Take a walk on the wild side

There is nothing better than a day trip to gaze at animals live with the kids! During the summer holidays , a visit to the zoo (‘dierenpark’) is a popular excursion. But where to start? Here are some of the top rated zoos in the northern provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe.

Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen (formerly Noorder Dierenpark Emmen)

It is by far the most famous zoo in Drenthe (possibly the Netherlands too), and this spring, Emmen zoo reopened its doors with an all new park full of adventure and animals. With three main areas to visit, jungle, safari and arctic, there is a wide variety of animals to see.

Tickets: (book online for a discount)
Adult – €30
Kids – €27,50 (under 2’s are free)

Aqua Zoo Friesland

Penguins, seals, polar bears, sea lions and more, they also have free walk areas where you can get up close with some of the animals.If you saved any of the Jumbo ‘dagjes uit’ vouchers, you can use these for money off the entrance fee.

Tickets: (book online for a discount)
Adults & Kids – €16 (under 3’s are free)

DOEZOO Leens, Insect zoo

Insect zoo is packed with creepy crawlies; they don’t have just bugs, but also monkeys, spiders, owls, squirrels, hedgehogs and snakes. A large part of the zoo is indoors, making it a fun day out, come rain or shine.

Tickets:
Adults & Kids – €6,50 (under 2’s are free)

Zeehonden Crèche

The seal centre rescues, rehabilitates and releases seals back into the wild. Look behind the scenes at how staff and volunteers care for the seals, and be there between 15:00 and 16:00 for feeding!

They also run Wadden Sea tours where you can see the seals in the wild.

Tickets:
Adults – €7,50
Kids – €5 (under 4’s are free)

In addition to animal parks, there are many small animal petting zoos (‘kinderboerderijen’) in parks, small villages etc, with animals such as goats, chickens, etc.