Summer is almost over here in the USA and the kids are getting ready to go back to school again….sigh! Actually, in a way, I’m also relieved. When the kids are at school, I can make my own schedule. The summer vacations always seems such a chaos and soooo looong.  Ten weeks! I’m not used to that! How are the summer vacations in the Netherlands? And where and what do the Dutch do?

So, how many vacation days do the Dutch have in general and……what do the Dutch do during their summer vacations?

Vacation days in the Netherlands and the US

According to the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid.nl), the Dutch have the following rule for their vacation days:

By law, the Dutch can get 4 times the amount of hours they usually work a week. This means they can get 4 weeks a year of vacation days. They can use it in hours too. For example, if they work 25 hours a week, they can get 4 times 25 is 100 hours a year in vacation hours.

What’s happening in the USA?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 76 percent of private industry workers (who make up 84.7 percent of all workers) receive paid vacation days. After one year of employment, these workers were granted 10 days of paid vacation, on average.

Summer vacation for kids

Every year, my parents are visiting us from the Netherlands. If we’re lucky, we can go to the Netherlands maybe once every 4 or 5 years. If we go, we try to plan to be in the Netherlands when our nephews are out of school as well. Kids in the Netherlands have 6 weeks of summer vacation. Here in the US our kids have 10 weeks!

Every parent probably has to plan their vacations within the weeks the kids are out of school. Which means, flights and hotels are more expensive or fully booked.
The Dutch government does not permit parents to take their children on vacation outside of the school holiday periods. Parents who do this violate the Compulsory Education law (Leerplichtwet).

Some child care possibilities in the Netherlands not only have after school programs, but also summer vacation programs with outside activities, field and camping trips. One of the things I remember doing at the last week of summer vacation, was something called “Kinder Vakantie Week”. A program with all kinds of mainly sport activities. Nowadays these programs expanded with more activities like crafts, building tree houses, drama, field trips, watching movies and scavenger hunts.

And, being a Crafty Dutch Girl, THIS keeps our children from nagging and asking for a snack all the time!

Popular Vacation destinations for the Dutch

The Dutch like to travel and that has been for centuries. When I was little, road trips to countries like France, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic were popular. Now it seems that cheap flights to warmer countries are more popular.

In the Netherlands the “caravan” or the “sleurhut”, as some people say,  is a very popular way of traveling.

At least at the time when I was a child. 

Our cars and caravans were packed full off stuff (the Dutch are known for bringing tons of their own things from home).

For people from outside of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is a very popular destination. In 2018, I went to Amsterdam with my American colleagues and it was fun to hear and see what they thought of Amsterdam and its buildings, people and food. You can read all about it here!

I remember we used to plan our vacation trips by going to the ANWB (Royal Dutch Touring Club). My dad usually got updated (paper) maps from the countries we were going to drive to and through. They also had camping gear and other useful things to get for mainly road trips, like travel insurances and traffic information.

We went on our summer vacation within the Netherlands when I was little and visited places near the coast and stayed in trailers at camping places.

In the Netherlands it is not allowed to camp on parking lots or in the woods. Here in the US, you can hike to mountain tops or lakes in National Forests and camp right there in the wilderness.

But there is so much more to see and do in the Netherlands! Click here to find out more… or keep on reading…

What do the Dutch like to do on their summer vacations

Here are some things Dutch people like to do on their summer vacation in the Netherlands:

A day at the beach

The province of Zeeland is a popular and more quiet destination to for a day at the beach. If you go more north, you’ll find beaches with lounge area’s and more upscale restaurants. There are tons of water activities to do as well, like kite surfing and wind surfing.

Going to an amusement park or zoo

One of my childhood amusement park favorites is “de Efteling”. I remember my mom saying that this park was just a big playground when she visited for the first time. Here you can find the history of this amazing park. I even had a membership card when I was 4 years old! And of course I had to visit with my own kids too:

We also loved Madurodam. This is a miniature city like park with everything you want to see and know about the Netherlands.

Other fun amusement parks are Drievliet, Attractiepark Slagharen, Walibi Holland, Duinrell Wassenaar en Toverland

Both Amsterdam and Rotterdam have wonderful zoos. I have never been to these before (oh, shame on me), but the one that is really close to where I lived, is “Gaia Zoo” in Landgraaf. It was voted the “Most Beautiful Zoo” in the Netherlands.

Explore a city

Of course Amsterdam is one of the most popular cities to visit in the Netherlands, especially on your summer vacation, but the following cities have a great history and are great to explore with cute little restaurants and shops. Maastricht, Groningen, Nijmegen, Den Haag, Haarlem and even my home town for the last 6 years I lived in the Netherlands: Roermond.

Special Dutch places to visit

I’m a little embarrassed to say, that I’ have NEVER been to “Keukenhof” . But isn’t that what happens a lot of times with people close to a typical attraction for tourists in your neighborhood and you never saw it yourself?

In the spring and summer “Keukenhof” is beautiful and a favorite of a lot of tourists who want to see the famous flowers of the Netherlands.

“Mondo Verde” is another beautiful park with different sculptures and gardens of different parts of the world.

And one of our favorite and very Dutch area is “de Zaanse Schans” with Dutch windmills and a yummy pancake restaurant. In each windmill there is something to do or see. Swiftkitty made chocolate from scratch, every little step, from grinding the cocoa beans till eating the real (crunchy) chocolate.

Popular Vacation places for the Americans

So, coming to the USA, I saw way more motor home’s or RV’s (in Dutch: “campers”) than regular caravan’s. And I was impressed with how big they are and what they can pull as well: another car and bikes and scooters hanging on the back of the RV. You cannot have big RV’s in Europe, because there are a lot of narrow, winding streets.

Here are some places the Americans like to go to for their vacations:

• Americans love Europe: In the top 10 of places where Americans go on vacations, countries like Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Spain are among them.
• Some people choose more tropical places like Dominican Republic and Jamaica and Cancun in Mexico.
• Within the US, Florida, California but also National Parks all over the US are popular too.

Americans are big motorcycle fans. You see them everywhere, even without helmets, which scares the *beep* out of me!

Flying within the US is more expensive than flying within Europe. Even though people in the US seem to fly more, especially during holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas to see family and friends.

We love Road trippin’. One day….I’d like to make a super road trip through the USA, especially with a RV. I know our kids would love that, but when do they stop going on vacation with their parents???

The Weather

Living in the Midwest, one of the most obvious changes for me was the weather. Even though the Netherlands has all seasons, they are very mild compared to the Midwest seasons, because the Netherlands is close to ocean and has no mountains.

I’ve never experienced -20 Celsius before….for a few days in a row. Or the opposite: 40 Degrees Celsius in the summer. The Dutch don’t use air conditioners that much in their homes, because they normally don’t experience hot days like the ones in Iowa.

What are your favorite summer vacation plans? Where do you like to go and what would you like to do?

Danielle

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.