Best destination for camping in the Netherlands

Camping has grown in popularity since the corona crisis. In recent years, quite a few campers have been added. There are approximately 4 million Dutch people who sometimes spend their holidays at a campsite somewhere in the Netherlands or abroad.

JetCamp researched campsites in the Netherlands to find out what the best location is to camp in the Netherlands. Based on 30 million reviews, we have come to different conclusions. For example, we looked at factors such as the average rating of a campsite per municipality and the popularity of campsites throughout the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has several cities and municipalities where tourists like to spend their holidays. This varies from municipalities on the coast to municipalities towards the border with Germany.

Campsites on the Wadden Islands

Every year the Wadden Islands receive many visitors from both the Netherlands and abroad. Many of these visitors choose to spend their time on Texel, for example, at a campsite. Many visitors also means many opinions and experiences. On average, campsites on the Wadden Islands are rated with the following figures:

1. Municipality of Schiermonnikoog: 8.7
2. Municipality of Vlieland: 8.5
3. Municipality of Texel: 8.4
4. Municipality of Ameland: 8.3
5. Municipality of Terschelling: 8.1

Campsites near the Veluwe

The Veluwe is the largest nature reserve in the Netherlands and is very popular among tourists. Given the popularity and size of the area, it goes without saying that there are many campsites in and around the area. The many campsites in and around the Veluwe are located in many different municipalities. The top 5 municipalities where it is best to stay at a campsite during your holiday are:

1. Nijkerk: 8.9
2. Oldebroek: 8.6
3. Renkum: 8.6
4. Heerde: 8,5
5. Rhes: 8.5

There is a wide range of campsites in Walcheren

Walcheren has municipalities that are very popular with tourists. Middelburg, Veere and Vlissingen are three municipalities located in this touristic region. Given the wetland area of Walcheren, it is very popular with the camping guest. The enormous popularity is also visible in the range of campsites. This is because there are 177 divided over three municipalities. The campsites in the three municipalities are rated as follows:

1. Veere: 8.7
2. Middelburg: 8.2
3. Flushing: 8.2

Campsites in Giethoorn are doing well

As a world famous village, Giethoorn is very popular with tourists. When there is a lot of demand, there is usually also a lot of supply. This is clearly visible in the municipality of Steenwijkerland.

In Steenwijkerland and therefore in the Giethoorn there are a total of 67 campsites. On average, the campsites in this municipality are rated with an 8.6. The campsites in the immediate vicinity of Giethoorn are doing better than the campsites in, for example, the surrounding municipality of Westerveld (8.4).

When looking for the best location in the Netherlands to camp, it is good to know in which Dutch municipality you can find these campsites. To find out, we have made a top three of the municipalities with the best rated campsites in the Netherlands on average. When determining the top 5, a minimum number of campsites per municipality has also been taken into account, which in this case is five.

1. Municipality of Nederweert (Limburg): 9.2 (number of campsites: 6)
2. Municipality of Dantumadiel (Friesland): 9.1 (number of campsites: 8)
3. Municipality of Achtkarspelen (Friesland): 9.1 (number of campsites: 6)
4. Municipality of Westellingwerf (Friesland): 9 (number of campsites: 18)
5. Municipality of Losser (Overijssel): 9 (number of campsites: 14)

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To find the camping hotspots in the Netherlands, we also researched where the most camping sites are located in the Netherlands. This showed that the largest number of campsites is located in the municipality of Veere in the province of Zeeland, namely 162. At number two is the municipality of Duiveland with 135 campsites. The top 5 is concluded by the municipality of De Fryske Marren with 72 campsites.

This is striking since all 3 municipalities mainly consist of wetlands. For example, the municipalities with by far the most campsites are located in the same province, namely Zeeland. The municipality in third place is known for its many lakes.

1. Municipality of Veere (Zeeland): 162 campsites
2. Municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland (Zeeland): 135 campsites
3. Municipality of De Fryske Marren (Friesland): 72 campsites
4. Municipality of Steenwijkerland (Overijssel): 67 campsites
5. Municipality of Texel (North Holland): 67 campsites

Divided over 12 provinces in the Netherlands, there are 3557 campsites in the Netherlands. In general, the campsites are doing well with an average rating of 8.3. On average, the campers in Friesland and Groningen are the most satisfied with an average of 8.5. The 12 provinces in the Netherlands score on average between 8.5 and 8.

1. Friesland: 8.5
2. Groningen: 8.5
3. Overijssel: 8.4
4. Utrecht: 8.4
5. Drenthe: 8.3
6. Zealand: 8.3
7. Gelderland: 8.3
8. North Brabant: 8.3
9. North Holland: 8.2
10. South Holland: 8.1
11. Flevoland: 8.1
12. Limburg: 8.0

To determine what makes a campsite popular, a popularity index has been created. This index was developed by looking at the number of assessments per municipality, province and the Netherlands.

The number of reviews of campsites per municipality is divided by the largest number of reviews in 1 municipality. This number is then multiplied by 100. The number that comes from this calculation determines the popularity index of an area.

An example is the municipality of Sluis. All campsites in the municipality of Sluis (there are 55) together have 22,006 ratings. The municipality with the most ratings is Hardenberg with 32,652 ratings.

The popularity index of Sluis is then:

22006/32652*100 = 67.395, which rounds up to a score of 67.

Several interesting details have emerged from the popularity index. For example, it is clearly visible that the municipalities with a higher popularity index are located far outside the Randstad.

Many popular camping communities are located in Zeeland and Overijssel. The municipality of Hardenberg, for example, scores very high on the popularity index with the highest score of 100. At number two, the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland in the province of Zeeland follows, and at number three, the municipality of Veere, also in the province of Zeeland, follows. The top 5 is completed by the municipalities of Sluis and Goeree-Overflakkee.

1. Hardenberg (Overijssel): 100
2. Schouwen-Duiveland (Zeeland): 99
3. Veere (Zeeland): 86
4. Lock (Zeeland): 67
5. Goeree-Overflakkee (South Holland): 63

It is notable that many of the well-reviewed campsites are categorized as a “mini campsite”. This shows that the amount of facilities does not always determine whether a campsite is experienced as positive.

Although the amount of facilities is not the determining factor in what makes a campsite popular, there are a number of similarities in certain rules and facilities that many high-scoring campsites have in common.

Swimming pool at the campsite:

One of the facilities that many popular campsites have is a swimming pool. The research shows that camping guests consider this an important factor.

Campsites with access for dogs:

Secondly, it appears that allowing a dog on the campsite is also important, since many animal-friendly campsites also score well. For example, in 7 of the top 10 best rated municipalities, there are several campsites that allow dogs on the campsite.

Wifi at the campsite:

Despite the fact that many campers visit campsites for peace of mind, it appears that having access to WiFi is an important factor in assessing a campsite. This is evident from the fact that a large majority of the top 20 municipalities have several campsites that offer WiFi.

To gain insight into which areas are popular with campers, we also looked at the camping density per municipality. In this case, we look at the number of campsites per 100km2 per municipality.

Our data shows that the municipality with the largest camping density is the municipality of Veere in the province of Zeeland, namely 122.2 per 100 km2. The same municipality was already in place with the most campsites in total, namely 162.

The municipalities of Zuidhorn and Leek, both in the province of Groningen, finish in second and third place. With a camping density of 102.7 (Zuidhorn) and 64.8 (Leek). Just like in the “top 3 most campsites per municipality”, it is striking again that two municipalities stand out far above the rest, since the difference with the third place is significant.

1. Municipality of Veere (Zeeland): 122.2
2. Municipality of Zuidhorn (Groningen): 102.7
3. Municipality of Leek (Groningen): 64.8

Drenthe

1. Municipality of Meppel: 9.1
2. Municipality of Aa and Hunze: 8.7
3. Municipality of Hoogeveen: 8.7

Flevoland

1. Municipality of Lelystad: 8.7
2. Municipality of Noordoostpolder: 8.6
3. Municipality of Urk: 8.5

Friesland

1. Municipality of Dantumadiel: 9.1
2. Municipality of Achtkarspelen: 9.1
3. Municipality of Weststellingwerf: 9

Gelderland

1. Municipality of Nijkerk: 8.9
2. Municipality of Winterswijk: 8.8
3. Municipality of Oude IJsselstreek: 8.8

Groningen

1. Municipality of Bedum: 9.8
2. Municipality of Marum: 9
3. Municipality of Menterwolde: 9

Limburg

1. Municipality of Nederweert: 9.2
2. Municipality of Stein: 9.2
3. Municipality of Beekdaelen: 8.9

North Brabant

1. Municipality of Dongen: 9.1
2. Municipality of Hilvarenbeek: 9
3. Municipality of Gemert-Bakel: 9

North Holland

1. Municipality of Opmeer: 9.2
2. Wormerland municipality: 9
3. Municipality of Hollands Kroon: 8.9

Overijssel

1. Municipality of Losser: 9
2. Municipality of Dinkelland: 8.8
3. Municipality of Hof van Twente: 8.7

Utrecht

1. Municipality of Houten: 9.2
2. Municipality of De Ronde Venen: 9
3. Municipality of IJsselstein: 8.9

Zealand

1. Municipality of Veere: 8.7
2. Municipality of Borsele: 8.5
3. Municipality of Terneuzen: 8.5

South-Holland

1. Municipality of Lisse: 9.8
2. Municipality of Molenlanden: 9
3. Municipality of Midden-Delfland: 8.9