Travel tips

Romantic weekends
close to home

For a long weekend for two you do not need to leave the Netherlands. Within two hours of Amsterdam you can be on an island, in a forest with no neighbours, or beside a river where the sun sinks into the water. Five weekends, and why the Zonnewijzer is the van for them.

Sunset over the sea with a sailing boat on the horizon

Adelaar Campers  ·  September 2026  ·  6 min read

Why close to home A weekend away starts on Friday afternoon

The best thing about a campervan weekend in your own country is that the journey is not a journey. You pick the van up at three on Friday in Amstelveen, and by six you are sitting with a glass on the table looking at something that is nothing like your usual view. No airport, no check-in, no suitcases.

What a van adds is the freedom to move. Sleep by the water on Saturday, in the woods on Sunday. You have your own kitchen, your own bed and your own door to close. And with the projector on board the Zonnewijzer, the evening ends with a film from bed and the sliding door open.

"Romance is not about being far away. It is standing somewhere together where nobody else is, with nowhere you have to be."

1 · The island Texel, a twenty minute crossing to another world

The red lighthouse at the northern tip of Texel, with beach and dunes

around 90 km from Amstelveen · 2 to 3 nights · ferry from Den Helder

An island does something to a weekend. You drive onto the ferry at Den Helder, twenty minutes later you drive off, and everything slows down. Texel is big enough to fill three days and small enough to do entirely by bike: the lighthouse on the northern tip, De Slufter where the sea runs into the dunes in a storm, the woods near De Koog, and the Wadden side at Oudeschild where the fishing boats come in.

Do it in this order. Arrive Friday evening and do nothing. Cycle to De Slufter on Saturday and come back along the beach. Saturday evening, oysters and Texel sheep's cheese on the table in the van. Sunday, climb the lighthouse and take the last ferry back, or stay one more night.

  • The ferry from Den Helder runs all year and needs no reservation, the fare depends on the length of your vehicle
  • Wild camping is not allowed on Texel, but the island has plenty of campsites and aires, including out of season
  • Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog are car free, while Texel, Terschelling and Ameland all take vehicles
  • Take the bike rack, on Texel a bike beats the van

2 · The nature campsite A natuurkampeerterrein on the Veluwe

Flowering heather on the Veluwe with a wooden staircase between the shrubs

around 80 km from Amstelveen · 2 to 3 nights · woods, heath and no neighbours

The Netherlands has more than a hundred natuurkampeerterreinen: small, simple sites in woodland or on the edge of a nature reserve, with no marked pitches, no entertainment and no rows of caravans. You find your own spot between the trees. The Veluwe has around ten of them, from the Hoge Veluwe to the forests near Ede, Otterlo and Nunspeet.

It is exactly the kind of place where an off-grid van comes into its own. You need no electric hook-up, no shower block and no water point. Getting up early here is a gift: the heather is purple in August and September, and at seven in the morning it is all yours.

  • Most nature campsites require a natuurkampeerkaart membership card, bought online in advance
  • Not every site accepts campervans and many have a size limit, check when you book
  • Facilities are deliberately minimal, which is precisely why a van with its own kitchen, water and shower works so well
  • Wild camping by the roadside is not permitted in the Netherlands, a nature campsite is the closest thing to it

3 · The coast Zeeland, oysters and a sunset over water

Sailing boat against the setting sun over the Zeeland waters

around 170 km from Amstelveen · 2 to 4 nights · beach, water and shelter

Zeeland is the one part of the Netherlands where the sun sets into the sea and you can stand right there while it does. Cross the Oosterschelde barrier and you are in a landscape of dykes, creeks and villages that belong to the Zeelanders again once high season ends. Neeltje Jans for the wind, Zierikzee for the harbour and the terraces, Cadzand for the wide beach and Domburg for the dunes.

The food is not a side note here. Oysters from the Oosterschelde, mussels from Yerseke, and a bottle of wine on the table outside the van with the water in front of you. Go in May, June or September, when it is mild, bright and quiet, and the aires along the dykes are simply free.

  • Aires here often sit right on a dyke or beside a marina, arrive before dark for the best spot
  • The wind is always stronger than you expect, park nose or tail into it and keep the awning in
  • At Yerseke you buy mussels and oysters from the growers themselves, cooking them in the van makes the weekend
  • Add a day in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and the Belgian coast, another hour further on

4 · The dark sky The Drentsche Aa and the Dwingelderveld

The meandering Drentsche Aa at sunrise, seen from the air

around 190 km from Amstelveen · 2 to 3 nights · the darkest sky in the country

In Drenthe the romance is in the dark. The skies above the Dwingelderveld and the Lauwersmeer are the darkest in the Netherlands, and on a clear moonless evening you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye. By day you drive the stream valley of the Drentsche Aa, past old villages, megalithic tombs and hedgerows, on roads where you barely meet a car.

This is the weekend where you plan nothing. Cycle a loop, eat early, then put two chairs outside. Bring a blanket, because Drenthe cools down faster than the coast. The heater in the van does the rest.

  • Check the calendar for a new moon, it makes more difference than the location does
  • The Dwingelderveld and the Lauwersmeer are both recognised for their dark skies, and in autumn it gets dark early enough
  • Farm campsites and nature campsites sit close together here and are almost empty out of season
  • Want more? Read our guide to stargazing from a campervan

5 · The river The Vecht and the Utrecht country houses

A country house on the river Vecht with a boat on the water between the trees

around 40 km from Amstelveen · 1 to 2 nights · the shortest of the five

Sometimes one night away is enough. Then you head for the Vecht. Between Weesp and Utrecht runs a ribbon of country estates, tea pavilions and white bridges, with villages like Loenen, Vreeland and Breukelen in between. It is forty-five minutes from Amstelveen and it feels a century back.

Park the van at a marina on the water, hire a small boat for a few hours and eat in one of the villages in the evening. Want to add a day: the Utrechtse Heuvelrug is half an hour further, with woods, estates and the Kaapse Bossen to cycle through.

  • The ideal first campervan trip: short, close and nothing to plan
  • The Vecht villages are tight, which is where a compact van beats a full size motorhome
  • Marinas along the Vecht often keep a few pitches on the water
  • Lovely in winter too: the Zonnewijzer is €109 a day from January through April

Which van For two people, this is the Zonnewijzer

The Zonnewijzer is our most romantic van, and that is a design choice rather than a marketing line. It is built on a Citroen Jumper, drives like a car and parks where full size motorhomes have to squeeze. Exactly what you want in the Vecht villages, on narrow Zeeland dykes and on a woodland pitch at a nature campsite.

Zonnewijzer

from €109 a day

  • Built-in cinema projector. Film night from the queen size bed with the sliding door open. Unique in our fleet
  • Compact and nimble. Parks anywhere, including village centres and small nature sites
  • Three burner gas hob with a gas oven. The roomiest kitchen in the fleet, so you actually cook together
  • Queen size bed of 150 by 190 cm, a fixed bed rather than a fold-down bench
  • Hot outdoor shower and drinking water filter. An 80 litre tank, 550 Wp of solar and a 3.65 kWh battery, so you never need a hook-up
  • Three seat belts and a bike rack on request, handy for Texel and the Veluwe

Want the longest bed in the fleet and a diesel heater for cold autumn nights, look at the Horizon. Travelling with more luggage or wanting more space inside, the Albatros is your van. But for a weekend for two close to home, the Zonnewijzer wins on every point that matters.

Good to know Overnighting by campervan in the Netherlands

Keep reading

A weekend for the two of you

The Zonnewijzer from €109 a day, three day minimum, pick up in Amstelveen near Amsterdam. Compact, fully off-grid and with a projector on board.

See the Zonnewijzer Romantic campervan trip