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We were delighted to be invited to stay at EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel for 3 nights in May. It was a wonderful family break and even though it was just 1h 15 minutes to drive there from Amsterdam (where we live) we easily slipped into the holiday feeling. We don’t know about you but a weekend away is always the perfect medicine to busy family life and the usual daily routines.
Check in was super quick and we were soon on our way to our accommodation. For us this is one of the fun parts of any holiday, where the children (and we) set about exploring all the rooms and details of our temporary home away from home. We stayed in a Hackfort 6 which certainly didn’t disappoint. There were 3 bedrooms, separate toilet and bathroom with glorious rain shower, and a spacious open living area with large windows opening onto a patio which overlooked a small lake. The centre of this little lake had a mini-island with benches and a rope bridge to get to it. Within no time our children had explored how to get there and named the island as their own!
Our first evening we checked out the snack bar and settled in for a quick, convenient meal. We also had time to enjoy a drink in the brasserie which was very cosy and had a small indoor play with games area adjoined to it. The whole layout was really useful for families of all ages as each eatery flowed directly into the other, including the outdoor terrace area which overlooked a grassy playground, perfect if you want to be able to let your children play freely while waiting for your meal, or if you’re enjoying a morning coffee as they stretch their legs.
As the evening drew in, we headed back to our accommodation for a comfy night’s sleep before the full weekend of adventures to come.
We woke up bright and early and popped to the mini market which offers a small selection of grocery and household essentials. This is all paid by self-scan and is based on honesty as the shop is not manned. Breakfast overlooking the water and the light trickle of the fountain from our terrace was a wonderful way to start the day, along with a few family board games before heading out. First stop was to explore the park further, us adults meandered on foot as our children giggled away on their hired 4 person go-kart.
We soon discovered that the park has a wide range of holiday homes, each modern and light and tastefully spread around the park. There were natural playgrounds at staggered intervals, and we felt, beautifully placed in front of holiday homes where children could play safely still under the watchful eye of their parents. We couldn’t believe it when we spotted a 24h pizza machine next to one of the playgrounds just as we’d experienced in France some years ago. How cool to spend an evening around your accommodation and not have to interrupt your child’s play for dinner, but to turn it into a pizza picnic instead with your new neighbours!
Towards the back of the park between accommodation numbers 600 and 602 is a gate leading to a woodland path. This is the access to a route leading to the dunes and to Efteling. To get to Efteling would take about 30 minutes so perhaps your legs are better saved for walking around the theme park, and you can take the bus (10 mins) from the bus stop down the road approx. 750m away, or take the car which is just a 5-minute drive. Within the park there is also a large open field with football goals and volley net. If you’ve older children, this could be a great area to catch up with new friends and kick a ball about. For those looking for more organised activities there is a daily children’s club, such as creative activities, football and a mini disco. Throughout the year and in the summer months they tell me there is even more entertainment including shows on their outdoor stage.
Once we’d fully explored EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel we headed out to the local town (Kaatsheuvel) which is a short 5 minute drive. This is a small town, however there are restaurants, cafes and shopping streets to enjoy. By this time, we’d worked up a good appetite and headed for the Loonse and Drunense dunes for a spot of lunch. These dunes are like an enormous desert in the middle of the Netherlands. They’re perfect for exploring, walks, riding and cycling. We found the perfect terrace at De Roestelberg restaurant. This was clearly a very popular location for hikers, families and groups of friends looking for a pretty location on the edge of the dunes. Our children were happy playing in the play area, or the dunes as they awaited their lunch. We felt there was a good selection for a tasty lunch menu, and it was reasonably priced, serving toasties, salads, pasta and more.
We couldn’t come for lunch and leave without exploring the dunes first-hand. Having visited the dunes a few times in the past, this was the first time we had witnessed a large area of water which had emerged due to recent rainfall. With that, a cloud loomed over us and although this didn’t spoil our fun, tossing stones, sticks and running across the water and dunes, it did mean we found ourselves putting in a little sprint back to the car once we realised it wasn’t a passing shower.
We did manage to squeeze in a quick pitstop to the amazing playground at Marvilla Parks Kaatsheuvel which is directly behind the de Roestelberg restaurant. This is also another option if popping out for lunch and then exploring the dunes further. It has loads of play equipment and an indoor play area. If you’re looking for more restaurant inspiration, then just a few 100 metres from the park you will come across an original windmill which is in fact a very pretty restaurant, ‘De Molen’. The interior is beautiful with a peaceful terrace to the rear. We love that the restaurant is in a real windmill and the mechanics have been preserved for all to admire. This is one to put on your list if you’re looking for a special meal out.
Despite all the beauty and culture on the doorstep you can imagine there was a question that kept cropping up from our children, you guessed it, ‘when can we go to the pool?’ So, as the rain began to pour, what better place for us to go than back to EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel and take a dip in the pool. This was a lovely, heated pool with a few different pool areas and depths, one for babies/toddlers, a shallow area and then the deeper pool. As well as a fun slide. There is also an outdoor pool that was accessible directly from the indoor pool, so you can easily move between the two. We felt incredibly lucky to be able to make the most of the indoor pool as we’d expected it to be shut for planned maintenance until 1st February 2025 (the outdoor pool will remain open in the summer months). As luck would have it (for us), it had been slightly postponed, and we got to enjoy the fun of the pool multiple times.
After all our adventures we popped to the local Albert Heijn supermarket, which is just 5 minutes down the road, picked up some shopping and enjoyed a wonderful relaxing evening in at our accommodation. We entered our login into the TV for Netflix, rustled up some dinner and wound down from our day.
Well rested and ready for more adventure we took a browse through the pack of brochures we’d picked up at the reception area. Being familiar with this area and frequent visitor to Efteling and Beekse Bergen we wanted to try something new and decided on a trip to Pukkemuk. From the brochure it looked like it had play areas and some water fun, the sun was shining and off we went.
Pukkemuk recreation park itself is a bit of an eclectic mix and we’d say it’s mostly aimed at children aged 10 or younger. If you’re staying at EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel you get a small discount. We were quite impressed that there was unlimited squash for the children and a free drink for those (over 12 years) included in the entrance ticket. There was a decent indoor play, animals to admire and pet, a fairytale walk, an air trampoline, a hay barn and our children’s favourite, the splash park. There was enough to keep them entertained including a big tipping bucket, slides and water sprays. For us, there were picnic benches overlooking the splash park and if you wanted to you could purchase food from one of the vendors to eat there. This was a great day out and we just couldn’t resist one last turn on the go-karts before we left and headed back to EuroParcs for more fun on site, which is just over 10 minutes away. In low season Pukkemuk is €10 for under 12’s and €5 for over 12’s.
Back to the pool we happily went for a few more hours in the water, we must have gone down the slide more than 20 times each, what fun! It is good to know that there is a lifeguard present at the pool area and a baby changing table in the changing room. That evening, we wanted to try out one of the other eating options on site and chose Het Wapen, the brasserie for a sit-down evening meal. This was similar to pub food. Had we had more time we would definitely have loved to visit the steakhouse and pizzeria too.
Sadly, Monday brought with it our last day. We were keen to enjoy the park further before heading home so opted for more time in the pool and a few more turns on the pulley bridge next to our accommodation. That was not before we enjoyed breakfast on our pretty terrace overlooking the tranquility of the water. As we left our lovely holiday house and said goodbye to ‘our’ mini-island, we still weren’t ready to leave! Our children enjoyed some more time on the playground area and insisted they try a frikandel XXL which they’d spotted on the snack bar menu. A frikandel is a deep-fried sausage snack and they were curious to discover how big XXL really was. Oh my!!!! is all we can say. The description is very accurate!
Right opposite the park entrance is a farm which sells fruits, vegetable, plants and all manner of bric-a-brac/antiques, which we couldn’t resist visiting for some fresh strawberries, before one last relaxing drink on the glorious terrace and bidding farewell to EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel (for now).
A final word comes from my three children when I asked them what they thought about EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel:
“There’s lots to do even outside of EuroParcs so if you’ve explored all of the park and enjoyed everything you will always find something to do and never get bored. The pool is always my favourite thing to do especially when it’s unlimited entry. “ (aged 15)
“I liked the slide in the pool and our house. It was funny having two toilets, one separate one and one in the bathroom.” (aged 12)
“There’s a lot of places where Mummy and Papa can sit at the bar and then we can go off and play. The outside pool is a little heated so it’s not freezing. It’s close to other places so if you want to go out for a day you can. The house was very nice and cosy, there’s enough room for everyone.” (aged 9)
EuroParks Kaatsheuvel is a great place for families to stay, boasting both its indoor and outdoor pools, entertainment and modern accommodation. If you’re looking to visit the Loonse and Drunense sand dunes, take a day trip to Efteling theme park and Beekse Bergen safari park then it’s a great choice for families. One of the convenient features that EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel offers is that they have any day arrival/departure. This is particularly handy for families looking to visit for a mid-week (Mon – Fri) during May half term 2025, as due to a national holiday which happens to fall on Thursday 29th May, most other parks only offer a full week over that period.
A mid-week stay in the Hackfort 6 like we stayed in, arriving 26th May 2025 is €679.30* for a family of 4. Other accommodation options start from €429.40*
We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to EuroParcs for facilitating our stay. We had a wonderful time and look forward to visiting again soon.
For more info about Europarcs Kaatsheuvel or to book please see our link below or drop us a line:
EUROPARCS KAATSHEUVEL Contact Us*Prices correct at time of publication for 2x adults and 2x children.
