The Best Spring Road Trip through Germany, Belgium & the Netherlands

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We have been talking about exploring more of Belgium and the Netherlands for years and we realize now we should have taken this road trip much sooner! We’ve made a point to travel much slower in recent years, so this relaxed itinerary was the perfect way to start our spring. If you love getting out in nature or hiking, then this is the road trip for you.

Camping

As we love to stay in nature and just go at our own pace, we personally found it much more enjoyable to rent a camper van Roadsurfer, our favorite camper company, rather than staying in hotels.

Camping in Europe is not often done in a tent, but rather in a camper van or similar. While we don’t do van life full time, we do love to take at least one or two Roadsurfer camper van trips per year. This time around, we actually took this road trip while Denise was 8-months pregnant, so the short driving distances and relaxed itinerary were an absolute must.

Another must-have criteria for us was a built-in toilet and shower. That kept us flexible in case we couldn’t find a public restroom or a campground with showers. That’s one reason we like renting camper vans from Roadsurfer. They seem to have a model for every trip type, personal preference and group size. We’ve tried out just about every model now and have always been really happy with them. This time we tried the Family Finca and, like all of Roadsurfer’s sprinters, we loved that the bed is already set up, so we didn’t have to worry about folding anything away. That made it so much easier to travel while pregnant, since there was no extra setup involved; just park and start relaxing. We specifically loved that the Family Finca has two skylights meaning we could look at the stars at night or have natural daylight even while keeping all other blinds shut for privacy.

Discover Sequoia Trees in Germany

Right on the Dutch border, you can find a privately-owned garden that features towering Sequoia trees. The owners have opened the property to the public and ask for a small donation to help them with maintenance and upkeep. We really enjoyed strolling through the property and reminiscing about our previous trips to California and Oregon, from where the Sequoias derive. It felt like walking through a piece of home right here in Germany. They are only open on Sundays and bank holidays, so make sure to plan your trip accordingly. If you go, make sure to leave no trace and hike the following trail that starts right at the gardens.

Nearby Hiking Trails

Another great feature of this area is the lovely nearby Galgenvenn Trail. After visiting the Sequoias, we enjoyed a beautiful hike through the forests and moors that are right next door. It’s an 11 km easy loop that you can shorten, if needed. And if you love hiking as much as we do, then you may also want to drive to the Schaagbachtal & Birgeler Urwald to hike there. It’s another beautiful area that’s close by. The Wild Schaagbachtal Trail is an easy 10 km loop that will take you through gorgeous marshland on boardwalks.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at a nearby campground in the Netherlands called Camperplaats Roerdalen. The location is very conveniently located, has tons of space and is surrounded by forest. Furthermore, they offer free wifi, public toilets, showers and an e-bike charging station–not to mention all of the must-have amenities for RVs and campers. Since our Family Finca from Roadsurfer is fully enclosed, we didn’t need all the hookups which allowed us to stay right at the edge of the campground by the forest. It was so peaceful waking up to the forest views.

Hike the Lommel Sahara Trail in Belgium

This might have been the most mind-blowing part of our trip. We had no idea that Belgium has a desert landscape! The Lommel Sahara Trail is considered to be the most beautiful trail in the entire country; after hiking it, we easily understand why. The trail offers hikers three options: a short blue loop of 4 km, a moderate orange loop of 6 km and a long red loop of 12 km.

The long loop, specifically, is the trail that earned the title of Belgium’s most beautiful trail, but even the shorter loops feature the trail’s main highlight: the “Sahara”. This section is well named, as one could easily mistake the sandy forest and sweeping dunes for an African landscape. In addition to the sandy sections, the Lommel Sahara also takes you through forests, heathland and even wetlands. The best view of the “Sahara” can be found atop the 30 meter high observation tower in the heart of the wetlands.

Where We Stayed

For this portion of the trip, we stayed at Jachthaven De Meerpaal in Lommel. There are 8 parking spaces for campers. For a reasonable overnight fee, we had access to very clean showers and restrooms. The harbormaster is very friendly and the lake right next to the harbor is perfect for a chill afternoon on the sand. However, you can also stay at the free camping area Parking de Lossing right by the Sahara hike. We basically did both as we stayed the night at the campground and then stayed at the free area for the day. We loved having our lunch right by the water in our Roadsurfer. It’s so convenient to be able to eat and relax after every activity in your own little home. It’s even better when you’re pregnant because you know that little oasis that has literally everything is waiting for you right at the parking lot. That way Denise was also able to lay down for a bit after this longer hike.

Beaches, Tulip Fields and Hikes in the Netherlands

The rest of our trip took us through the southwest corner of the Netherlands. We hiked as many trails as we could, but of course we also made time for some fresh strawberries, lunch at the beach and a photoshoot with a tulip field that the farmer has been kind enough to make accessible for guests.

Important: It should go without saying, but you should never enter private property without permission and you must stay out of the field itself. Don’t walk between the rows and don’t pick the flowers. We didn’t see anyone doing this, but we’ve seen enough photos on Instagram to know that some people do all of these things.

The beach portion of the road trip was an afternoon at Brouwersdam beach. You are not allowed to park your camper there over night (only for the day), but the beach is huge and parking is free, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a little spot to yourself for the afternoon. We’ve even heard that Brouwersdam beach is popular among a local seal population. We didn’t spot any ourselves, but maybe you will! We spent our favorite morning of our trip here in our Roadsurfer. We made coffee right by the beach, enjoyed reading our books with the best ocean view and just relaxed in the bed of our Roadsurfer while watching the waves and birds. It was amazing!

Hiking Trails

Our road trip took us right by a few different trails, so of course we had to stop and hike them. The Maasduinen National Park, the Hatertse Venn and De Biesbosch National Park all have multiple route options you can choose from. In our case, we kept it relatively light because we didn’t want to tax Denise too much considering her pregnant state. That being said, all of these areas are quite flat, so you shouldn’t have any trouble going for some longer distances.

Jantjesplaat, in De Biesbosch National Park, is the most remote trail we did, but that also made it the quietest. It’s an easy 4 km loop. This national park consists almost exclusively of marshland and lakes. We really enjoyed walking amongst the reeds and various species of water foul. Spring seems to be the best time to walk here, as we can only imagine what the mosquito situation must be like in the summer. Furthermore, there isn’t much natural shade, so the sun was keeping us quite warm, despite the fact that it was only 15°C outside.

The Maasduinen National Park features multiple trails, so we picked two that we really liked. The first hike is the Eendenmeer hike, an easy 4 km loop with beautiful sandy trails and boardwalks. The second one takes you around the Reindersmeer lake, as well as an old canal and restaurant. Given Denise’s “condition”, we opted for a shorter DIY loop here, which was only around 1-2 km, but you can take much longer hikes here too.

Our favorite trail on this portion of the trip was clearly the Hatertse Venn. This wetland area features a number of ponds, lakes and plenty of Denise’s favorite trees: the Scots Pine. Similar to the Lommel Sahara, this area made us feel like we were walking somewhere outside of Europe, as we’re not used to finding these sandy landscapes here. Another perfect pregnancy hike as it’s an easy and peaceful 4 km loop.

Where We Stayed

We were very happy with all of the places we stayed on this trip and these locations were no exception.

Camperplaats Jachthaven Middelharnis was a great base for our trip to the beach and even gave us the opportunity to walk to a nearby restaurant. After that, unpacked the camping chairs provided by Roadsurfer and enjoyed a peaceful night by the harbor. Waking up to the sun rising above the canals and boats was absolutely gorgeous too. Something you can really only do in a camper van.

Camperplaats Veldgeluck might have been our favorite campground on the entire trip. Even if we wouldn’t have had the entire place to ourselves (which we did), we still loved the fact that we were completely surrounded by nature and even had access to free and very clean showers and restrooms. The owners are very friendly and we really enjoyed chatting with them. Through the back and side windows of our Roadsurfer, we were able to watch the horses all night and morning making this stay very idyllic and peaceful. We absolutely loved being able to enjoy nature even while we were in the van.

Bos & Heide is another family-owned RV park near the Maasduinen National Park. The owner here is also very friendly and even offers farm-fresh eggs, potatoes, onions, jams and other homemade goodies. After a long day of hiking, we got our Roadsurfer camping chairs out again and had a delicious homemade dinner in the sunset with a gorgeous view of the forest and horses across from our camping spot. We loved having everything we needed in our camper van, so we never had to worry about where to eat, where to use the restroom or where to just take a break and relax. It was the perfect pregnancy trip.

Overall, this might have been the most relaxed road trip we have ever taken and we were really happy to do it in the Roadsurfer we rented. It was so convenient to cook our own meals, wash up and use the onboard toilet when we needed it (which was definitely a lifesaver for Denise). We highly recommend renting a Roadsurfer yourself, especially if you love road trips and being in nature yet still want all the comforts of a real home.