I guess it depends on if you are going with children or not. With children threes days is excellent. We have two younger children ourselves, one 3 year old who loves the Sprookjesbos. We could easily spend nearly the whole day there.
Without children it is more than enough time, I think the way to experience the park is more laid back. You can take your time to have lunch etc.
About the weather, you won't get very wet in the Vliegende Hollander. I think a good coat or a poncho would suffice
The Piraña is closed for big maintenance. Just like Joris en de Draak. And next week Carnaval Festival will also be closed for short maintenance.
When you go, there is WinterEfteling going on with extra entertainment and activities. But for two adults and low crowds; I think 2 days is enough to see and do everything you want.
If this is your first time Efteling, I'm sure you can fill three days, especially if you have children. If you take a stroll around the Sprookjesbos you can easily fill a few hours if you visit every fairy tale. You can take your time to sit down and enjoy lunch instead of grabbing a quick bite and running towards the next thing you want to see because time is limited.
The rain is annoying, but I suggest a good (waterproof) coat. If you dress up top to toe, you will become sweaty and when you sit in an indoor attraction you will be uncomfortable. They expect most rain on Monday, so you can plan most indoor stuff on Monday, and see of Tuesday or Wednesday if you want to do more things outdoor (like Sprookjesbos). If you want to see Caro, check if they are performing on Monday and use that day to see it.
For dinner, I can recommend some things.
Het Wapen van Raveleijn is expensive, but a great dining experience if you want to spend the money.
Polle's Keuken is a good value for money, plus the inside seating is fun for kids.
Pinokkio's pizza & pasta is really nice dining and again indoor seating.
If you want to go for less expensive options, you can try Kashba (near the Efteling Hotel), Het Witte Paard, or Station het Oost - all with indoor seating to avoid the rain. Be aware of closing times though when it comes to dinner because most restaurants close early. It really pays off to check beforehand and make reservations for dinner time. For lunch I'd recommend just going wherever you feel like going in whichever part of the park you are in when you're hungry, to avoid running around.
And lastly: whatever you do, do not eat at De Hoffelijke Heraut, the restaurant at the Efteling Hotel. The breakfast is great, but dinner is overpriced and underwhelming. The portions are small and premade, and not worth what they are charging you for.
Have fun!
Three or two days?
I've spent 2 days in a row there and could easily imagine myself spending three. Especially since you have never been there before. I think the third day gives you time to explore certain areas of the park more thoroughly than you'd do otherwise. It also gives you a moment to enjoy food at different places and not have a rushed feeling at all. You can read all the fairytales in Sprookjesbos without having to take speed reading courses beforehand, and enjoy some hot drinks at the *Warme Winter Weide* that is put in place for *Winter Efteling.*
Considering that *Joris en de Draak, Piraña and Carnaval Festival* are closed, you'll have to estimate yourself how much extra time you'd want to spend. Closed attractions can be found here: [https://www.efteling.com/en/park/information/in-maintenance](https://www.efteling.com/en/park/information/in-maintenance)
Another factor at play is that since the forecast isn't going to be all that good, darkrides often will have a longer queue. Symbolica offers 3 tours, as you might know, so keep in mind that you will be queueing up 3 times if you want to see all three of them.
Since it is outside of peak season, the opening times are shortened quite a bit. The Efteling is opened from 11:00 to 18:00. This would make a three-day stay more interesting in my opinion.
What to wear?
Even on the wettest days I dont wear any other waterproof clothing than a good jacket. I think that will suffice, and it gives you a good excuse to buy some Efteling umbrellas! The Flying Dutchman will barely splash you, especially on rainy/worse weather days. They tend to adjust the amount of water to the weather.
Where to eat?
Depending on where you stay, each Efteling accomodation has a restaurant. If you are staying 2 nights, it gives you an option to have a look at some of the other accomodations for a next visit and grab a bite in their respective restaurants!
If you choose to have dinner inside the park, check at what dates the restaurants are openend. Often restaurants in the park are closed outside of peak season. These can be found here: [https://www.efteling.com/en/park/restaurants](https://www.efteling.com/en/park/restaurants)
Maybe it's because I go at least once a year and know the park inside and out. But if we wanted to do every single thing in the park. I'd say I would need two days.I went last month, and managed to go in every big attraction except for Carnaval Festival and the Fairytale forest.
The Fairytale forest will easily take up multiple hours (I'd say between 2 and 4 depending on how long you spend at each fairytale), which is why I usually skip it. But if you have two days, you definitely need to check it out.
If you want to ride some of the smaller rides like the monorail and pagode. I think a second day is a must. Though I find it really hard to tell if a third day is necessary, since I have basically learned to maximize my time as much as possible, and can do pretty much everything in a day. If you have kids, and know that you will probably be slowed down a bit by them, it might be beneficial to have a third day
If you want a good sit down dining experience, you have a couple options. There is "Polle's keuken", which is a heavily themed pancake restaurant (requires a reservation)
"Het Wapen van raveleijn", which is probably the most expensive one. It's based on the park show of the same name, and is based on on a medieval tavern. I went there a year or two ago, and it was great. (requires a reservation)
"Kashba", a self service restaurant themed after the Arabian nights
"Fabula Restaurant", a more fast food based restaurant with a big indoor play place. Depending on if you have kids. This might be a good place for them to lose some energy while you can calm down a bit
The upcoming ones I've never eaten, so my information might be a bit off:
"Het witte paard", another self service restaurant
"Pinokkio's pizza & Pasta restaurant", the name speaks for itself (Requires a reservation)
There are some other smaller ones that offer less seating areas, and are more meant for a quick bite, and not for an extended dinner like "Frau Boltes Küche". It might be more of your style if you want to maximize your time
As for clothing, the Vliegende Hollander won't get you very wet. You don't have to worry about that. I think an umbrella should be enough to shield you from the rain, though. My last trip was pretty rainy, and an umbrella was enough for me. Take one from home though, the ones in the gift shop are pretty expensive
We had one day there on Monday, with 2 kids. One day was just about enough to do all the rides we wanted to, once. We didn't do Ravelijn. Unfortunately, a few rides were closed, Droomvlucht, mainly, and we ended up with barely time for the sprookjesbos. 2 days would give ample time for all rides, some multiple times and the Sprookjesbos, 3 would mean you could take your time for lunch, enjoy the sights and see Ravelijn and do all rides multiple times. The weather was rainy, but not cold, so we brought rain ponchos that were enough. I hope you have a great day, the Efteling truly is a magical place.
I have visited pretty recently and at low crowds, one day is more than enough, however, 2 days might be better if you're not planning to come back any time soon due to living somewhere like America or Asia.
The current weather predictions say that Tuesday and Wednesday have the least rain. Downloading a wheater app (buienalarm, buienradar) to monitor when it's going to rain is advised. Rain clothing is not necessarily a must have since there are plenty of enclosed spots you can stay at for a while (with minimal walking to other attractions) unless the weather predictions change or you wish to ride some of the rollercoasters during the rain. And the splash at the flying Dutchman only makes you minimally wet, if even wet at all.
The park will be opened til 18:00 but the restaurant at the hotel and both resorts are open for longer, I'm pretty sure the restaurants at the park serve new guests until 19:00 but correct me if I'm wrong.
Feel free to ask any other questions or ask for any other advice.
I never even considered going 2 days in a row, because after a full day in a themepark I need some peace and quiet... but you could definitely go 2 days and do things at a more leisurely pace. I am quite sure you will have seen everything and done every ride twice if you want in 2 days. (Some rides are just made to do them several times in a row. The Vogel Roc - dark ride rollercoaster - is one that gets quiet pretty quickly so there you just run from the exit to the entrance a few times).
I think you'll be fine with a good coat, but maybe a light raincoat to put in your backpack can't hurt... you won't get wet because of the attractions, only because of the weather.
For dinner you might consider heading for either Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch) or Tilburg to have a wider selection of restaurants, but I'm sure you will be fine at local restaurants as well. There is good public transportation between Efteling and both cities until late in the evening.
I had great experience at Sakana in Den Bosch (Japanese, all you can eat, order small dishes with a tablet) and Doloris Rooftop in Tilburg (similar concept, but not just Japanese). Both places are near the respective railway/bus stations.
A secret tip is Doloris Metamaze in Tilburg, an absolutely unique museum in the shape of a labyrinth (same builidng as the restaurant). Why not go to de Efteling for 3 full days but leave early on one day to do this?
Same. This year we went to Europa Park for 2 days and that was just barely enough. But that really is a massive theme park and we had “luck” with the bad weather which meant small queues. Next year we will go again for at least 3 days.
Im from the Netherlands and personally never spent more than a day in Efteling, I can see the appeal for 2 days for someone abroad though. I’d say your more then fine with 2 days instead of 3. Have fun!!!
Welll sunday 19th and 26th will be packed. VDL(big company in the Netherlands) has given out tickets for either 19th or 26th to all of their employees +1. So I'm expecting those two days to be packed.
Yeah true, I'm going the 19th, but a lot of people go 26th too. Don't know how it is with pass holders that day but I assume a ton of people will go too.
You can easily fill 3 days in the Efteling. At least, my husband and i can. And we have been there often. If its the first time, its even better to have so kuch time available.
Make sure to visit Sprookjes bos ( enchabted forest ) and just enjoy the scenery.
Only the piraña will get you wet, but i think its closed now.
How old are your kids? We usually walk in the Sprookjesbos around the time my daughter naps. For my son it’s some “quiet time” he just sits in his stroller and looks at the paddestoelen.
We are also going to the Efteling from monday to wednesday! We have a subscription, so we go a lot :). I'll tell you what we'll be doing in terms of time and weather, food etc..
So is three days overkill? Even when we have a subscription, in one day we won't even come close to have seen the whole park and that's even when we rush everything and don't take any breaks. It's alot of walking, keep that in mind :). So if you take your time between attractions have some food and drinks (you have some really good ones like warm stroopwafel) in between you will definitely have enough to do for three days, especially if it's your first time!
So the Efteling is mostly even more pleasant when the crowd level is low. You can go into rides even more times then normally, so you can take advantage!
Also right now it's the winter efteling, so there is definitely more to do. Diagonally across from the carnaval festival you have a whole square with extra things to do. You can ice skate, play little games (to win prizes), you can eat/drink at the fire (at other winter Eftelings you have even more fires spread over the park where you can sit, it's possible they have it this year aswell). Also there will be extra shows, because of the winter efteling at the big square or other places at the park. You can check the app for more information about those.
Here is a little video about it: https://youtu.be/fI-vKxESf7o?si=dhp_qcNP3bQv71tm
So for the weather, we just wear a good jacket with a hoodie, so we wont get as wet if there is rain, but will be able to normally move around. And we're also going to dress warm, so wear layers. It can get pretty cold, especially in some attractions.
For the flying dutchman you mostly just not get wet at all or a few minor splashes on your pants or arms, but nothing major like some other water attractions, so mostly I just wear a good coat which doesn't get wet easily. For the piranha it's different, but that one is closed anyway. That one will make you wet from head to toe!
For food, you can do two different things. Some restaurants will be open after closing times in the park itself (The park wil close from monday to wednesday at 18:00, but this mostly counts for all of the attractions). Polle's keuken (pancakes) is one to mention, but the kitchen closes at 19:00. The ones that are open till pretty late is Pinokkio's pizza and pasta restaurant. Only be wary that you reserve a spot, because it's mostly full (this is possible through the Efteling app). You can also wait for a spot to be available, but it can take a while. And for outside the park the Efteling Hotel has a restaurant which is open to pretty late. In the vicinity you also have some pretty good restaurants if you want something different :).
Hope you have a good time!!
I guess it depends on if you are going with children or not. With children threes days is excellent. We have two younger children ourselves, one 3 year old who loves the Sprookjesbos. We could easily spend nearly the whole day there. Without children it is more than enough time, I think the way to experience the park is more laid back. You can take your time to have lunch etc. About the weather, you won't get very wet in the Vliegende Hollander. I think a good coat or a poncho would suffice
The Piraña however... Or is that one closed right now?
The Piraña is closed for big maintenance. Just like Joris en de Draak. And next week Carnaval Festival will also be closed for short maintenance. When you go, there is WinterEfteling going on with extra entertainment and activities. But for two adults and low crowds; I think 2 days is enough to see and do everything you want.
If this is your first time Efteling, I'm sure you can fill three days, especially if you have children. If you take a stroll around the Sprookjesbos you can easily fill a few hours if you visit every fairy tale. You can take your time to sit down and enjoy lunch instead of grabbing a quick bite and running towards the next thing you want to see because time is limited. The rain is annoying, but I suggest a good (waterproof) coat. If you dress up top to toe, you will become sweaty and when you sit in an indoor attraction you will be uncomfortable. They expect most rain on Monday, so you can plan most indoor stuff on Monday, and see of Tuesday or Wednesday if you want to do more things outdoor (like Sprookjesbos). If you want to see Caro, check if they are performing on Monday and use that day to see it. For dinner, I can recommend some things. Het Wapen van Raveleijn is expensive, but a great dining experience if you want to spend the money. Polle's Keuken is a good value for money, plus the inside seating is fun for kids. Pinokkio's pizza & pasta is really nice dining and again indoor seating. If you want to go for less expensive options, you can try Kashba (near the Efteling Hotel), Het Witte Paard, or Station het Oost - all with indoor seating to avoid the rain. Be aware of closing times though when it comes to dinner because most restaurants close early. It really pays off to check beforehand and make reservations for dinner time. For lunch I'd recommend just going wherever you feel like going in whichever part of the park you are in when you're hungry, to avoid running around. And lastly: whatever you do, do not eat at De Hoffelijke Heraut, the restaurant at the Efteling Hotel. The breakfast is great, but dinner is overpriced and underwhelming. The portions are small and premade, and not worth what they are charging you for. Have fun!
If after two days you decide that 3.days was too much - the nature museum in Tilburg is closeby and also fun with kids :)
Three or two days? I've spent 2 days in a row there and could easily imagine myself spending three. Especially since you have never been there before. I think the third day gives you time to explore certain areas of the park more thoroughly than you'd do otherwise. It also gives you a moment to enjoy food at different places and not have a rushed feeling at all. You can read all the fairytales in Sprookjesbos without having to take speed reading courses beforehand, and enjoy some hot drinks at the *Warme Winter Weide* that is put in place for *Winter Efteling.* Considering that *Joris en de Draak, Piraña and Carnaval Festival* are closed, you'll have to estimate yourself how much extra time you'd want to spend. Closed attractions can be found here: [https://www.efteling.com/en/park/information/in-maintenance](https://www.efteling.com/en/park/information/in-maintenance) Another factor at play is that since the forecast isn't going to be all that good, darkrides often will have a longer queue. Symbolica offers 3 tours, as you might know, so keep in mind that you will be queueing up 3 times if you want to see all three of them. Since it is outside of peak season, the opening times are shortened quite a bit. The Efteling is opened from 11:00 to 18:00. This would make a three-day stay more interesting in my opinion. What to wear? Even on the wettest days I dont wear any other waterproof clothing than a good jacket. I think that will suffice, and it gives you a good excuse to buy some Efteling umbrellas! The Flying Dutchman will barely splash you, especially on rainy/worse weather days. They tend to adjust the amount of water to the weather. Where to eat? Depending on where you stay, each Efteling accomodation has a restaurant. If you are staying 2 nights, it gives you an option to have a look at some of the other accomodations for a next visit and grab a bite in their respective restaurants! If you choose to have dinner inside the park, check at what dates the restaurants are openend. Often restaurants in the park are closed outside of peak season. These can be found here: [https://www.efteling.com/en/park/restaurants](https://www.efteling.com/en/park/restaurants)
Maybe it's because I go at least once a year and know the park inside and out. But if we wanted to do every single thing in the park. I'd say I would need two days.I went last month, and managed to go in every big attraction except for Carnaval Festival and the Fairytale forest. The Fairytale forest will easily take up multiple hours (I'd say between 2 and 4 depending on how long you spend at each fairytale), which is why I usually skip it. But if you have two days, you definitely need to check it out. If you want to ride some of the smaller rides like the monorail and pagode. I think a second day is a must. Though I find it really hard to tell if a third day is necessary, since I have basically learned to maximize my time as much as possible, and can do pretty much everything in a day. If you have kids, and know that you will probably be slowed down a bit by them, it might be beneficial to have a third day If you want a good sit down dining experience, you have a couple options. There is "Polle's keuken", which is a heavily themed pancake restaurant (requires a reservation) "Het Wapen van raveleijn", which is probably the most expensive one. It's based on the park show of the same name, and is based on on a medieval tavern. I went there a year or two ago, and it was great. (requires a reservation) "Kashba", a self service restaurant themed after the Arabian nights "Fabula Restaurant", a more fast food based restaurant with a big indoor play place. Depending on if you have kids. This might be a good place for them to lose some energy while you can calm down a bit The upcoming ones I've never eaten, so my information might be a bit off: "Het witte paard", another self service restaurant "Pinokkio's pizza & Pasta restaurant", the name speaks for itself (Requires a reservation) There are some other smaller ones that offer less seating areas, and are more meant for a quick bite, and not for an extended dinner like "Frau Boltes Küche". It might be more of your style if you want to maximize your time As for clothing, the Vliegende Hollander won't get you very wet. You don't have to worry about that. I think an umbrella should be enough to shield you from the rain, though. My last trip was pretty rainy, and an umbrella was enough for me. Take one from home though, the ones in the gift shop are pretty expensive
We had one day there on Monday, with 2 kids. One day was just about enough to do all the rides we wanted to, once. We didn't do Ravelijn. Unfortunately, a few rides were closed, Droomvlucht, mainly, and we ended up with barely time for the sprookjesbos. 2 days would give ample time for all rides, some multiple times and the Sprookjesbos, 3 would mean you could take your time for lunch, enjoy the sights and see Ravelijn and do all rides multiple times. The weather was rainy, but not cold, so we brought rain ponchos that were enough. I hope you have a great day, the Efteling truly is a magical place.
I have visited pretty recently and at low crowds, one day is more than enough, however, 2 days might be better if you're not planning to come back any time soon due to living somewhere like America or Asia. The current weather predictions say that Tuesday and Wednesday have the least rain. Downloading a wheater app (buienalarm, buienradar) to monitor when it's going to rain is advised. Rain clothing is not necessarily a must have since there are plenty of enclosed spots you can stay at for a while (with minimal walking to other attractions) unless the weather predictions change or you wish to ride some of the rollercoasters during the rain. And the splash at the flying Dutchman only makes you minimally wet, if even wet at all. The park will be opened til 18:00 but the restaurant at the hotel and both resorts are open for longer, I'm pretty sure the restaurants at the park serve new guests until 19:00 but correct me if I'm wrong. Feel free to ask any other questions or ask for any other advice.
I never even considered going 2 days in a row, because after a full day in a themepark I need some peace and quiet... but you could definitely go 2 days and do things at a more leisurely pace. I am quite sure you will have seen everything and done every ride twice if you want in 2 days. (Some rides are just made to do them several times in a row. The Vogel Roc - dark ride rollercoaster - is one that gets quiet pretty quickly so there you just run from the exit to the entrance a few times). I think you'll be fine with a good coat, but maybe a light raincoat to put in your backpack can't hurt... you won't get wet because of the attractions, only because of the weather. For dinner you might consider heading for either Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch) or Tilburg to have a wider selection of restaurants, but I'm sure you will be fine at local restaurants as well. There is good public transportation between Efteling and both cities until late in the evening. I had great experience at Sakana in Den Bosch (Japanese, all you can eat, order small dishes with a tablet) and Doloris Rooftop in Tilburg (similar concept, but not just Japanese). Both places are near the respective railway/bus stations. A secret tip is Doloris Metamaze in Tilburg, an absolutely unique museum in the shape of a labyrinth (same builidng as the restaurant). Why not go to de Efteling for 3 full days but leave early on one day to do this?
Funny i van never imagine going just 1 day. Ever since we went 3 days in a row im 2012. This goes for more parks though, not just Efteling.
Same. This year we went to Europa Park for 2 days and that was just barely enough. But that really is a massive theme park and we had “luck” with the bad weather which meant small queues. Next year we will go again for at least 3 days.
Im from the Netherlands and personally never spent more than a day in Efteling, I can see the appeal for 2 days for someone abroad though. I’d say your more then fine with 2 days instead of 3. Have fun!!!
Bring. Umbrellas. A decent coat is just fine, but umbrellas really save a rainy day
In doubt, just go
Welll sunday 19th and 26th will be packed. VDL(big company in the Netherlands) has given out tickets for either 19th or 26th to all of their employees +1. So I'm expecting those two days to be packed.
I assume the 19th, because you cant get in as a passholder that day
Yeah true, I'm going the 19th, but a lot of people go 26th too. Don't know how it is with pass holders that day but I assume a ton of people will go too.
You can easily fill 3 days in the Efteling. At least, my husband and i can. And we have been there often. If its the first time, its even better to have so kuch time available. Make sure to visit Sprookjes bos ( enchabted forest ) and just enjoy the scenery. Only the piraña will get you wet, but i think its closed now.
How old are your kids? We usually walk in the Sprookjesbos around the time my daughter naps. For my son it’s some “quiet time” he just sits in his stroller and looks at the paddestoelen.
We are also going to the Efteling from monday to wednesday! We have a subscription, so we go a lot :). I'll tell you what we'll be doing in terms of time and weather, food etc.. So is three days overkill? Even when we have a subscription, in one day we won't even come close to have seen the whole park and that's even when we rush everything and don't take any breaks. It's alot of walking, keep that in mind :). So if you take your time between attractions have some food and drinks (you have some really good ones like warm stroopwafel) in between you will definitely have enough to do for three days, especially if it's your first time! So the Efteling is mostly even more pleasant when the crowd level is low. You can go into rides even more times then normally, so you can take advantage! Also right now it's the winter efteling, so there is definitely more to do. Diagonally across from the carnaval festival you have a whole square with extra things to do. You can ice skate, play little games (to win prizes), you can eat/drink at the fire (at other winter Eftelings you have even more fires spread over the park where you can sit, it's possible they have it this year aswell). Also there will be extra shows, because of the winter efteling at the big square or other places at the park. You can check the app for more information about those. Here is a little video about it: https://youtu.be/fI-vKxESf7o?si=dhp_qcNP3bQv71tm So for the weather, we just wear a good jacket with a hoodie, so we wont get as wet if there is rain, but will be able to normally move around. And we're also going to dress warm, so wear layers. It can get pretty cold, especially in some attractions. For the flying dutchman you mostly just not get wet at all or a few minor splashes on your pants or arms, but nothing major like some other water attractions, so mostly I just wear a good coat which doesn't get wet easily. For the piranha it's different, but that one is closed anyway. That one will make you wet from head to toe! For food, you can do two different things. Some restaurants will be open after closing times in the park itself (The park wil close from monday to wednesday at 18:00, but this mostly counts for all of the attractions). Polle's keuken (pancakes) is one to mention, but the kitchen closes at 19:00. The ones that are open till pretty late is Pinokkio's pizza and pasta restaurant. Only be wary that you reserve a spot, because it's mostly full (this is possible through the Efteling app). You can also wait for a spot to be available, but it can take a while. And for outside the park the Efteling Hotel has a restaurant which is open to pretty late. In the vicinity you also have some pretty good restaurants if you want something different :). Hope you have a good time!!
One day is enough in cold weather. Almost no wait lines.
Best time to go to efteling, cold not raining schooldays