Another Eurocamp question - DUINRELL

[tigerbear]

Never been to Eurocamp before, and currently exploring all options for an 8 day holiday in August. 3 adults and two 13 year old DD’s.
if anyone has been with teens, would you recommend it?

• is there enough to do for young teens independently / is it safe for them to just wander around alone?
• what is / isn’t included? I can see that the amusement park is free, but is there a charge for the water park (as this is the main draw for us)
• Whats the food like if eating at the restaurants?
• is it actually hot there in summer, or more like a British climate?

Any hints or tips much appreciated.
And if not Duinrell, which camp would you recommend with teens?
Thanks!

We haven’t been, but have just booked Duinrell. My understanding is that there is a charge for the water park but it’s less than if you weren’t a Duinrell guest. But some Duinrell accommodation (not Eurocamp) includes access to the water park so worth looking very carefully.

Weather: very slightly warmer than the UK, but basically the same as the South East.

Food: onsite not great, but short walk to the town with decent restaurants and supermarkets

Safety: totally, so long as the kids don't fall off their bikes. Cycling completely safe.

To do: depends what you count. Easy cycle to beach, probably with surfing lessons etc, coffee and some shops in town, buses and trains to Leiden and The Hague which are proper cities.

If you book direct rather than through eurocamp you get entrance to the water park included. We stayed in a Duingalow (mobile home) and it was nice. Lots of lovely restaurants in Wassenaar and an amazing ice cream parlor. We had really good weather but it can be variable like the UK.

We went to TerSpegelt last year coupled with an overnight trip to Efteling. There was loads on for teens there and it was really safe. They have an app if you want to look what kind of activities they have on.

We had a fantastic holiday. The climate is similar to ours but we were lucky and had baking hot weather all week.

@MyCatIsPlotting oh right, so there’s accommodation which isn’t Eurocamp. That’s interesting, I just assumed that Duinrell WAS Eurocamp. Thanks, will look into that.

If you book direct with Duinrell, the water park is free. If you go with Eurocamp there is a charge and I think you are restricted to certain times.

Restaurants in the town beside Duinrell are really good.

Eurocamp don’t own any campsites anywhere, they are just one of a number operators who may have accommodation on the campsite, alongside the campsites own accommodation.

Love, love, love Duinrell. First visit was in 2000 and then another four trips, the last one in 2015. It's fun for all ages of kids, the theme park, water park and local beaches are great. It's attached to the small town of Wassenar, which is nice for pottering around. And it's very easy to get out and about (recommend bike hire and a trip along the coast).

Duinrell lease tent/caravan space to Eurocamp and other camping holiday companies and also have their own units. There is a touring field for people to bring their own tents as well and some cabins. So they take all sorts

Thank you all for the advice and comments.
I’ve been looking on the Duinrell website, and their lodges look loads better than the Eurocamp ones!

Is there much to do in the evenings? I saw a review on their site, where someone says that the amusement park etc all closes at 4pm…

Yes they have evening entertainment - we watched a magician etc. which was good. also an (overpriced!) bar with a few arcade games etc.

Oh and absolutely the direct Duinrell accommodation is much nicer than the euro camp option! It books up quick though!

I’d also recommend staying in their own accommodation instead of euro camps, the duingalows are much nicer

Yes, I’m def interested in the Duingalows.

Did anyone find it tricky to book a slot to go in the water parks? I just read a review where it states that even if you are booked with Duinrell, that you need to book times to go in - is that right?

We’ve been going to duinrell every May half term break for the last 20? years. It’s very safe. We’ve booked tents, duingalows, euro camp.. tried about every option there is.

in summer it’s crowded. It’s like the Dutch version of Thorpe park so keep in mind during summer there will be a LOT of visitors.

The water park isn’t included if you don’t book accommodation directly with the park itself. This is now why we always book directly with Duinrell, cause Duingalows come with 5 WiFi passes as well as 3 or 4 visits to the water park (depending if you’re booking for 5 or 7 days). Since Covid they’ve implemented a booking system for the water park, which prevents it getting too crowded.

It’s very safe though, there’s loads for kids to do and you can let them go off and cycle to explore on their own inside the park. We always hire bikes while we’re there cause they come with convenient locks, so we will cycle into Wassenaar for shopping, the beach is a short cycle/drive. You can cycle to Leiden as well if you’re after a longer day trip. Mostly our days are structured around taking the kids to rides in the morning, going for an ice cream after lunch, more rides, then going for a swim in the evening, then dinner then bed. Our oldest (now 8) was about 3 or 4 the first time she really understood what was going on. She would finish swimming, get home, eat dinner, then sleep for 14 hours. Younger kids are absolutely knackered by the place.

One thing we have left to try is taking a caravan. The new duingalows are very nice though so I’m loathe to give up the convenience…

We went with small kids several years ago and loved it. Nearby small town is nice with good food options, beautiful safe cycling to the beach, you could use the theme park facilities after hours (trampolines, pedal cars etc, not the rides) We didn’t have any problem booking swimming slots. Day trips to Amsterdam, Madurodam and Leiden.

Easy to book slots - they give you a certain amount of passes with qr codes to book through the night before. Worth going for the early or late slots as the slides get very busy in the middle of the day

We went 9 nights last year with Eurocamp. Didn’t book direct as they seemed to only let you arrive/depart certain days which didn’t fit for us. Some eurocamp accommodation looked really run down but ours was nice, clearly new. It’s all quite squashed together. A noisy site. Wouldn’t stay again.

We should have paid for waterpark but went 5 times and never did. Join the Facebook page and people who are leaving but never used their vouchers give them away so we did that, saved us a lot as even with vouchers it was pricey. The theme park was nice and great that it was free. It meant we just spent a couple hours in a day at the quieter times and targeted the ride we liked. When it rained it was really quiet!! And it rained a lot. We were there August and the weather was awful, rainy and cold.

We didn’t do much of the entertainment but enjoyed the silent disco. I think it’s all more suitable for younger kids than teens if I’m honest other than the waterpark.

Great location for days out in Holland though. We did a windmill unesco heritage site, madurodam, Amsterdam, Leiden, Rotterdam zoo on the way home. Wassenaar is a lovely little place, had a really nice meal out there.

We’re going back after a trip two years ago. We stayed with Eurocamp as it worked out cheaper than booking direct even with paying for swimming. There’s two pools - the outdoor one and then the inside water park. The theme park isn’t very large but there’s a reasonable amount of rides. We used to go first thing and then at the end of the day when it’s quieter.

It’s very safe and Wassenaar is pretty much across the road with lots of restaurants and Lucianos - the ice cream parlour. The restaurants on site aren’t great and pricey.

There’s so much to do nearby - The Hague, Leiden, Gouda, Delft, Amsterdam and Rotterdam are within reach. Lots of museums and you can hire bikes. (Although there is a charity shop in town that does a brisk trade in second hand bikes!)

There’s a Facebook group - Duinrell Hints and tips for lots of questions and people also post that they are there and does anyone have similar aged children to meet up to play football etc.

Thanks so much for all of the advice.

i was on the verge of booking this, but now reconsidering - main concerns:

• can’t see any mention of a proper swimming pool for adults. I like to spend a lot of time properly swimming, pref in a pool with lanes. Is there one at Duinrell?
• is there enough space to relax outside the Duingalows - eg quiet space to chill on a lounger (are loungers provided?) or are the bungalows too close together to have proper relax time?

If you’ve been to Duinrell, and experienced other similar sites, which others provide good facilities for teens, as well as proper pools for adults?

also - so confused re the amount of time you get free in the water park. For 1 week, it says ‘4’ on the website. I assumed this meant 4 days free, but is actually only 4 hours??

For a 1 week stay, I mean.

We stayed there with children aged 12 and 8. The rides weren’t very good for the 12 year old. The Eurocamp cans were really crap, squashed together and rowdy at night!

No- no lane swimming options. It’s a water park so more about slides/excitement than exercise. There’s a big pool with waves every 20 minutes and that is quite good exercise to try and swim against, but mostly you’ll get a workout by climbing the towers with the floating rings.

yes the Duingalows have a little deck/patio, and unless your neighbours happen to be very noisy, you should be able to comfortably relax on your own deck. They do come with a few loungers. The big 8 person Duingalows (the new ones) have a covered over verandah as well

The Duingalows tend to have a hedge between so there’s a level of privacy, but it isn’t completely private. Most people tend to have barbecues and the like on their patios and often sit out and eat outside if it’s warm enough.

Per 7 day week (I believe) you get 4 free sessions to book, so you can go for 2 hour sessions 4x over the week. You generally have to book for the evening by around 11am before the slots are gone (this was our experience last May- haven’t been in summer since they brought this system in. I imagine it’s book the day before at least)

I've been twice with Eurocamp.

Try to get accommodation on the part they call the Eiland ( island ) as it's leafier and quieter.

It is very safe - our DC wandered off around the park alone when they were 10/11.

The food on the park isn't great but the town of Wassenaar is only a ten min walk away and has good restaurants and if it's still there a fantastic ice cream parlour. Supermarket is better in town too.

We paid to use the indoor water park - haven't been when the outside pools were open. Always been in the spring so can't comment on summer weather.

The duingelows that you book direct didn't have ovens in them when we went so not great if you want the option to cook for yourselves.

It's a great base for exploring - we did loads of day trips including taking a train to Amsterdam.