Discover the Netherlands

The Netherlands route begins in the enchanting province of Overijssel, where you will stay at the Camperpark Midasin Rijssen and set off for the neighboring National Park ,,Sallandse Heuvelrug”, whose unique inland dunes and heath landscapes will delight your senses.

The stage of the route takes you through the picturesque northern Overijssel and leads you to the breathtaking province of Drenthe. On the way there, be sure to visit the charming little town of Hoogeveen, where the oldest preserved boat, the ,,Dugout of Pesse”, was found. This historical artifact can be admired at the nearby Drenthe Museum in Assen, which is also on your route.

As you continue your journey, you will pass the impressive National Park ,,Dwingelderveld”, which is home to the largest heathland wetland in Western Europe. Shortly after you will reach the cozy Camping Meisterhof in Dwingeloo, where you can take a well-deserved rest and prepare for the onward journey.

Your next stage takes you back to the province of Overijssel and offers you the opportunity to cross the beautiful National Park ,,Weerribben-Wieden” – the largest marshland in Western Europe. As you pass the lakes ,,Schutsloterwijde”, ,,Beulakerwijde” and ,,Belterwijde”, which were created by the great storms of 1775 and 1776, as they tore away large pieces of land, so-called set walls, you will be fascinated by the breathtaking landscape. Just like Blokzijl and Kuinre, Vollenhove, their next village, looked out over the Zuiderzee for centuries, but that changed with the arrival of the Noordoostpolder. If you walk along the harbor, you’ll notice that the atmosphere has remained and it feels like the fishing boats are about to come in. Beautiful manor houses remind us of the times of the bishops and the nobility, like the Oldruitenborgh manor and the Toutenburg castle. A notable stop on your journey is the former watercourse research laboratory at Marknesse in the Noordoostpolder in Flevoland Province, which now serves as a hibernation site for bats. The Waterloopbos National Monument is a historic open-air laboratory in a beautiful polder forest. World Hydraulic Engineering; here you will find the largest collection of flow models from around the world. You are now standing on the former seabed! In former times the Zuiderzee flowed here, since the diking in 1942 this is the Noordoostpolder. In the listed “Waterloopbos” researchers from the “Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau” have studied hydraulic engineering for years. Among other relevant structures, the world-famous Delta Works have been recreated here to scale and then explored in detail. In the meantime, nature has largely overgrown this technology of yesterday. Today, the flow models are home to banded damselflies, kingfishers, aurora butterflies, ruffed earth stars, and deer tongues. All this can be admired! Hundreds of studies on the behavior of water have been conducted here. You will find remnants of research in the Delta Works, but also of water works for exotic places like the port of Lagos. The forest is freely accessible from sunrise to sunset. Marked trails lead you past models of waterworks that lie like ruins in the forest. Shortly before your stopover you will reach Schokland – a former island in the Zuiderzee, which since the reclamation of the Noordoostpolder in 1942 has been part of the mainland of what is now the Dutch province of Flevoland. Due to its archaeological richness and history, the area was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

At the end of this stage you will reach the RV park Afslag Nagele in the town of the same name, which is located directly on the Ketelmeer and Ijsselmeer and offers you the opportunity to take a break and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings, or to visit Urk – a neighboring town, which is located directly on the Ijsselmeer.

On your penultimate stage, the route takes you along the Drontemeer and Veluwemeer to Elburg, a picturesque town in the province of Gelderland. Here you can visit the world’s largest indoor exhibition of sand sculptures in the museum ,,Zandverhalen” and discover the unique story behind the sand artworks. Afterwards you will continue to your penultimate stopover at the Camperpark Kostveloren in Nunspeet, where you can take another rest and prepare for your last stage.