has anyone toured holland

[jafeica7]

had a private email this week from a fellow member asking about holland.. we did a pitstop tour last year in may started out at calais driving up to rotterdam then headed for the coast wassenaar was our first stop.we stayed at the duinrell holiday park. a little to fancy for us but still a exellent site complete with theme park www.duinrell.nl more geared up for taking kids after a couple of days we headed up the coast towards denhelder it was great . denhelder looks interesting naval port i think we didnt look around to much as the weather was foul but will be back for sure. from denhelder we headed down to amsterdam we stayed on the zeebruge. www.campingzeeburg.nl a really good site only a tram ride into the city. hopefully our next visit the weather will be a little better. leaving amsterdam we head back down the west coast on the n57 crossing several fantasic bridges and through a tunnel at vlissingen then followong the coast road though belgium the hole coast has a english feel to it very under rated i think... ian sue n bertie the bus

 

[roifromnwales]

this might help

http://www.campervriendelijk.nl/camperplaa.../nederland.html

I have been told that wildcamping is frowned on and a fine of 2000 e is possible. i did wild camp a couple of nights there 4 years ago and had no problems but didn't know about the fines then and we were so out of the way even we didn't know exactly where we were.

one other thing to remember is the new High viz jackets law. not yet in Neiderlands but definitely in Germany and France from 1st Jan 05.
keep them handy or get fined apparently.
And a second pair of specs if u wear them and all the other stuff.
We are planning a trailer just for the emergency stuff we now have to take.

 

[jann]

We've always stayed on campsites in Holland.Even the Dutch people we've spoken to say it is difficult to find somewhere to stay!Still worth a visit, lovely people,I've yet to meet a Dutch person who can't speak English{they can generally speak French ,German, Spanish or whatever country we happen to be in.

 

[roifromnwales]

I have always found that if you TRY to speak German/ French or whatever then the locals are more friendly and almost always speak enough English for us to get by, along with my French [learnt in school] and German [learnt in Germany when I was stationed there].
I am presently learning Welsh [my own language] and Gaelic [I tour the highlands every year]
Aoutoroute is very useful with their small vacabs built in when travelling.
The Dutch are very special tho. They remember the 2nd WW and there are monuments to the Brits in almost every town. And yes, they are naturally friendly people but I have also found the Germans to be the same. I can't say the same about Belgian truckers tho. They frightened the s**t out of us on our first trip.

 

[jann]

I agree, if you can say hallo,please,thank you,and can count in whatever language you need to ,then the locals are always more tolerant than if you go straight in with English,after all most foreigners learn some English before they come to Britain.

 

[edwin]

Originally posted by jafeica7@Feb 26 2005, 11:27 AM
had a private email this week from a fellow member asking about holland.. we did a pitstop tour last year in may started out at calais driving up to rotterdam then headed for the coast wassenaar was our first stop.we stayed at the duinrell holiday park. a little to fancy for us but still a exellent site complete with theme park www.duinrell.nl more geared up for taking kids after a couple of days we headed up the coast towards denhelder it was great . denhelder looks interesting naval port i think we didnt look around to much as the weather was foul but will be back for sure. from denhelder we headed down to amsterdam we stayed on the zeebruge. www.campingzeeburg.nl a really good site only a tram ride into the city. hopefully our next visit the weather will be a little better. leaving amsterdam we head back down the west coast on the n57 crossing several fantasic bridges and through a tunnel at vlissingen then followong the coast road though belgium the hole coast has a english feel to it very under rated i think... ian sue n bertie the bus

Hello, here is a responce from holland. Sorry for the bad writing, but I think it will be better than your Dutch.
I'm happy that all the reactions about holland are positive. I think the most of us think the same about the Britisch people. (forget the Brits in Spain on the beach,disco and Footbal).In Holland there are lot of nice places to look around, but....
The more interesting the places are, the more difficult it is to find a free place for the night. There are about 40 places were you can park in Holland, but there are always "buts" in Holland. It's not legal to park on the roads or public parking places. Even the carpark at the garden of a family is not allowed!! Exept about 40 cities were it is allowed. Most of the cities has reserved 1 or 2 parkingplaces, at most 5. (some more, but only a few). So in the summer you can expect a lot of difficulty. The germans are very angry about this. The are not used that you are almost nowhere welcom. The police dont talk, but just write a parking ticket. Of course foreign people have to pay direct. Even at 02.30 hour. And of course move the camper to (the dont care...) If max. parking is 2, and there are standing 5 campers, than 3 can easaly get a ticket. If you are in a city were a lot of campers illigel parked every day (tourist attractions), you can be 100% sure of a ticket. It is at the moment 95 euro. (about 60 pound i think?). holiday parks en campings are very expensive. Stay on a carpark!! of a camping cost sometimes 20 euro a night. But sometimes it is only 6 euro.
But when you are coming out of the summer season, than i think it is possible to tour in holland without any problems or cost. The are some fine places, only limeted camperparking allowed. The coverment doesnt allowed the local coverment more than 5 places. Above 5 the have to pay tax.
Its a silly country for campers. But I tried to find a good list and possabilities in the Uk, and I think it's even worse then in Holland I think. There are not many good sides with camperplaces to find. In holland we have several. I can send you some nice sites, i have to look into that... But in dutch of course. If you are interested let me know.
I want to go to UK+wales, becourse of a special offer from stena line. It cost about 350 euro for 3 people, with camper and 2 ferrytrips/singles. Now that is cheap.....
Its not a offer from england to holland, only from holland to Uk, so bad luck for you all.
Anyway is there a site were the have even a better list than on this site? I think if you can find a place in England you can find a place in Holland. Only our police are totaly f***CK ears$%$%^. Not friendly like in france or Germany. How are the cops in England and is nightstay at Tesco's a good alternative?

Camping in Holland is possible, I think not for "beginners". Go to Germany and France first. The have good facilities. Water and Toilet waste places. In Holland there are none!!
And the are not friendly at fullstations for taking water and waste. believe me. its not easy, but It look also difficult in Uk , or am I wrong?

greetings from sunny and always dry Holland (just joking...) , Edwin van der Wal

 

[roifromnwales]

thank you both for the information.
I am sure it is possible to wildcamp in the netherlands but of course the law is there and we must be careful. we have the warning and if we are caught doing wrong and have to pay a fine it will be our own fault.
I have found your police to be reasonable if you ask them for help or information but strict if a law is broken.
the police here are much the same. If you are wild camping and they tell you to move it is silly to argue as that will only make them angry.
I usually ask them in for a cup of tea/coffee and explain that I am disabled, have just taken my painkillers and need to rest for a while and they generally leave me to it.
Many Dutch vans come over here and we see them in Scotland every year. They are friendly people and you are right, most speak far better english than any of us speak dutch. as you do.
you will find few problems if you come over here wildcamping as we do not have many on the spot fines even for tourists.
water is available from almost all the fuel stations here
as to water dumps those are available on campsites only [unless someone knows differently]
overnight sleeping is usually easy
so the answer is to use a campsite each time you need to dump waste.
enjoy your trips round GB and especially Wales

 

[grandrufus]

Originally posted by edwin@Mar 28 2005, 08:07 PM

I am still hoping that someone can tell me how difficult it is for water and free places in the Uk. Please let me know.

p.s Johan, no heartfeelings I hope??

greetings from Edwin

No hard feelings!

Just got back a week or so ago from the UK and so far I have not been able to take any water other than from a camp site. Some campsites allow you to take in water and get rid of your waste water for a small fee. I know that the Camping and Caravanning club has that possibility, I used to be a member when I lived in the UK.

Regarding wild camping, there is a nice site that has a lot of addresses, the URL is http://rutgerbooy.nl/Wildcamping.htm

Also try to google a bit, here's loads of information available on the net.

Best of luck finding the information you need, and enjoy, England is a beautiful country, and so is scotland (see http://www.campercrazy.nl for the story of my first ever trip in a campervan) I suggest that you visit at least Wales and the Pennines, and also the Lake District!

Johan

 

[roifromnwales]

we have no problems with water and have been using garages for our supply on the road. It may not be labelled drinking water but there you go. we usually boil it for tea and coffee anyway.
if you worry about it you can always use the water from garages for tea and coffee and then buy a 5 ltr water from a supermarket for drinking without boiling
roi

 

[moerbeek]

Hi, doing Holland by wildcamping is possible, only in Zeeland you cannot stay the wild! Its forbidden and you do get a fine (?). (sorry, I'm Dutch and my english is not always as good as it shoot be) Mail me and I'll send you some places. Its also possible to go private places or at Ltd's. But we do have a cheap Camperfee for campssites. You have to come aftre 20.00 h an dleave before 10.00 h.
There are also real free places, look at the site of www.nkc.nl you find them under recreatie an dthan vrije overnachtingsplaatsen. Heare from you all.