Duinrell

At the end of August, we packed the car and headed off for a weekend away to Duinrell in Holland.  We had never heard of this campsite but were drawn by the promise of the waterpark and amusement rides. When our friends (who were holidaying with us) had sent us the details, we thought it looked perfect.

When we got there, a mere three hours later (for us a very short car journey!), we were staggered by the size of the park. We checked in and headed off to the cutely named 'duingalows'.  As we were only there for a long weekend we had to go for the more expensive park run homes. However, for anyone going for a week or more, there is an abundance of companies who offer cheaper alternatives. The famous Eurocamp offers places here, as do Alfresco, through which we had a lovely holiday last year in France. 

Once unpacked, we wandered towards the on-site restaurant; the boys marveled at the many children who whizzed past on their go-carts. 

There were plenty of, reasonably priced, facilities available - including a well-stocked supermarket.   Having arrived late, it was dinner and an early night for us; not so much for our neighbours who were partying all night, which sounded like so much fun our eldest was desperate to join in.  The noise would be my only complaint about the park, especially as noise was meant to be kept to a minimum after 11pm.

Next morning we were up early - one of the perils of holidaying with small children - and we went to explore.  Well, after our boys had three bowls of cereal each; holidaying is apparently hungry work when you are three.  First stop was the water park, with 11 large slides for the bigger children (hello hubby!), two of which our little boys could go on too so long as they were accompanied; three small slides for toddlers; a lazy river and wave machine.  You would be hard pushed to get get bored.  We all loved the adventure. There are a few slides that I feel are of particular note. First off there was the vertical drop slide, where you step into a capsule and the floor gives way beneath you. Thankfully this one was closed as I was pretty worried the hubby would want to try it out. Second was the 'cycloon', a vertical slide that shoots you out into a bowl where you spin around a few times at top speed and drop out the bottom. This was very popular!  Finally, there was a clear slide, called Blitz, that had a sharp drop for over 30 meters. My friend's ten-year-old son looked a little stunned after he rode that slide!

Later that day we went to explore the theme park.  As you walk through the gates you are met with the sound of excited screams; laughing and fun seemed to hang in the atmosphere. The park was massive, again with a great selection of rides, a couple of huge play parks and, of course, plenty of shops to spend your hard earned cash!  It was great fun, although Bob D complained it was too noisy (NB for those that read my Lake Constance blog you may have started to notice a pattern emerging 🙉).

The next day we did it all again; with so much to do it was always entertaining. If we had stayed longer we would have definitely cycled in to the local town where there was a lovely beach on which to build sandcastle and soak up some rays. 

Another successful holiday, shared with lovely friends. We will definitely be returning again.