9 fun things to do with teenagers in North Brabant
It’s not always easy finding a fun day out that your teenagers will talk about for ages afterwards. You can pick and choose in North Brabant! Activities range from indoor skiing, go-karting, to escape rooms, interactive museums and tropical leisure pools. And a day at theme park Efteling or a weekend at Safaripark Beekse Bergen will always be a hit. Be inspired by cool experiences and take your kids to North Brabant!
1. Magical experiences
An unforgettable experience
An unforgettable experience
Active, slightly thrilling and, above all, fun: Doloris Meta Maze in Tilburg is a day out you will never forget. In this surrealistic maze you wander, search and climb your way through dozens of rooms filled with art and optical illusions. Once you have found the exit, catch your breath at Rooftopbar Mauve.
In Eindhoven, you step into the shoes of a real influencer at Motion Imagination Experience. Have your telephone or camera ready, because here you can take the best shots with special effects! Get carried away in a musical world of light, sound and interaction.
Nothing is as it seems at Holy Moly in Breda! During the Holy Moly Theatre Trip, you will have a truly unforgettable experience with the whole family. It is a unique mix of theatre with the feel of an escape room. The trip takes you through 17 hidden rooms of the old theatre. Try and discover the secrets of directors Holy Moly and his wife Magdalena.
2. Shop ‘til you drop!
From well-known shop chains to unique boutiques and outlets: shopaholics will have their time of their lives in North Brabant. The real shopping cities of Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and 's-Hertogenbosch each have their own character. Besides the known shops and indoor shopping centres, there is also a district filled with unique boutiques, lovely second-hand shops and great spots for lunch. It’s ideal for an afternoon of fun shopping and quality time with your teenagers!
In Tilburg you can go to the lively Dwaalgebied filled with unique businesses. For the best addresses in Breda, follow the Explore Creative Breda walking route from the city centre to the creative Havenkwartier. You can go shopping for known brands for a low price at a 20-minute drive from Breda in Designer Outlet Roosendaal. You could score your favourite brands with up to 70% discount.
3. To a museum with teenagers
Be amazed by interactive museums
Be amazed by interactive museums
If you think visiting museums is boring, come and be amazed by the interactive museums in North Brabant, where you can even get involved. Here, you will find some of the best museums for teenagers in the Netherlands. For example, learn what light is and how you make colour in the brand-new Lightlab in Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen, close to Eindhoven.
Fashion lovers will have time of their lives in the TextielLab of the TextielMuseum in Tilburg. Here, you see designers at work while they experiment with textiles. Take part in a workshop and go home with your self-designed item! For all teenagers who never have enough shoes, a trip to the shoe museum in Waalwijk is a great outing. In the Schoenenkwartier, you are surrounded by 13,000 shoes and you learn all about how they are manufactured. Meet the makers in the Maaklab and get working on something beautiful!
To teach your children about our history of war, a trip to Overloon War Museum is recommended. In the largest war museum in the Netherlands, children will be amazed by the vast collection of tanks and other military vehicles.
4. At high altitude in climbing parks and watchtowers
If you are not scared of heights and are up for a cool survival experience in North Brabant, come climbing at Klimbos IJzeren Man in Vught, the largest climbing trail in the Benelux! There are no fewer than 15 climbing routes and two ziplines. The tree top adventure park Klimbos Brabantse Wal in the west of North Brabant has nine different routes and 100 course criss-crossing the forest. It’s ideal for an active day with the family in the outdoor air.
North Brabant also has many cool watchtowers. They are great in combination with a walking or cycling trip filled with adventure. For example, you can climb to the top of the Nieuwe Brandtoren at Outdoorpark Reusel, proclaimed to be one of the best 40 watchtowers in the world. Here, you can also test your skills on a 15-metre climbing wall. Not far from Klimbos Brabantse Wal, you can visit Pompejus watchtower at Fort de Roovere.
5. The best theme parks and zoos of the Netherlands
For an outing with teenagers that they will never forget, you can’t go wrong at theme park Efteling! Genuine thrill seekers will have the time of the life on the hair-raising roller coasters such as ‘Joris en de Draak’ or Baron 1898 (photo left). You can even turn your visit into a miniature holiday by spending the night at Efteling. Book a room in the magical Efteling Hotel, for example, or stay in some of the accommodation at Efteling Bosrijk or Vakantiepark Efteling Loonsche Land.
You can even go searching for the big five in North Brabant! At Safaripark Beekse Bergen you can go on a safari together – on foot, by boat or with your own car (photo right)! Check out the giraffes, lions and other exceptional animals. Stay the night in a lovely holiday home or cool safari tent at Safari Resort Beekse Bergen, at Lake Resort Beekse Bergen or spot wild animals from your hotel room at Safari Hotel Beekse Bergen. Memories for life!
6. Search for street art
Introduce your children to art in a fun way! Take them to the museum on the street and search for street art in North Brabant. International artists have transformed grey walls into colourful masterpieces for Blind Walls Gallery in Breda. They are super photogenic (ultimately Instagrammable!) as well as being an original way of getting to know about Breda’s history. Cycle or walk a lovely route together with the Blind Walls Gallery app.
In Eindhoven, you can admire the most beautiful murals during the Street Art Tour Eindhoven. It also takes you to some of the city’s special places. Moreover, such a street art tour can be combined perfectly with a fun shopping trip in North Brabant. After the tour, find a lovely little restaurant or opt for an afternoon of shopping!
7. To a leisure pool in Brabant
From lazy rivers to slippery slides to enjoyable hot tubs
From lazy rivers to slippery slides to enjoyable hot tubs
You can’t go wrong with a day of fun in the water! In the summer, you can swim in the countryside in beautiful lakes and ponds in Brabant. But you can also go to subtropical swimming pools in any season.
At Aqua Mundo in Center Parcs De Kempervennen (photo left) there is plenty for the whole family to do; from lazy rivers and slippery slides to enjoyable hot tubs. Snorkelling between exotic fish is also a hit with everyone! Anyone not staying at the park overnight can buy a day ticket to enjoy this wonderful leisure pool.
You can also go to the subtropical swimming pool complex at Landal vakantiepark het Vennenbos for a day of fun in the water with the whole family. Ride on the ‘Waikiki White Water Creek,’ whizz down super-fast slides and then catch your breath in the hot tub or solarium.
8. A cool mountain bike route
For a cool day out in the Brabant countryside with your kids, jump on your mountain bike for some adventure in the forests and dunes! North Brabant has more than 1,000 kilometres of MTB fun, with numerous routes for novices and experienced riders. Don’t worry if you don’t have your own mountain bike, you can hire them at various points along the routes.
The route in Milheeze (video) is a fun MTB route for teenagers. Its playful character with relatively few height differences makes it unique in the Netherlands. The many technical challenges make the route extremely popular among young people. These include jump lines, bridges, banked corners, root sections and rollers. You will also find cool tracks in Loon and Drunen Dunes National Park, also called the Brabant Sahara. You do need a day or year vignette here. You can buy it online via the Natuurmonumenten (Dutch Society for Nature Conservation) website or at on the spot at one of the catering points at park.
See all Brabant MTB routes
9. The best indoor activities
If you are stuck for something to do because it’s raining, you have plenty of choice of indoor activities in North Brabant! In Tilburg you can choose from almost 50 different indoor activities at De Voltage, including eight escape rooms and a 450-metre-long go-karting track. You’ll soon find out why it has been proclaimed ‘The Best Day Out in the Netherlands’.
Near Breda, you can choose from three very special activities for teenagers. Here, you will find the only permanent ice carting track in Europe! You can go to SnowWorld Rucphen for a day of skiing or snowboarding in North Brabant. You can have hours of fun in the skiing hall as well as taking lessons. You can also play a round of glow golf. At GlowGolf Rucphen, you hit a ball between illuminated polar beers, orcas and penguins. The 18-hole course is lit with fluorescent black lights.
For real daredevils an unforgettable experience awaits in Roosendaal: indoor skydiving! Indoor Skydive Roosendaal has the number one wind tunnel in the Benelux. Float on wind going up to 250 km an hour!