IRRLAND in Kevelaer

IRRLAND* is an amusement park located in Kevelaer, not far from the Dutch border.  Although I had heard about it some years previously, it was not until the summer of 2010 that I actually went there.  When I did, I was pleasantly surprised.

You could say that the surprise started at the car park.  Put simply: it’s huge and it’s free, so no problem with parking.

But what is really good is how the park differs from most of the large amusement parks in terms of prices and what you can bring with you.

This year (2015), for example, entry costs just  €5 per person, regardless of age.

Once inside you can hire a Bollerwagen (for €3), a type of trailer that you pull behind you.  The idea is that you can put all of your bags of food, drink, swimming clothes, towels etc. in it rather than carrying them, but by the end of the day many end up with tired children in them.

You are even encouraged to bring food to cook on one of the many barbecues placed around the site, and if you do not want to bring the charcoal with you it is available for €3.50 per bag.  Yes, there are lots of barbecues available (approx. 500) and you do not have to even worry about disposing of the ashes afterwards.

And the whole thing is open in summer from 9am to 9pm!

But what is there to do there?  Well the entire list would be far too long for this post.  The site is about the size of 30 football field put together, and split into three areas.  In total there are apparently more than 80 different things to do there.  Here are some examples:

• water slides
• very high dry slides
• paddling areas
• mazes
• go-karts
• farmyard animals
• maize pool
• bouncy castles (and other shapes)
• exotic animals

In fact there is so much to do, that you probably need a few days to get round it all.  The most exhaustive list can be found on the website (click on “Attraktionen” and download the PDF flyer).

IRRLAND* is somewhere I would definitely recommend visiting.  The low prices and the good quality and availability of the things on offer make it an ideal place to take the family during the summer months of the year, even if it is a bit further away.  You can find out more about it on www.irrland.de.

*IRRLAND is a registered trademark of Johannes Tebartz-von Elst.  All prices are correct at the time of writing in June 2011 but are subject to change.