Review: Our Second Little Clogs Holiday

The Deacon family left us this review of their second Little Clogs holiday. They booked through Little Clogs for the first time last year and loved it so much they came back again this year, this time visiting Beekse Bergen Safari Resort and Twee Bruggen as well as returning to Efteling Bosrijk. They have 3 children aged 3, 5 and 8.

“This is our second summer visiting Holland and both times we have booked using the Little Clogs ladies due to their invaluable advice, knowledge and fantastic service. The ladies know everything there is to know about Holland & Belgium and really do recommend some hidden gems and provide that extra level of service that booking independently simply wouldn’t provide.

Last summer we visited Efteling & Beekse Bergen for our first Holland experience and loved them so much that this time we re-visited to try slightly different accommodations whilst also adding on De Twee Bruggen. We are a family of 5 with kids aged 3,5 and 8 – but this time Nanny came too and we all had a wonderful time.

From the advice of Little Clogs we decided to try the Harwich- Hoek of Holland overnight ferry this time for the outward journey and the kids had such fun. The cabins were roomy and they loved the bunk beds.  It was great fun being able to wander around the boat and wake up in Holland first thing rather than being stuck in the car and adding more onto the drive like last year. We did get the Eurotunnel home however as we wanted to explore on the last day but given the choice and convenience we would now recommend the Ferry both ways for comfort and ease.

De Twee Bruggen is a fabulous site for all ages and we all fell in love with how serene and calm it was there. We chose the location due to it being slightly closer to Germany and a different region of the NL to explore. We selected Bungalow 9 upon the advice from Little Clogs and it was a great location. We petted the ponies every morning over a cup of tea and were close to lots of cycle and footpaths. We took a lovely stroll into Bredevoort one evening which didn’t take long at all and even hired some bikes on one of the days and took a ride into Winterswijk to explore. The bikes were incredibly cheap to hire and they had one to suit everyone and we felt so safe using the cycle paths with the children.

The bungalow was spacious and well equipped and we were grateful of the access to free Wi-Fi and apps such as prime/Netflix on the TV for the children to watch TV in English after a busy day. The girls loved the free craft activities at Twee and we tried the Flower Bombs and arts and craft sessions. They are super generous with their materials and although in Dutch the staff speak wonderful English and can help if needed. The pools were a bit chilly and the inside one did get quite busy with no lifeguard however our son loved the outdoor slides and for older children are fab. The park is very well suited to families and despite being peak August it felt very quiet in comparison to a UK site and has a really lovely feel. Lots of play parks are scattered around alongside everything else going on and our son really enjoyed hiring the go karts to explore the grounds and worth hiring to keep him busy. We stayed for 4 nights but will definitely return here for longer next time. The local market was also lovely to visit and we picked up some great food items to try!

In terms of days out we always rely on the ladies advice for hidden gems. Last year we really enjoyed walking around Heusden and so we returned this year (for more pancakes!) and a lovely stroll looking at the windmills and quaint town. We also ventured into Germany to visit Irrland which had been on our list to try this year based on other Little Clogs family reviews and we LOVED it. The entry price was incredibly cheap and this is one of the best places for a family day out as there really is so much to do. It’s the most random and eclectic mix of attractions but the children had an amazing day amongst giant ball pools, corn barns, climbing giant hay bales, huge slides, waterparks, petting zoos, free go karts etc! We were there for 6 hours and still didn’t get to it all so would recommend a whole day there for sure.

Next we were back to Beekse Bergen. Last year we stayed on the Lake Resort but this year we upgraded to a lodge on the Safari side – WOW it was worth it. We selected lodge 440 and what a fab view it was. Every morning and evening we would watch the animals and we regularly had Ostrich, Rhinos, Zebras and Giraffes right outside. The Lodge was extremely spacious and had its own Sauna which we made the most of. The bath was big for the children and the lodge also had 2 showers and a wonderful outdoor seating area to watch the animals over breakfast .

We love how easy everything is to access at Beekse with Speelland and all attractions included with the stay. We ventured over to the lakeside to catch the boat to Speelland for the day and also made use of both great pools here. The pools have something for all ages and are extremely safe with lots of lifeguards and floatation devices to borrow if needed. We stayed for 3 nights/4 days which was a great amount of time to see everything.

Finally we returned to Efteling for the final part of our stay. We loved the family room in the Bosrijk quiet hotel last year but this time tried a Woodland Cottage as there were 6 of us. We love Bosrijk due to the pretty scenery and pool access in addition to the little touches such as children’s nightcaps and free storybook for when Mr Sandman comes to visit. The cottage was lovely and quiet and overlooked woodland out the back and was fine as a base however the cottages do feel much darker than the hotel and lack a toaster or oven are worth noting if you are visiting and planning to cook. Food inside the park however is plentiful and delicious and supermarkets are close by to drive to stock up on drinks etc.

Efteling is always magical and as a guest we always recommend taking advantage of the early access and evenings as this is when the queues are shortest. Again we stayed for 3 nights/4 days and would say this is the right amount of time to explore it all at your own place and ensure you cover everything. It is always worth watching the last water show in the dark as it is beautiful amongst the music and lights and the park really does come to life in the evenings. As always we loved Efteling and will return in future but perhaps to try a different seasons we would love to experience what Winter Efteling can offer.

Sad to be home but lots of amazing memories were made and Holland yet again was wonderful. Thank you to Laura & Jane for everything we will continue to recommend you to anyone considering Holland and Belgium. ”

The Deacon Family

For more info about Beekse Bergen, Twee Bruggen or Efteling Bosrijk, or to book please see links below or drop us a line: