Netherlands: All destinations, advice & information for your holidays!
The Netherlands offers a varied holiday program at any time of the year: In April and May, millions of tulips transform the country into a sea of flowers. Active visitors can explore the cycling nation on the 29,000-kilometer-long network of bike paths. The Netherlands is also famous for its delicious cheese and the canals in its picturesque cities.
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Netherlands - 8 most beautiful natural sights
The Hoge Veluwe National Park
The vast De Hoge Veluwe National Park is considered a paradise for active vacationers, as they can not only take long hikes but also enjoy extensive bike tours. Travelers discover a variety of untouched ponds and numerous free-roaming animal species. Deer and mouflons are particularly common. The experience in De Hoge Veluwe National Park is rounded off with numerous historical sights that were built in past centuries. The hunting lodge St. Hubertus and the art collection of Helene Kröller-Müller are considered landmarks. In the museum of the same name, works by Picasso and van Gogh are exhibited, for example.
Kitchen Garden
Nowhere offers more flower power than the Dutch flower park Keukenhof. When the vast garden opens its gates for eight weeks in spring, 7 million flowers are in full bloom. You can stroll along beautifully laid-out paths past colorful flower carpets and imaginative beds. Small lakes create a picture of pure idyll. At Keukenhof, you will discover inspiration and themed gardens as well as extraordinary sculptures, an orchid house, and several pavilions for special exhibitions, some of which are associated with the Dutch royal family. For a souvenir photo against a floral backdrop, there is even a selfie garden. The best view over the Keukenhof grounds is from a typical Dutch windmill.
Texel
Texel is best reached by ferry from Den Helder. The island hosts charming small villages scattered across the entire island. The landmark of the island is the bright red lighthouse in the north. Its observation deck offers a breathtaking view over Texel, the neighboring island Vlieland, and the North Sea. What you must see on Texel are the nature museum and aquarium Ecomare with its seals and grey seals, as well as the nature reserve De Slufter, where there are salt marshes, purple sea lavender, and wild orchids. Finally, you should participate in a guided mudflat hiking tour.
Lauwersmeer National Park
Would you like to combine your beach holiday on the wild and romantic North Sea with dreamy nature excursions? Then Lauwersmeer National Park is the ideal destination for you. In the former sea bay, you can actively spend your leisure time sailing, canoeing, and kitesurfing. On land, explore the nature reserve on numerous hiking and cycling trails. Lauwersmeer National Park offers two special highlights: it is an important breeding ground for migratory birds. Amateur ornithologists can observe over 100 bird species here, including the majestic sea eagle. Away from artificial light sources, this Dark Sky Park is the perfect place to marvel at the glittering starry sky during night hikes!
Loonse and Drunen Dunes
Visitors are amazed by this unique desert landscape in the middle of Europe. Here, areas of drifting sand alternate with mosses, grasses, heathland, and coniferous forests. Active vacationers will find a true paradise of opportunities there. But also those seeking tranquility, who wish to enjoy the impressive silence on the narrow network of paths, are in the right place at Loonse en Drunense Duinen. Not only vacationers are on the trails through the national park. You may also encounter donkeys and dune sheep. Those cycling will find, for example, the Zwarte or the Groene mountain bike route well signposted. The sand drifts, which have formed since the Middle Ages, are a special attraction in the nature reserve.
Biesbosch National Park
The park is located not far from the oldest city in the Netherlands: Dordrecht. Wild tulips and orchids are as native to the De Biesbosch National Park as water buffalo, Konik horses, and kingfishers. With a boat or canoe, you glide through the picturesque labyrinth of rivers and streams past wooded islands and green meadows. The unique nature reserve offers many different activities for the whole family. These include fishing and horseback riding trips as well as cycling and hiking tours and stand-up paddling. A highlight promises to be the hiking trail around the beaver forest. A viewing platform offers an optimal view of the beaver couple's area, including the beaver lodge.
Wadden Sea Holland
The Wadden Sea stretches extensively along the North Sea coast from Denmark in the north, through Germany, to the Netherlands in the southeast. Especially at low tide, the changing natural beauty of this maritime coastal landscape is revealed. Twice daily at low water, the seabed with sand and mudflats extends far to the horizon. On guided walks, you immerse yourself in the contrasting habitats of the Wadden Sea. In the blooming salt marshes between land and sea, you can observe over 2,000 animal species that have adapted to the dynamic living conditions. Trudging through the exposed mudflats, you discover thousands of tiny creatures like crabs, mussels, and worms in puddles.
Nieuw Land National Park
In the area of the Nieuw Land National Park, there was open sea until the 20th century, but in recent decades, large areas have emerged that are home to unique flora and fauna. During your bike tours or walks through the Nieuw Land National Park, you can marvel at Konik horses in the wild. In the warm summer months, the Ijsselmeer invites you to swim and sunbathe along the picturesque sandy beaches in many places. If you want to undertake exciting excursions, boat tours on the sea are an option, as well as day trips to Amsterdam. The metropolis is only 40 km away and can even be reached by ship.
Netherlands - Climate
Due to its location on the North Sea, the Netherlands has a temperate maritime climate. The winters are relatively mild with 2 to 3 °C, and in summer the average temperature is 17 °C. The best time to travel for a beach holiday is in July and August. Then the North Sea warms up to just over 20 °C. Since it can rain in the Netherlands throughout the year, pack an umbrella as well. Because the weather changes quickly due to the west wind, the sun may shine again shortly after.
The following graph shows the average weather conditions for the country. Historical weather conditions may vary by region.