An itinerary for spending some time in Rotterdam with preteen kids.
Day 1
All kids love the zoo! And luckily Rotterdam has a world class zoo, which is also the most visited zoo of The Netherlands. You could easily spend a whole day there, so your first day in Rotterdam is taken care of!
Day 2
In the morning take a dive into the river Nieuwe Maas with the Splashtour. An amphibious bus that takes you to a couple of iconic landmarks before heading to the river to dive nose first into the river. This tour is incredibly popular, so make sure to book tickets in advance.
In the afternoon visit Miniworld Rotterdam. A 600 square metres magical place with 150 rolling trains and about 27,000 miniature people. In a 24 minute day cycle, you can see the best of Rotterdam and the Dutch countryside. Fun for kids and parents!
Day 3
If your kids or you are not afraid of heights, visit the Euromast Tower. Until recently the highest building of Rotterdam. Enter the Space Cabin to climb to almost 200 metres high with spectacular views of Rotterdam. If the weather is good you can also see the North Sea and the immense harbour of the city.
In the afternoon visit the Maritime Museum. A museum that was founded in 1874 and has an indoor and outdoor exhibition. Especially for kids they have the world of Professor Splash. An exhibition for children between 4 and 12 years old to learn about the maritime world by playing. As they play, they learn all sorts of things about various types of ships, working in the port, navigation and how products such as their own toys are transported by ship from all over the world to the Netherlands.
Tip! On a budget? Why not spending some time in one of the many petting zoos. There are about 15 petting zoos throughout Rotterdam and entrance is free.