Jocelyn_P

DH and I are hoping to take our kids to Europe in the spring/summer of 2006. At the time they will be 4 and 6. DH and I have been to Europe a few times (Italy, Austria, Germany), but this would be the first time for the kids. They travel very well here in the States and are generally mindful. I'm tossing around different scenarios, and in researching Benelux, there seems to be a lot to interest both kids and adults. Our goal is to take it easy and enjoy a fun family vacation in a new environment where we can all learn about the world. We're trying to keep stress level and costs down which is why we're not including the bigger cities in this scenario.

I was thinking we could fly into Brussells and train to Bruges where we would spend ~5 nights. We'd then stay in a small Holland town (Haarlem? Leiden?) for another 4-5 nights. Fly out of Amsterdam.

Is this a good idea? There seem to be some great day trip opportunities. What concerns me is that most family trips I read about here are centered around Paris, London, and Italy. Why not Benelux?

MyriamC

I think there is plenty to do/see for kids and their parents in the Benelux. Both Brugge and Haarlem are small-sized towns and both are close to the sea in case your kids like to be on the beach for a change. Public transport is very well organized here and, our countries being very small, everything is near by.

Russ

In short, YES. Bruges isn't small-kid-unfriendly, but it is mostly an adult pleasure, imho. You might enjoy a visit to Zaanse Schans, a somewhat touristy/commercial but very enjoyable historical village experience north of Amsterdam. There are windmills, farm animals, cheesemakers and pewter craftsmen, pancake cafes, etc., all in one spot (no admission charge, great for kids) Have the kids ever stayed in a castle?? In Domburg in the southern part of the Netherlands, there is a castle-hostel called Castle Westhove where you might be able to secure a family room for a night or two and spend some time at the beach. Kids generally enjoy being around other kids, even if only to kid-watch, and there are usually kids in hostels. You can look the place up at www.njhc.nl

Patrick

Oh yes. Definitely. I think back as I was a kid and all I knew and dreamed about in Europe was Holland -- seeing windmills and tulips and the people in wooden shoes, etc.

I'm not sure how you do it -- kid carriers on bikes? -- but I'd try to do a bike ride or two with them. One going out north of Brugges along the Damme canal where you can visit the ruins in Damme and follow the canal and see real windmills, even stop at a farm where some friendly farmer will be happy to let them pet the animals. Oh what a great day that would be. And there are boat rides everywhere which they would have to love.

StCirq

One of the very first trips to Europe we took with our kids was to Brussels, Bruges, the beaches near Bruges, and Amsterdam. It was a huge success. The kids were, I think, about 1 year and 4 years, and there was plenty to keep them occupied in all the places we visited. The plethora of English speakers was welcome, as we knew that Flemish was the preferred language in Bruges and the area around it, and we didn't speak a word of it. Food was great (daughter ended up at a doctor's office after eating two tubs of fresh strawberries and having an allergic reaction, but she was happy nonetheless!). They loved the boat trips, the beaches, the restaurants in Brussels, the Dutch people in general.
I don't know about 5 nights in Bruges, though, unless you are planning to do a lot of touring from there. Maybe a night or two in Ostend?

Jocelyn_P

Oh, this sounds great! Russ, I checked out that castle and we would definitely stay there a few nights. How fun...for all of us! Thank you so much for mentioning it.

Does anyone know if we would be able to find kids bicycles (with training wheels) for rent? Or if those kid carriers are available?

DH is loving this idea, too...I think we have a winner!

Jocelyn_P

StCirq, knowing what I know now, we'd likely stay 3-4 nights in Bruges, 2-3 in the castle in Domburg, then 3 in Haarlem or Leiden.

StCirq

Jocelyn: Sounds like a winner! See if you can locate Jan & Daisy's Bar in Bruges. I know you may not be partying with the young ones in tow, but this place was the most family-friendly place where you could sample dozens of types of Belgian beer (I'm not even a beer drinker anymore, but was 15 years ago), and the owners, Jan & Daisy, were the most delightful people ever. I still have their card in my wallet. You could get a free beer after ordering 8, but I never got past 5 because we weren't there all that long.

artstuff

Jocelyn -

Have you considered staying in Delft while in the Netherlands? It is a lovely town with canals and easily accessible to many other cities/towns.

Your children might enjoy an outing at Madurodam, located near den Hague. Madurodam, for more than 50 years Holland's smallest city, is opened all year round. The canal houses of Amsterdam, the Alkmaar cheese market and parts of the Delta Works, all replicated in minute detail on a 1:25 scale. All is set in beautiful gardens. You can check out the website at:

http://www.madurodam.nl/

Also, Kinderdijk, which is not far from Rotterdam, is a little village area with 10-15 working windmills and museums. That might make for an interesting day exploring with the kids.

We travelled through the BeNeLux region 2 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, although we didn't have any children in tow. I'm sure you will have a great time and your children will gain many memories. Peace. >-

Robyn

hopscotch

For the kids, and you:

Do not miss Madurodam in The Hague. It is several acres of Holand in miniature, and very well done.

Also, there is a great water amusement park, Duinrell, just north of The Hague. It has indoor water slides, wave machine, a float channel, and loads of other things to keep you busy for a day.

Haarlem has an amusement park south of the city. I'll find the name and post it later.

Haarlem's Tyler's Museum has a lot for children, from dinosaur bones to scientific exhibits, some of which are interactive. In the Frans Hals Museum I challenged my daughter to find her favorite painting. Then I took her picture in front of it. It was a good way to keep her interested in the art. Haarlem also has the relatively unknown Cruquius Expo, a huge old steam engine and working hydro map of Holland.

Make it to the Zaanse Schans for a climb through a windmill. You can also buy your clogs at the wooden shoe factory there.

MyriamC

When you're in Brugge you should definitely go to Knokke-Zoute and eat waffles at Marie Siska. The heart-shaped waffles are the house specialty since 1882.
http://www.siska-marie.com
You could train from Brugge to Knokke (19 min.), rent bikes or one of those big 4-6 person go-carts to proceed to Marie Siska (it's a bit away from the centre, in the residential area).

As far as kids carriers are concerned, these will be available. I don't know for kids bikes with training wheels. Anyway, I think it's a bit difficult to do larger trips with those.

I agree with Patrick: the bike ride along the canal Brugge-Damme is a very pleasant one. It's traffic-free and the path is under the shade of big trees.
You can also visit Damme by paddle-boat.
http://www.bootdammebrugge.be/

Jocelyn_P

Thank you all for these wonderful suggestions! I also found a great website www.travelforkids.com that has some more great ideas.

Next question: when to go? Since Easter is mid-April in 2006, I'll bet the kids' spring break will be that week (April 8-16). Is it worth dodging the potential raindrops (and cold?) to see the tulips? Or is summer the overall better bet? Airfares are much cheaper in April.

MyriamC

That's a difficult one, Jocelyn! Sometimes April is nice and dry, sometimes it's cold and rainy. For outside activities the summer is definitely better.

artstuff

We have travelled to the Netherlands four times, all during the months of March and/or April. March can be a little nippy. Our last trip was from April 5 - April 16, 2003 and we had good weather. In fact, I don't recall ever using the umbrella that we packed and schlepped all over BeNeLux.

We saved the Keukenhof for the end of the trip, hoping to catch more of the bulbs in bloom. As it turned out, the three days before we went to the Gardens the temperature was in the 60's (Farenheit) which forced all the bulbs into blooming. The bulb fields that we travelled through on the trains were breathtakingly beautiful splashes of color - something you should try to see if the schedule permits.

The other advantage to travelling in April, in addition to lower airfares, is the lack of tourists queuing to get into the more popular destinations. However, the disadvantage is that some sights might not be open yet - too early in the season.

We only had one situation where the attraction was closed, even though I had e-mailed them and they replied it would be open. That was the chairlift to the castle in Vianden, Luxembourg. We ended up hiking up to the castle, which wasn't bad at all....but it would have been more fun to take the chairlift. Peace.

Robyn

jenviolin

Jocelyn,
I live in Delft. It's very child-friendly and you can walk or bike everywhere. The train to The Hague takes only 12 minutes; the tram to Madurodam and the beach (Scheveningen; there are buses to other beaches as well, or you can bike if you're tough) takes about 25 - 35 minutes.

There is enough to do in Delft for small children (weather permitting) - the park Delftse Hout with swimming and rowboat rental, a petting zoo, a simple water playground and bikepaths; markets and ice cream, the marble roller coaster at the Technical Museum, paddle boats on the canals, and of course playgrounds.

I recommend De Emmaeuspoort for relaxed accommodation; it's connected to a bakery and it used to have gypsy caravans in the back courtyard for rent. However, it's a 10-15 minute walk to the train station, which is long with kids if you are going to be taking the train each day. Hotel Leeuwenbrug and Hotel de Ark (both on a canal) would be closer.
I'm not sure where you could rent bikes with kids' bike seats. If you want, I'll check it out for you (post back here). If you want the kids to have helmets, you should bring them or buy them; it will be very difficult to rent them.
Often overlooked: Rotterdam has some great things for kids, as does Leiden!
Finally, as you can imagine, mid-April to mid-May is high season because of the tulips. Things are more crowded and more expensive - and more colorful!

artstuff

We stayed in Delft at the Hotel de Emauspoort on our trip 2 years ago and they still had two gypsy caravans in their courtyard that you can rent. They looked interesting from the outside, although we didn't go in as they were rented out while we were there. It was a lovely hotel, and like jenviolin mentioned, it has a bakery connected to the hotel, right off the breakfast room....excellent pastries for an afternoon snack.

The hotel is located behind the Nieuwe Kerk at Vrouwenregt 10-11, along a small canal. You can hear the church bells tolling on the hour, which is quite charming, but don't fret, they turn the bells off at 10:00pm and turn them back on at 7:00 in the morning. It was quite serene to lay in bed in the morning, listening to the bells (I'm having a sense-memory right now).

You can catch the bus right around the corner from the hotel, which can drop you at the train station in just a few minutes. When we arrived in town we took a cab from the train station to the hotel, and for some reason 10 Euro sticks in my head as the cost.

I also remember there was a neat little toy store between the hotel and the bus stop, I think. We went in and bought several little toys as gifts for our neices/nephews. I'm sure your kids would enjoy browsing in there.

The hotel website is:
http://www.emauspoort.nl/
where you can hear the church bells tolling. Peace.

Robyn

Jocelyn_P

I just realized I never thanked the last few posters for their detailed, helpful information. Artstuff, I looked up those caravans, and they only sleep two, but that sure would have been fun!

I can't wait for this trip to happen. It may be postponed a year, though, as DH really wants to take the kids to Alaska next summer. We have a friend in Anchorage who could show us around, but I'm a little uneasy about the whole thing...we'll see how it plays out.

April

Another vote for Madurodam. The Holland Experience in Amsterdam doesn't take much time and is great fun.