A vacation to Knokke-Heist with kids is fun! Especially in the summer months when you can enjoy going to the beach, this is a nice destination to visit with the family. Yet, in the Knokke-Heist region you can do much more with families with kids. You have enough fun activities here that you can do outdoors and indoors, making this a great place to spend several days with the family. We list the best children’s activities in Knokke-Heist below. In addition, we give some family-friendly tips for this Belgian seaside resort.
What to do in Knokke-Heist with kids
You can do several things in Knokke-Heist with kids. Here are 5 good tips that you can do in the surroundings of Knokke-Heist. These are all activities for which you have to drive less than 15 minutes by car.
#1 Knokke beach
Most families with kids visit Knokke-Heist in the summer months because of the beach. You can go to a beautiful beach in Knokke-Heist that is no less than 9 kilometers long. You have different sections on the beach in Knokke for different audiences.
For example, you have an area on the beach in Knokke with all sports equipment, which you can go to if you want to get active as a family. There is also a section on the beach in Knokke with all the playgrounds and that is a section of the beach that is very suitable to visit with kids.
Another part of the beach is called Zoute and here you have all kinds of upscale restaurants. This is more of a section for the jet set. Also the part of the beach Heist is extremely suitable for families with kids. After all, you have a lot of dunes here.
Walking around the boulevard of Knokke-Heist with kids is great fun. In fact, you can rent all kinds of scooters, bicycles and other vehicles here. We did this ourselves at the Belgian coast near Nieuwpoort, for example, but you can actually rent them in most Belgian coastal towns. That way kids don’t have to walk too much and you can take a nice walk along the promenade yourself.
For our daughter we had rented an electric motorcycle and she really loved it. Of course, it is also fun to rent a family bike with the whole family and explore the boulevard of Knokke-Heist that way. Usually you rent the bikes for an hour (or 2). That’s also quite enough unless you need to eat somewhere along the way.
#2 Marie Siska playground
Another fun place to visit in Knokke-Heist with kids is the Marie Sisja playground. Especially during the summer months, it is fun to visit this large playground in Knokke-Heist with the family. Some play equipment looks very fairy-tale like for kids with a kind of castle and a pirate ship as play equipment. Especially with young kids, this is a very fun place to visit in Knokke-Heist.
It is also possible to play a game of miniature golf with the family at Marie Siska. On the different courses there are all kinds of special buildings from different cities. Here you do pay a separate fee per person to use this.
There is also a labyrinth for the kids, where they can play and try to find a way out of the labyrinth. You can also grab a bite to eat with the kids at the Marie Siska playground, so it’s also a great place to have lunch in Knokke-Heist during the summer months.
They have as many as 1,000 seats at the restaurant, which does show how big the park is. There is also a large indoor room when the weather is not so good, where kids can play with each other. It is even possible to spend the night here in Knokke with kids. For more information, take a look at Marie Siska‘s website.
#3 Mini Golf Knokke Salt
Not only can you play a game of mini golf with kids at Marie Siska playground, but you can also do so at Mini Golf Knokke Zout. This mini golf course has 18 different holes that you can play with kids. This mini golf course is beautifully situated with lots of greenery and beautiful flowers and plants. You pay a fixed amount per person to use the course.
Of course, this is really an activity that is especially suitable in the warm summer months. Keep in mind that you will spend about 1 to 2 hours doing this activity. This obviously depends a bit on how big your family is and how busy the mini golf course is. The golf course is close to the beach and therefore you can combine a day at the beach in Knokke-Heist with kids with a game of miniature golf.
#4 Magic Lock
Another fun park you can visit with kids in the Knokke-Heist area is Toversluis Family Fun Parc. This park is just over a 10-minute drive from the center of Knokke-Heist and at this park you can do different things. For example, kids can play outside in the playground located near the park, but there are also different activities you can do inside here.
So this is another great activity when the weather is a little less and you can’t go to the beach with kids. So you can go bowling with the family here. They have several bowling lanes that you can rent as a family for an hour.
It is also possible for families with kids to go laser gaming here. You pay a separate fee for these different activities. The park also has an indoor playground for kids up to 12 years old. Because it includes a restaurant, this park is also a great place to have lunch with the family in Knokke-Heist.
#5 Sea Life Blankenberge
If the weather in Knokke-Heist is not so good for a day and you still want to do something, you can visit Sea Life Blankenberge with the family. This aquarium is about fifteen minutes away by car from the center of Knokke. Sea Life has branches in a lot of big cities around the world and most of these aquariums look pretty much the same.
You have different aquariums with different types of fish to view and at different times of the day there are feeding times of the different animals. We visited a branch of Sea Life in Scheveningen with our daughter and found these feeding moments very interesting. We were explained about the animals and were allowed to feed the animals together with the employee.
Besides the different fish, there is also a separate section with penguins that you can visit here with kids. The highlight of Sea Life Blankenberge is the tunnel where you can walk through and where the sharks, rays and turtles swim above your head. This is a spectacular sight and you see the animals here very well. Especially the rays are fun who often sit pressed up against the glass wall.
Family-friendly hotel Knokke-Heist
You can stay in Knokke-Heist with kids just fine. You have dozens of accommodations that you can book with a family with kids. We list only the accommodations in the different price ranges with the best reviews. Click on the blue link for more information about the respective accommodation in Knokke-Heist.
Budget accommodation: Hotel Prince Baudouin
Mid-range accommodation: Holiday Village Knokke
Luxury accommodation: Enso District Hotel
Also check out the entire list of family-friendly accommodation in Knokke-Heist.
Tips Knokke-Heist with kids
Best Travel Time Knokke-Heist
The best travel time to visit Knokke-Heist with kids are the months of June through September. These are the summer months on the Belgian coast, when temperatures regularly exceed 20 degrees. If you want to swim in the sea, you should always be a bit lucky with the weather. Even in the summer months it can sometimes rain and the temperatures may not be high enough for swimming.
The busiest months in terms of tourism in Knokke-Heist are in the months of July and August, due to the international vacation period. During these months, accommodation prices rise and beaches can also be crowded. Still, the beaches are long enough, so there is always a spot available somewhere on the beach for your family.
Transportation to and in Knokke-Heist
Most families with kids drive to Knokke-Heist by car. This is also the finest means of transportation to discover the Knokke-Heist area with kids. From the
We usually rent a car abroad through this company and our experiences are very good with this company. So take a look online to rent a car at Brussels airport.
Family-friendly restaurant Knokke-Heist
Belgium is a burgundian country, which is why you can eat and drink in Belgium with kids. Finding a suitable restaurant with kids in Knokke-Heist is no problem either. You have plenty of nice and family-friendly restaurants with a wide menu.
One restaurant geared entirely toward families with kids is restaurant de Zes Bochten. At this restaurant, they have both an indoor and outdoor playground at the restaurant for the kids. Also on the menu are more than 10 different dishes especially for kids such as cheese croquettes, pasta bolognaise and balls in tomato sauce.
If you want to have a more extensive dinner in Knokke-Heist with kids, you can go to the restaurant Alexandra. The price-quality ratio of this family-friendly restaurant is very good and they also have plenty of choices for kids.
We ourselves love Indian food and then you can go to Royal Punjab – Indian Restaurant in Knokke-Heist with the family. If you want to go to a restaurant with a specific cuisine, you can search for a suitable restaurant in advance on the Tripadvisor website. And if you want to eat quickly, you can always go in Knokke-Heist with kids at the various fast food chains such as McDonald’s, for example.
Near the beach of Knokke-Heist there is also a large supermarket of Delhaize, where you can do excellent shopping and you can also, for example, buy something for lunch to eat on the beach. If you have an accommodation where you can cook for yourself, you can also do your shopping here.
