Destinations,  Europe,  Germany,  The Netherlands

The best theme parks with camping

In the past years, we have visited quite a few zoos and theme parks. And if you ask me, I would always recommend staying a couple of nights. You can spend two days in the park and you won´t feel the pressure of seeing it all in one day and having to drive home. Our secret to keep the costs down is to go camping instead to a hotel. Many theme parks have a camping, where you can bring your own tent, caravan or camper, but also rent a bungalow, tipi tent or even a wagon. Does it sound like a plan? Here are the best theme parks with camping.

Europa Park in Rust, Germany

Europa Park was the first theme park that we visited with Liam. He was almost 2 years old and to our surprise, it was really fun and family-friendly. You can read our experience about Europa Park with a toddler.

Europa Park has a Camp Resort next to the theme park. The Camp Resort is also themed, like a Wild West town! Here you can sleep in a cabin, a wagon, a tepee or in your own tent/caravan. You cannot reserve the camping pitches in advance, while for the other accommodations you should book online here as soon as possible. We went in August and the camping was really busy, but there were extra fields open to accommodate everyone. TIP: if you need electricity, bring an extra extension cable with you. In the extra fields, the electricity box can be far away.

Tipidorf – picture from europapark.de

The camping works like a parking. You can enter any time and get a “camping ticket”. Before you leave, you pay in the machines for the time expended. Very clever solution!

The best theme parks with camping: Europa Park

Besides everything looking like a West Wild town, there were also shows, a swimming lake and a playground. You can have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Silver Lake Saloon, but also buy fresh baked bread and sweets. I was also surprised by the fact that there was someone permanently cleaning the toilet and showers.

The best theme parks with camping: Europa Park

Legoland Billund, Denmark

I don’t know any child that doesn’t like Duplo or Lego and hence, a visit to Legoland in Billund is a must. When we visited Legoland, Liam was 2,5 years old and he enjoyed it a lot. Even though there were many attractions, he couldn’t ride. You can read our review our Legoland Billund with a toddler. 

Next to Legoland, there is the Legoland Holiday Village. They have camping pitches as well as Wild West cabins and Indian tents. You can book via the Legoland website and the price for a night depends on whether you want to purchase the 2-day ticket for the park as well. TIP: if you have a 50% discount voucher, it’s cheaper to buy the tickets and the stay at the camping separately 🙂

Tipi – picture from Legoland Billund

The Holiday Village is also themed with Lego figures and has a big playground. The camping pitches aren’t assigned with the booking. You can pick the one you like on arrival. When we were there, it was quite busy and finding a pitch for our caravan seemed difficult. Fortunately, there was a Holiday Village employee helping out. The choice was “close to the playground or close to the toilet”.  We choose the first and I regret our decision when it started raining 😀

In the Holiday Village, there is a small grocery shop (with also Lego) as well as a restaurant, mini golf, TV room, NINTENDO GameZone and a barbecue area. In my opinion, it offers a good value for the money.

Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands

Have you ever wanted to go on a safari? If South Africa is too far away, you can go to Beekse Bergen. Here you can do a safari with your own car, but also by bus, by boat or even by foot. 

Besides the safari park, there is a play/attraction park and a swimming lake. The camping ground is on the other side of the lake. You can settle in the camping and then use either the train-shuttle or the pirate boat to come to the play park or to the safari park.

The best theme parks with camping: Beekse Bergen

The camping is huge and in my opinion, the toilets are very far from each other. The pitches are big and they are assigned during the reservation. Somewhere in the tickets stays the field you have to look for (we didn’t look properly and we had to move from the place we thought it was ours). You need to reserve your pitch online here. While booking, you can add the “attraction pass”. This pass costs 25€ per person and allows you to visit the safari park, play park and other zoos and theme parks during your stay. This is a great deal if you are staying a couple of days, as a single ticket for one day costs up to 23€.

The best theme parks with camping: Beekse Bergen

In the camping, there are also bungalows and safari tents. This year, there’re also new accommodations inside the safari park: lodges, tree houses and safari tents. You can have a look at them by clicking on the banner below.

Playmobil FunPark in Zirndorf, Germany

The Playmobil FunPark is just outside Nürnberg. For just 11,9€ per person (2018), you can spend a whole day in a park with real size Playmobil. This can be also a great stop on your way to Austria, Poland, Slovenia or Croatia, check our post “The best rest stops for kids along the German highway” for more stops.

Playmobil FunPark has a parking area where you can stay overnight. There’s water, but there isn’t a toilet or electricity. For a stopover, it’s fine. For a longer stay, I would personally use the camping that it’s just 5min away.

Which one is your favourite theme park? Which type of accommodation do you prefer?

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13 Comments

  • Katie

    Awesome! I tend to think of theme parks and resort hotels as going together, but camping would be a really fun way to do it, and save some money. The Wild West place with the teepees looks cool, I am sure kids would love that!

    • shere

      In some of the theme parks, you have also nice hotels. Our kids love camping and so it’s theme park & camping the best option

  • Alex Datsev

    Great suggestions! Our kids are now older, but would probably enjoy some of these, especially the Europa Park to spend a night in a wagon or a tepee…

  • Natalie E Mail

    I have never thought of camping when visiting theme parks. It’s a great idea! Some of those themed campgrounds would be fun even without the addition of the theme parks. Like Europa with the teepees and covered wagons!

    I also like that you can take a pirate boat ride to get the parks at Beekse Bergen. I almost missed the blip that there are also treehouse accommodations. Like I said, going to the theme park at that point is just icing on the cake.

    I also really like that you’ve reviewed theme parks in Europe, as I don’t know much about any of them!

    • shere

      The camping of Beekse Bergen is very popular for families. Many go there to spend their holidays without going to the zoo.
      When kids are still young, not all theme parks are fun (especially if they cannot ride in many attractions).

  • Cat

    Europa Park is so thematic! It would be so fun to stay in a teepee. I can see why Legoland is popular among the kids!

    • shere

      Not only the camping is thematic, also the theme park itself. They have areas of the park that represent a part of Europe. The buildings, as well as restaurants, are then as in that country.

  • Elaine Masters

    Makes me wish 1. I were in Europe 2. Still had a campervan 3. Had a toddler to travel with. Such fun. Great tips.

    • shere

      Well, also without toddler you can go to the theme parks. But having one is the perfect excuse to go there 😉

  • Agness of Fit Travelling

    These theme parks are so exceptional and each one of them is awesome, Shere! I especially loved the Legoland Billund and I am definitely adding it to my bucket list! 🙂

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