Beeske Bergen

Shooter_galway

Has anyone been here, part of Euro camps set up. Thinking of going with two toddlers next may/June. Any advice recommendations appreciated

wexie

Yeah, don't get out of the car in the Safari Park

Beyond that you'll need to be a little bit more specific in your questions I guess.

If it were me I think I'd leave the Beekse Bergen and go here :

https://www.efteling.com/en

Or, depending on budget and time do both.

Shooter_galway

wexie wrote: »

Yeah, don't get out of the car in the Safari Park

Beyond that you'll need to be a little bit more specific in your questions I guess.

If it were me I think I'd leave the Beekse Bergen and go here :

https://www.efteling.com/en

Or, depending on budget and time do both.

Solid advice there.. like to think I'd have a bit of cop on not to do that with two kids .. some people really are reckless...

Have you been there wexie?

Sereneone

I stayed there a few years ago. Have you specific questions about it ? I cannot do a review now, but will happily answer any questions later

wexie

Shooter_galway wrote: »

Have you been there wexie?

I grew up near there. Haven't been there in the last couple of years but let me know if you've any questions regarding the area and getting there etc and I'll try to answer them.

For what it's worth my kids absolutely loved the Safari park bit, there's a walking route through (parts of) it as well. Never brought them to the playland so can't really tell you much about that.

whodini

We are just back from Efteling and absolutely loved it! We all had such a great time. Kids are 7 and 11 but younger and older would also enjoy- there’s something for everyone. They have terrifying rollercoasters, a fairytale forest, lots of other attractions. The park is huge, in a lovely natural setting and staff really helpful and friendly. If you’ve been to Disneyland, this is better, less commercial, a more genuine relaxed experience in my opinion. Easy to access by public transport from Schiphol. Took around two hours on a train, then bus.
I’m interested in Beeksen Bergen too and will be looking up that Eurocamp. I’d love to go back to Efteling for a day or two as part of a longer stay somewhere else.
Just to add some reviews of summertime visits were less than glowing. It gets crowded seemingly and wait times can be long. If you can go off peak I’d advise that.

wexie

whodini wrote: »

Easy to access by public transport from Schiphol. Took around two hours on a train, then bus.

You could fly Ryanair to Endhoven and be in Beekse Bergen around half an hour, Efteling in an hour (driving that is, public transport would take a bit longer)

whodini wrote: »

I’m interested in Beeksen Bergen too and will be looking up that Eurocamp. I’d love to go back to Efteling for a day or two as part of a longer stay somewhere else.

If you were driving it would take about 30/40 minutes to get from one to the other. They are on opposite sides of Tilburg more or less so very feasible. I wouldn't really recommend either for a longer stay I guess, last time we were in the Efteling we were there 4 days which was plenty. (kids wouldn't have minded longer of course but it was plenty for us).

There are lots of camping/self catering options throughout the whole area, there's also a Center Parcs not too far away. If you were doing that though I'd definitely recommend car hire.

whodini wrote: »

Just to add some reviews of summertime visits were less than glowing. It gets crowded seemingly and wait times can be long. If you can go off peak I’d advise that.

Yes, definitely worth looking into (and looking up when the school holidays in Holland are) the queues can take the fun out of a day pretty quickly, especially for the more popular rides. And as far as I'm aware they don't have the likes of Q-bot like they'd have in some parks in the UK.

fdevine

Have a look at Duinrell Campsite. Has it's own themepark, kiddie rides, Rick the frog mascot & a large indoor pool complex.

Stayed in 2016 and loved it. We had looked at other Dutch campsites & would have loved to go to Efteling but stuck with Duinrell.

Sereneone

I would not consider staying at Beekse Bergen for a long period, like a 2 week holiday. We visited the site a few years ago for three or four days as part of a longer holiday and it was plenty.

We were touring in a motorhome so I cannot comment on the accommodation etc but the camping site is absolutely huge. Not densely populated to be fair, beautifully landscaped and well laid out, but everything was a bike ride from our location - the shop, pool, entrance etc. This wasn't a problem for us, we had early and pre-teens so well able to cycle. The safari park is not located in the camping area, it is a few minutes cycle outside the site. Likewise the waterpark area was accessed from outside the site, just by the main entrance.

The onsite facilities were unremarkable, a shop, take away and small pool from what I remember of it. For such a large site, the facilities were small and sparse, to the point I thought there was possibly another part to it. If there was, we didn't find it.

We had one day in Safari, one day at the water park area and a day in Tilburg. That was plenty for us. I would think without a car or bikes with seats for the kids the site would be hard work for you with small children.

I would agree that Duinrell and Efteling have more to offer as far as on-site facilities are concerned. Duinrell is somewhere you could stay for 2 weeks, its location is great and has easy transport links to Amsterdam, Leiden, Den Haag. It is within walking distance to town which is great and there is plenty on site for all ages. It is a big favourite with my kids. We have to stop over for a few days every year, they just love it there. One comment I would make though is this year we stopped off for 3 nights and we found the place over run with Irish people.

Efteling is great but again for a few days not long stay but well worth seeing. We would go back for a day visit.

Another recommendation would be a site called TerSpegelt. Again, lots to do for kids of your age and easy to reach Efteling, Eindhoven and lots of other interesting places by car. Definitely hire a car for a few days if staying here, driving is easy and the road network excellent. The site itself is lovely and facilities very good and you could stay here as a base for a two week holiday.

From all of the sites we have stayed on in Holland, Beekse Bergen is probably the one I would least recommend for a long stay holiday. Worth seeing if you are in the area but I wouldn't return especially.

Shooter_galway

Would be going with a one and two yr old... Using that as a base for 4 nights.. good to know that camp is sparse that be a bit of a trek.. would plan to visit eftling alrite as looks pretty good and think kids would enjoy it. Car will be a must to rent so wouldn't have to rely on public transport

Shooter_galway

wexie wrote: »

I grew up near there. Haven't been there in the last couple of years but let me know if you've any questions regarding the area and getting there etc and I'll try to answer them.

For what it's worth my kids absolutely loved the Safari park bit, there's a walking route through (parts of) it as well. Never brought them to the playland so can't really tell you much about that.

Well if there's any places off the beaten track that would be worth a visit please tell. Or places to stay away from!!

wexie

Shooter_galway wrote: »

Well if there's any places off the beaten track that would be worth a visit please tell. Or places to stay away from!!

one I can think of straightaway is the Drunense Duinen.

It's a national park, not too far from Beekse Bergen and you pretty much drive past it on the way to the Efteling, kinda odd insofar it's got big sand dunes in the middle of a foresty area. (geeky fact, it's the reason that area of holland has great water as all the rain water gets filtered through the sand and then harvested)





Great spot for a nice walk, there's a fair few restaurants around it for a nice bit of lunch afterwards.

Other than that I guess it depends on what you'd like to see, in that area you're less than half an hour from the Belgium border with all of it's monasteries.

I would have suggested this as it used to be quite an interesting science museum but after having googled it turns out it's not anymore

To be honest if you're there for 4 nights I'd say you won't be stuck for things to do.

One day in the playland (weather permitting), (most of) a day in the safaripark maybe head into town for some shopping, day at the efteling,

maybe this place https://www.koningshoeven.nl/

a one and 2 year old will be easily enough (or hard enough I guess) amused pretty much anywhere.

Ours absolutely adored both the Safaripark and the Efteling at that age, there won't be many rides in the Efteling for them but the whole park started out as a fairy tale park back in the day (think it's won lots of awards for it) and while they have some great rollercoasters it's really the magical stuff that's won them their reputation, elves, fairies, trolls.

Honestly, I'm not too sure I would have brought my one and 2 year old to the Beekse Bergen (at least not for the playland) but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Efteling, although it's a very different experience with kids that young it's definitely worth it to just see the wonder in their faces. We ended up doing shifts walking them around in the buggy (asleep) for 2 hours so they could have a nap and enjoy more of the day. Time after that we had 3 and decided to rent one of their cottages which are fabulous.

You could go here https://www.landal.com/parks/het-vennenbos which is about half an hours drive (maybe a little bit longer). And if you're that way inclined there are lots of little artisan cheese producers and things like that all over that area.

Shooter_galway

wexie wrote: »

one I can think of straightaway is the Drunense Duinen.

It's a national park, not too far from Beekse Bergen and you pretty much drive past it on the way to the Efteling, kinda odd insofar it's got big sand dunes in the middle of a foresty area. (geeky fact, it's the reason that area of holland has great water as all the rain water gets filtered through the sand and then harvested)





Great spot for a nice walk, there's a fair few restaurants around it for a nice bit of lunch afterwards.

Other than that I guess it depends on what you'd like to see, in that area you're less than half an hour from the Belgium border with all of it's monasteries.

I would have suggested this as it used to be quite an interesting science museum but after having googled it turns out it's not anymore

To be honest if you're there for 4 nights I'd say you won't be stuck for things to do.

One day in the playland (weather permitting), (most of) a day in the safaripark maybe head into town for some shopping, day at the efteling,

maybe this place https://www.koningshoeven.nl/

a one and 2 year old will be easily enough (or hard enough I guess) amused pretty much anywhere.

Ours absolutely adored both the Safaripark and the Efteling at that age, there won't be many rides in the Efteling for them but the whole park started out as a fairy tale park back in the day (think it's won lots of awards for it) and while they have some great rollercoasters it's really the magical stuff that's won them their reputation, elves, fairies, trolls.

Honestly, I'm not too sure I would have brought my one and 2 year old to the Beekse Bergen (at least not for the playland) but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Efteling, although it's a very different experience with kids that young it's definitely worth it to just see the wonder in their faces. We ended up doing shifts walking them around in the buggy (asleep) for 2 hours so they could have a nap and enjoy more of the day. Time after that we had 3 and decided to rent one of their cottages which are fabulous.

You could go here https://www.landal.com/parks/het-vennenbos which is about half an hours drive (maybe a little bit longer). And if you're that way inclined there are lots of little artisan cheese producers and things like that all over that area.

Thanks for that wexie! Yeah planned as using it as a base eftling looks very good and say they kids will love it and especially the Safari park!