Little Clogs Holidays is a local, niche travel company specialising in child friendly holidays to Holland and Belgium, destinations known for their city breaks but less so for their gorgeous beaches, woodlands and family friendly places to stay! We caught up with Laura from Little Clogs to find out how things were now, since the pandemic.
How have things been for you over the last few months? We have been so busy! It is so great that travel has opened up again and we’ve been
busier than ever. It was hard over the pandemic, we went from having an influx of enquiries and bookings every day to a complete standstill overnight in March 2020. But I think in some ways the pandemic has helped us: the holidays we feature offer outdoor living, private, spacious accommodation and the resorts are easily accessible by car or train so there is no need to fly if you don’t want to. The holiday parks offer excellent facilities and are close by to lots of fab family days out. They’re often a fraction of the price of UK holiday parks too. So this has all helped us, plus we were featured in the Guardian in March too which gave us a real boost!
Why do you think people are drawn to Little Clogs?
In many ways Little Clogs offers things which you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in Holland and Belgium including beautiful, sandy beaches, dunes and islands, magical woodlands and even a desert! But at the same time it ticks the boxes for all the stereotypes! It is possible to visit the tulip fields, explore the cheese markets, see windmills and even buy some Clogs! Most importantly all of our featured places to stay are perfect for families with babies and toddlers with baby and toddler friendly pools and play areas and safe accommodation with all the equipment you need when travelling with little ones. Also, the climate is never too hot and the journey to get there is quick and easy. Families can also benefit from quieter periods for example the Dutch don’t have Easter or May half term holidays so this can be a great time to visit with some cheap deals and a chance to experience Holland in springtime!
Are your holidays suitable for older children too? Yes! Whilst our main niche is baby and toddler holidays, our holidays are all child friendly and most of them have enough for older children with a selection which are suitable for teens too, so we can meet the needs of families with different aged children.
What would you say were your top recommendations for families wanting to book a holiday to Holland or Belgium? It’s hard to choose as there are so many brilliant places to stay! The places below are the ones which I think offer something a bit different and which all have excellent facilities, accommodation and location.
This is a sustainable holiday park on the water, near waterways, windmills and grazing cows, yet within very easy reach of Amsterdam, Utrecht, the Hague and Rotterdam. You can hire little boats to get around the park, enjoy the indoor pool, indoor play and the outdoor nature island play area. The cheese city of Gouda with its Cheese Experience, Stroopwafel museum and children’s petting farm is a 15 minute drive away.
Beekse Bergen We bet you didn’t know you could go on safari in Holland?! Beekse Bergen is a wonderful holiday resort which has 2 parts: the Lake Resort and the Safari Resort. Set in woodland on a huge lake with sandy lake beaches, indoor pools and play and loads of play areas it also has a brilliant Speelland play paradise on the beach and it’s next to the largest safari park in the country. It has an African theme throughout which extends to their accommodations. Stay in a jungle themed bungalow on the Lake Resort or in luxury safari lodges on the Safari Resort where you can watch the giraffes, rhinos and zebras from your accommodation! Just a short 20 minute drive from Beekse Bergen takes you to Efteling fairytale theme park, pretty villages and the largest indoor sand dunes in Western Europe.
Efteling Bosrijk Efteling theme park is a wonder for young children and also has thrilling rollercoasters for older ones. The theme park is based on the old fairytales of Hans Christan Andersen and Brothers Grimm and the attention to detail is amazing. Just exploring the fairytale forest with the houses of Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and the listening to the Talking Tree can take a good chunk of time. That’s why we always recommend booking an overnight stay for a few days to make the most of it. There are 3 different places to stay at Efteling and we love Efteling Bosrijk as it has such a magical feel, a little lake where the Sandman lives in his castle, beautiful lake and woodland houses as well as an indoor pool and several little play areas.
TerSpegelt This is quite a new park in our collection and one which is jam packed with activities for all ages! It is an award winning park located within 45 minutes of Efteling, Beekse Bergen and also Toverland theme park there is as much to do off site as on. It has a large recreational lake with beach, watersports, indoor pool including an amazing water and sand play beach, indoor play and lots of outdoor play areas.
Hof van Saksen Then the other side of the country has a beautiful luxury resort called Hof van Saksen which is the most upmarket holiday park in the Netherlands. With a sandy lake beach, indoor and outdoor pool, water rapids and world record waterslides it appeals to children of all ages. The indoor play is brilliant plus there is a Bounz trampolining centre, mini golf, and a selection of children’s academies such as archaology, technology, crafts, nature, sports and more. Accommodation is in thatched farmhouses with lots of open green space to play. This is the resort which was featured in the Guardian!
Duinrell Duinrell is also one which is suitable for toddlers and older children. It has a brilliant location just 30 mins from Amsterdam, 3km from an amazing beach and dunes and 5-10 minutes’ walk from the local villages with its shops, restaurants and cafes. Duinrell has a brilliant indoor and outdoor pool complex with many different waterslides, and an area just for little ones with smaller slides, exploratory toys and fountains etc. Duinrell also has its own family theme park with so many attractions for all ages.
Last but not least is a hotel called Plopsa! Also fairly new to our collection! Located next to the most toddler friendly theme park in Belgium, Plopsaland, the Plopsa Hotel is a new luxury themed hotel based on the characters of the Belgian TV programme. This is super easy to get to from the UK as it’s only a short drive from Calais. Once you’re there you can get around on the coastal tram and maybe also extend your stay with a few days at Sunparks Oostduinkerke holiday park and enjoy everything the Belgian coast has to offer. Waffles, ice creams, family bike rides and walks in the dunes make this a perfect choice for something a bit different.
Could you remind us how your service works?
Our service is completely free. We earn our commission from the holiday parks, hotels, farms and ferries when bookings go through our website. We love spending time helping families put together ideas and work out prices and recommending what we feel would be the most suitable accommodations and resorts for them. We are contactable either via our Facebook and Instagram pages or through the contact form on our website
To view their full collection click here and link to our where to stay page which is
You can read their other article on why the Netherlands and Belgium are a great place to take kids HERE: https://www.seatkickers.co.uk/post/your-next-family-holiday-should-be-to-the-netherlands-here-s-why
You can also read Alison's story of her Netherlands Road trip - with parts booked through LittleClogs here: https://www.seatkickers.co.uk/post/a-netherlands-roadtrip-with-two-kids
And if you want to join in the chat, please come join our Seatkickers community on Facebook
