Family Holiday in Holland
Holland is considered to be one of the best destinations
for a family holiday in Europe, and rightfully so.
It
has a wide range of family attractions, including great
amusement parks, zoos, active vacation (such as cycling,
boating, and skiing, even in the summer), museums
children will enjoy, markets, flower gardens,
picturesque towns and impressive big cities.
Many
attractions are suitable for very young children as
well.
Holland’s great advantage is its relatively small size and excellent roads, which make it an ideal destination for ‘star trips’: a vacation where you stay at one central location and drive to attractions all around it in a 2-hour radius. Star trips are the most convenient kind of vacation for families.
Hotels
You can stay
at one or two destinations and drive from there to the
different attractions for one or two weeks in comfort.
There are hundreds of holiday villages in
Holland. These are undoubtedly the best lodging option
in this country.
The standard of the holiday
villages, their apartments and their facilities can be
anything from simple huts with no entertainment
facilities which serve only as an efficient starting
point for trips and a place to sleep in when you return,
to fully equipped and comfortable apartments in a large
village in a pastoral location with any facility you can
think of: pools, water parks, petting zoos, playgrounds,
sports fields, shows, shops, and organised activities
for children and for the whole family.
Holiday
villages such as these indeed serve as ideal starting
points for star trips, but if you stay at one I
recommend leaving yourself time to enjoy its facilities
as well.
The best chain of holiday villages in
Holland is Center Parcs. Besides a tropical indoor
waterpark (the best feature of the place – you will have
trouble getting your kids to leave), Center Parcs boasts
a great selection of other attractions such as ziplines,
an indoor skiing slope (active all year round), themed
playgrounds, and more. Each Center Parcs village has its
own unique highlights, but all of them are full of great
possibilities for active vacationing.
Ski at Holland!
More Indoor Ski:
All the Indoor Ski Slopes in Europe - Tripomatic
Amusement parks
Holland
has several great amusement parks.
The most famous of
these is
Efteling, and it is a must-see for any family
visiting the country. This is a charming amusement park
which has rides of every kind, from big roller coasters
to pleasant carousels for the little ones. There are
also shows and a forest of fairytale creatures. The
whole park was built inside a forest, and its designers
thought of every little detail. Even the recycling bins
are designed to look like different characters who call
out to you to throw your paper there.
Serious fans of hardcore roller coasters will not want
to miss
Walibi Holland, an amusement park which was
previously part of the worldwide Six Flags chain.
Another park is
Duinrell, which is both an amusement
park and a water park.
The youngest of the family
will love a visit to
Linnaeushof, the biggest playground
in Europe.
Animal parks
Holland is also known for its many animal
parks. The most popular ones are:
· The
Dolphinarium
in Harderwijk
·
Apenheul Monkey Park in Apeldoorn,
where monkeys roam freely around people and you can even
feed them directly from your hand
·
Vogelpark
Avifauna Bird Park
·
Beekse Bergen Safari Park
·
Burgers’ Zoo
Flowers
Another thing Holland is famous for are its flowers, especially its tulips.
People
visiting Holland in the spring (March to May) should not
miss Keukenhof gardens, which are some of the most
unique and beautiful gardens in all of Europe. These
gardens are open only in the spring. They show off the
marvellous blooming of tulips.
Early risers should
visit the flower auction in Aalsmeer.
Of course, you
should not miss a visit to Amsterdam’s colourful flower
market, open on any month of the year.
Nature lovers
should visit De Hoge Veluwe national park, whose main
attraction is cycling along the park trails. I recommend
starting your visit at the park’s visitor centre, which
features interactive displays about its flora and fauna
as well as some history. I recommend picking up a park
map there.
Another place I recommend visiting is the
Kr?ller-M?ller Museum, which features masterpieces by
Holland’s greatest artists. Its sculpture garden is
especially beautiful. This is a great opportunity to
combine a visit to a nice art museum with a trip out to
nature and some physical activity in the form of
cycling.
Fishing villages
Holland has many fishing villages and picturesque towns.
Two towns which are considered ‘must-sees’ in this country are:
Volendam, the most representative fishing town you could see in Holland. This is the place to roam around souvenir shops and see typical Dutch wooden clogs, traditional clothes, fishing boats in the harbour and stands with a wide selection of fish and seafood.
Giethoorn, which is nicknamed ‘The Venice of Holland’. I recommend going on an independent boat ride through the canals of the town and the nearby lake.
Cheese markets
In the summer months, several places in the country host cheese markets.
The two best and most famous cheese markets are:
Alkmaar Cheese Market, which takes place every Friday
Gouda Cheese Market, which takes place on Thursdays.
Other Attractions
In order to experience what life was like in
Holland hundreds of years ago, you should visit one of
the country’s many open museums. The biggest and best
one is Nederlands Openluchtmuseum in the suburbs of
Arnhem, where there are many demonstrations and
organised activities. This open museum has functioning
windmills, a bakery, several different workshops, a
vegetable garden, an animal farm and more. You can
travel between around the different parts of the park on
foot or by tram. The museum also has a unique multimedia
exhibit called HollandRama.
Lovers of windmills
should visit the 19 windmills of
Kinderdijk. It is
lovely to walk, drive, or bike around the windmills and
of course go inside one of the active mills.
In
the nearby town of
Delft you can watch the production
process of Holland’s famous blue and white china.
Holland is also famous for its dikes and dams. Who
hasn’t heard the tale of the boy who put his finger in
the dike and saved Holland from flooding?
I recommend
driving along Afsluitdijk dam (a part of route A7),
which separates IJsselmeer lake from the North Sea, and
enjoying the view. A visit to the visitor centre located
in the middle of the road on top of the dam will teach
you about the complicated building process of the dam
and its great significance.
Another dam you can visit
(walk on top of it on foot, take a boat ride under it
and much, much more) is the Delta Works in
Deltapark
Neeltje Jans in the province of Zeeland in the south of
Holland.
Family aatractions in Amsterdam
A trip to Holland isn’t complete
without a visit to its big, bustling city of Amsterdam.
In order to get a taste of Amsterdam, you should
dedicate at least one very busy day to it. If you would
also like to visit its museums and see the city a little
more in-depth, I recommend visiting for at least two or
three days.
A good start to your visit would be a boat ride through the canals. You can join an hour-long guided boat tour or do it independently on ‘canal bikes’.
After that, it is nice to walk around the
centre of the city on foot and browse its markets.
A
must-see site is the
Anne Frank Museum.
Other family
attractions in Amsterdam:
·
Nemo Science Museum
·
The
Heineken Experience
· A guided tour of Ajax
Stadium, which also holds the
Ajax Museum
· The
Amsterdam branch of
Madame Tussauds wax museum
Other cities in Holland
Other cities in Holland which are great for a family holiday:
The Hague:
The most famous attraction of the city is the Madurodam miniature park, which features miniature models of all of Holland.
I also recommend
visiting
Panorama Mesdag, an enormous three-dimensional
painting of Scheveningen’s beach, near The Hague. The
painting was created in 1881. You can get headphones
with English commentary about the painting.
If the
weather permits, I recommend walking along the the beach
at the real promenade of Scheveningen. This is a
three-kilometre promenade full of restaurants and coffee
shops. In its centre are a pier, a coral garden and a
model of a submarine.
Utrecht:
The oldest and
fourth-largest city in Holland. I recommend touring the
city centre on foot, seeing its canals and its colourful
pedestrian mall, and the main attraction:
Museum
Speelklok, a museum of clocks, musical boxes and
instruments. Guided tours of the museum take place every
hour.
Utrecht is also home to the tallest belltower
in Holland. Tours up to the top of the tower take place
every hour as well.
Holland’s most famous shopping
centre,
Hoog Catarijne, is in this city.
Rotterdam:
A big and lively harbour city where you can take a guided boat tour of the harbour and admire the view from the rotating viewing platform atop the Euromast.
More articles about Holland
The Netherlands - general information for travellers
Shopping in Amsterdam