So many people love holidaying in Friesland. Saskia didn't actually know this province well, which she thought was quite a shame and especially a missed opportunity. And so she and her family decided to go on a week-long road trip through Friesland. They had a fantastic time there. What do you want, it was the middle of summer and a beautiful week. Sas shares her best discoveries!
On a family holiday in Friesland
With famous cities, beautiful wetlands and plenty of history, mainland Friesland is a place where you won't get bored easily. Not for nothing is Friesland a popular holiday destination! We decided to take a week out by car in the summer holidays to discover this province. We had heard many good stories and received many great tips, so it was a good opportunity to spend an extensive holiday in the far north. We enjoyed a wonderful week. I share with you fun child-friendly spots and activities we discovered. With this list under your belt, you can't help but have a great time in Friesland!
Road trip through Friesland
When I was at Instagram announced that we wanted to explore Friesland, the tips from my followers poured in. It was overwhelming and unfortunately we were not able to do everything. Not yet, because we are definitely going back to Friesland again and the form ‘road trip’ also went incredibly well. But how do you start when you want to discover a province in a week and have been given so many tips? We chopped the holiday into three and decided to make a holiday plan around the top three places we wanted to see. Since we are travelling with a child (six years old), we deliberately chose not to move to a new place every day. We also considered whether there was enough to do for children: a mix of city, getaways and good food is a must for us on holiday. We then settled on the following road trip. Afterwards, we compensated the kilometres driven via Trees For All.
After visiting Dokkum, this city is on my list of favourite Dutch cities.
Day 1 to 3: city trip Dokkum and exploring the nature of Lauwersoog
We start the holiday in the northernmost tip of the province, in the Frisian town of Metslawier. This is the perfect base for a city trip to Dokkum and outings in the area around Lauwersoog (the Wadden from the mainland). We sleep in one of the family houses of Inside with large playing field, ponies and a hot tub. The hospitable owner Bianca has transformed an old agricultural school into a cosy place to holiday. The flats (ground floor) are spacious and fully equipped, you have your own picnic table in front of your house where you can have breakfast and drinks in the sun. Every evening we splash in the hot tub (for a small fee), watching the sun set. You're not going to have a better holiday feeling, you immediately feel at home in this place.
InsideInn holiday homes near Dokkum and Lauwersoog.
What did we do in and near Dokkum
- City trip Dokkum: a charming historic town in the far north, with beautiful old canals, tasty restaurants and a nice shopping street. A tip: dine and drink cocktails at KB Food and eating tapas by the water (on a boat in the canal) at Bar Zelle.
- Eating fish in the port of Lauwersoog at restaurant ‘t Ailand. Fish lovers really need to go here, because it doesn't get fresher and more local. We got this tip from Bianca and it is a household name in the area. You have to be able to stand a bit of a raw fishing atmosphere.
Eating fish in Lauwersoog.
- Dine by the water at the restaurant/pavilion: The Riddle of the Wadden.
- Explore the area from the water and hire an e-barge. You can do this at several places, but we rented a boat at Happy Whale. Kids tip: download Vogelbescherming Nederland's free app that lets you spotting shorebirds. This was really a hit!
- Tuk Tuk hire from Tuk Tuk Lauwersoog and explore the villages and surroundings via this particular mode of transport. I must say: this is quite an expensive outing (around 150 euros per day) and because of this, we hesitated for a long time whether we should do this. But it really is a highlight of the holiday, my little son loved it too!
More tips for a city trip to Dokkum can be found in this article.
Boat hire and tuk tuk hire near Dokkum.
Day 4-5: Discovering De Alde Feanen National Park
We leave the Frisian Wadden to descend slightly downhill to National Park De Alde Feanen. This national park is an important nature reserve with a lot of history too (old peat excavation). You can go boating, supping, canoeing and go out with a forest ranger to explore nature and spot birds. We did it all! You have all kinds of nice and fine accommodation in this area. We slept in the nostalgic Hotel Princenhof. Surely this hotel, especially its unique location, gives a golden edge to this road trip. We got a ground-floor hotel room by the water. You wake up in the morning and can have a coffee in the garden of your hotel room and watch the boats pass by early in the morning. This hotel also has a beautiful restaurant with a waterfront terrace, you can rent sups and do other water sports. So my tip is both this park and this hotel.
Suppen in Alde Feanen from your hotel room, the view from our hotel room.
What we did in the area around De Alde Feanen
- Suppen in the national park (e.g. bookable at Hotel Princenhof).
- Bird watching at sunset with a bird expert from It Fryske Gea. This organisation run by volunteer guides has all kinds of fun nature outings in Friesland that are worth checking out.
- Dine by the water in Hotel Princenhof's restaurant.
- Day swimming in an amazing water park SwimFun. We found this a great pool, we even went twice (also from Bolsward, last location, easy to reach). However, there were corona measures so the pool was pleasantly crowded. I later received messages from followers on Instagram that without coronama angels, this pool cannot be pleasantly crowded. Perhaps good to check this in advance or strategically time your visits.
- Lunch, drinks or dinner at The Tea House in Grou (wonderful restaurant!) and stroll through this picturesque town.
- Leeuwarden is also easily accessible from here.
Day 6: city trip Leeuwarden
A road trip through Friesland naturally includes a visit to capital city Leeuwarden. A beautiful old city with something for every type of tourist. We decide to visit Leeuwarden on our changeover day. My followers help me on my way to make the most of this city.
Things to do in Friesland: city trip Leeuwarden and lunch at Post Plaza.
This is what we did in Leeuwarden
- Start the day with a visit to Nature Museum Fryslan.
- Have lunch at the old post office Post Plaza, enjoy the food and learn more about the special role the post office played in World War II.
- Take a city walk through the beautiful Prince's Garden.
- Go second-hand shopping at REGULAR, 2THEPOINT and The Spot Vintage.
- Fan of thrift shops? Then definitely visit the famous Recycle Boulevard of Leeuwarden (this one is known from TV).
- Finish the drinks at a cosy terrace in town.
The Recycle Boulevard in Leeuwarden: you don't know what you see.
Day 7 & 8: Bolsward and surroundings
The final destination of our road trip is Bolsward, one of the Frisian Hanseatic cities I was tipped to visit. We sleep in a unique location: in a beautiful orphanage with luxurious hotel rooms (our hotel room consisted of a living room as well as a bedroom) and a courtyard garden. We enjoy the tranquillity of this village and get pampered at Het Weeshuis restaurant where they not only serve an insane breakfast every day, but also a pizza night (not every night, reservations required). This is the base for some sightseeing in the area. We visit Sneek (nice town too!), Teherne (you know... from the Skippers of the Chameleon). Should you be in Teherne, then food bar Picnickers a very nice tip. Bolsward is also easy to combine with Leeuwarden, Swimfun (Joure) and other Frisian villages.
Beautiful picture: Hotel Het Weeshuis in Bolsward.
Concluding Friesland trip with a Wadden Island
A week of roadtripping on the Frisian mainland is over, but our holiday in Friesland does not end yet. Because we are sticking another week glamping on Terschelling attached to it. If you have more time, it is highly recommended to end this active road trip with a week of camping and beach on one of our beautiful Wadden Islands. From Harlingen, catch the boat to our favourite islands Terschelling and Vlieland.
- Also see: Vlieland with kids: things to do during a holiday on the Wadden.
- Also see: Family holidays on Texel: the list of the best Texel tips. (Texel is an island of North Holland, departure Den Helder).
- Also see: Chef Flang does his shopping in the nature of Terschelling.
- Also see: the unique beauty of the Dutch mudflats.
- Also see: On workstation in Friesland!
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
