Camping Het Horstmannsbos

Kids who are begging for some high-octane days will be easily satisfied hereabouts. The site is five minutes’ drive from the rides, ponies and miniatures trains of Drouwenerzand Attractiepark, which should suit younger progeny, and older kids (and grownups) may be handily enticed by the rollercoasters and waterslides at Slagharen theme park (45 minutes). For more serious, educational days, start 10 minutes from base at the archaeological museum Hunebedcentrum, before moving on to visits to Kamp Westerbork concentration camp museum (25 minutes) and Planetron planetarium and observatory (35 minutes). Time outdoors may be best spent at Schoonhoven swimming and fishing lakes (40 minutes), where – it should come as no surprise – visitors can swim and fish, as well as lounge on the sandy beach and traipse along walking trails. Even more laid back days can be had at the tiny Zoo Bizar (25 minutes), among the bats, lizards and spiders. There’s another (regular-sized) zoo in nearby Emmen (30 minutes), along with a swathe of famed dolmens and a World War II museum, and Assen (25 minutes) is a must-visit for its shops, bars, restaurants, and TT Circuit and museum.