Netherlands by Motorhome

Leave Pontefract after lunch on a Friday, drive the 50 miles to Hull, board the evening ferry, and by Saturday morning at nine you are driving through the Dutch countryside with the whole of the Netherlands ahead of you. No other European country is this easy to reach from Yorkshire, which is what makes motorhome hire to the Netherlands such a popular choice from our depot. The overnight P&O ferry removes the stress of your first continental drive - you step off already on the right side of the road with fresh legs and a full day ahead. For a first European motorhome trip, or a long weekend abroad, the Netherlands is hard to beat.

Hull to Rotterdam - The Easiest Crossing

The P&O ferry sails from Hull every evening, arriving at Europoort near Rotterdam the following morning. The crossing takes around eleven hours, and cabins range from basic inside berths to sea-view suites. The ferries have restaurants, bars and a cinema, so the crossing feels like the first night of your holiday. Your motorhome travels on the vehicle deck, and you drive straight off at Europoort into the Netherlands. Our Pontefract depot is less than an hour from the Hull terminal. Return crossings work the same way - board in the evening, sleep, wake up back in Yorkshire.

For a motorhome holiday in Holland of five days or less, the Hull ferry is unbeatable. For longer trips, the Netherlands also works well as a first or last stop on a wider European tour, connecting easily with France to the south or Germany to the east.

Amsterdam, Haarlem and the Randstad

Amsterdam needs little introduction. The canal-ringed city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most beautiful urban landscapes in Europe. The Rijksmuseum houses Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid. The Van Gogh Museum holds the world's largest collection of his work. The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht is a profoundly moving memorial. Motorhome parking in central Amsterdam is limited and expensive, but Camperpark Amsterdam beside the Gaasperplas lake has over 400 pitches with electric hook-ups and a direct metro connection into the centre in fifteen minutes.

Haarlem, just fifteen minutes west of Amsterdam, has a grand market square, the Frans Hals Museum, and a relaxed atmosphere that makes it a favourite with couples. Leiden, further south, is a university city of canals with an outstanding natural history museum and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. Delft, famous for its blue and white pottery, is a perfectly preserved Golden Age town with cobbled streets and the tomb of William of Orange. All three are easy cycling distance from well-placed campsites, and that is one of the joys of motorhoming in the Netherlands - park up, hire a bike, and cover an entire city in an afternoon.

Tulip Season and the Bollenstreek

The Keukenhof gardens, open from mid-March to mid-May, display over seven million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths across sixty acres near Lisse. The tulip fields of the Bollenstreek - the bulb district between Leiden and Haarlem - are at their most spectacular in mid to late April, when stripes of red, yellow, pink and purple stretch to the horizon. Timing a motorhome trip to coincide with tulip season is one of the great European travel experiences, but book your ferry and campsite well in advance - it is the busiest period for Dutch tourism and popular camperplaatsen fill up.

Outside tulip season, the Netherlands rewards visits year-round. King's Day on 27 April turns every town orange with street markets and live music. Summer brings long evenings on the coast. Autumn is quiet and golden, with empty cycle paths and lower campsite prices. Even winter has its appeal - Dutch Christmas markets, ice skating on frozen canals in a cold year, and cosy brown cafes in Amsterdam.

The Coast, the Islands and the East

The Dutch North Sea coast stretches for over 250 miles of wide sandy beaches backed by dunes. Scheveningen, the seaside quarter of The Hague, has a grand pier, an excellent sea life centre and a long promenade. The island of Texel, reached by a 20-minute ferry from Den Helder, is outstanding for birdwatching, with sandy beaches, salt marshes and a network of cycling paths - a brilliant day out for families.

Heading east, the landscape changes. Giethoorn in Overijssel is a village of thatched farmhouses connected by canals rather than roads, explored by whisper boat or on foot. The Hoge Veluwe National Park near Arnhem combines heathland, sand dunes and forest with the Kroller-Muller Museum, which holds the second-largest Van Gogh collection in the world alongside an exceptional sculpture garden. Arnhem itself is associated with Operation Market Garden in 1944, and the Airborne Museum at Hartenstein tells the story with tremendous sensitivity. Molecaten operates several well-equipped touring parks in this region with dedicated motorhome pitches, hook-ups and modern facilities from around 20 euros per night.

Camperplaatsen, Campsites and Staying Overnight

The Dutch motorhome infrastructure is outstanding. Camperplaatsen - dedicated motorhome parking and service areas - are found across the country. There are over 850 registered camperplaatsen in the Netherlands, most offering electric hook-ups, water and waste disposal for between 10 and 20 euros per night. They work on a first-come, first-served basis and are listed on the Campercontact app and website, which is essential to download before you travel.

Dutch campsites are generally immaculate - modern facilities, friendly staff, and a cycling culture that means you can leave your motorhome on site and explore by bike. Bike hire is available at most sites and in every town. The flat terrain and 35,000 kilometres of dedicated cycle paths make cycling the ideal companion to motorhome touring. Wild camping is not permitted in the Netherlands, so always use official camperplaatsen or registered campsites.

Your Motorhome for the Netherlands

Our fleet includes 2-berth, 4-berth and 6-berth Elddis motorhomes with both manual and automatic options. For a Netherlands trip, the compact 2-berth Autoquest CV80 suits couples on a long weekend, while a 4 or 6-berth Evolution gives families room to combine Amsterdam with the coast and the countryside. Several vehicles are dog-friendly, and Dutch campsites generally welcome dogs. Prices start from 135 pounds per night, and every motorhome hire to the Netherlands includes full European insurance and 24/7 roadside assistance.

Driving is straightforward. Roads are excellent and flat. The daytime motorway speed limit is 100 km/h between 6am and 7pm, rising to 120 or 130 km/h at night. Outside towns the limit is 80 km/h, and 50 km/h in built-up areas. There are no motorway tolls or vignettes. Fuel is pricier than the UK, but distances are short - you can cross the entire country in three hours. For a full packing list, our motorhome packing checklist covers what you need for a European trip.

The Netherlands works beautifully as part of a longer European tour. From Rotterdam, drive south into Belgium and on to France, or east into Germany for the Rhine Valley and Black Forest. For more route ideas, see our guide to European motorhome holidays.

From Pontefract, motorhome hire to the Netherlands is the simplest European adventure you can have. Board the ferry, sleep, arrive. It really is that straightforward.