Irrland with kids: a day out just across the German border

Our third visit to Irrland in Kevelaer, this time on the busiest possible day: the Netherlands, Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia were all on summer holiday. What it costs, how busy it really was, and where our children stayed longest.

On 23 July 2026 we went to Irrland for the third time, the enormous playground in Kevelaer in Germany, just across the border near Venlo. And without realising it we picked the busiest possible day: all three Dutch school holiday regions were off, so was Flanders, and North Rhine-Westphalia had started two days earlier. Everything below about crowds therefore describes the worst possible day.

The park is Roman-themed and you see it straight away, because you walk in under a Roman gate. Those touches come back throughout the park.
 

What does a day at Irrland cost?

Entry in 2026 was 12.50 euros per person. Adult or child makes no difference, everyone pays the same, and you pay from the age of 2. Children aged 0 and 1 get in free.

They do state that for a child under two you need to be able to show ID to prove that age. We have never been asked, but then our children were 3 or older on all three visits.

What struck us is how slowly that price rises. In June 2024 we paid 11.50 per person, two years later 12.50. That is one euro in two years, which for a family day out is unusual enough to write down.

There is no parking fee on top, because parking is free.

And here is the important part: that is all. There are no paid attractions, no tokens, no separate tickets for one thing or another. Everything in the park is included in that 12.50. Bring your own food and rent a handcart and you are done for 12.50 a head plus 3 euros, and that will easily fill a whole day.
 

The 3 euro handcart, and why we still rent one

The park has wooden handcarts for hire, and it is the best 3 euros of the day. It works like this: you pay 13 euros at the ticket office by the main entrance and are given the tow bar. You attach that to a cart yourself, in the cart shed a little further along. Return the cart in one piece at the end of the day and you get 10 euros deposit back. So a whole day costs you 3 euros.

We always do this. At first because the children were small, but we still do it, and by now purely for the bags of food and drink. The park is big and you cover more ground than you think, so anything you do not have to carry helps.
 

How busy is Irrland in the summer holidays?

We went on a day that could not have been less favourable, so this is the crowding at its worst.

There was a small queue at the entrance, but under five minutes. After that the first part of the park was busier, and it stays that way: everyone comes in at the same point. But the further into the park you walk, the more it spreads out.

There was no waiting anywhere. Not because there were few people, there were plenty, but because there is so much to do and the place is so large that it thins itself out. It was not a quiet day, and still you barely notice the crowds.

So: you do not have to get up early to beat the crowds. Further into the park they thin out by themselves.
 

What is there to do at Irrland: three areas, and where we started

Irrland has three areas: North, West and South. From the main entrance a tunnel takes you straight into South, then you cross half of South, and another tunnel brings you to North. So North is the furthest away, and you can tell by how many people make it there.

This time we went straight through to North. We had not got that far on the previous visit, so we thought: let us do that one first. We do not have a favourite area, although North and West are where we have spent the most time by now.

With one exception. The children always head for the enormous bouncy pillow by the main entrance first, and that has been true all three times. No planning around it.
 

Where our children stayed the longest

The day went the same way every time: the children play somewhere, after a while one of them has had enough, and we move on to the next part. We sit down again, they play again, and so it goes all day. Where they stayed longest was different on all three visits.

In 2026 it was the traffic square, with go-karts and bikes. That is where they stayed longest, and it is clearly the same recipe every time: a stretch of tarmac and something with wheels.

In 2025 it was the disco plane, as they call it. It is an aircraft you walk through, with disco lights and music, and a slide down at the end. That one is in West.

And the very first time, in 2024, it was the big train with the building blocks inside. It stands at a real platform and you climb into the carriages.
  There are slides all over the park, and a few you spot from a long way off: the lookout tower with two long slides attached, and the aeroplanes with one coming out of them. Those got plenty of use from us.

What stands out is the variety. There are high ones and low ones, steep ones and much gentler ones, some where you get a mat and others you simply sit down on. They all feel safe, the high ones included.
 

Is Irrland any fun for adults?

We love it, but not because we join in with everything. If that is what you expect, this is not your day out. If you expect to sit a lot while they play, it is. And you can go down the big slides yourself perfectly well if that appeals.

There is plenty of seating. Picnic benches, lawns, ordinary benches, and many of them with a roof over the top. There are also enough trees, so there really is shade. You are not stuck standing against a fence in full sun waiting, which is exactly what happens at most playgrounds.

Keeping an overview usually works well. From one seat you will normally have five different play areas around you, so you can sit down while everyone does something different.

But we did lose our son for a quarter of an hour, and that belongs here too. He went to park his go-kart and then walked off in the wrong direction. We found him a little way back, where a Dutch man had taken him under his wing. That was a quarter of an hour of panic. We agreed on the spot that the GPS watches come along next time, so we can call them in a situation like that. This is not a complaint about the park: it is large and there is a lot to do, and those are precisely the two reasons it is so good here.
 

Food and drink: you may bring your own, and the food stalls are cheap

You are certainly allowed to bring your own food, and there are plenty of picnic benches to sit and eat. We usually do both: food from home, and a drink or an ice cream on the spot.

And then the prices, which are genuinely fair. Chips and pizza cost about 3 euros a portion, and you get a real portion. Not a single slice of pizza, but a small round plate with four square pieces on it. Last time we got three bottles of drink for the adults and four ice creams for the children, and that came to 13 euros together.

That is roughly what two ice creams cost you on a Dutch day out. We have also had chips and pizza there at the end of the day, and even then you stay well below what such a day normally costs.
 

You can also rent your own spot with a barbecue

Something we have never done ourselves but see every time: you can rent a fixed spot for the day. You get your own fenced-off picnic bench, some of them with a barbecue. You bring your own meat and sit there all day as a base while the children play.

The spots vary enormously in size, so this works for a single family and just as well for a family party. We watch other families do it and it looks like a good time, but we have never tried it, so we cannot tell you more than that.
 

Water, swimwear and changing rooms

There is a lot of water play, so we always bring swimwear, towels and spare clothes. Whether you need them depends entirely on your child.

Ours, much as we regret it, are not that keen on getting dirty or wet, so they do not do it often. Our eldest niece on the other hand put on her bikini and went down the water slide over and over, while the other three children played somewhere else. That works perfectly well here, precisely because there are so many play areas within sight of one seat.

We did not see any changing rooms or showers, though we were not looking for them either, so do not count on it and simply bring dry clothes.
 

How long do you need for Irrland, and when is the best time to arrive?

We arrived around half past eleven and left at a quarter to six. The park closes at six, so that is a good six hours inside and pretty much the whole day.

You will fill a full day without effort. After three visits we have probably not done literally every single thing, but we have seen every part of the park properly by now.

Coming early to see it all is not worth much, in our view. We simply follow the children, or ourselves when something drags on and we want to move. So do not go with the aim of doing everything. It is good everywhere, and if they are happy in one spot for half an hour, that is fine too.
 

The weather, and what to do if it rains

We have had good weather all three times so far, in June and twice in July. That is luck and not a forecast, so you cannot measure anything by it.

What we can say: there are plenty of covered play areas, so indoor play is an option here too and rain does not send you home. But we would not drive an hour and a half for it ourselves if it rained all day. If you live closer that becomes a different calculation, and then it is probably a very good rainy day destination.
 

Where is Irrland in Germany, and how do you get there?

Irrland is in Kevelaer, in North Rhine-Westphalia, just across the border near Venlo. From Utrecht it is 139 kilometres and about 1 hour 40 minutes, which makes it a day out rather than a trip for a large part of the Netherlands.

You park at the park itself and it costs nothing. Do note, if you drive electric: there are no charging points. So plan that on the way or at home, and with nearly 140 kilometres each way it is the sort of thing you would rather not discover in the car park.

It also makes it an odd one out among our own stories about Germany with kids, which are almost all about holiday parks where we stayed a week or two. This is the first German outing we simply came home from that evening.
 

Frequently asked questions about Irrland

 

Does Irrland work for your family?

 

See also

Destinations Landal Hochwald with kids: big indoor playground, small pool Destinations Landal Salztal Paradies with kids: two weeks in the Harz in November Destinations Center Parcs Hochsauerland with kids: one big hill, rent the e-car

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