Great campsite, lovely people - worth a visit
Just back from two fab weeks in the Netherlands, the second week was spent at the wonderful Camping Resort de Arendshorst.
We have stayed here before and knew that the site would provide a perfect place to relax and unwind but as we had our grandson Ethan with us, we also knew that it is a great site for family adventures. The site is right on the river, so we got to swim each day and use our dinghy - the river is deep but the current is not strong. There is a shallow beach area for smaller children and also a 0.3 mtr deep splash pool away from the river for toddlers.
There is a petting zoo on site with goats and chickens, Ethan thought the goats were hilarious and visited them at every opportunity.
There is also a decent sized kids play park and even outdoor table tennis tables on the main fields. Pitches are arranged around the edges of two very large fields and along the river bank, we asked for a riverside pitch, as we like to watch the boats going by and people fishing. In the evening, the scene is picture perfect, as the sun sets and the geese come to land on the water.
Arendshorst is perfect for cycling, with excellent routes right outside the site - ask Michael (the owner) for a cycling map of the area. We cycled to Ommen for the market and a smoked eel festival (didn't eat the eels but had some delicious friets), which was a great day out. We also cycled to Vilsteren - the scenery on route is wonderful.
Other notable days out were to Elburg, a lovely old town with a vibrant marina and some good places to eat. We also visited Giethoorn, the Venice of the Netherlands. It is a lovely place but we weren't quite prepared for the sheer number of tourists who were visiting and their lemming like antics as they charged along.
Staff at Arendshorst speak very good English and as well as providing a folder full of places to visit when we booked in, they were also happy to advise about events happening in local towns.
Site facilities at Arendshorst are excellent and kept immaculately clean, you do have to pay a small amount for showers but as the site fees are very reasonable it seems fair. Each pitch has water, waste and electrics, which meant very little fetching and carrying of water for dad!
There is a small site shop selling the basics like milk eggs etc (and icecreams), you can also order delicious bread rolls which are cooked on site each morning.
On our last day as we were packing up and couldn't be bothered to cook, Michael kindly provided us with frikandellen in buns and huge pieces of Dutch apple cake, delicious, and it kept us going for the journey to the ferry.
So apart from the above, why should you visit Camping Resort de Arendshorst? Because it's a traditional campsite run by a lovely family who care about what they do and go to great lengths to make your stay enjoyable - we will definitely be back.
