When we moved to the UK in 1999 my children were one, three and five. It was our first time living abroad and I wanted to see and do everything. We tried, a lot. We saw Thomas the Tank Engine and road on one of the trains, we went to Stratford Upon Avon to learn about Shakespeare and Teletubbies. We went to Legoland Windsor, Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, Stonehenge, Cardiff, Warwick, Edenborough and beyond. I had the pages of the National Trust Publication dogeared. I can’t remember when it occurred but somewhere in the first two years the older boys said one Friday “Mummy what are we going to do this weekend?” I replied, “Lever Castle”. Then hear respectively “not another castle!” and “not another castle!” like little parrots.
Were we having fun? I thought so but when I thought about it again, some weekends my aggressive schedule of seeing everything to infinity and beyond was a bit aggravating. Not just for them, but me too. Many times, it rained. Many times, we got pouty. Many times, we just plain weren’t having fun. I knew I had to come up with a better plan.
And then I discovered Center Parcs. Brilliant! Even more exciting is the amount of Center Parcs in Europe in all the right places. Center Parcs are holiday villages centered around an Aqua Mundo (indoor water park) complete with shops, restaurants, groceries and gaming in a large tropical setting. Many parks also have outdoor pools, and or lakes. Usually there are lake activities like boating, fishing, banana boats and swimming, and paddle boards. Inside, the Aqua Mondo offers lazy rivers, giant water slides, wave pool, dive school, white water rafting and snorkeling. Outside activities range from tennis, soccer, archery, zip line, bike rental,s family bikes and golf. Some have indoor pirate ship with endless amounts of sand play, high ropes courses, bowling and disco. You can sign up for kids clubs, cooking class or scuba diving. Others offer elaborate spa features and fine dining options. There are simple villas or VIP villas, boathouses and treehouses. Each property is relatively unique but offers the indoor tropical paradise. It really is a resort destination in and of itself.
Explore Center Parcs in English
Aqua Mundo fun 
New to Germany Park Allgau
We moved around from UK to Turkey then back to the US. Eventually we moved back to Europe. This time I had one littler one and a huge age gap. How do we satisfy all palates of travel? Not to mention small crowded hotel rooms with not enough beds. The answer is simple. In Amsterdam you can see Anne Frank House, take a canal cruise, shop the market, eat at the floating Chinese Restaurant and still be back in time to surf in the Aqua Mondo at De Emhof. In Belgium, you can spend one day in Brussels, see the Manneken Pis, the Flower Carpet and still enjoy lovely afternoons and nights at De Vossemeren. At Bispinger Heide in Germany you can hit an amusement park, visit a village lost in time on a carriage ride through the Heide and still make it back to Center Parcs for tropical fun.
What I realized as a mom was, if I wanted to see and do the things we wanted to see and do as adults here in Europe we needed to make it just as fun and enjoyable for our kids. I could go to the Flanders Fields/ WWI museum or Bastogne by day and still promise my kids afternoons and evenings of endless fun relaxing, swimming and playing in a lovely destination. They came to love them and look forward to the “boring old things” and “stupid sites”. The other beauty is I could do them myself if Superman was TDY or such. Superman’s, like other servicemembers or military civilians, job required quite a bit of travel away from us. It became my travel passion to help military families get some balance, sanity and recreation during long separation from their spouse.
Center Parcs can be booked well in advance to get a great deal. They offer short and long breaks and mid-week options. If you need a winter break that gets you out of the cold or a summer holiday that gets you the most out of your family time, pick a park! A really great time to go is during American school Holidays vs. European school holidays. It’s a great option if you are coming from the US also. You can select a few in different countries and see as much as possible. Take my word for it, if there are things you want to see and do here and have children who might not enjoy a full itinerary of city, culture and the like, Center Parcs is for you.
Great for families with babies, young children, older kids who like a bit of variety and active adults. Don’t let bad weather, small kids or whinny tweens and teens stop you! Maybe you know someone you want to share this with, please do. And Lastly, get Packing!
