Minicamping Valkenhof

Kick off your hols with a trip to the coast at Medemblik (10 minutes’ drive or 20 minutes’ cycle). There’s a sandy beach here with sheltered water for swims and sailing; if it’s not really beach weather, aim instead for the town’s Radboud Castle, old bakery museum and steam train museum. More beaches are over on the North Sea side of things at Bergen aan Zee and Hargen aan Zee (both 40 minutes’ drive). Kids keen to meet animals both small and large? Start with a trip to see the pretty flutterers at Vlindorado butterfly garden (20 minutes), then follow up with an exotic beast encounter at Landgoed Hoenderdaell (25 minutes), a sanctuary for big cats, lemurs and birds of prey. If you’ve got classic Dutch sights on your wishlist, plan outings to the famed Alkmaar cheese market (half an hour) and Land van Fluwel (35 minutes), a theme park where you can wander among tulips even outside the area’s main flowering season. For canals, cafés, museums and a mind-boggling number of bikes, drive to Amsterdam in around half an hour, or scoot over on public transport in a little over an hour.