Looking for inspiration for what to do with your family or friends as winter turns to spring and the weather cheers up (hopefully)? Well, look no further; in the 2023 edition of the Royal Dutch Touring Club's (ANWB) list of the best excursions, GaiaZoo in Kerkrade received the most votes from the general public, making it the number one outing in the Netherlands!

ANWB Best outing in the Netherlands 2023

Every year, the ANWB publishes a list of the nation’s favourite attractions and excursions, as voted for by the general public. In addition to the top three for the Netherlands as a whole, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are also handed out to the three favourite outings in each of the 12 provinces. 

Voting was open for a three-month period in the second half of 2022, with the 39 winners announced in a ceremony last month. As part of the vote, members of the public are asked to rate various aspects of their favourite attraction, including the friendliness of staff members, the price-to-quality ratio and the overall atmosphere of the venue. 

Dutch zoos and theme parks among the big winners

Across the country, a wide variety of attractions were named winners in their respective provinces, with everything from zoos and theme parks to museums and castles taking home awards during the ceremony in February. 

In Utrecht, for example, the National Military Museum in Soest took home the Gold award, meanwhile, in the provinces of South Holland and North Holland, the highest accolades went to Adventure Farm Molenwaard and the Hoenderdaell estate respectively. 

On a national level, however, there was a clear winner: GaiaZOO was named the best outing in the Netherlands, with the ANWB noting that the animal park in Limburg scored very highly when it came to atmosphere, facilities, and the activities on offer. “Even if you have been there many times, you always see something new in the park,” one voter said.

Taking home the Silver award, making it the second-best outing in the Netherlands, was Toverland, a theme park near Eindhoven, while Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam won Bronze.

Thumb: Kim Willems via Shutterstock.com.