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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Which Netherlands center parcs?

27 replies

Februaryschild2023 · 10/05/2023 20:10

Has anyone got any recommendations for a Netherlands (or Germany too) center parcs trip- specifically we need a good subtropical swimming paradise to rival Sherwood forest's!
TIA

OP posts:
EarlofShrewsbury · 10/05/2023 20:12

Might not be a centre parcs but Duinrell is worth investigating.

Original poster
Februaryschild2023 · 10/05/2023 20:27

Ooh thanks, is it a similar type thing?

OP posts:
No1HolidayPlanner · 10/05/2023 20:30

Definitely check out Duinrell.. great water park. Also it's within a short walk of the lovely pretty village of Wassenaar for restaurants😊

MadEyeMoodysEye · 10/05/2023 20:34

Following. Duinrell looks great! Would people recommend driving, flying or ferry? Which port/airport?

No1HolidayPlanner · 10/05/2023 20:46

We drive to Eurotunnel and it's a 3.5 hour drive to Duinrell. Friends went on the Harwich to Hook of Holland ferry and it's only a half hour drive from there.

Livingmagicallyagain · 10/05/2023 20:57

We went to the German one in the Allgau. It's relatively new,spotless and we had a wonderful time for a third of the price of CP here! Also only an hour from Legoland.

ERN79 · 10/05/2023 21:10

Landal Het Vennenbos
I know it's not CP, but it's very similar & has a sub tropical paradise.
We went to the Netherlands last August & did Landal, Efteling & Beekse Bergen. Was a fab holiday.
My kids were 5 & 8 & both loved it.

Penelope1703 · 10/05/2023 21:16

If you'd consider Belgium we really enjoyed de Haan

ilovewispas · 10/05/2023 21:22

@ERN79 ooh could you tell us more please? What did they love? Were there enough rides for that age group at Efteling?

ERN79 · 10/05/2023 21:30

ilovewispas · 10/05/2023 21:22

@ERN79 ooh could you tell us more please? What did they love? Were there enough rides for that age group at Efteling?

Their favourite ride at Efteling was Max & Moritz. We spent 3 nights there & could have done longer. We found an area we'd not been to on our last day. So I'd say there's plenty to do. They want to go back so it was definitely a hit!
We stayed in the Loonsche-land Hotel as it included breakfast, you also get early access to the park 30mins before the general public.

Was it just Efteling you were interested in?
Landal they loved due to the swimming/sub tropical paradise.
And Beekse Bergen was great with the animals just wandering past the lodge. 🦓 🦒 🦏

ilovewispas · 10/05/2023 22:05

@ERN79 thanks so much, it sounds great. I didn't realise there was so much!

How long were you at the other two please?

ERN79 · 11/05/2023 05:24

ilovewispas · 10/05/2023 22:05

@ERN79 thanks so much, it sounds great. I didn't realise there was so much!

How long were you at the other two please?

We got the ferry overnight on the Sunday night, so arrived Monday morning. Went straight to Landal & stayed there until Friday.
Efteling Friday to Monday.
Then Beekse Bergen Monday to Friday. Back onto the ferry Friday night & back to the UK Saturday morning.
Was so handy taking the car too. No weight restrictions or anything.

There's rides at Efteling but there's also shows, like a Knight show & Caro which is more a theatre production (you pay extra for Caro but I think it was only €10 each or so).
Also a great light & water show on an evening.
Definitely recommend!

Beekse Bergen was great, but more expensive. If we did BB again I don't think we'd stay as long.
There's the Safari park obviously but there's also a beach area & swimming pools.
We stayed in a safari lodge on the Safari Resort, there were cheaper options on the Lakeside Resort I think but you're not as close to the animals.

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 11/05/2023 08:11

Came on to say Het Vennebos too if it's swimming you are after. Many of the lodges have had a lick of paint recently.
We found if you go end of August (or May half term) cheap as Dutch/German schools are back.
Might also be worth considering Legoland Denmark. We stayed opposite, it had an impressive watermark ( a bit too cold for me!)

weebarra · 11/05/2023 08:14

We've been to Duinrell twice and going again this year. The DCs love it and so do we. We're in Scotland so take the ferry from Newcastle.
This year we're doing Efteling as well but staying in Eurocamp Het Genieten as other accommodation is very expensive.
The Netherlands is a fantastic country. DCs are now 15, 12 and 9 so hoping they're not too old!

MissAmbrosia · 11/05/2023 10:43

Landal Het Vennenbos is good as already mentioned and Duinrell - though I wasn't a huge fan of the pool. De Kempervennen is the best CP is my opinion, but Eperheide, De Vossemeren, De Haan all have their own merits. Depends on the age of the kids. Eperheide is better for little ones. Kempervennen better for older ones. Also have a look at Roompot.com

AllenKatherine · 11/05/2023 11:09

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NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 11/05/2023 11:15

I've only been to kempervennen but we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a real snow indoor ski slope too (one of the reasons we picked it. I think they all have a 'speciality' so see what takes your fancy? Very easy drive from Eurotunnel.
Highly recommend Efteling too for all ages.

Original poster
Februaryschild2023 · 11/05/2023 11:26

Thanks for all the advice!

OP posts:
Acunningruse · 11/05/2023 11:35

Another recommendation for Efteling- we went in 2019 and are going back this summer with DC aged 10 and 6 as they asked to go back.
Those recommending Duinrell- do you still have to pay to use the swimming pool? This was the case when I looked at it previously which put me off. I understand the theme park is free to access though.

Acunningruse · 11/05/2023 11:36

@ERN79 we will be staying in the Loonsche Land hotel in August! Is the walk from the hotel to park ok? I've heard some people saying they couldn't find the early opening entrance for guests?

Trolltrotters · 11/05/2023 11:42

Acunningruse · 11/05/2023 11:35

Another recommendation for Efteling- we went in 2019 and are going back this summer with DC aged 10 and 6 as they asked to go back.
Those recommending Duinrell- do you still have to pay to use the swimming pool? This was the case when I looked at it previously which put me off. I understand the theme park is free to access though.

We went to duinrell last summer. If yiu book direct with them yiu have three hours free in the pool. I booked through eurocamp and it was around 10 Euros for a swim session. It did add up for the four of us as the kids wanted to go everyday

weebarra · 11/05/2023 12:39

Yes, definitely book directly through Duinrell. I think the accommodation is better too.

olliepolly · 11/05/2023 13:26

highly recommend Efteling , my young adult children have great memories of trips there

Theraffarian · 11/05/2023 13:42

Port Zélande as it has a beautiful sandy beach across the road as well.

AlliumFairy · 11/05/2023 15:37

Het Heijderbos is a carbon copy of Sherwood but with a second dome (not a pool) for small children. The pool area and rapids are identical (I think it was probably built before Sherwood).
De Kempervennan also has rapids but the layout is slightly different.

The Dutch Center Parcs when we went were a little shabbier and more down market that the UK ones, totally different ownnership. However they have more going on in an evening. The restaurants are under cover and there is usually entertainment on. Also you get to see a bit of Holland.
If you go to Het Heijderbos we enjoyed Liberty Park, a WWII museum.

The problem with all the alternatives suggested is that the pools are not as good as CP or have time limits. Depends how old your DC are as to whether that will matter.
Efteling is nice for very small children but hugely overrated IMO.