EuroCamp: Ter Spegelt, The Netherlands – Review
By Dominic Picksley, September 2025
It was just under a two-hour drive south-east from the Hook of Holland, where we’d enjoyed a serene seven-hour ferry trip with Stena Line from Harwich, arriving at the Dutch coast excited about what lay before us, with something special lying in wait that very same night.
A couple of days earlier, I had booked us into one of the activities organised by Ter Spegelt for that evening, something called ‘Dropping’, where they take groups of people away from the park, drop them at some random point, from where they had to make their way back to base… without using a map and without being caught by spotters.
My daughter Amelia and I took the plunge, but wondered what we had let ourselves in for after we discovered we were a one hour and 45 minute walk away from ‘base camp’.
“Premium three-bedroom lodge”
Our first-ever time in the Netherlands and here we were in the dark, no idea where we were. But just under two hours later, after walking down unfamiliar streets, through an industrial estate, across a dual carriageway, down cycle lanes and finally through a dark forest for around half an hour, we arrived back… just 10 minutes after the fastest group.
What a way to begin our break at Ter Spegelt, where we stayed in a lovely, premium three-bedroom lodge, with air conditioning and decking area out the front with a barbecue for us to use.
Tucked away in the corner of a plot of nine lodges, it was just right for us, near enough to all the activities, but also far enough away to have some peace and quiet.
“Great fun”
Next day came the TubbyJump, a recent addition at the park, which consisted of a tower with three slides, where you propel yourself down one of the slopes on a doughnut dinghy – there’s a smaller slide where you just come to a stop, but on the two 30m decent ones, you’re launched into the air onto a large cushion… and the bigger the person, the more ‘air time’ you got, and bigger the scars on your arms and elbows. Great fun, though.
Amelia was then ‘blobbed’ into one of the lakes – she had to crawl on to the end of a large inflatable cushion and then a designated ‘jumper’ leapt from the adjacent tower on to the other end of the cushion, launching her high into the air and into the water. With a scream, of course.
With health and safety concerns not a thing in the Netherlands like it is here in the UK, my son Ben took part in archery tag, which was basically paintballing but with bows and arrows (not sharp arrows, but with rounded balls on the end and with just a face mask for protection).
Two teams battled it out against each other on a small course, with the aim to knock five blocks out of their opponents’ target to win…. or to just hit their rivals with an arrow and knock them out of the game! And then after an hour the parents could join in… and I nearly had my head taken off by one young sharp shooter, but I emerged relatively unscathed.
“We went all Dutch”
There’s an indoor pool on site and a large slide, with a play area called the SterrenStrand, but if it gets too busy in there, just transfer to the lake outside with its two slides. Once you’ve done one of them, swim across the lake to the other one and then back again.
We went all Dutch and hired bikes and went exploring Ter Spegelt as well as the town of Eersel; we had games of volleyball and table tennis, while also sampling some of the ice creams from the on-site restaurant, De Weijde Blick, and chips from the ‘takeaway’ while admiring the views across the lakes.
With a shop on site, as well as a launderette and activity tent, where you can do a bit of crafting, play pool or watch Dutch football live on the big screen, most things are catered for here and there’s barely any need to step away from the park, although we did tick off another country by heading to Belgium and the town of Lommel for a couple of hours, which was only around 20 minutes away by car.
“A fantastic base”
With a mix of natural beauty and adrenaline-fuelled excitement, TerSpegelt is a fantastic base for a family getaway. There’s a brilliant indoor waterpark complete with pools, spraygrounds and slides, plus two outdoor swimming lakes, a twisty waterslide and even a giant inflatable launch pad known as ‘the Blob’. Younger kids will love the free clubs, while older ones can dive into archery tag, bike trails or mini golf.
You can also explore the local countryside by hiring bikes and following the well-marked cycling paths around Nature Gate TerSpegelt. And if you’re up for a bigger adventure, the ever-popular Efteling theme park is just 35km away.
Seven-night stays in a Premium three-bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests start from £579.25 per party during the Easter holidays (Saturday 4 April 2026) and from £1098.16 per party during summer (Saturday 4 July 2026).
Stena Line ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. Prices start from around £80 per person return and £400 per family of four with car, without a cabin. Cabins start from around £35.
