Family holiday park in Holland, by the river Waal
Looking for a family holiday park in Holland that is small rather than sprawling? Resort de Betuwe in Gelderland has six single-storey cottages for 4 to 6 guests, playgrounds and a football cage on site, and the Waal dyke a few hundred metres away. It is around 50 km from Utrecht. The swimming pool is closed for building work, with no reopening date, and we would rather you knew that now.
Cottages for 4 to 6 guests, all single-storey
Every cottage type here is single-storey. No stairs, no mezzanine, no step between the bedroom and the terrace. With a toddler that means no stair gate, and the terrace door opens straight onto your own garden.
Three types sleep 6, each with 3 bedrooms:
- Cube XL for 6 guests, 3 bedrooms: one with a bunk bed, two with two single beds each. Dishwasher, large garden with a terrace.
- Lodge for 6 guests, the same 3-bedroom layout, with a four-ring electric hob, dishwasher, combination microwave and a fridge with a freezer compartment.
- Villa Riant for 6 guests, 3 bedrooms with single beds and wardrobes, the largest cottage in the park.
For four, there is the Cube, the Cube XL and the Lessenaar, each with 2 bedrooms. Full layouts are on the holiday cottages on the river Waal page.
One thing works differently here than at a chain park: the cottages are privately owned and fitted out to different standards. If a particular piece of kit matters, ask us before you book.
What is open for children, and what is not
Open: the playgrounds, which have equipment for a range of ages, and the football cage, called a pannaveldje in Dutch. It is a small enclosed pitch with rebound walls, the kind of thing that keeps a ball and a child in one place for an hour.
Closed for building work, with no reopening date: the swimming pool, the restaurant and the hay barn. So there is no pool, no on-site food and no breakfast service. This is a self-catering holiday, and you will be cooking. We keep the current position on the facilities page.
If a pool is non-negotiable for your family, this is not your park this year.
Why choose this family holiday park in Holland
What we have instead of facilities is space and quiet. The park is small, the speed limit on site is 5 km/h, and there is no entertainment team, no kids' club and no tannoy.
For some families that settles it, in the wrong direction. For others it is the entire point: children who go out of the terrace door in the morning and spend the day outside without anyone running a programme for them. A ball, a bike, the dyke. It works with toddlers too, because nothing is far away and nothing is crowded.
The river Waal and the dyke
The park sits at Zennewijnen, behind the Waal dyke. It is roughly 200 metres to the top of the dyke and roughly 600 metres on foot to the riverbank, with the uiterwaarden in between: the wide flood meadows that sit between a Dutch dyke and its river. About 280 metres from the park is De Kil, an old side arm of the Waal.
From the top of the dyke you are looking at a working freight river. The Waal is the busiest navigated waterway in the Netherlands, carrying over 120,000 vessels a year at its busiest measuring point, and it is a class VIc waterway, so it is not only small craft going past but full-length push-tow convoys. Children tend to find this more interesting than a slide, and it lasts longer.
Two walks start in the village: the Rondje Zennewijnen to Ophemert at 7.5 km, and the shorter "Zennewijnen, langs de Waal" at 5.7 km. Both go over the dyke and through the flood meadows. Expect unsurfaced meadow paths, mud after rain, and field gates: horses and cattle graze in the uiterwaarden.
In April the Betuwe orchards blossom and the dyke paths run between white blossom. More on the surrounding area page.
Where the park is, and how far from Utrecht and Amsterdam
Zennewijnen is a hamlet on the north bank of the Waal, between Tiel and Ophemert in Gelderland.
- Tiel: around 10 minutes by car. Historic centre, the Flipje museum, and the Fruitcorso fruit parade in September.
- Utrecht: around 50 km.
- Amsterdam: around 85 km. That makes it a day trip rather than a neighbouring city.
- Schiphol: around an hour by car.
Getting here from the UK
You will want a car: come by ferry or through the Eurotunnel and drive the rest, as most British guests do. We are not quoting a route time, because it depends on which crossing you take. Plan the crossing first and work forward from your arrival port.
Bringing the dog
Pets are on request, and not in every cottage. The Lodge and the Villa Riant take no pets at all. For the other four types we confirm your dog against the specific cottage before you book. If you are six people travelling with a dog, that leaves the Cube XL for 6 guests. Email or call and we will tell you either way.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a family-friendly holiday park near Utrecht?
Resort de Betuwe is around 50 km from Utrecht, at Zennewijnen in Gelderland. It has six single-storey cottages for 4 to 6 guests, playgrounds and a football cage, and a 5 km/h limit on site. It is a small, quiet park rather than a resort with a water park: the swimming pool, restaurant and hay barn are currently closed for building work.
How far is a holiday park in Gelderland from Amsterdam or Utrecht?
From Resort de Betuwe at Zennewijnen it is around 50 km to Utrecht and around 85 km to Amsterdam, so Amsterdam is a day trip rather than a local excursion. Tiel is around 10 minutes by car and Schiphol around an hour.
Is there a holiday park in the Netherlands directly on a river, not the coast?
Yes. Resort de Betuwe is at Zennewijnen in Gelderland, behind the dyke of the river Waal. It is roughly 200 metres to the dyke and roughly 600 metres on foot to the riverbank, with the flood meadows in between. Instead of a coastline you get a river, a dyke, orchards and freight traffic.
Are there step-free, ground-floor holiday lodges in the Netherlands?
Yes, though they are worth checking type by type, because many Dutch parks mix single-storey chalets with two-storey ones. At Resort de Betuwe all cottage types are single-storey: no stairs between the bedrooms, the bathroom and the garden terrace in any of them.
Is there a swimming pool?
Not at the moment. The pool is temporarily closed for the building work at the park and no reopening date has been set. The restaurant and hay barn are closed as well. The playgrounds and the football cage are open.
Booking
Cottages: online via Airbnb. If you have a question about a specific cottage, its kit, a dog or a cot, ask us first.
Motorhome pitches: can be booked online, or by phone or email. Details on the motorhome and campervan pitches page.
How to reach us: (0344) 651498
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info@resortdebetuwe.nl
Resort de Betuwe, Hermoesestraat 13, 4062 PP Zennewijnen, Gelderland, the Netherlands
House rules are on the park rules page, and short-notice availability on last minute.