Welcome to the first post of the Europe and the Netherlands posts! We travelled in winter, which although not the ideal time of year, it was still definitely worth it. I didn't mind the cold, the wet was less fun but the most frustrating part was that it was dark for so long. You end up leaving in the dark and coming back to dinner in the dark. We did really appreciate it when we saw the sun and made the most of the beautiful crisp clear days.
Rental Car in the Netherlands and Europe
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| Rental Car in the snow - Beekbergen |
This is our rental car for our time in Europe. An Opel Astra Station wagon. We had originally booked a compact SUV but that did not even fit TWO of our medium sized suitcases in the boot. Thankfully the rental company swapped it for this one at not extra cost. We spent 17 days in the Netherlands and 3 days driving through Belgium and France. If you are planning to drive to Germany in winter you will need to pay the extra for winter tyres which are required by law. Make sure you let your car rental company know which countries you want to drive in, to make sure that you are covered. I had to call ours and pay extra to be allowed to cross borders.
Note: You may need to get an international driving permit from your home country before leaving. On a New Zealand driver's license I did need one.
It may be cheaper to use public transport for some parts of your trip. Parking can get quite expensive, so using the train to park and ride is a good option. If you have a family the car often works out cheaper than paying for 4+ fares, and nothing beats the convenience of going where you want, when you want. We used the GPS by connecting our phones to the car. It took us on many different back roads and often a different way to the same place. A great way to see much more of the country! Just watch the driving restrictions in the middle of cities, sometimes you are only allowed on certain roads at certain times of day.
Accommodation for a family in the Netherlands
After hunting high and low I found that staying in recreation parks, a brand name Topparken was much more affordable than hotels. Especially if you stay for a week in one place. The other upside is that many of the family rooms in hotels were a double bed and a sofa bed for four people, with no cooking facilities. That would be very cramped for a family. The chalets (cabins) are almost a small house. I was worried that they might be cold in the winter but they were definitely not. You have a thermostat and radiators in each room, so you can control the temperature to suit you.
Tip: Aalst was awesome at New Year! The amount of fireworks, carbide cannons rattling the windows and bonfires was a great experience.
Our first week we stayed in a chalet that was in Aalst, a little rural location not too far from my family in 's Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch). With a river one side and a lake on the other it was a beautiful spot. The teenager even found some fishing spots after we went to get a fishing license and worked out the rules. The chalet had two bedrooms, one with two singles so the teens did not have to share, a savior for everyone's sanity!
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| Accommodation Beekbergen near Arnhem - the Netherlands |
Our second weeks accommodation was at another Topparken park, this time in Beekbergen. Beekbergen again is a small town in the Veluwe nature area in Gelderland, near the cities of Arnhem and Apeldoorn. I was born in Arnhem, so this is my home area of the Netherlands, and where most of my relatives live.
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| Snow! We were a little excited about that! |
This chalet was even nicer than the first one! It had three bedrooms so everyone got their own space. This was much needed for our fifth week away from home and it was also the cheapest accommodation per night of our entire trip (NZ$134.61, US$78.07, €72.69)!
Seeing the Sights
We spent the first day catching up with family and trying our best to fight off the jetlag and stay up to a reasonable hour. On day two we were feeling up to out first sight seeing trip, and went to Kasteel Ammersoyen. We had a delicious lunch at the cafe attached as one of the teens was hangry! You are able to explore the castle on your own and there are many activities to do too. After bellies were full everyone enjoyed it.
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| Zaltbommel a town on the river Waal |
We went for many drives around and found many quaint little towns like Zaltbommel. Zaltbommel lies on the river Waal, on a nicer day it would be a lovely place for a walk or a picnic to watch all the boats come by. The rivers in the Netherlands are heavily used for transport and there are many freight ships sailing the rivers. Since it was raining we looked around the shops, and bought woolen gloves instead. Still a warm inviting feeling to the town, even if it wasn't the best weather.
Den Bosch ('s Hertogenbosch) is a larger city in the region. In New Zealand the teens all get around in crocs, but in the Netherlands we soon noticed that everyone dressed a little nicer than that. So we had to go and find some decent shoes for the teens to look respectable. We also found a partially open air mall (with paid parking) and walked everywhere from there.
Tip: You need to pay to use the toilet almost everywhere. Even if you have just bought lunch from McDonald's you will need a euro to pay to use the bathroom. Many have paywave now instead of coins.
The market stalls were great to look at and the city has a bustling but not overwhelming vibe. Don't forget to eat a Bossche Bol which is like a chocolate eclair!
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| Efteling Pagoda Ride View |
A day at the Efteling is a must! I do not enjoy rides and there is still so much to see and do. Including, plenty of very tame rides even I can handle. For the ride enthusiasts, there are many big roller coasters, just note that in winter we had to wait until lunch time for the tracks the thaw before the big rides could run. While you are waiting don't forget to try a worstenbroodje, similar to a sausage roll but baked in bread.
Tip: You will get wet on the rapid ride! When it is winter and freezing cold you will regret it!
This was a great day out and we had an awesome time. The fresh warm stroopwafels were delicious and there is so much to see and do. It is different to other theme parks, it is more woodland and gnome/elf themed. There is not the pink princess vibe of Disney. It was a wonderful experience.
For our second week we spent most of our time in and around Arnhem. The city center is lovely and the picturesque church you see in the background is the Eusebius Kerk. The tower has amazing views over the city and for the brave (me!) glass enclosures that stick out from the side of the tower near the top. 10/10 would definitely go again! I will share more photos in an up coming post.
Another must visit is the Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum). It was a sleeting, snowing, cold day but we still had a great time. I think on a sunny day I could have easily spent all day looking around. The teens had some fun having snowball fights with their cousin, and we all warmed up with the interactive indoor section at the end.
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| Kasteel Rosendael Velp |
On yet another look around drive, we found Kasteel Rosendael. Beautiful grounds, and you can just look around on your own. There was a function on so we could not go into the castle but we could look around some of the gardens for free. You will need to pay for entry to go inside or around the back of the castle. I lived in Velp for a a few months as a teenager so had memories of biking around and coming here. I love just looking around while on holiday, you never know what you will find! It doesn't all need to be attractions and theme parks.
Day trip to Düsseldorf Germany
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| Rhine River and Tower in Düsseldorf Germany |
Düsseldorf is only an hour and 15 minutes from Arnhem by train. It is a fairly large city and the river was in flood so huge. The area around the train station was not the nicest but once you walk a few blocks towards the river it improves greatly. The Rhine tower was a great place to shelter from the weather with great views and food at the top.
Tip: Buy your train tickets at the train station from the green and grey German machine, not the blue and yellow Dutch machine.
The tickets are so much cheaper from the German machine it is crazy. My family explained it was something to do with taxes, even the customer service person in the train station recommended the same.
Amsterdam
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| Oude Kerk (Old Church) Amsterdam |
It wouldn't be a trip to the Netherlands without a little look around Amsterdam. We just wondered around the city taking it all in. The tourist shops, the coffee shops and the red light district are all right there. It was an eye opener for the teens but they loved seeing it.
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| Dancing Houses Amsterdam |
We took a canal boat cruise on one of the Lovers boats. The main requirement was a covered boat, as surprise surprise the weather wasn't great. They are located right near the train station which was very convenient.
Tip: don't drive into the city.
Between the trams, emission rules, parking and general craziness it is not worth the hassle! We walked from our accommodation (a boat!) to the metro and caught the metro into the city.
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| Lovers Canal Cruises, Amsterdam |
Finding some interesting accommodation was also wonderful. The host was excellent and the boat is well equipped. There are a few things to learn about how to work the shower and use the toilet but nothing difficult. More to come on this one too! I will add a link when that post is done.
Tip: I have a menu page which will have all the links to all the posts and details for this trip.
The table below is the totals for the entire time in Europe. I will be adding more detailed posts and breakdowns for each section.
I hope this is helpful for you!
Total Cost
Flights and travel insurance not included as it was part of a longer trip. Total costs are included in the main page for the whole trip. These prices are for a family of four, two adults and two teenagers. We travelled at the end of December 2024 to January 2025.