Suggestion for a 40 day trip to to Netherlands

[wp1234]

Hoping to catch the ferry to Rotterdam 4th March for a 40 day jaunt around the Netherlands and was just hoping some of you well travelled funsters could give me some ideas for a basic and interesting itinerary . I appreciate some of the campsites will still be closed but I think there will be enough open to make it worthwhile.
I have visited Rotterdam and Amsterdam many times so really looking for different places further afield , we are keen walkers and love to explorer the history of a country and take in its old towns etc.

Thanks in advance .

 

[mapman]

Brielle west of Rotterdam, just over first bridge going south; east to Breda Tilburg and south to Limburg. The hilly part of Holland east of Maastricht. Gulden and Valkenberg. Then north to Arnhem and on to Hoge Velue National park. An amazing heath like area great for cycling. Don’t miss the Kroller Muller museum with large Van Gogh collection .North to Friesland see Sneek and Sloten .Area famous for the Ice race on canals - the Tocht der Toochten but only if cold enough.Since this only occurs occasionally they race and tour the towns on bikes, old cars and when we were there hundreds of tractors! That is just a taste of some of the places we have visited. It is amazingly diverse and the Dutch are very friendly and most speak English. Camp sites usually of a very high standard. We initially couldn’t find supermarkets in the smaller towns but because they all use bikes they put them under blocks of apartments so not so easy to find. It’s a great country, with 40 days you should be able to see a variety of places.

 

[wp1234]

Brielle west of Rotterdam, just over first bridge going south; east to Breda Tilburg and south to Limburg. The hilly part of Holland east of Maastricht. Gulden and Valkenberg. Then north to Arnhem and on to Hoge Velue National park. An amazing heath like area great for cycling. Don’t miss the Kroller Muller museum with large Van Gogh collection .North to Friesland see Sneek and Sloten .Area famous for the Ice race on canals - the Tocht der Toochten but only if cold enough.Since this only occurs occasionally they race and tour the towns on bikes, old cars and when we were there hundreds of tractors! That is just a taste of some of the places we have visited. It is amazingly diverse and the Dutch are very friendly and most speak English. Camp sites usually of a very high standard. We initially couldn’t find supermarkets in the smaller towns but because they all use bikes they put them under blocks of apartments so not so easy to find. It’s a great country, with 40 days you should be able to see a variety of places.

Many thanks for this very much appreciated sounds interesting . I’m a little concerned that early March might be too early in the season to visit and find sites open . I can see that they have a number of Aires so maybe they are the best option for me .

 

[Richard Birkett]

I spent a couple of months touring the Netherlands and mostly stayed at aires attached to marinas, of which there are loads.
Giethoorn is worth a visit and shouldn’t be too busy. There’s a wonderful museum dedicated to Jopie Huisman a much underrated artist. The old naval dockyards at Den Helder are well worth and it’s also the place to catch a ferry to the lovely island of Texel. Volendam is a bit of a tourist spot but pretty on a nice day as is the windmill museum that is Zaanse Schans (I’d give the local Aire a miss). All of the cities in Holland are great and don’t miss Haarlem.
Have a great trip.

 

[Next Stop]

We're off for 14 days at the beginning of April and have Geithoorn, Haarlem, Rotterdam, Kinderdijk, Delft and Alkmaar.
Sorry I can't personally recommend as we haven't been yet, but these places have been recommended to me. I would love 40 day to explore fully as I think we are going to run out of time. There appears to be a good selection of Aires and some Farm stays which we are looking at booking, the sites we have looked at seem expensive but have good facilities and most importantly have good transport links to the citys/towns so we don't have to worry about parking

I'll be watching this thread for ideas!

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[hja]

Get to the library and borrow a guide book to give you some good general ideas of different parts of the Netherlands. Depends what you are interested in. We found lots to see. We havent spent 40 days there in one go but have spend getting on that amount over several holidays.

 

[Rapido925M]

On our way to mosel we stopped at Breda on a quiet road by a canal €4
We liked the marina at Hanssum, Neer €12 with plenty of passing river traffic and a nature reserve.
On the return journey from Hanover we stopped at Almen, another nice marina with traffic and a pub. Then Gorinchem which is on the Rhine so can be noisy but interesting.

Gouda has a good aire €8 (2015) and an easy walk into town with a cheese museum.
We stayed on a farm site at Abbennes €10which sold homemade food then Almere Haven (€12) which has excellent showers.
Delfzijl on the Ems has a reasonable free aire within walking distance of shops.
We really liked Lauwersoog €15 which is in a nature reserve behind a sea defence wall with an interesting history. Traffic comes in on a regular basis.
Harlingen aire €7:50 is on the dockside but an easy walk into a lovely town with an interesting story about treachery during the Spanish war (monument to the Two Faced Man).

During other trips to Netherlands we have explored Utrecht which has a good market on Saturday. Underground restaurants along the river can be good. There is a railway museum.

One museum which we enjoyed was on an old island from which everyone was evacuated during storms. Now it’s inland and the church and houses are interesting. My memory says it is called Schotland but I can’t find it: it’s somewhere north east of Apeldoorn.

A drive across the mouth of IJsselmeer is worth it.

Enjoy - Gordon

 

[EuroTrotters]

Klein Vink

Camping | Veelzijdig Klein Vink

Met de tent, caravan of camper ben je welkom op de camping van Klein Vink. Met o.a. stroomaansluitingen en wifi is het comfortabel kamperen in Arcen!

www.kleinvink.nl

with thermal baths

Roompot | Your holiday starts here

Fun for everyone! Would you like to enjoy a holiday together at a luxury holiday or bungalow park? Roompot offers the best deals at beautiful locations!

www.roompot.com

Arcen and Bad Arcen. Great cycle paths to places like

De Heide over on the chain ferry​

Valkenburg

Kinderdijk​

 

[wp1234]

On our way to mosel we stopped at Breda on a quiet road by a canal €4
We liked the marina at Hanssum, Neer €12 with plenty of passing river traffic and a nature reserve.
On the return journey from Hanover we stopped at Almen, another nice marina with traffic and a pub. Then Gorinchem which is on the Rhine so can be noisy but interesting.

Gouda has a good aire €8 (2015) and an easy walk into town with a cheese museum.
We stayed on a farm site at Abbennes €10which sold homemade food then Almere Haven (€12) which has excellent showers.
Delfzijl on the Ems has a reasonable free aire within walking distance of shops.
We really liked Lauwersoog €15 which is in a nature reserve behind a sea defence wall with an interesting history. Traffic comes in on a regular basis.
Harlingen aire €7:50 is on the dockside but an easy walk into a lovely town with an interesting story about treachery during the Spanish war (monument to the Two Faced Man).

During other trips to Netherlands we have explored Utrecht which has a good market on Saturday. Underground restaurants along the river can be good. There is a railway museum.

One museum which we enjoyed was on an old island from which everyone was evacuated during storms. Now it’s inland and the church and houses are interesting. My memory says it is called Schotland but I can’t find it: it’s somewhere north east of Apeldoorn.

A drive across the mouth of IJsselmeer is worth it.

Enjoy - Gordon

Fab ideas thank you

 

[Margaritaman]

…….Hoge Velue National park. An amazing heath like area great for cycling. Don’t miss the Kroller Muller museum with large Van Gogh collection ……..

Really enjoyed visiting both these places years ago before we started motorhoming. Felt viewing the Van Gogh collection there was more enjoyable than the ones in the Amsterdam exhibition.

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[rod_vw]

Useful overnight with restaurant beside a harbour at Marina De Turfvaart with all facilities including wi-fi, showers etc.

 

[Brains]

Den Helder the city and the Maritime museum
Texel island, loads of campsites, so some will be open, old town of Den Berg worth a visit
Drive across the Ijsselmeer dam
Enkhuizen is worth a visit, the campsite is in the moat.
Lelystad as a new city worth looking at, especially the 16th century ship the Batavia

 

[Tonks]

I stayed just outside Dordrecht in my van on my last trip. The excellent cycle routes meant getting about locally by bike was easy and meant minimal moving of the van once on site.
Dordrecht is a lovely city.
I’ve also visited Utrecht and the Nijmegen and Arnhem areas.
I would definitely head for the Keukenhof Gardens which open in mid March and are spectacular.

 

[Bleau’s]

Went twice in 2022 april and july . keukenhof gardens in April is great then up to the beach at petten with some great walking in the dunes then across the dam to Bolsward another very good old town I will find the site details if anyone wants them. In July we did dan helder for its military base and over the reasonable cost ferry you only pay one way to texel a wonderful island and so friendly then back to petten . We visit holland stock car racing but always make a holiday of it

 

[rod_vw]

Went twice in 2022 april and july . keukenhof gardens in April is great then up to the beach at petten with some great walking in the dunes then across the dam to Bolsward another very good old town I will find the site details if anyone wants them. In July we did dan helder for its military base and over the reasonable cost ferry you only pay one way to texel a wonderful island and so friendly then back to petten . We visit holland stock car racing but always make a holiday of it

There is an Aire at Den Oever if you want an overnight stop.

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[Rapido925M]

Some photos:

Gordon

 

[pagey]

gouda aire is free on sundays inc electric (june 22) the town is worth a visit

 

[John Barrett]

We spent nearly two years in Holland, fitting out our new boat. There are no 'uninteresting' places in Holland, from the nude sunbathers in their glass walled gardens no matter the time of year, to Amsterdam with it's diamond district - I went there with Jan and didn't escape alive- and the Red Light District has to be seen to be believed.
Tulip fields, great bars with a huge bell on the counter which you ring at your peril, and really nice people.

 

[Rapido925M]

Found that museum:

Museum Schokland | Leven met Water

Voormalig eiland in de Noordoostpolder vertelt het eeuwenoude verhaal van Leven met Water. Alle info over een bezoek aan Museum Schokland.

www.museumschokland.nl

Gordon