Caravaning in Holland.

[PaulRay_5041260]

I am planning to take my van to Holland for several weeks in May/June 2007. Can anyone recommend good sites , places to visit or books to read? My wife and I want to see the coast and some cities as we enjoy both fresh air and culture. We do however like peaceful sites but expect that if we go to Amsterdam/Delft etc they will be busy. Any advice on an itinery and good sites to stay will be welcome plus any tit-bits of useful information.

 

[alansharpe]

Hi Paul Ray . We have been 3 times to Holland, twice to Delft.The campsite At Delft is a ten minute walk from the site into the town , it never seems to busy. There is a bus service from the site into the town every 15 mins, from the site entrance. transport in Holland is cheap we used the car very little,instead used the trains trams and buses all very good and frequent.Take your bikes or hire some cycling is very easy and safe even for novices like my wife.Its a good place to visit other towns ,Rotterdam , Amsterdam etc. Visit the red light district [old part] in Amsterdam the architecture and the shape of the buildings are fantastic. families live in this area and seemed quite safe during the daytime. visit the Van gogh museum, but dont queue for ages, you can get a ticket to go in at 5pm till at least 7 maybe longer, you get a personal walkman describing the paintings. Hope this is of use Alan

 

[alansharpe]

Try reading Dorling Kindersley's 'Eye Witness Travel Guides' for Amsterdam which details areas around to visit. Delfts Hout is the lung of Delft and the campsite is set in the lovely park with walking and biking around the lake. Rotterdam old and new parts are both lovely go up the Euromast - if you dare. The Hague has lovely buildings to see, Scheveningen has a long front with endless bars and restaurants on the beach for all tastes - take the tram from the Hague. Visit Volendam and catch the ferry to Markham where some still wear traditional costume and see the houses on stilts. Monnickendam has a lovely bellhouse with chimes on the hour and half hour. Keukenhof gardens are a must but you will need a day to go round - check which flowers are in season though before going. The coast around Katwiijk and Noordwijk - lovely walks in the dunes. Visit Edam and Gouda. Visit Haarlem at midday and listen to the bells in the town square go down to the river and watch the huge boats negotiate the bends! The Zaanse Schans gives a taste of life in Holland. Most people speak English and are extremely helpful. Jackie

 

[rob_jax]

Hi,

I work in Rotterdam, and fully support the comments about the Delftsehout campground and the other recommendations - except that Delftsehout can get busy at weekends - many Dutch families leave their vans parked there and turn up for the weekend.

If you do stay at Delftsehout, I recommend that you use the railways to visit Rotterdam, Leiden and Amsterdam - parking can be difficult and comparatively expensive - compare to the relatively cheap and efficient trains. Delft to Amsterdam (return) is just under Euro 20

If you do use the trains, remember that they only take cash - NOT credit cards. Likewise parking meters - some now only take the special Dutch "money transfer cards" - look like a credit card - but aren't.

Delftsehout is a great site to explore the central region of Holland - certainly Rotterdam to Amsterdam - and there is lots to do.

You could also consider "forgotten Holland" - the coastal area around Middelburg - just North of the Westerschelde river on Zeeland - loads of quality campsites in the dunes between the towns of Middelburg and Renesse

Whilst in Holland, find a good lunchtime restaurant and try "uitsmijter rosbief" or if veggie like me "uitsmijter kaas" - if you say "outsmiter" that's a reasonable stab at pronunciation - you'll get two or three pieces of bread covered in roast-beef, with a couple of fried eggs on top - or cheese if you ask for kaas.

And don't forget to visit Brugge (Bruges) for a day or two - if you are travelling via Calais or Zeebrugge.

Robert

 

[sandra_5041519]

We are going on our third trip to Holland with our caravan this year. Have a look at SVR campings on line. It is in dutch but you can use translator. We paid 10 euros to join and they sent a list of sites. They are the equivalent to our 5 van sites. Basic but quiet. And they are a lot cheaper than the biger sites, about 10 euros a night. We stayed at Lisse and could get to many places from there. The site had its golf course and dike for fishing. We went to Amsterdam by train which saved finding somewhere to park. I agree about bikes. We could cycle to the local towns to shop. Bike bags are a must.