Centre parcs in Europe!

[anotherdaytoday76]

Hoping for some advice.

Miserable as the summer holidays come to an end, I'm thinking about next year.

We would like to go to a European centre parcs I think, in very large part because we just can't afford the UK prices in school holidays anymore but also because it might be more interesting (we've done the UK a lot in the past.)

Having decided that I'm struggling with reviews and which one! Can anyone make a recommendation please?

I was thinking Northern France but the French ones don't have great reviews. We went to De Vossermen once before so that is an option but somewhere new would be good. I've also been looking at Erperheide but the French ones seem to be cheaper.

Needs to be no more than 4 hours drive from Calais.

We'll have an 11 and 9 year old (boys) who like to be kept busy with activities. Some of the parcs have soft play included or other kids areas but I fear my 11 year old might be too big for them now so that's less of a pull than it used to be.

We definitely want to hire bikes so it needs to be as flat as possible to minimise moaning!

A local town with cheaper interesting eating options to go to once or twice would be amazing too.

Any thoughts very gratefully received!

Top activities for the kids would be:

• Cycling outside of the park if on paths (younger one I'm not sure I'd trust in roads)
• Laser quest type activity
• Paint balling
• Mini golf
• Eating local food in a restaurant outside of centre parcs

We really enjoyed De Kemprevennen in The Netherlands and plan to go back. It's flat, the facilities are great and it has a ski centre. It has paintballing, lazer tag, and a free indoor parkour area. The pools are ace.
I can't comment on the local town as we stayed on site and ate in our lodge. We stopped off in Bruge for a couple of nights on our return. It's less than a three hour drive from Dunkirk.

We have been thinking about it for next summer. This is a useful website https://www.holidayparkguru.co.uk/best-center-parcs-netherlands-holland.html

We also went to De Kempervennen this year and it was great. My two are 14&10 and there was something for everyone. The only thing I was a little disappointed with was the pool. I thought it was just Ok. Kids loved it though.
We stayed in Amsterdam a few days, then a couple of nights at Efteling (which was amazing) then a week at DK.
We cycled outside the park most days, cycle paths are brilliant and completely flat, local towns had a restaurant or ice cream place. The ski centre on site is ace, pay be the hour or full day. Weather was a bit mixed but like CP here, it doesn't really matter.
Was a brilliant holiday.

We really enjoyed Kempervennen in the Netherlands . The accommodation was a bit dated but there was a programme of renovation. Much cheaper than UK CP and lots of activities . Cheap flights too but we would possibly drive next time .

Dutch ones are great. Also loved Duinrell which isn't centre parcs but has a big slide pool and amusement park. Kids loved it. Great beaches nearby and great for cycling too.

Not CP but on the same wavelength, Landal Parks. We stayed at Landal Het Vennenbos in the Netherlands last year.
We also did Efteling theme park (stayed in the hotel) & Beekse Bergen safari park where you can stay looking onto the animals.

I have quite a few friends who have been to Le Bois aux Daims near Poitiers and loved it.

De Kempervennen definitely. And Duinrell is perfect for kids the age of yours. Funfair and beach and pool and plenty of cycling opportunity. Also see Landal.com and Roompot.com. We stayed in the waterside villas at the Roompot beach resort a couple of years ago and that was lovely and quiet with all the resort facilities and beach on hand. Zeeland is lovely. Neeltje Jans delta park, accrobranche stuff and some very pretty towns to visit.

This is about 5 hours I think, but we loved Trois Forets.

There's a CP in Europe FB group which you would find very helpful. My top tip is to search the dates you want through each country's website. There can be a huge price difference between the nl/EU/fr/Belgium site. I save £500 by checking all options.

I should add, DK accommodation has been full refurbished, we only booked the comfort accommodation, took our own pillows and it was fab, and I'm fussy! Very clean, everything new and was tastefully decorated.

I went to hof van saksen 2 hours train/drive from Amsterdam. Its a landal one not CP. Fabulous. Loads of activities included I'm price or not too expensive. Biking is great in the area. The waterpark is amazing.

Fantastic thanks so much everyone. Off to investigate!

Het Heijderbos is 4 hours from Calais, on the Dutch-German border. You're cycling distance from Gennep with a couple of great (child-friendly) bars and restaurants (Stadsherberg) and 4 supermarkets, and a 400 year old town hall with storks nesting on the roof.
Plasmolen is a 10 min drive and has lakes with beaches, boating, minigolf, Clevers ice-cream parlour, and restaurants and pancakes houses.
Nijmegen is 25 mins by car, as is
Kleve (Ann of Cleves home) in Germany.
Irrland is an amazing German play park with slides, aeroplanes, petting zoos, bouncy things and water.
Xanten is a beautiful German town with historical walls and gates and cathedral and a Roman archeological park.
Arcen is a beautiful castle garden, great for exploring with kids.
And the Efteling is still only an hour's drive away.
If you need any more ideas, I've got plenty!

We've been to Het Heijderbos and De Vossemeren and prefer the latter. Consider the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. An extra fun experience for the kids and drive short so you can get the arrival day at CP too. The town near De Vossemeren is nice too and an easy cycle. Great ice cream shop and a few restaurants

Oh and DV has also been renovated I hear

I've not actually stayed at Het Heijderbos, although I've been to birthday parties in the Jungle Doom. My expertise is the local area.

We have done so many of them they merge in my mind. De Kempervennen does stand out. When dd was small our favourite was Landal Hoog Vaals. Has a pool but none of the swanky facilities - just a lovely spot. Near to Maastricht, Valkenburg and the Drielandenpunckt where you can stand in 3 countries at once. Eperheide was better for little kids than bigger ones. De Haan in Belgium is also really nice - the town is one of the better ones on the Belgian coast (which a bit built up in many places). The beaches are fabulous and loads to do. Cycling and also the coastal tram.