Snowleopard's Dutch Sights, Belgian Delights & German Ratites

[snowleopard]

Caution, the Netherlands is a land of traffic jams. Especially around Amsterdam and Rotterdam there is traffic jam every day and some of your driving times are very optimistic.

There are no border checks on motorways in Western Europe anymore. I would not bother with multiple tiny zoos on days 3,6,7,11,20, which even few Dutch zoo enthusiasts ever visited. I would move for several days to German Ruhr area, which is close by. From Burgersvzoo to Duisburg zoo there is only 103 km driving. There are several first-class zoos within 1-2 hours drive from each other: Duisburg, Krefeld, Wuppertal, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund and also Cologne. Unless your priority is to maximize number of zoos, not maximizing animal species, exhibits or experiences.

I really do appreciate all of the advice that I've been given in regards to my 2019 trip and I'm thankful that I made the decision to post the itinerary on this site. I've heard from a number of people, via personal messages and on this thread, about the driving conditions in the Netherlands and I'm definitely not looking forward to traffic jams. Ugh.

I will NOT be going to Germany and I'm well aware of the Ruhr area and its rich assortment of zoological delicacies. I want a narrow, specific focus on 2 nations and all of the major, mid-sized and even small zoos in a particular area. Of course I've been tempted to plan a European trip to all of the big German zoos but it's not going to happen next year. A big German zoo trip is something far away in the future and I'll be sure to eventually visit all of those Ruhr valley collections in my lifetime. A single dolphin in Duisburg, no matter how iconic, cannot sway my opinion. I'm sure that my lovely wife would grant me a few more days of holiday-time and so that would be the only way that I'd be able to add on perhaps 3 days in Germany and 6 more zoos. However, that would mean I'd be away from home for a very long time!

I think you may have forgotten who you are talking about if you need to ask that!

That about sums it up!

Great idea and great choises snowleopard and I hope to meet you at at least one of these collections next year !
If you even want to visit 4 more collections :
On day 1 you easily could add Artisklas at Haarlem
On day 6 it should be very possible to add Faunapark Flakkee - Nieuwe Tonge
and on your last day you can add Stichting AAP and Almere Jungle, both at Almere and almost next to eachother.
All four are small - and cheap - collections both surtainly worth a ( short ) visit !

I would love to see any Dutch zoo enthusiast that is ready to meet a Canadian zoo nerd. I know about the very tiny zoo Artisklas but I can only add that on if I do Amsterdam on a weekend. It's tempting to switch the dates so I can see yet another small zoo. What do you think? Is it worth it? If I'm intent on maximizing the number of zoos on this trip then I suppose I should consider touring Amsterdam on a weekend.

On Day 6, you really think that I can add on a 5th small zoo? (Faunapark Flakkee) I'm not sure if I can due to the time constraints. How would I squeeze it in?

On the last day, you think that Stichting AAP (a primate sanctuary) and Almere Jungle can both be added on? How long would it take to tour each facility? I know of both of them but I wasn't sure if Almere Jungle wasn't more of a restaurant than a zoo.

Itinerary looks fine and I don’t think there’s much else in Holland you could squeeze in...

That's music to my ears! The goal is to visit the Netherlands and see almost everything zoo-wise in the nation, without a care for museums or art galleries. The same goes for Belgium, even though that country doesn't have the same quantity of zoos.

I would plan the day 16 visit to De Oliemeulen in between the two visits of day 13, because you will almost pass that one if you drive from Beekse Bergen to De Aarde. Or if you don't have the time, skip De Aarde and go to De Oliemeulen. And then put Ouwehands on dat 17 after Burgers (for Ouwehands you planned too much time if I compare it to other zoos) and then you have day 16 for the German Ruhr area

I'm not sure that this advice would work, as apparently Beekse Bergen is going to be close to a full-day zoo. I do like your idea of visiting De Oliemeulen afterwards and that zoo is open until 6:00 and so that could work.

Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem is surely a full day zoo, right? Going to Ouwehands afterwards, when it closes at 6:00, is really pushing it, isn't it? I don't want to rush through the great zoos on this journey.

Something I forgot: big parts of the Netherlands (especially Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam) and Belgium the areas around Antwerpen and Brussels (and also German Ruhr area) are famous for their traffic jams. If you could plan it, try to visit these areas in the weekends or leave very early in the morning!

Now here is an interesting statement. Whenever I've planned any of my 8 long 'Snowleopard Road Trips' across the USA, I've always put the big zoos during Monday-Friday and avoided weekends as the crowds are intense. You are recommending that I reverse that idea and deliberately visit the zoos in historic areas like Amsterdam, Antwerp and Rotterdam on a Saturday or Sunday. I'd be interested to hear what others think as that would mean I'd have to redo my whole schedule.

So...the big zoos on a Saturday or Sunday in order to avoid weekly rush-hour morning traffic or do I keep those big zoos during Mon-Fri to avoid the larger weekend crowds? I'm willing to listen to experienced zoo enthusiasts when it comes to that decision.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem is surely a full day zoo, right? Going to Ouwehands afterwards, when it closes at 6:00, is really pushing it, isn't it? I don't want to rush through the great zoos on this journey.

It was definitely a full-day zoo when I visited in February!

I would tend to suggest your itinerary may belie your final sentence, however

 

[Stefan Verhoeven]

Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem is surely a full day zoo, right? Going to Ouwehands afterwards, when it closes at 6:00, is really pushing it, isn't it? I don't want to rush through the great zoos on this journey.

For me Burgers' Zoo is a day visit, but seeing your scedule I clearly cannot compare myself to you And also just wanted to make an extra day free to visit Germany, but that's not needed as you mentioned. I can imagine you want to visit Germanies zoos in another trip, it is worth the wait

I've always put the big zoos during Monday-Friday and avoided weekends as the crowds are intense.

I can imagine that. It will be busier in the weekends, but in my opinion if you will be there at opening hour and start exploring the zoo counter clockwise it is doable. But off course that's my opinion and I am sure there are people around here that could give you a better opinion out of experience. I don't know when exactly the trip is planned, but during summer holidays there are very little traffic jams.

 

[migdog]

We visited Artis Zoo on a Friday, and had no trouble getting there, encountering little traffic (we got there early). Rotterdam was the same on the Sunday. Driving in the Netherlands was great!

 

[Giant Panda]

Now here is an interesting statement. Whenever I've planned any of my 8 long 'Snowleopard Road Trips' across the USA, I've always put the big zoos during Monday-Friday and avoided weekends as the crowds are intense. You are recommending that I reverse that idea and deliberately visit the zoos in historic areas like Amsterdam, Antwerp and Rotterdam on a Saturday or Sunday. I'd be interested to hear what others think as that would mean I'd have to redo my whole schedule.

So...the big zoos on a Saturday or Sunday in order to avoid weekly rush-hour morning traffic or do I keep those big zoos during Mon-Fri to avoid the larger weekend crowds? I'm willing to listen to experienced zoo enthusiasts when it comes to that decision.

This sounds like a brilliant expedition. What works for a US trip, though, may not translate as well to Europe. You could avoid much of the traffic by basing yourself in a few central areas (as suggested), only renting a car for the multi-zoo days you actually need it, and travelling to some city zoos by public transport. Blijdorp is a 20-minute walk from Rotterdam's main station, for example; Antwerp and Antwerp Central are literally next door (and it's a station worth visiting).

 

[CGSwans]

Antwerp and Planckendael are comfortably doable in a day by public transport, too, if one is a relatively quick mover through a zoo.

 

[snowleopard]

Antwerp and Planckendael are comfortably doable in a day by public transport, too, if one is a relatively quick mover through a zoo.

An interesting observation, and @ANyhuis also recommended that I tour Antwerp and Planckendael on the same day but I wasn't sure if that would be wise. Both zoos open at 10:00 but Antwerp is open an hour later at night and so it would make sense to do Planckendael first.

Planckendael from 10:00-2:00...then take a train to Antwerp and do that zoo from 3:00-7:00. It would make for a very long day but that is the norm on a 'Snowleopard Road Trip'. It could be possible and on websites for those zoos there is a big push to purchase an annual membership as members are allowed in at 9:00 and they gain a full hour on the regular crowds. Therefore, touring both zoos on the same day would become even more realistic. I'd also get 10% off food and free admission to the Serpentarium in Blankenberge, which I'm going to anyway. It seems that there might be free admission to Amsterdam and Rotterdam as well, which means that I definitely should buy some kind of membership at a Dutch zoo to ease costs elsewhere.

 

[Giant Panda]

An interesting observation, and @ANyhuis also recommended that I tour Antwerp and Planckendael on the same day but I wasn't sure if that would be wise. Both zoos open at 10:00 but Antwerp is open an hour later at night and so it would make sense to do Planckendael first.

Planckendael from 10:00-2:00...then take a train to Antwerp and do that zoo from 3:00-7:00. It would make for a very long day but that is the norm on a 'Snowleopard Road Trip'. It could be possible and on websites for those zoos there is a big push to purchase an annual membership as members are allowed in at 9:00 and they gain a full hour on the regular crowds. Therefore, touring both zoos on the same day would become even more realistic. I'd also get 10% off food and free admission to the Serpentarium in Blankenberge, which I'm going to anyway. It seems that there might be free admission to Amsterdam and Rotterdam as well, which means that I definitely should buy some kind of membership at a Dutch zoo to ease costs elsewhere.

I've done Planckendael in 4 hours. It's possible, but not advisable.

Antwerp's a small site with lots of animal houses. If you take your time with the non-mammals, I think you'd be cutting it fine there, too.

Personally, I think you'll get more out of both zoos doing them separately.

 

[snowleopard]

I've done Planckendael in 4 hours. It's possible, but not advisable.

Antwerp's a small site with lots of animal houses. If you take your time with the non-mammals, I think you'd be cutting it fine there, too.

Personally, I think you'll get more out of both zoos doing them separately.

I really appreciate your advice. I'm definitely leaning towards doing the zoos separately but in theory if I purchased a membership then I'd have from 9:00 a.m. to at least 7:00 p.m. to visit both zoos and get from one to the other in the middle of the day (or maybe later than 7:00 p.m. if Antwerp allows some grace in terms of the closing time as some zoos let visitors wander around after the gates are locked). Looking at that 10 hour time slot, it seems as if the day would be extremely busy but also totally feasible to do both in one day. Hmmm...tough decision! Maybe if I did pull off a Planckendael/Antwerp day, and free up some road trip space, then I could start dreaming about the Ruhr region of Germany.

 

[CGSwans]

I've done Planckendael in 4 hours. It's possible, but not advisable.

Antwerp's a small site with lots of animal houses. If you take your time with the non-mammals, I think you'd be cutting it fine there, too.

Personally, I think you'll get more out of both zoos doing them separately.

I seem to be in the minority regarding Planckendael, but it's not a zoo that will have a long 'hang time' for SnowLeopard, I don't think. I tend to move through zoos quickly when they're relatively homogeneous in design and big mammal-heavy - both traits that Planckendael holds. I think I did spend about 4.5 hours there, but probably wouldn't have done had it not been quite early in my trip. I understand that SL also tends to cover zoos at a fast clip when there's nothing particularly special to see, and I feel confident he would be able to do it in less time.

Antwerp certainly deserves an extra hour, but if SL follows through on the proposal to buy a membership and stays in Antwerp overnight, he could be there at 9, stay until perhaps 2 if necessary, and still get out to Planckendael with four hours to cover it.

 

[Tim May]

Antwerp and Planckendael are comfortably doable in a day by public transport, too, if one is a relatively quick mover through a zoo.

Whilst it is certainly possible to visit Antwerp Zoo and Planckendal Zoo on the same day, it is not something that I'd recommend. In my opinion, both zoos deserve a full day to do them justice; actually, on most of my trips to Belgium, I've spent two full days in Antwerp Zoo and never thought that was excessive.

Obviously, "snowleopard's" proposed itinerary reflects his intention of squeezing in as many Dutch and Belgian zoos as possible.

However, personally, I would prefer to spend two full days in each of the major zoos (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam etc) and skip many of the minor collections altogether (unless they happen to have a particularly noteworthy species that couldn't be easily seen elsewhere).

 

[CGSwans]

Whilst it is certainly possible to visit Antwerp Zoo and Planckendal Zoo on the same day, it is not something that I'd recommend. In my opinion, both zoos deserve a full day to do them justice; actually, on most of my trips to Belgium, I've spent two full days in Antwerp Zoo and never thought that was excessive.

Obviously, "snowleopard's" proposed itinerary reflects his intention of squeezing in as many Dutch and Belgian zoos as possible.

However, personally, I would prefer to spend two full days in each of the major zoos (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam etc) and skip many of the minor collections altogether (unless they happen to have a particularly noteworthy species that couldn't be easily seen elsewhere).

But we all have different tempos to our zoo visits. I’d struggle to spin a full half-day out of Artis, let alone two full days. SnowLeopard is clearly closer to my tempo than yours, so advising that he needs two days at Artis (a relatively small zoo, albeit an interesting one) is not going to accurately reflect *how* he visits the zoo.

I think most, if not all of us would be skipping many of the no-name collections, but it’s how SL wants to do things.

 

[Tim May]

so advising that he needs two days at Artis (a relatively small zoo, albeit an interesting one) is not going to accurately reflect *how* he visits the zoo.

I am well aware that we have different approaches to zoo visiting, which is exactly the point I was making and precisely why I commented that his "proposed itinerary reflects his intention of squeezing in as many Dutch and Belgian zoos as possible".

I didn't advise him that he needed two days at Artis, I merely said that personally I'd prefer to spend two days in a major zoo and skip the minor collections.

 

[CGSwans]

I am well aware that we have different approaches to zoo visiting, which is exactly the point I was making and precisely why I commented that his "proposed itinerary reflects his intention of squeezing in as many Dutch and Belgian zoos as possible".

I didn't advise him that he needed two days at Artis, I merely said that personally I'd prefer to spend two days in a major zoo and skip the minor collections.

Fair enough. My apologies for the misinterpretation.

 

[lintworm]

As I said before, you would be mad to try to combine Antwerp and Planckendael in one day. Both zoos take about 6 hours at least to properly see and with revisits to good enclosures easily fill up a day each (especially if you would be in the company of another zoonerd). I would also not try to combine Burgers' Zoo with any other zoo. On a very full day you could combine Ouwehands with Amersfoort, but I wouldn't do that.

For Artis I would also advise you to take a whole day there, especially if you visit Micropia as well. Artis has a lot of hidden surprises and though it is tiny it takes a long time to properly explore. As it is currently planned as your first day, don't forget you will be jetlagged, so you might not want to rush too much....


With regards to trains. There are 6 full-day zoos that could be visited by train easily: Artis, Blijdorp, Burgers', Antwerp, Planckendael and Pairi Daiza. If after your Artis visit you would base yourself in Utrecht, you could have day trips from there to Burgers' and Rotterdam (and possibly Beekse Bergen as well, no need to take a rental car through the drive-through enclosures then, just take the safari bus, though visiting de Oliemeulen on the same day will be impossible, but is ambitious anyway). Then move your base the next day to Mechelen, with a visit to Antwerp. From Mechelen Planckendael is an easy visit. And as Pairi Daiza only opens at 10:00 anyway you can easily get there by train (and a combined train + entry ticket to Pairi Daiza seriously reduces the costs, see the Belgian railways website). If you visit Planckendael on the last of the train days, you have enough time to get across the Dutch border and rent a car in say Roosendaal or Dordrecht and start exploring the smaller zoos.

If you want to go to Germany, but not leave out zoos, you really need extra days.

 

[CGSwans]

As I said before, you would be mad to try to combine Antwerp and Planckendael in one day. Both zoos take about 6 hours at least to properly see and with revisits to good enclosures easily fill up a day each.

I'm beginning to wonder if there are two Planckendaels and I somehow ended up at the wrong one.

 

[sooty mangabey]

I would wholeheartedly concur with those, such as @lintworm and @Tim May, who argue for a whole day for both Antwerp and Planckendael. I’ve always very much enjoyed the latter, but haven’t been for about eight years. I’ll be seeing it again in a month’s time, during Zoohistorica, so May have another view then - but it is large, in terms of acreage, and has quite a lot of stuff. It probably could be seen in half or three-quarters of a day, if there were a smaller place nearby with which to combine it, but I wouldn’t combine with its parent collection....

Antwerp, meanwhile, is a definite all day zoo: its several great houses will take up a number of hours, while it is most certainly a place from which one needs to soak up the atmosphere. I think it would be a big mistake to rush it! Of all the zoos on this itinerary, it stands alongside Arnhem as being an “all day” collection!

 

[Maguari]

The only thing I've ever doubled-up with Antwerp was Aquatopia when it existed - because that only needed an hour or so at most and was a 2 minute walk from the zoo entrance.

With Aquatopia gone, I think both are sufficiently 'full day' places and sufficiently distant from anything you could double them with that I would definitely stick with full days each for a first visit.

 

[kiang]

Did Germany ever come into your planning for this trip?

 

[Tim May]

....but it is large, in terms of acreage, and has quite a lot of stuff....

Worth adding that Planckendal is, I believe, the only zoo in Europe with slender-horned gazelle. I'm especially looking forward to seeing them again next month; although this species will probably be less interesting to "snowleopard" as he will have seen them in America.