Holland
Hi all. We are looking for advice please re our proposed trip to Holland in April. We are going to visit Keukenhof and Floriade. We’d be very grateful to get advice on ferry crossings and caravan sites. We are looking at Koningshof and Delfse Hout, staying at maybe one of them for eight days or visiting both. We wonder which the nicer site is. Another possibility is looking at sites further in land perhaps near Utrecht or Amsterdam. Many thanks, Clive and Carole
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The simplest ferry crossing is from Harwich to the Hook of Holland - there’s a choice of a day or an overnight crossing. Book a cabin for each of them.
The two sites you have named are among the busiest and most popular in the country.but Koningshof is the nearer of the two to Keukenhof. I wouldn’t stay at either for 8 days but suggest you push on and explore other areas. There are no bad sites in the Netherlands.
Floriade at Almere can be reached from one of the Amsterdam sites. We used Gaasper camping there, but if you prefer an out of town site I suggest camping t’Oppertje at Lelystad which is also quite close to Almere. From that one you can also drive across the big dike to visit the open air museum at Enkhuisen.Envious. I wish we could go again.
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We have not previously visited NL so been asking for recommendations. We are crossing into NE France early June and moving up into and across NL, back mid July. The area around Aachen and then Veluwe National Park area have be recommended to us. With the later you are spoilt for choice when looking at ACSI sites. We are staying at Delfse Hout for a week before coming back and were advised to book as they get busy.
Colin
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Hi Colin
Last time we were down Appledorn way we stayed at Veluewe camping 't Schinkel with easy access to the National Park. At that time we didn't have to pay to enter De Hoeg Veulewe, or at least I can't remember paying a great deal, but I understand that there is a significant charge now for the car and occupants which also includes entrance to the Kröller-Müller museum which houses masterpieces by many famous artists, Van Gogh, Picasso, Seurat etc. There is another nature reserve nearby which is run by Natuurmonumenten and is free to enter.
We hope to visit both reserves when we stay in June on our way back from Germany and will probably choose the same campsite. haven't got my ACSI book yet but it used to be in there.
The area along the Maas river is attractive and good cycling. We stayed at a few sites along or near the river. The one at Beesel, Camping Petrushoeve, was excellent but doesn't allow dogs if you have one. You can walk into Germany from there. If staying there then walk towards the border and there some old gravel pits which are quite good for a bit of birdwatching plus the forest area acting as the border is good as well.
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CeeandCee.
We've used the ferry from Harwich to Hook and it's pretty good. Only problem we found was the arrival and disembarkation meant you were usually entering the rush hour at Rotterdam late afternoon.
We prefer to use Hull to Rotterdam which is overnight and let's us off in the morning at a different more convenient spot to hit the motorways and usually be on site before they close for lunch. We hope to use the site at Lelystad mentioned by EuroT but it will be in mid May.
Just as a matter of interest we found the best prices this year via the Club, which was almost but not quite half the price of P&O and thanks to TammyGirl for a tip about cheaper days of the week found out that a weekend sailing cheaper again.
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Can't really advise on ferries as the many times we have been to Holland we have used the Tunnel or Dover/Calais as our trip have often been circular ones over many weeks, at least since retirement. When we visited Keukenhof Gardens we stayed at Koningshof and it was a easy journey to the Gardens, which you will love. We have also stayed at Delfse Hout which is handy for Delft and you can also get the train into Amsterdam from there. I suspect the secret of any visit to Koningshof is to avoid any school holidays as its more of a holiday centre than the site at Delft.
David
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As well as the main ACSI Camping Card list,which is an obvious source of information for Dutch campsites, that organisation also publishes a separate on line list called Great Little Campsites (up to 50 pitches) which is rarely mentioned on here - perhaps because they don’t all offer discounts! For instance for Almere and the Floriade visit there is the Naturecamping de Kemphaan site on that list which looks like my sort of campsite - very different from the big commercial sites .
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Thank you very much everybody - really helpful!
Jim - we are heading to Suffolk next week to see friends in Cratfield for a couple of nights then having three more nights in our caravan. Please can you suggest any areas we should consider visiting and perhaps any sites too. Many thanks
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In the Cratfield area, a visit to Southwold would be on my list, also Framlingham Castle, Aldeburgh, Orford and the small village of Eye. Woodbridge is nice too. A bit further afield is my home town of Bury Saint Edmunds - the "Jewel in the Crown of Suffolk".
As for sites, the CMC site at Kessingland is right on the coast, the C&CC site at Norwich is convenient for getting into the city and, of course, the ever popular Seacroft CMC site at Cromer makes a very pleasant stay on the North Norfolk coast.
Hope you have an enjoyable visit and the weather is kind to you.
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Hi, We have been to Holland a few times with both the van and solo and it is a lovely country to visit.
As far as ferry goes, then Harwich-Hook, as mentioned, is a great choice for your destination and at the moment will beat anything else price wise. We are likely going to cross this way in June and a return, coming back mid July, is less than £200.
This is for the day crossings both ways, and if you decide to travel overnight you will pay around double for the privilege.
When we have used the route before we traveled up to the port during the day and parked up in the check in lanes overnight. It was OK, you need to arrive after boarding for the night crossing, but quite noisy and we will probably stay at Colchester, or a closer CL, this time.
We got a day cabin to catch up on sleep and as its a long crossing that was handy as a place to sleep/lounge during the crossing.
As mentioned it does land at peak traffic times and it can be pretty bad so make sure you can access you intended site-we just made it to our site near Arnhem.
We have not used the sites you mention and as we all have differing tastes can ony say what we like. We have stayed in a few places but mainly near the village of Eerbeek as our friends live there.
There are two good sites, one with all the facilities and amenities you could want, and another basic site and this year it will depend if we stay on the way to Italy, or on the way back, which we use.
One thing to be aware of is that on some sites after pitching your car must be placed in a car park so if there is a reason this is not acceptable its best to find out before you arrive.
Hope that you have a great time!
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As a Dutch person born and bred, the first thing I'd say is; if you've got bikes, take them with you!
Apart from that, the 2 sites you mention, Koningshof and Delftse Hout, are both good sites, but busy. As already mentioned, Koningshof is the nearer to Keukenhof. Delftse Hout has just been completely renovated, everything brand new for this yesr, and it sounds very good from the newsletter we received from them. Both sites used to be in the ACSI scheme as mentioned, but not having the current guid, I don't know whether they are for this year.
Crossings: as mentioned already, Harwich-Hoek van Holland is the obvious choice, but deposits you in Hoek van Holland at evening rush hour. Hull-Rotterdam much more expensive, and docks at 8am, also rush hour. It's also a lot more expensive than Harwich.
Other areas to visit would be the province of Zeeland, a much underrated area in the southwest of NL, and less touristy than a lot. The Hoge Veluwe has already been mentioned and is well worth a visit. A visit by bike is really a lovely day out there. Limburg is also a lovely area, the only area with some hills! There is a website for NL tourist info:Dutch Tourist Info
The so-called "Mini Campings" mentioned by eurortraveller are well worth researching.
One other thing to be aware of when planning visits etc is that there are a few Bank Holidays in April. Good Friday and Easter, the same as here, the weekend of the 15th of April. Then there is also "King's Day", which is the birthday of the king, a BH on the 27th of April, and "Bevrijdingsdag" (Liberation Day) which is on the 5th of May. You said you were going in April, but just in case you will be there until early May, I thought I'd mention it.
Finally, as with everywhere, keep an eye on Covid info for NL. They are currently in a strict lockdown. It's a few months until April, so hopefully things will be a lot better by then.
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A&J mentioned cars being parked remotely. I was caught out by that some thirty years ago on a site at Spaarnwoude just outside Amsterdam. I had an old 1980 van with no on-board electrics, relying on a hookup to the car towbar. Fortunately it was mid-summer so lighting requirements were at a minimum.
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