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Ottawa County
Holland
Things to Do in Holland
Nelis' Dutch Village

Nelis' Dutch Village, Holland: Address, Phone Number, Nelis' Dutch Village Reviews: 4/5

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Nelis' Dutch Village

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Nelis' Dutch Village
4
1,020
#6 of 46 things to do in Holland
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A visit to Nelis' Dutch Village is like a step back into the Netherlands of over 100 years ago on a day when a festival came to town. Watch old Dutch craft demonstrations and the klompen dancers (and join in on the fun with our Dutch dance lessons.) Taste 22 kinds of Dutch cheeses, enjoy beautiful Dutch architecture and listen to the joyful sounds of the Golden Angel street organ. Admission includes unlimited rides on the Ferris wheel, carousel, Dutch chair swing ride, and a number of other fun play activities for small children. Our newest attraction is the Pirate Balloon Battle, where water balloons are launched at ships in defense of a pirate attack. Also enjoy unique shopping for Dutch gifts and souvenirs, tasty food in the Dutch cafe and pub, fresh-made fudge, and yummy ice cream. If you have young kids along, plan on 3 to 4 hours at a minimum.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
1,020 reviews
Excellent
516
Very good
316
Average
118
Poor
47
Terrible
23
Lulu S
Dearborn, MI50 contributions
Couple hours of family fun
May 2022 • Family
Family day visit, First time here. Small but plenty to do and see. Kids will like it....Rides and animals and small little activities. Watching the dancers was quick but entertaining. We had a good time here. I would suggest to allow 3-4 hours and bring lots of money because it's not cheap.
Written May 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jeffrey Koslowski
Canton, MI618 contributions
Dutch-Themed Museo-Theme Park
Aug 2020
Dutch Village is a fun attraction for those looking to give their kids an outlet for their energy, gain a basic understanding of some of the culture of the Netherlands, and teach their families about how other people live. Parking is free and usually pretty ample. Employees in close contact with you are in masks and everything that someone touched or sat on before you was cleaned. The entry fee is pretty good given what you are getting for your dollar. If your kids are three or older, the rides are really good. There is a carousel, rotating swings, tulip cars (railed push cars) and a carousel, all of which are unlimited rides so try to ride each more than once to maximize the value. There are also playgrounds (stuff you would find at a Home Depot) as well as playscapes themed like Dutch stories (one is shaped like a shoe). The petting zoo is nice as you can buy an ice cream cone filled with seed to give to the goats, sheep, and others. When you walk in, you'll see a dance demonstration which is held just outside the building where the wooden shoes are made (or shown where they would have been made). There are plenty of small buildings which each tell a neat story. One is a dedicated Museum that shows the history of the Village. I would definitely recommend you check out the Heksenwaag aka the building with the giant scales. This is a cool place to talk about witch trials. The gift shops have some good stuff. The food-ways, however, are my only issue. The dining hall is pretty expensive. You will definitely get A LOT of french fries so save the money and get fries for every other person and share them. Or you can go to any of the smaller shops and pick up cheese, giant pickles, or the ever popular stroopwafel. Overall, this is a fun place to go with the children. If you ride the rides, you will definitely maximize the value of your dollar.
Written September 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Megan D
Chicago, IL408 contributions
Adorable Dutch attraction
Jul 2021 • Friends
Adorable Dutch attraction. The best part was all the Dutch themed shopping. The admission price isn’t bad and includes the few rides and petting zoo. Fun place to spend a few hours.
Written July 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
laura_the_librarian
Nashville, TN2 contributions
The saddest "amusement park" on earth
Jun 2022 • Couples
The Dutch Village is the saddest place on earth, located in a strip mall with store fronts made to look like a Dutch town. I can't believe I paid $30 for my husband and I to walk through kitschy gift shops with "Dutch" food that looked like it was purchased in bulk from World Market and empty demonstration booths. The highlight was a "petting zoo" with sleepy goats and bunnies that I hope are being taken care of properly. (There was no one there to oversee the animals.) There was Dutch dancing while we were there: teenagers in multi-layered wool outfits and wooden shoes in 99 degree weather dancing with painted-on, slightly creepy smiles. We spent maybe 30 minutes here. I've found Jordan Peele's location for his next horror film: Nelis' Dutch Village.
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
loretta8315
Conover, NC255 contributions
Smaller and less to do and see than expected
May 2022 • Couples
From most of the reviews I read I was expecting more. It is much smaller than expected. We went through everything in about an hour. The most entertaining part was the Dutch dancers that were senior ladies, one was 97 very friendly and a very spry dancer. They all wore their wooden shoes and costumes. Otherwise it was shops, a petting zoo. A carousel, swings. The museum was minimal. The living quarters attached to the barn was also minimal .
Written May 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
veryuniquetraveler
NEBRASKA505 contributions
Tourist trap
May 2021
I thought this would be an interesting way to enjoy 1/2 a day as their website recommends 3-4 hours for a visit. You'll only need 2 hours at most and that's if you eat. I wanted to try the authentic Dutch food. It wasn't worth it. The "pig in the blanket" was the greasiest thing I've ever eaten. The pea soup was hardly what I call pea soup. I love pea soup and make my own. Pea soup is supposed to be thick and creamy. This was very watery, full of meat and veggies, which was OK, but there were very little peas used in the soup. It was more of a pea broth, you could hardly see or taste peas. The Dutch apple pie had a good flavor, but was soggy, my husband wouldn't eat it.
I thought we might learn a lot about Dutch heritage and culture, but NONE of the advertised demonstrations were being given. The supposed cheese tasting did not exist.
If you have small children, they may enjoy the rides and petting zoo which doesn't have anything to do with Dutch heritage though. The chair swing ride was out of order.
If you are a big shopper, especially interested in delft, there is a LOT to choose from. Half of the village is nothing but a gift shop.
Other reviewers mentioned lots of beautiful flowers, but there were none during our visit.
Upon arrival, ticket agent told us there were no dancers that day and gave us a "rain check" to return another day, however, a little while later, we heard music and saw that dancers were performing, unfortunately, we missed most of the performance because we didn't know anything about it. So, there is a communication problem amongst staff.
Only bright spot about our visit was that the employees, especially the younger ones, were VERY polite and friendly and welcoming to us. A bit unusual in today's society and most refreshing. They did a great job of describing the exhibits.
Written May 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Abby
Richmond, KY2 contributions
Great Time!!
Jun 2021 • Friends
Loved every minute of our visit. We were two adults visiting and were worried that it would be too targeted towards children, but it was a good time for everyone. The petting zoo was great and most of our presentations were super educational and fun. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Dutch Village.
Written June 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
ZeelandScoutMom
Zeeland, MI787 contributions
A long time between visits
Jun 2021
Even though we live in the area, it has been a while since we visited Dutch Village. My daughter, three year old granddaughter and I enjoyed our time together. So many things have been added to the village. The three year old really loved riding the carousel...twice! She also spent time climbing the castle, pumping water for the water race with plastic ducks, tried both the petal pumper cars, plasma cars, rode on the Ferris Wheel with her mom and sat in both the schoolhouse and chapel. We walked through the barn area, and saw the llama, cow, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and bunnies. The swing ride wasn't working, but that was okay. The giant wooden shoe slide and the 1880 Golden Angel Street Organ provided great entertainment. We had a great time together! Quite a few families were also there enjoying Dutch Village.
Written June 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
LoveMyFamily6
Rhinelander, WI245 contributions
Well done
May 2022
You can tell a lot of love and pride went into this attraction. It is well designed, clean and interesting. The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the dancers - kind of corny and not very good. Liked the rest of it including the huge shops with lots of interesting Dutch items for sale.
Written May 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mike J
Lapeer, MI115 contributions
Best they can under circumstances
Jul 2020
Right now I rated this attraction as average due to all demonstrations being closed due to covid 19. Otherwise this is a nice little stop the scenery and buildings were interested a petting zoo for the kids and a few carnival rides. Kind of disappointed they were charging full price for half the experience , they did however give you a return pass for when things get back to normal, But who knows when that will be.Since I was on vacation I won't be back in the area so the return pass was useless too me.
Written July 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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