Duinrell / Wassenaar - Help with info pls

chocolatepennyfarthing

I am really interested in going here next summer. Have read lots of great reviews on here about it, with boys 10 & 14 I think it would be an ideal family holiday. Does anyone know which company is the cheapest to book with. Would be looking for 2 weeks about 18th Aug. People have stated that booking direct may be cheaper is this the case. Also I have read that a company called selectcamp are reasonably priced but unable to get onto an english website for them.

Living near London it would be a long way for us to travel to hull for overnight crossing. How long it the drive from calais, is eurotunnel an option?
Would we need a car once there if not perhaps flying may be better, advice would be much appreciated.

Any help with accomodation, which caravans are most suitable? would anyone reccommend camping? Are belongings safe left in tents?

Any info at all would be great.

Louisa_Jane_2

I think the nicest place to stay is in the Duingalows as they offer a lot more privacy than the mobile homes and tents and have nicer landscaping around them - also TV in english! http://www.duinrell.com/vakantiepark/duingalow/?lng=en - The last time we went you could use the seacat from Harwich to the Hook of Holland which was great as it's not too far to drive to the site, but they have stopped that now, although you can still get the ferry http://www.stenaline.co.uk/stena_line/stena_line_uk/gb/harwich_-_holland.html We have driven from Calais, which is roughly 200-250 miles - not too bad a drive. I would have thought if you got a cheap flight to Amsterdam and hired a car it wouldn't be too dear - IMHO I think you need a car as although there is lots to do in the park, there are many lovely towns and beaches nearby . Have a great time!

BernadetteN

I've just looked on Selectcamp's website which gives a price of €524 (£357) for one week starting Monday 18/08 for their cheapest mobile, or €488 (£333) for a tent, if you book before 31/10. Duinrell is giving a price of €698.31 (£476) in an A4 type duingalow or €728.31 (£496) in a B4 type duigalow for one week starting Friday 22/08 (prices before then are over €900 for a week). You get far more space in a duingalow than most mobiles and most duingalows have their own little gardens, however Selectcamp's prices are quite attractive and you will not get a cheaper price with Eurocamp / Keycamp / Canvas unless you book last minute (which is likely to be fully booked) - for example, Keycamp are currently quoting £491 for 7 days accommodation only in a tent for 7 days 18/08 and 22/08 or £758 in their cheapest mobile again accommodation only for the same dates.

Whether you choose to go by ferry (recommend Norfolkline which is 3 - 3 1/2 hour drive and should cost you no more than £80 return if you book for an early crossing to Dunkerque and late crossing to Dover) or fly with hire car or fly and use public transport may come down to how many bulky items you decide to take. Many families arrive with cars loaded to the max with bikes but they can be hired at the site.

A hire car from Schiphol would ultimately depend upon your attitude to public transport. There are trains direct from Schiphol to Leiden and from there you could get a taxi which is less than 5 miles away. You can get to the local beaches by bus, tram and train. You can get to all the local towns by public transport. Buses and trams in Holland are all covered by the same type of strip tickets. Trains are paid for separately. The local 90 bus runs close to the park site and links Wassenaar to Leiden and Den Haag. In the Summer months, there is a bus that goes right to the park entrance from Den Haag and Leiden, and another bus that takes you to the local Wassenaar beach, although it's not too far to walk. We've been to Duinrell 4 times (all by car from Dover as we take bikes and it's simple economics to do it this way) but we've only once driven the car off site. We've been to Amsterdam, Leiden, Den Haag, Delft and Utrecht by public transport.

cornerstone13

We went to this site in May this year with Eurocamp - the advantage there is that the price includes the ferry/Eurotunnel which, if you book direct with the site, would be another £200+ on top in August. Eurocamp also offer a discount if you book before end Oct. We've stayed all over Europe with Eurocamp and this is one of the nicest sites because there is so much to do - your boys will love it.

We went by Eurotunnel and from Calais it was a nice, easy 4 hour drive. We took bikes and used them every day - the site is quite large so they were handy to go to the site shop, but also Holland is so geared up for bikes that you can go almost anywhere very easily. We used the car only to go to Aalsmeer and further up to see the damns. The Eurocamp staff on site were helpful with places to visit and cycle maps that we could borrow. The town of Wassenaar is user friendly too - a big supermarket, lots of restaurants, pedestrianised, lovely ice cream place etc. The beach is about 15 mins bike ride away and was very windy in May - one of those beach shelters would be a good idea. The site offers bike hire (can't remember if it was €30 or €45 for a week's adult bike hire) which would be a good option if you decided to go by plane.

Hope this helps

sjpkgp

We went to Duinrell last year and would recommend it.

For travel - I would recommend flying into Schipol. There is a fast direct train from the airport to Leiden which takes around 15 minutes and you can then get a taxi, which takes about 10 minutes. You can also get a bus (i think rozenplein is the one you get off at) but be warned, it is a good 20 minutes walk from there. If you hate walking and taxis, you are best approaching from the den hague direction as the bus is direct into duinrell (i imagine you can get from schipol to den hague no bother - it is probably only another ten mins by train, but a slightly longer bus journey). We booked a duingalow direct on the duinrell site with no bother for cheaper than with other tour operators, a couple of other tips/pointers:

- duingalow was nice, we booked one for 6 with three bedrooms, and it came with everything we needed and was just spacious enough and clean, the private patio area was a massive advantage. I also agree with an OP that the smoovie TV (english channels) is worth buying (at main reception, again, not a huge charge for the week, but not free)

- the campsite areas (lots of them) are noisy and packed in high season. The duingalows are all in one area, and you couldn't hear the noise.

- The park is quite spread out and there are some good things to do for all ages., with limitations (i.e. it is no alton towers - I reckon there are 6 or 7 good things minimum for 10-14s, but more for younger kids) but it is in a really beautiful area, and just walking about is quite a pleasure. You do have to pay for some things (there is a huge adventure area ideal for 10-14 year olds - at a charge, but I seem to remember it being reasonable) You only get free access to the TIKIBAD (waterpark) at certain times, but it is only 3 or so euros at other times. The queue at the free times was enormous. Queues were quite bad for the older child attractions. Queues also bad for checking in.

- The restaurants are typical of any holiday place, but I thought the "all you can eat buffet" was reasonable quality for the price.

- Things close early (with the exception of the tikibad which i think is open til 10pm).

- Shop has reasonable range and is reasonably priced given the captive audience - has on-site bakery which is nice, no hard spirits are sold at all. It closes at 8 I think.

- there is a luggage store under reception for your departure day (free i think ?)

As others have said, I reckon there are lots of decent day trips, the beach etc. and I think you could pass 4 nights happily, poss a week with days out.

HTH
sal x

chocolatepennyfarthing

Many thanks for some great advice.

Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

Any idea how much car hire is?

jane45

Hi, we went to Duinrell on 20th August for 12 nights. We also stayed in a Duingalow. The living space in these is quite big and comfortable compared to previous mobile homes that we have stayed in. And as others have said, the patio area is quite secluded with hedges and bushes all around which the mobile homes with decking didnt have. We booked direct through Duinrell and we paid about £750 for the 12 nights. We booked our ferry with Stena line (tesco vouchers accepted) from Harwich to Hook of Holland which i think was about £150. We got a £15 travelodge room the night before as the sailing was 9am. Unfortunately on the way back we missed the check in and drove to Calais which was about 4 hours. Actually the drive wasnt too bad. We then had to pay for a ferry from Calais to Dover. We got home only about an hour after we should have done. The site itself is great for kids. Our teenage children only ever appeared at meal times and didnt ask for money, which is normally unheard of. However, we spent more time than we would have liked to in the theme park and the swimming pool with our younger children but they certainly didnt complain. Hopefully back to France next year.
Jane

Js_Other_Half

http://www.leisuredirection.co.uk/holidays/holidaysearch.asp

is always worth looking at - they sell camping at Wassenaar. A 2 bed mobile from July 14th for 7 nights (including crossing) is £586.50 - the tent is £268.50
The same holiday from 24th August for 7 nights is £523.50 for 2 bed mobile, and £208.50 for tent.

newmum1

We went to this site last sept (06) it was fantastic my daughter was only 1 at the time but the whole atmosphere was fab, whilst we were they there was a confernce of some sort with loads of teenager girls about but to me that just added to the whole atmosphere but it was great i could not fault it at all and would reccommend this site to everybody. We booked with the sun holidays so iwas a nice enjoyable cheap holiday.

Mrs7ones

Hi, we've booked a week here for May 08, and have paid £50.58 fort the week in a Keycamp 3 deb mobile home. Beat that...:rotfl:
It's so cheap cos we've cashed in on all the money off offers we could.
I need to book the journey next !!