Duinrell Holiday Park, Holland: A Complete First Time Visitor’s Guide

If you’re planning a family holiday in the Netherlands, the chances are you’ve come across Duinrell Holiday Park.

Holiday park, theme park and home to one of Europe’s most impressive on-site water parks, Duinrell is one of the most popular family holidays in Holland. We’ve been visiting for well over a decade and it’s one of those place where we just know everyone will have a good time.

Set on the edge of the elegant Dutch town of Wassenaar, the holiday park is surrounded by woodland, sand dunes and cycle paths. This means it has the best of everything; enough excitement to keep everyone entertained, easy access to nature for the days you want to get out in it and a beautiful Dutch town on the doorstep.

Duinrell is fabulous, but if you’re booking for the first time, there’s a few things to keep in mind. Here’s everything you need to know: A Duinrell Cheat Sheet, if you like!

Where is Duinrell Holiday Park?

You’ll find Duinrell on the edge of the well-to-do town of Wassenaar, between The Hague and Leiden, with Amsterdam within easy day trip distance.

One of the things I really like about it is the location. Unlike some holiday parks that are a bit isolated and designed to keep you on site, Duinrell is within walking distance of Wassenaar town centre and has beaches, cities and the Meijendel Nature reserve on the doorstep.

Once you’ve checked in, getting around to explore is remarkably easy thanks to the fantastic Dutch cycling path network and local transport options.

What to Expect at Duinrell

This park combines three attractions into one holiday experience: a family friendly theme park, the famous Tikibad water park and accommodation ranging from camping pitches to luxury lodges.

The Theme Park

Unlike some big-ticket European theme parks, Duinrell isn’t about white knuckle rides and queues that go on for hours.

The theme park is firmly aimed at families, which means plenty to enjoy for younger children alongside some thrill rides for older kids and adults. Highlights include:

• The Falcon: the parks looping, swooping roller coaster
• Aqua Swing: High level swings with shooting fountains below
• The historic carousel: A restored German carousel in its own glass house with a cafe.
• The Monorail: frog themed, pedal round the park high up on the suspended rail.

Adjacent to the main theme park you’ll also find Wonderland. This fairytale themed village is wonderfully strange, accessed by a drawbridge and full of quirky attractions, including talking statues and a miniature Manneken Pis.

The theme park at Duinrell is very manageable: easily walkable, a good mix of rides, you rarely queue for long and it has a bit of a nostalgic charm to it.

Theme park access is free and unlimited to all guests. You can ride all day, every day at no extra cost.

The Water Park

The star attraction, The Tikibad. Featuring more than twenty waterslides, a wave pool, a lazy river and splash zones for smaller guests, this is the largest water park in the Benelux region.

If thrill seeking is your thing, there’s all sorts of slides from near vertical drops to flumes with light effects. Personally, I’m happy drifting round the lazy river on a big rubber ring.

Access to the Tikibad: Prices and Booking

This is where things get a little confusing, especially for first timers. How you access the waterpark, and how much you pay, depends how you booked.

If you booked with Duinrell directly, you’ll have at least one free session and one discounted.

If you booked through a third party, such as Eurocamp, you’ll be given a voucher for discounted visits. All sessions need to be booked in advance on the Duinrell app.

In the summer months, the outdoor section of the waterpark is open and entry costs €5.50 per person. Note that you can’t switch between the indoor and outdoor parts, it’s one or the other.

This complicated (and sometimes expensive!) way of doing things is my least favourite thing about the park, and if you know you’ll want to visit often, you do need to consider this when booking and budgeting. If you don’t have any free sessions, expect to pay €9-20 per session, per person.

It’s worth checking the current access arrangements before booking, as water park entry depends on how you book/ where you stay and may be subject to change. Find up to date details here.

Spread across the park in field, forest and dune are a variety of accommodations. From family camping pitches to high end holiday homes known as ‘Duingalows’, there’s something for every budget.

Accommodation Options

Accommodation ranges from traditional camping pitches to fully equipped luxury holiday homes known as ‘Duingalows’.

We stayed in a six person lodge tent booked directly with Duinrell, but there are also a number of companies with tents and mobile homes on the park, including Eurocamp and Canvas.

Duinrell: The On Site Highlights

The Vintage Carousel

Starting with this one because I adore all things vintage and whimsical. It’s my absolute favourite. Built in Germany in 1864, the lovingly restored carousel features twenty cheerful horses, a sleigh or two and even a hot air balloon. Not to mention beautiful beading and painted scenes.

Housed in its own glass house with a small cafe, the perfect place to stop for a coffee and a stroopwaffel.

The Falcon

In contrast to the beautiful and sedate carousel, The Falcon. It’s fast, plunges you up and down at seemingly impossible angles and turns you upside down. I swerved this for years as my youngest was too small to ride. He grew up, I ran out of excuses.

Felt the fear and did it anyway. Turns out (after some genuine terror and a swear word when the seat locked I was committed) I liked it. Everyone should ride this, at least once.

Rick The Frog

Park mascot since the 1970’s, you can’t miss him. He’s everywhere. Rick themed bins, planters, rides, even do-nuts. The friendly, froggy face of Duinrell.

In honour of the parks 85th anniversary, a bronze statue of Rick the Frog was given pride of place in the park. Disney vibes, Duinrell charm.

There’s a range of Rick merch and regular meet-and-greets round the park. Don’t play it cool, go all in and be a Rick fan. It’s part of the experience.

Duinrell- The History Bit

Ready for a quick bit of history?

I like Duinrell. Because it’s given me over a decade of happy memories, but also because of its family business back story.

Originally part of a large country estate on the edge of Wassenaar, Duinrell opened the gates for the first time on Good Friday in 1935. Visitors were invited to visit the restaurant ‘Schaapskooi’ or take refreshments in the orangerie. Both are still a features of Duinrell today.

By the 1950’s the estate was attracting visitors who wanted to stay beyond the day. Informal camping popped up; little more than a few tents in a field. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when Count van Zuylen van Nijevelt inherited the running of the estate, Duinrell as a destination was born.

Count van Zuylen van Nijevelt was dreaming big for Duinrell, working from a list of ideas in a notebook. He took research trips to other parks, personally travelled to England to develop the waterslides for the Tiki pool and added new accommodation.

After almost three decades at the helm, the running of the park was passed to the next generation. Duinrell remains a family business owned and managed by the brothers Roderick and Philip van Zuylen van Nijevelt.

This year saw Duinrell celebrate its 88th year. A family business creating the perfect family holiday in Holland.

For a closer look at Duinrell, find the website here.

With thanks to Duinrell for help in creating this post, and for kindly allowing me to use images from their archives.

Helen x