Following our first, and very sucessful trip to Marina De Venezia (Venice) with Eurocamp last Summer we decided to try another European camp site holiday this year. We’ve always been big fans of Center Parcs and city breaks so these camp sites give us a perfect way to please everyone in one trip. Can’t believe we spent some many years going to the same places!
Duinrell was a campsite that had been on my radar since my eldest was a baby and he turns 14 this October, so it was inevitable it was next on our list to try. We decided to finally bite the bullet and booked at the beginning of June 2019.
We’d left booking a family holiday late due to other priorities but I think we still managed to bag a good deal despite it only been 12 weeks prior to departure. We paid less than £250 per person for a week in August- see below for a breakdown of how.
Apologies- this is going to be a long blog as I wanted to give people as much information as possible as I could only find bits scattered all over when researching the holiday. I have sectioned it to make it easier to read.
Flights
We chose to fly to Amsterdam due how close Duinrell was from the airport. The ferry from Newcastle was coming up over £850 for us as a family of 6 and coupled with the long crossing, 3 hour drive to Newcastle and petrol costs this just was not an option in comparison to flight times and pricing.
We paid £382.71 for return flights for 6 people plus 1 large 23kg case and 6 cabin bags through Easyjet. The flight time from Liverpool airport is 1hr 30 although we were only actually in the air 55 minutes.
I’d definitely recommend the ‘Hands Free’ service provided by Easyjet. For 6 of us they let you check in 6 small cabin bags (10kg) for £16 in total leaving you ‘hands free’ at the airport which is great with small children. Along with this you receive a free tote bags for your things to take on board, and the best bit is we skipped the huge queues at Liverpool and got priority check in and boarding plus your cases come off first at the other end. A bargain for £3 each! Even better if you’re a 3mobile customer as its free.
Transfers
The transfers were through Taxi2airport.com they met us at arrivals in Amsterdam and took us to Duinrell in under 25 minutes. We chose a private transfer and the VW van was very modern, clean and comfortable. The driver was also really helpful and wouldn’t let us lift a finger with our bags. We paid on booking a total of £131.50 for 6 people for return transfers.
Accomodation
The accommodation was booked through Canvas Holidays. We’d seen their branded caravans at Venice last year, so when they came up £500 cheaper than Eurocamp, plus having an extra bedroom we thought we would give them a try. We paid £900.90 for 7 nights in a ‘Cosy 3 Bedroom mobile home’ to sleep up to 8 people.
On arrival to the park we were dropped at reception by our driver. It was 9.30pm so the reception phoned the Canvas Holiday Rep to come and meet us at the Canvas Holiday Check in Lodge. The security guard pointed us where to go and wait. We had all 7 cases to pull but luckily it was only around a 50 metre walk to the cabin and we waited 10 minutes for the Rep to arrive. The Canvas Rep was lovely and talked us through our accomdation and helped us with our bags.
We had to pay a local visitors tax of €45 and we were given passes for the park. You are meant to have a passport photograph ready for your pass. If you don’t bring one they charge you to do one at €4 per person. The Canvas rep photocopied our passports instead and stuck those on for us so that saved us €24. The passes must be kept with you at all times and you will need them to get back into Duinrell if you go out for the day.
The accommodation was basic but adequate which we expected. The caravan was very similar to last year’s with Eurocamp, the only difference was that this year it was more spacious.
You get a small kitchen which we found to be well equipped, minus a toaster and microwave which would have been helpful but not necessary. The bathroom, although small was adequate. The bedrooms were one double, a twin and bunk bed room. There was also the option to pull out the sofa bed too so the caravan could easily sleep 8.
I’d recommend bringing a few tea towels, washing up liquid, bin bags, a scourer, matches and a spare toilet roll to put you on as ours only had half a roll on arrival. Also I can’t stress enough- bring wasp spray. Last year in Venice we were inundated with mosquito’s, this year its been wasps! I can’t even tell you how many times we’ve had dinner interrupted with kids (and an adult) refusing to sit down until the wasp is squished only for another to appear within minutes.
On the last day my daughter was stung on the lips and to the mouth requiring urgent medical attention- the team at Duinrell were fantastic and luckily we were right next to the health centre on site when it happened.
With most companies the bed linen is not provided. I refuse to pay over £150 to hire them so we bring our own as it all fits in one cabin bag and at least I know its clean- same with the towels as again this would have another £60 charge.
(Images from Canvas holidays website as I didnt get any of the inside but these photo’s are very representative of what we had)
The deck was the best aspect of the caravan, and to be honest apart from sleeping in the caravan, if we weren’t out and about we were sat on the deck playing games, having a meal or drink. On the deck we had a table and 6 chairs- although 2 were broken but still useable so we didn’t bother informing the Rep.
There was also a BBQ with coals available from the shop for €4 a bag and firelighters at €2. Meat seems really expensive here €5 for 2 chicken breasts and €4 for 2 burgers, there also seems less choice. I’d advise bringing a cool bag with frozen meat and ice packs in. We brought bacon and sausages and they were still frozen when we arrived. We just wished we had brought more.
Within the caravan there were British sockets as well as European which was really handy with all the gadgets. We never had to use a travel adapter once.
We cooked a few meals in the caravan and managed ok- better than when we go to Center Parcs anyway. We had a curry one night, then a Mexican and a BBQ. 2 nights we skipped tea as we’d eaten so much through the day we didn’t fancy anything. The last night we got a Chinese takeaway from the town from a place next to Lucianos ice cream shop called ‘Legend’ which was really good value
The caravans could probably do we updating but we would certainly chose this option again if the price was right as cleanliness is more important than appearance to us when you’re barely going to be inside anyway.
The caravan was in the perfect location and was only a 1 minute walk into the theme park, 3 minutes to the Park exit and less than 10 minutes to the Plaza.
Duinrell offer their own accomdation which I’m told is much more modern and if booked early enough, around the same price as Canvas. By booking with Duinrell you get the added benefit of free WiFi, linen provided and 3 hours free swimming a day- this is something we will certainly consider next time as the cost of swimming easily mounts up.
Breakdown of costs per person before arrival:
- Flights £64
- Return Transfer £22
- Accomodation £150
=£236 per person
(now in the 6 weeks school holiday that is pretty impressive!)
The Attraction Park
We were lucky that an entrance to the theme patk was just 3 caravans down from ours. Looking at the site though no-one is more than a 10 minute walk to anything. What surprised me was that you could just walk into the theme park area at any time of the day even after closing time so there are no barriers as such which makes coming and going much easier.
The theme park boasts an impressive 40 attractions and there’s literally something for everyone even thrill seeking teens. The best bit is its all completely free. The Frog rollercoaster and ‘Splash’, a log flume ride taken to the extreme were our particular favourites.
Opening at 10am and closing at 6pm, the park is busy all day with no apparent quieter times apart from Sunday morning, but that said we never waited more than 15 minutes for ride even on the hottest days. Both the amusement park and Tiki bad (waterparks) are open to the public too so Saturday seemed really busy especially with it being 29 degrees by the afternoon.
A lot of medium and bigger rides had a minimum height of 120cm, which annoyed my nearly 8 year old as she’s small for her age. The limits were strictly ashered too as well but at least safety is taken very seriously.
Tiki Bad
There are two areas swimming- inside and outside. Open from 10am till 10pm inside and until 7.30pm outside. Avoid after lunch like the plaque as queues were always long. First thing in the morning seemed quieter and over meal times less busy too.
The biggest downside of the holiday for us was the need to pay for swimming- something we’ve never done at another camp based holiday. However the Tiki bad is quite impressive and no where like we’ve ever stayed before.
The prices varied based on if you wanted 2, 3, 4 hours or all day. But as an example for 6 of us to swim for 3 hours it cost €32.50 a time or €37.50 for all day. Under 4’s are free. You are allocated a wristband with barcode and will be charged if late leaving the complex. The time purchased includes your time to get changed/eat so take this into consideration. The unlimited pass allowed you to swim all day but only allows you a one-time access so don’t make the same mistake we did in thinking ‘unlimited’ meant you could come and go for the day as you pleased.
Both the inside and outside conplex are clean and seemed far more modern than the changing areas at Center parcs. There are digital lockers inside which don’t require any change. Outside there are showers, lockers, toilets and beach huts to change into. We were really impressed by the facilities but by the the end of the day the outside toilets were filthy. Not once did we see a cleaner any where around the outside pool areas until an hour before closing. Lifeguards seemed thin on the ground too for the amount of people in the complex. All children under 120cm must wear armbands though and they will pick children out who don’t have them on.
The outside pools have recently been all updated in July 2019. My kids liked the outdoor areas best as they were aimed at younger children with some small to medium slides. The inside complex has around 15 slides, many for only over 150cm. They looked amazing but not for me.
There is an indoor pool cafe where hot food, snacks and ices can be bought, this can also be brought outside. We gave up trying to get served as service seemed very slow each time we’ve tried. Instead one of us nipped to the Plaza and got a family portion of chips for €9.95 to share. This was the biggest portion I’ve ever seen in my life, literally a bag full and enough to feed 6. There is also an outside pool snack bar selling ices and drinks between €2-3.
By the Saturday the pool areas were rammed, not surprising as it so hot but there was barely a patch of grass left to sit on. Who doesn’t want to go to the pool on a baking hot day though?
Wifi
Unless staying in Duinrell’s own accomdation then you have to pay for WiFi. My husband and I managed with our roaming data but my daughter couldn’t live without YouTube apparently! She got the normal speed package and at times, particularly first thing in the morning and early evening it was slow but it did her fine. The current prices are as follows:
Bike Hire
There are a wide range bikes and go karts available to hire- the family bikes for 4 people looked particularly fun. My kids hired the Go-Carts for 2 days.
There is a discount if you hire them for 5 days. Bike locks are included in the hire price which is good as often you’re charged more.
Bikes hired before 1pm are due back by 9.30am the next day. Bikes hired after 1pm must be returned the following day by 3.30pm. Bikes and Family bikes can be taken off site, go-carts however aren’t allowed outside Duinrell’s grounds. There is a beach 4kn from the grounds that many cycle to. Bikes however must notbe taken on the dunes/sand.
Plaza
Located in the Plaza you’ll find 2 restaurants, a takeaway pizza shop, the supermarket and a pub. The pub offers disco’s, bingo, an arcade and bowling. Bowling is €4 per person, arcade games around €1 each and children’s bingo €5 per person. The pub opens each night from 4pm till late and gets very busy.
Supermarket
There is an on site supermarket which provides all the essentials located at Duinrell Plaza. Prices are more expensive as you can imagine. There is however a Jumbo supermarket 5 minutes walk from the park gates and an aldi around 10 minutes away. We regularly went and stocked up out of the park to save money and for moee choice.
Food is more expensive in Europe than the UK and the pound being weak has made this even worse.
Examples of prices inside the park supermarket:
€1.69 for a baguette, €1 for a pint of milk €6 bottle of wine, €5.50 2 chicken breasts, €0.99 300ml bottle of Heineken
Places to eat
There are various ‘fast food’ type places to eat on site- located at plaza and Attraction Park. These are mainly your pizza and pasta type places with eat in and take out options. Cheeseburgers were €4.25, a family sized portion of chips €9.95 (enough to feed 5-6 people), pizzas €9.95-€11.95. If you are looking for a proper sit down meal then I’d recommend going in to Wassenaar itself. The park would really benefit from a higher quality restaurant for evening meals later into the night.
Wassenaar Town
Wassenear town features lots of restaurants- Chinese, Italian, Turkish and Spanish to name a few. Its also home to the famous Luciano’s which is often still queued out at closing time. For €1.20 a scoop you can enjoy award winning ice cream flavours such as White twix, Birthday cake, Kinder Bueno and After Eight. Opened till 10pm its definitely worth a visit after dinner
Getting to Amsterdam
Getting to Amsterdam is really easy. We caught the bus directly outside the Duinrell to Den Haag (The Hague) Central Station. Bus 44 and 144 call every 30 mins, the journey took 20 mins and cost €31.80 for 2 adults and 2 children- under 4’s are free and the bus driver kindly let us off with another child.
Train tickets from Den Haag can be booked on the UK Trainline app, the Canvas Holiday Rep advised us that this was the cheapest way. 5 tickets cost £76. The journey into Amsterdam from Den Haag took 55 mins. Trains from Den Haag seem to be every 20 mins.
Top 10 money Saving Tips for Duinrell:
- Use Skyscanner to find cheap flights. Budget airlines fly to Amsterdam daily and the transfer is just 25 mins
- Bring your own bedding and towels and save around £180 (based on a family of 6)
- Food is expensive here. Freeze meat before you come and bring it in a small cool bag inside your case with ice packs. Ours was still frozen on arrival and meant we could have proper bacon and sausage sandwiches.
- Bring your own passport sized pictures of your family- a colour photocopy will do saving €4 per person
- Stock up at the Supermarkets outside the park- there is both Jumbo and Aldi 10/15 minutes walk
- Book tickets to Amsterdam on the ‘Trainline’ app rather than paying at the station
- If you want to visit musuems in Amsterdam book 48 hours in advance and through the official sites, places go fast so its good to plan ahead
- Hire bikes for 5 days and get 2 days free- better still if driving to Duinrell take your own
- Weigh up the cost difference between booking with Duinrell or through Eurocamp/Canvas Holidays/Al Fresco. Duinrell includes free swimming and wifi plus linen- make sure you factor this in to the final price.
- The park has plenty of picnic tables and of course you can eat on your veranda. Food was our biggest expense- this can be massively reduced by making your own
Six Makes Family 