The Netherlands is more than Amsterdam, windmills and tulips. Look a little further and this small country is full of original short trips: a night in a treehouse, a ferry to a quiet island, a castle that looks straight out of a fairytale. Whether you live here and want something new, or you’re visiting and keen to skip the usual tourist trail, these are our 10 favourite ideas for an original short break in the Netherlands.
10 original short breaks in the Netherlands
#1 Go on a road trip through the Netherlands
The Netherlands may be small, but it’s great for a road trip. Almost every province has a scenic route, from a drive past the Delta Works in Zeeland to a castle route through Friesland. Book a place to stay halfway and a day behind the wheel turns into a mini adventure.
→ Discover the 8 most beautiful road trips in the Netherlands
#2 Visit the Wadden Islands
The moment you step on the ferry to one of the Wadden Islands, you feel like you’ve left everything behind. Rugged nature, wide beaches, snug villages and that unmistakable island feeling make the Wadden a unique corner of the Netherlands, and one that many international visitors never see. We went to Texel most often ourselves. Hop on a bike, go mudflat hiking, taste the local beer or walk through the woods. Looking for more peace and quiet? Pick one of the smaller islands, such as car-free Schiermonnikoog.
#3 Plan a trip around art and culture
The Netherlands has one of the highest densities of museums in the world, from the Dutch Masters to cutting-edge modern art. Build a short trip around a few top museums and other cultural highlights, and you’ll see the country through completely different eyes.
How about a themed weekend in Amsterdam around its famous canals: a canal cruise, the Anne Frank House, authentic canal house museums such as Van Loon and Willet-Holthuysen, and a night in one of the old bridge keeper’s houses? Or a modern weekend in Rotterdam, with a walk past the street art, modern art at the Kunsthal and food from around the world in the spectacular Markthal?
→ Discover the 10 most unusual museums in the Netherlands
→ Discover the 15 best museums for modern art in the Netherlands
#4 Pick a lesser-known Dutch city
Amsterdam is wonderful, but it’s also busy. Skip it, and Utrecht and Maastricht too, for once, and head to cheese town Gouda, picturesque Zutphen, historic Delft or Den Bosch in Brabant. You’ll get canals, old town centres and great food, with far fewer crowds. For each city we’ve rounded up the best things to do and our favourite hotspots.
→ Discover 10 unusual city breaks in the Netherlands
#5 Explore the Veluwe
For us, the Veluwe is the most beautiful nature area in the Netherlands. Forest, heathland and drifting sand dunes take turns, with charming small towns, castles and museums in between. Easily enough for a few days, and we keep coming back ourselves.
Start at Hoge Veluwe National Park, where you can tour the park on a free white bike and see Van Gogh at the Kröller-Müller Museum. Combine it with the striking radio station building at Radio Kootwijk, an afternoon in Arnhem or one of the palaces and castles nearby.
→ Discover the best things to do on the Veluwe
→ Discover our tiny house on the Veluwe
→ Discover glamping on the Veluwe
#6 Book a wellness break with your own sauna
Sometimes all you want from a trip is to do absolutely nothing. Book a spa break then, or even better: a cosy cabin with its own sauna or hot tub. We stayed in a boutique treehouse in Brabant with its own sauna and soaked in the hot tub at our tiny house in Maasbommel.
#7 Sleep in a bucket-list treehouse
Of all our short trips in the Netherlands, the one to the Achterhoek region might be the one that stuck with us most. We slept in a treehouse, and not a cabin on stilts, but a hut that really hangs in an oak tree. You get in by lowering the door on a rope, and the door then becomes your staircase.
Inside, the trunk runs right through the room and branches poke through the walls. Yet you don’t miss a thing: there’s electricity, a shower, a little kitchen, a wood burner and a big bed. Falling asleep among the leaves is something you won’t forget in a hurry.
→ Discover our night in treehouse Goldsworthy
#8 Go on a castle tour
If there’s one thing that makes my heart beat faster, it’s the glitz and glamour of palaces and castles. And you don’t have to go to France for that: in the Netherlands, too, many castles and palaces are open as museums. Combine a few of the finest in a castle tour of the country.
The best-known castle in the Netherlands is probably Castle de Haar, which is also the largest. It looks just like the castle you drew as a child, with a moat, an imposing gate and lots of little turrets. Inside you walk through fully furnished rooms, with the enormous central hall as the highlight. You can also visit a palace in the heart of Amsterdam: the Royal Palace on Dam Square is open to visitors whenever the royal family isn’t using it for state visits or other official occasions.
→ Discover the 12 most beautiful castles and palaces in the Netherlands
→ Discover Castle de Haar, the largest castle in the Netherlands
→ Discover castle hotel Vaeshartelt near Maastricht
#9 See the Dutch classics, the smart way
The Netherlands’ best-known sights are famous for a reason, and even if you live here, it’s easy to never quite get round to them. Make your own Dutch bucket list: see the tulip fields in April or May, visit the windmills of Kinderdijk or the Zaanse Schans, marvel at the Dutch Masters or visit an old-fashioned cheese market. Our tip: go early in the day or outside the school holidays, and you’ll have the classics almost to yourself.
→ Discover 10 highlights for your Netherlands bucket list
#10 Spend the night in a tipi or yurt
Summer or winter, back to basics or romantic and comfortable: a tipi or yurt instantly makes for a trip to remember. All over the Netherlands you’ll find lovely tents to book, from tipis with a wood burner and real furniture to a Mongolian yurt in the middle of the forest, without electricity.
