A weekend of city, safari and countryside

By: Rianne Culture lover | Read time: 5 minutes

North Brabant takes you closer to Africa. Experience a unique safari adventure in Safaripark Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek. Make a weekend of it and stay overnight among the Big Five. In North Brabant, you can easily combine a safari with a trip to a cool city. So, at your whim, you can switch from the savannah to the heart of Tilburg; a city filled with experiences. Add to that a walk on De Utrecht Estate and you can really get away from it all!

The savannah beckons, but you don’t have to hang around waiting until you can check in to your accommodation at the Safaripark. Put your time to good use by visiting Tilburg. There is plenty to see and do in this unrestrained and experimental city! Park in the Spoorzone and climb the Kempen Tower in the Spoorpark before you go exploring the old warehouses and locomotive halls. The street art, cool, restaurants and industrial heritage won’t fail to amaze you!

Spend the night at Beekse Bergen

At Beekse Bergen, you can sleep in a safari tent, tree house, lodge or cabin. If you’re going away on a romantic weekend together, then of course book a wonderful hotel room in Safari Hotel Beekse Bergen, including breakfast and views of the savannah.

Check in is from 15:00. If you book in time, you can even go on a car safari right after. Drive in your own car though the savannah and woodlands and stand face to face with lions, giraffes and other wild animals. In the evening, you can dine in one of the restaurants at the park.

Once you’ve watched the sunrise over the savannah, it’s time to go on safari! Beekse Bergen is the largest wildlife safari park in Europe, so get ready for a special day! If you did the car safari yesterday, get on a boat today and see rhinoceros, monkeys and an island filled with yaks. The ranger on board tells you everything you want to know. Take a break at one of the food and drink squares and then go out on foot. Follow the adventurous paths to see hyenas, zebras, elephants, penguins and many more!

A day among the animals makes you hungry. It’s only a 15-minute drive to the Piushaven: the culinary promenade of Tilburg. Share a table full of world snacks at the colourful Villa la Vida or enjoy the patio at RAK. For a dessert with an exceptional story, get a Persian ice cream at Vittorio’s outdoor lounge.

Artistic countryside experience

After checking out, you can still go into the park, but there are also many fun things to do in the surrounding area. From the village of Esbeek, you can follow a truly exceptional walking route through De Utrecht Estate. The Andreas Schotel Route takes you on a 10-kilometre trip through heaths, forests and fens with exceptional and sometimes bizarre works of art in the middle of the countryside. Marvel at the life-size sculptures, climb a wooden cow and visit Andreas Schotel Museum.

From Esbeek, it is a short drive to the Flaes Tower, giving you amazing views of the Brabant Kempen region and all the way past the Belgium border. You need a single euro coin per person to climb the tower. End your weekend in the nearby Herberg ‘In Den Bockenreyder’. It’s a fantastic place to get a traditional Brabant meal.