Holiday advice please - northern France / Southern Belgium

Mick Beard BHA · Mar 8, 2015

Evenin all

Longshot: I'm totally clueless about booking holidays etc and so, as usual when i'm not sure which way to turn, i turn to NSC.... :albion2:

Basically i'm looking to take the wife and our two young kids to europe for a week sometime end of May / beginning June. Plan was to drive over on the Channel Tunnel and then we don't really want to drive any more than 4 hours after that. I know, that doesn't get you very far.

Ideally we'd like
- picturesque
- not far from a town/shops/cafes etc
- self catering eg. cottage
- something for the kids eg. waterpark

So far we've not found much. But i really don't know much about the whole area. Antwerp isn't far away but i have no idea whether its a nice area or not.

Any tips about that little section of north-western europe would be much appreciated

cheers

Mick

Thunder Bolt · Mar 8, 2015

Bruges is an excellent place to visit and only one hour's drive from Calais.

somerset · Mar 8, 2015

de efteling..... should easily be in you four hour window, stacks to do and loads of places to stay in the area,.....

mooey · Mar 8, 2015

Hi ya I went to berck sur met last summer with my family and it was really good msssive beach shops a few cafes and restaurants a few bits theres s sea life center and water park mot far from there too worth checking out and its an hour drive west from Calais

So far we've not found much. But i really don't know much about the whole area. Antwerp isn't far away but i have no idea whether its a nice area or not.

Any tips about that little section of north-western europe would be much appreciated

cheers

Mick[/QUOTE]

severnside gull · Mar 8, 2015

La Roche en Ardennes is a great base for exploring & the Ardennes area is great. Lots of history and kayaking and water sports for the kids plus plenty of lovely small towns with shops and cafés galore.
Three hours from Calais and ideal if you fancy something other than a city break.

Alternatively the Harwich crossing direct to Amsterdam could be a good option although I haven't used it myself. I regularly drive up from Calais in about 4 hours but it can be a bit of a faff navigating around Antwerp and Rotterdam. Well worth it once you get to Amsterdam though and your family are guaranteed to love it.

Rugrat · Mar 8, 2015

Get down towards Deauville and Northern Brittany, the French do some great 5* campsites or rent a Gite (self catering cottage) from numerous websites .. just Google

Better still get the Portsmouth - Caen ferry and you land in some of the best country you'll find and the west coast down towards La Rochelle is outstanding

Napier's Knee · Mar 9, 2015

You could do a lot worse than getting the Newhave-Dieppe ferry and staying in or near Dieppe - it's a lovely place, and North Normandy is excellent.

mikeyjh · Mar 9, 2015

Underrated part of the world - As already mentioned, Bruges is fantastic but for adults really. I've had a cracking time at the seaside resorts of Blankenberge as an adult and De Haan as a child. You may as well visit Brussels while you're there. Have fun.....

Cloggie · Mar 9, 2015

Have been to Belle Dune a few times. Would seem to tick your boxes but you need to check the opening times for the pool. Not sure it opens fully untill July. If you can try and secure a property near the outdoor pool. And if you're into it take your golf clubs. The course is fantastic.

Questions · Mar 9, 2015

Wean the kids onto strong Belgium beer over the coming months and then just do Antwerp and Ghent. Job done.

Hastings gull · Mar 9, 2015

mikeyjh said:
Underrated part of the world - As already mentioned, Bruges is fantastic but for adults really. I've had a cracking time at the seaside resorts of Blankenberge as an adult and De Haan as a child. You may as well visit Brussels while you're there. Have fun.....

Recommend Varlet Farm as a guesthouse. It is near Ypres and super base for WW1 (how old are the kids?) and have you got a cycle rack -great for family cycling. Bruges, as others say, is very picturesque and the coast has sandy beaches. Fun Park at Adinkerke would be great for the kids -it is on the French border, just past Dunkirk, and if you smoke, that is where the shops sell fags at about £4.00 a packet, as the Belgians have less tax, rightly or wrongly!

Chicken Run · Mar 9, 2015

I throughly enjoyed a holiday to Brittany via Plymouth, stayed in a wonderful farmhouse nr Quampair

Trufflehound · Mar 9, 2015

severnside gull said:
Alternatively the Harwich crossing direct to Amsterdam...

Direct? Hook of Holland is 85km from Amsterdam.

But as has been pointed out, if the OP is prepared for a 4-hour drive from the tunnel, that takes in much of northern France, all of Belgium and Luxembourg, most of the Netherlands, and a chunk of Germany. Plenty of things to choose from there.

Mick Beard BHA · Mar 9, 2015

Massive thanks to you all - there are plenty of ideas in here that we hadn't come across.
The kids are very small still - 4 yrs and a baby, so fun parks and water parks sound ideal.

Trufflehound - i google-mapped the region to try and work out travel times (a bit simplistic, granted) and Germany and most of Holland seemed too far. But if you think its doable i'll add it back into the maybe pile

cheers again people :thumbsup:

Beach Hut · Mar 9, 2015

Parc Asterix is not bad but I would suspect it might be better when the kids are a bit older.

Trufflehound · Mar 10, 2015

Mick Beard BHA said:
Massive thanks to you all - there are plenty of ideas in here that we hadn't come across.
The kids are very small still - 4 yrs and a baby, so fun parks and water parks sound ideal.

Trufflehound - i google-mapped the region to try and work out travel times (a bit simplistic, granted) and Germany and most of Holland seemed too far. But if you think its doable i'll add it back into the maybe pile

cheers again people

If you want a rough driving yardstick, I live in Eindhoven and that's 2 hrs 45 min from the tunnel in normal traffic (the Antwerp ring can be a sticking point). From here to Amsterdam is 1h 10.* But if you were going to Amsterdam direct from the tunnel you wouldn't come via Eindhoven anyway, so the drive would be shorter.

Admittedly not a whole lot of Germany is open to you, but you can drive from the tunnel to Cologne in under 4 hours.

But as plenty of people have already mentioned, there's heaps to see and do in northern France and Belgium, so you don't have to stretch it on the driving front.

Edit: I see your eldest is 4, so as someone mentioned above, the Efteling near me is not a bad shout for a day trip. http://www.efteling.com It has all the normal theme park rides, but a lot of it is based on fairytale themes designed to appeal to the kids who are too small to ride the rollercoasters.

(*And for the record I'm not a speed freak. I drive more or less normally, at or around the speed limit on motorways.)

ngood77 · Mar 10, 2015

mikeyjh said:
Underrated part of the world - As already mentioned, Bruges is fantastic but for adults really. I've had a cracking time at the seaside resorts of Blankenberge as an adult and De Haan as a child. You may as well visit Brussels while you're there. Have fun.....

We're doing a week in this area mid-April, with trips to Bruges and Ghent on the train (cheap and straightforward). I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but we're staying at the Belgium-branded Centre Parcs, which is significantly cheaper than their UK parks and comes highly recommended from a trusted friend...

http://www.sunparks.com/gb-en/holiday-park-belgium-de-haan-aan-zee_DH-E_fp

Good luck with your planning.

Tight shorts · Mar 10, 2015

We stayed in a lovely area in North East France near the border with Belgium and came across a lovely holiday village right on a lake with loads of activities etc. Didn't stay there but had a wander round and thought how lovely it was for a young family Link attached. Happy holidays

https://www.campingselection.com/uk.../holiday-village-les-cottages-de-valjoly/3956

Mick Beard BHA · Mar 10, 2015

Once again lads - many thanks!

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Holiday advice please - northern France / Southern Belgium

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