Review: Flevo Natuur in Flevoland, The Netherlands

Some European countries, like France and Croatia, are known for their large naturist resorts. There you can spend days in the nude without ever feeling the need to head into the clothed world. We never considered that the Netherlands could also have a spot like this. We always considered the Netherlands a country where naturists travel from, not travel to. Well, until we visited Flevo Natuur.

It has to be said that Flevo Natuur is unique in its country and can easily be compared to resorts in more touristy countries. Both in size, visitor numbers, and facilities. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and first have a look at how to get there.

The area where Flevo Natuur is located is called Flevoland and is about an hour’s drive from the capital Amsterdam. Coming from the south of the Netherlands or from Belgium, it’s best to take the A27 towards Utrecht, where you continue on the A28 until Nijkerk. Here you cross the bridge and you’re pretty much there. Coming from Germany, you can follow the A12 to Utrecht or the A1 if you’re from northern Germany.

Amsterdam is home to the 4th busiest airport in Europe, only preceded by Paris, Istanbul, and London. So wherever you’re coming from, it’s not unlikely that there’s a direct flight to Amsterdam. From the airport, you head on to the A10 ring road, and then follow the A1 and A6 in the direction of Almere. From here it’s less than half an hour south to Flevo Natuur.

It is also possible to take the intercity train from Schiphol airport (or anywhere else in the Netherlands) to Almere from where you can take bus 150 to the Flevo Natuur bus stop. But count on a walk of about 20 minutes until you actually reach the reception desk of the resort. If you’re planning to bring lots of luggage, it’s probably a better option to rent a car.

Flevo Natuur is a combination of a campground and a holiday park. There are several camping areas, some are more suitable for tents and others are rather for large motorhomes. If you have the chance, we’d recommend booking a spot at the lake, as you will get the best views. For more comfortable camping, there are also camping spots that come with a private shower and toilet. This was the first time we’ve ever seen this.

The rentals come in a great variety too. There are cosy A-frame houses, large glamping tents, chalets, and even villas that can accommodate up to 6 people. What is also unique at Flevo Natuur is De Buizerd, an independently run naturist guesthouse inside the naturist domain. The guesthouse has only two suites which both come with an equipped kitchen and living area, as well as private outside areas. In the communal part is a jacuzzi.

An additional advantage of staying at De Buizerd is that you don’t need to think about bringing bed linen, towels, or even bathrobes and that you will be personally received by the owners who can give you more information about the resort. The owners are also in charge of the massage service at Flevo Natuur, so this too can be organised directly through them.

Flevo Natuur has everything a naturist holiday park in other countries has to offer. There are plenty of relaxing areas, a large playground, sports options that include kayaking on the lake, a large outdoor pool with an even larger outdoor bar, a restaurant and a supermarket where you can get all your food and drinks. There’s even a souvenir shop.

The Netherlands is not particularly known as a top summer holiday destination and although warm and sunny days are common from late spring to early autumn, it’s not guaranteed. So Flevo Natuur also offers a lot of indoor facilities like a huge indoor pool, several saunas, and a hammam. In other words, unless you want to work on your perfect tan, the weather should not be a reason not to come to Flevo Natuur.

If you do want to leave the resort and don’t mind putting some clothes on, there’s lots to do in the nearby surroundings. For those who like exploring the outdoors, there’s the Horsterwold forest, right around the corner. It’s one of the largest hardwood forests in the Netherlands and feels like a hidden gem. Perfect for long walks or bike rides through nature. You’ll come across serene ponds and wild grazing animals, making it a paradise for those who want to slow down and soak up the scenery.

For a little day trip, there’s Almere, just a short drive away. A modern city with a unique vibe. It’s got cool architecture, nice places to eat, and some excellent shopping. For something a bit more traditional, head to Harderwijk. This historic fishing town has narrow streets, a beautiful lakefront, and cosy cafés.

And then there’s Amsterdam, known for its picturesque canals, historic architecture, abundance of museums, and of course its red-light district. Personally, we don’t think that Amsterdam should be visited as a day trip because the city has so much to offer. But since it’s only an hour’s drive from Flevo Natuur, you could actually use the resort as your base for visiting the city.

What may have surprised us the most was the number of visitors at Flevo Natuur. We did visit during the high season and the days were warm and sunny, but we imagined that the Dutch would rather pick a foreign destination for their naked vacations. Well, definitely not all of them. We also noticed that quite some Belgians and Germans preferred to head towards Flevo Natuur that weekend.

Most guests seemed to spend their days relaxing on the large domain, having swims in the pool followed by drinks in the bar. But quite some others appeared to have come specifically for the wellness facilities. The nude spa and wellness culture is huge in the Netherlands and spa centres are mostly focusing on indoor facilities. We imagined that on sunny days like these, it’s much more fun to combine your massage, sauna, and steam room sessions with some fresh air and outdoor sunbathing.

We can’t tell you much about the Flevo Natuur staff because we have hardly been in touch with them. This is largely thanks to Ilse and Jerry, the owners of De Buizerd, who answered all our questions and made sure that we knew where to go.

The best ways to book at Flevo Natuur are:

De Buizerd can be booked directly through their website: https://www.naturistenlogement.nl

The resort is open year-round.

Most of the staff members we met spoke Dutch and English.

Flevo Natuur is a naturist holiday park that we only expected to find in the more southern European countries. But there it was, right in the centre of the Netherlands. We stayed several days in the park and could have stayed several more, thanks to the abundance of facilities and the comfortable accommodation at De Buizerd.