Netherlands trip

[Kelly11235]

After going to my first European theme park this year (europa) I’m looking at doing a Netherlands trip next May.

Just wondered if anyone can help with advice on what order to do the parks in? I’ll be flying into Amsterdam Schipol with my teen daughter and will be using trains where possible to get about! I’d like to visit Efteling, Toverland, beekse Bergen and possibly walibi Holland over the course of a week. Any advice or tips would be appreciated! I’m hoping the public transport will make it fairly simple to get around.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

Walibi Holland is a must, Untamed is an outstanding coaster and if you’ve not done an RMC before you are in for an absolute treat. You can get a bus to the park from Hardewijk (which is easy to get to from Amsterdam by train via Utrecht) so it’s not too bad to get to by public transport. And from Utrecht you can get a train and a bus to Efteling at Tilburg, should take just over 90 mins according to Google.

 

[Kelly11235]

Excellent thank you! I was thinking of going straight to Efteling for the first stop so I might rethink that…

 

[Rick]

Definitely doable by public transport but could be fairly full on doing it all within a week. If that's your thing, you'll be fine - but I'd be very tempted to hire a car.

Rome2Rio a great resource for comparing options.

 

[Kelly11235]

I so wish I had the balls to drive abroad but my sense of direction is appalling not to mention my issue with left and right

 

[Burbs]

I love a Netherlands trip, there's some really great parks, rides and attractions there! As far as public transport goes, I've not used it myself having only ever (been) driven while there, but the NS and 9292 apps/websites look to be useful (and recommended by a Dutch friend) for buying tickets and getting from A to B.

My main tip for the Netherlands is make sure you have plenty of cash! We've been caught out on multiple occasions with the vast majority of cards not being accepted. It's very annoying as Maestro is the card of choice over there, which obviously we don't get over here, and despite being owned by Mastercard, they don't seem to be widely accepted either. There will be a small number of places that accept our cards (fortunately one of those was a petrol station which got myself and @Sammy out of a sticky situation the other year when we were running very low on fuel), but I've had more declines than successes over the years.

 

[Kelly11235]

Thanks for the app info, I’ll check those out! And cheers for the heads up, glad you mentioned that as I never carry cash or even do currency exchange very often now, just use a card!

 

[John_P]

From memory the nearest train station to Toverland is Sevenum, think they do run a direct bus during the main season as well.

 

[Poisson]

I so wish I had the balls to drive abroad but my sense of direction is appalling not to mention my issue with left and right

It's not much different to over here, plus Dutch roads are really nice to drive on.

 

[IDB]

From memory the nearest train station to Toverland is Sevenum, think they do run a direct bus during the main season as well.

Horst-Sevenum. We used the bus service in our Sept trip. We were the only two people on it!

I was thinking of going straight to Efteling for the first stop so I might rethink that…

From Amsterdam you can take a FlixBus direct to Efteling.

 

[Poisson]

Does it have to be Schipol? Beekse Bergen, Efteling and Toverland are pretty much clustered nearer to Eindhoven (which is also a very easy airport if not glamourous) Also is May fixed? If you are heading that way, Tilburg Kermis is on in July and easily added to a trip.

 

[Rowe]

I hope that the staffing problems surrounding Amsterdam Schiphol Airport's security and passport control are sorted by the time you go. When a friend and I went to Efteling during the last weekend of June earlier this year, it took nearly an hour to get through passport control. And we had to arrive 4 hours early for our return flight to queue through security, followed by our flight being delayed 3 hours as a result of the impacted security wait times. Perhaps other enthusiasts have had a less trying time at Schiphol from visiting parks midweek, but I'd rather mention that was at least the case for us.

 

[IDB]

Eindhoven is a good call. Flew there cheaply from Stanstead and based ourselves there for trips out to Efteling & Toverland. Both easy to get to via train and bus. Then got the FlixBus a couple of hours across to Cologne for a couple of days at Phantasialand.

 

[Kelly11235]

It's not much different to over here, plus Dutch roads are really nice to drive on.

My daughter was horrified when I suggested it! I’m a confident driver in the uk but swear I have some kind of directional blindness and even get lost in my local area

Horst-Sevenum. We used the bus service in our Sept trip. We were the only two people on it!


From Amsterdam you can take a FlixBus direct to Efteling.

So would I be better off going to Efteling by bus from the airport then back to Amsterdam to go to toverland? Or is there an easier way?

Does it have to be Schipol? Beekse Bergen, Efteling and Toverland are pretty much clustered nearer to Eindhoven (which is also a very easy airport if not glamourous) Also is May fixed? If you are heading that way, Tilburg Kermis is on in July and easily added to a trip.

Unfortunately I’m tied to school holidays really so May or August and I thought May might be slightly quieter.

Bristol airport is only 15 mins from me so it makes more sense (I think ) to fly to Amsterdam. It looks like stanstead is the only way to fly to Eindhoven which is probably a 2.5 hour drive from here.

I hope that the staffing problems surrounding Amsterdam Schiphol Airport's security and passport control are sorted by the time you go. When a friend and I went to Efteling during the last weekend of June earlier this year, it took nearly an hour to get through passport control. And we had to arrive 4 hours early for our return flight to queue through security, followed by our flight being delayed 3 hours as a result of the impacted security wait times. Perhaps other enthusiasts have had a less trying time at Schiphol from visiting parks midweek, but I'd rather mention that was at least the case for us.

Thanks for the heads up. We found the same in Basel airport at the end of May, took about 1.5 hours to get through passport control!

Eindhoven is a good call. Flew there cheaply from Stanstead and based ourselves there for trips out to Efteling & Toverland. Both easy to get to via train and bus. Then got the FlixBus a couple of hours across to Cologne for a couple of days at Phantasialand.

So would it be easier to stay in Eindhoven and get the bus/train to Efteling and toverland? I would love to go to Phantasialand while we’re there although might be pushed for time.

 

[Poisson]

Tilburg Kermis is end of July, so might work for your holidays

Eindhoven or Tilburg are a decent base for Toverland and Efteling and probably for Beekse Bergen

 

[IDB]

It does sound like sense to fly into Amsterdam from Bristol. There’s always plenty to do there non-themepark related.

From Efteling if you based yourself for the night in Tilburg or Eindhoven you could get the train/bus to Toverland. You would then probably have to head back to Eindhoven to look at getting a train up to Harderwijk (if you wished to visit Walibi Holland)

I’d recommend downloading the following apps to assist planning.

NS Travel Planner
9292 Public Transport Planner

 

[Lord Summerisle]

One thing with Holland is it is a fairly compact country with excellent & cheap public transport. Schipol to Eindhoven is 1:30hr with trains every 10/15mins or so and costs about 20-25euros for a single ticket so getting to most parks is going to be relatively easy.
As to where to base yourself for the trip:

Amsterdam to:
Efteling: 1hr 50mins
Toverland: 3hrs
Walibi Holland: 1hr 40mins

Utrecht to:
Efteling: 1hr 30mins
Toverland: 2hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 1hr 15mins

Eindhoven to:
Efteling: 1hr
Toverland: 1hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 2hr 15mins
Bobbejaanland: 2hr 40min

Tilburg to:
Efteling: 30mins
Toverland: 2hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 2hr 30mins
Bobbejaanland: 1hr 40min

So it might work out to, say, stay in Utrecht for a couple of nights (a really pretty little city and very easy to get to from Schipol) and visit Walibi Holland, then next day get the train to Efteling then stay in either Tilburg or Eindhoven for the subsequent trips to Toverland and Beekse Bergen

 

[Kelly11235]

One thing with Holland is it is a fairly compact country with excellent & cheap public transport. Schipol to Eindhoven is 1:30hr with trains every 10/15mins or so and costs about 20-25euros for a single ticket so getting to most parks is going to be relatively easy.
As to where to base yourself for the trip:

Amsterdam to:
Efteling: 1hr 50mins
Toverland: 3hrs
Walibi Holland: 1hr 40mins

Utrecht to:
Efteling: 1hr 30mins
Toverland: 2hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 1hr 15mins

Eindhoven to:
Efteling: 1hr
Toverland: 1hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 2hr 15mins
Bobbejaanland: 2hr 40min

Tilburg to:
Efteling: 30mins
Toverland: 2hrs 30mins
Walibi Holland: 2hr 30mins
Bobbejaanland: 1hr 40min

So it might work out to, say, stay in Utrecht for a couple of nights (a really pretty little city and very easy to get to from Schipol) and visit Walibi Holland, then next day get the train to Efteling then stay in either Tilburg or Eindhoven for the subsequent trips to Toverland and Beekse Bergen

Thanks so much for this, I’ve only just seen it. This is really helpful, I’m just looking at accommodation now.

I’m hoping Schipol airport will have everything sorted for this year as 2022 looks like it was horrendous there.

 

[Matt.GC]

I also live 15 mins from Bristol and flew into Amsterdam last year for a joint Efteling Phantasialand trip. Amsterdam was pretty chaotic on the way back with us spending hours there with delays on the way home but wasn't really any worse than the Bristol side which was the same.

If staying in the Netherlands, it did look like there were decent public transport options that were affordable. We hired a car though as we were traveling between Efteling and Phantasialand and honestly it's not that bad. Dutch roads are quite civilised and modern. Certainly easier than driving somewhere like France. They like their speed cameras though.

We stayed at Efteling as a base (although we did 1 night in Motamba at PA) because it was surprisingly affordable! We were 3 days in Efteling anyway and staying in the Loonsch Land Hotel wasn't much more on top of park tickets. Was surprised how affordable it was. We kind of used it as a base and travelled out from there. It's right next to a motorway and there's plenty of amenities nearby. Would recommend eating at the Lucky Apple just outside the park. All you can eat and drink international buffet, even booze is included!

 

[Kelly11235]

I also live 15 mins from Bristol and flew into Amsterdam last year for a joint Efteling Phantasialand trip. Amsterdam was pretty chaotic on the way back with us spending hours there with delays on the way home but wasn't really any worse than the Bristol side which was the same.

If staying in the Netherlands, it did look like there were decent public transport options that were affordable. We hired a car though as we were traveling between Efteling and Phantasialand and honestly it's not that bad. Dutch roads are quite civilised and modern. Certainly easier than driving somewhere like France. They like their speed cameras though.

We stayed at Efteling as a base (although we did 1 night in Motamba at PA) because it was surprisingly affordable! We were 3 days in Efteling anyway and staying in the Loonsch Land Hotel wasn't much more on top of park tickets. Was surprised how affordable it was. We kind of used it as a base and travelled out from there. It's right next to a motorway and there's plenty of amenities nearby. Would recommend eating at the Lucky Apple just outside the park. All you can eat and drink international buffet, even booze is included!

Thanks Matt, this is really helpful! I’m looking at flights and hotels right now.
Lucky apple sounds amazing!