough for us to do at the Parc we were staying at.

The Facebook group is really good and very helpful - probably more helpful than me!!

Much appreciated @Ieatmypeaswithhoney, thanks for replying. We booked last night, fingers crossed it ticks all the right boxes.

(DS is too short/young for the high ropes. When I asked about the age limit on the wall, what I was really getting at was whether they have a record of your child’s age from the booking and verify the age against that, or ask to see passport, or whether you just go up and say “one eight year old please”.

It was some years back but my DS wasn't allowed on the zipline because he was a few months under the age limit. They just asked him his age and he told them.

Sorry just seen this and bumping ! We are looking to book in Feb, hoping as long as well wrapped up etc then not too many of the activities are weather dependent ?

It's somewhere we have looked at , seems from this thread it's a great place. From anyone that's been, how much are the activities? Trying to get an idea of how much to budget for.

Activities were €5 to €20 last time I was there.

@CokeZeroPlease Discovery Cove (includes the high ropes course) and the main dome with the restaurants, swimming pool, indoor sports, crazy golf etc. are all inside so not weather-dependent. The watersports, climbing wall, laser tag and mountain biking are all outside though.