Netherlands by campervan: best regions and routes

Areas of the Netherlands

The regions of the Netherlands: coast, islands, forest and delta

A country you can cross in three hours still changes completely along the way, from the empty beaches of the Wadden to the only Dutch hills in Limburg. Pick the region by the month and by what the local ordinance says, because both change faster here than the landscape does.

North Sea coast and dunes

The North Sea coast and dunes: the longest beach in the Netherlands, and the busiest

One almost unbroken beach runs from the Zeeland islands up to Den Helder, with a belt of dunes behind it that is the largest protected landscape in the country. Zandvoort, Bloemendaal, Noordwijk, Katwijk and Scheveningen sit along it, and the national parks of Zuid-Kennemerland and the Hollandse Duinen sit behind it.

Best May, June and September

What it is like

• Beach pavilions run from spring to autumn, then are taken apart and rebuilt the next year.
• The dune belt is walking and cycling country, with drinking water catchment underneath it and access controlled accordingly.

Where to go

• Zuid-Kennemerland national park, dunes and bison
• Scheveningen, the big pier and the long promenade

For the vehicle

• Zandvoort and Katwijk both carry the model camping ban, so a night outside a campsite is an offence.
• Den Haag forbids sleeping on or by the road between sunset and sunrise, and caps a camper on the road at three days.

The Wadden islands

The Wadden islands: the emptiest coast in the Netherlands, if you can get there

Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog sit in a line off the north coast, behind the Wadden Sea, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest tidal flat system in the world. Every one is reached by ferry, and the ferry decides the trip.

Best May, June and September

What it is like

• Wide beaches, big skies and dune landscapes that feel far emptier than anywhere else in the country.
• Wadlopen, guided mudflat walking at low tide, is the thing people come for, and it is guided for good reason.

Where to go

• Texel, the biggest and the only one that feels like farmland
• Terschelling, dunes on one side and mudflat on the other

For the vehicle

• Vlieland is car-free unless you hold an exemption, and its council said in September 2026 that driving without one is among the most common offences there.
• Schiermonnikoog has been closed to motor vehicles since 1992 and grants an exemption only where a vehicle is indispensable.

The Veluwe

The Veluwe: the biggest forest in the Netherlands and the one place that feels empty

A ridge of sand, heath and pine left behind by an ice sheet, sitting between Apeldoorn, Arnhem and the old Zuiderzee coast. It holds De Hoge Veluwe and Veluwezoom national parks, red deer, wild boar and the only sand drifts in the country. It is also the one part of the Netherlands where you can lose sight of a building.

Best May to September, heather in August

What it is like

• Heather turns purple in August, and the red deer rut runs through September into October.
• De Hoge Veluwe has free white bicycles at the gates and the Kroller-Muller museum in the middle of it.

Where to go

• De Hoge Veluwe national park and the Kroller-Muller
• Veluwezoom, the oldest national park in the country

For the vehicle

• Apeldoorn's camping ban names a vehicle as well as a kampeermiddel, so a night in the forest car park is squarely an offence.
• Arnhem opened a zero emission zone on 1 June 2026 and has run a green milieuzone for diesel cars, needing emission class 4 or better, for longer.