Halsbury Covid Guarantee Icon Our Book with Confidence Guarantee – postpone your trip or get a refund if you need to cancel*

Accreditation logos Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Our Accreditations

School trips to Valkenburg are a great option for an exciting festive treat for your students’ hard work!

The best time to take a school trip to Valkenburg is Christmas, when you can enjoy the unique experience of visiting an underground Christmas market held in the city’s caves. Plus, as well as experiencing a Dutch Christmas, you can also cross the border to take in a Belgian Christmas in Bruges!

Read more  about our school trips to Valkenburg

Why visit Valkenburg?

Explore the Dutch capital of Christmas!

Valkenburg has been a popular tourist town since the 19th century, when wealthy Dutch chose this charming town as a base from which to explore the rolling hills of the Limburg province.

And Valkenburg is a joy to visit at any time of year. However, Christmas is when it really comes to life! The city is famous for its unique Christmas markets which take place in caves underneath the city.

The Municipal Cave is the largest of these and is famously home to the largest underground Christmas market in Europe.

The Velvet Cave lies directly underneath the ruins of Valkenburg Castle and is slightly smaller than the Municipal Cave. Here, you’ll find around 50 stalls with more unusual gifts. In addition, the Velvet Cave is also home to some historical charcoal drawings and other cave art.

And the Wilhelmina Cave is a lovely Christmas experience, with nativity scenes telling the Christmas story. After a visit here, you can take a cable car up to the top of the Wilhelminatorren, which will be specially lit up for Christmas and offers spectacular views across Valkenburg.

There is also a more traditional open-air Christmas market to explore, where you can enjoy some delicious festive treats!

Enjoy some delicious treats

Of course, one of the highlights of a Christmas markets school trip is the opportunity to try the local festive treats.

In Valkenburg, oliebollen are one of the locals’ favourites. These are traditional Dutch beignet, a little bit like a doughnut. Balls of dough, often containing dried fruit, are dropped into a deep fat fryer before being dusted in icing sugar.

And stroopwafels are also not to be missed! Stroopwafels are made of two thin waffle layers sandwiched together with a delicious caramel filling. The best way to eat these is to put one on top of a hot drink for a few moments in order to warm the waffle layers up and soften the caramel filling – delicious!

Discover fascinating history

Valkenburg, in the south eastern Dutch province of Limburg, is located in an area that’s famous for its spectacular scenery and historic towns and villages.

Limburg is on the border with Belgium and Germany, so it’s perhaps no surprise that the area saw much fighting. Valkenburg is famous for its castle, which is unique in the Netherlands in that it sits atop a hill. However, the castle is now a ruin, having been sieged over and over. A visit to the castle’s ruin is a great opportunity to explore the city’s history.

And if you are interested in Valkenburg’s history, you may also like to visit the MergelRijk cave, where you can find out about the town’s history of mining and the creation of the man-made caves which you will have explored while enjoying the Christmas markets!

Book with Halsbury

Take a look at our range of Valkenburg school trips below, and then get in touch with one of our tour advisers to discuss your requirements.

Prices from £185 pp

Get your quote

Frequently Asked Questions

Most of our groups combine a visit to Valkenburg with a visit to Bruges and if you intend to do the same then we would recommend looking at a 3-day trip, in order to make the most of everything the two destinations have to offer.

Valkenburg is famous for its incredible Christmas markets, so December is an excellent time to visit on a school trip.

It's very easy to get around Valkenburg itself on foot. If you're combining your visit to Valkenburg with a visit to Bruges as most of our groups do, then the easiest way to get around is by coach. We will, of course, provide you with a comfortable coach that you can use throughout your trip.

Of course, if you're travelling during the festive period, you have to visit the Christmas markets in Valkenburg. Some of these take place in the city's famous caves, which offer a completely unique and magical experience!

Yes, of course, the Christmas markets are completely free to visit, although we can't guarantee your students will be able to resist spending their money on the beautiful handmade gifts or delicious treats for sale!

Most groups do tend to visit Valkenburg for the Christmas markets, although there are some great performance opportunities here for music groups too.

Why choose Halsbury?

Here are just a few reasons why teachers choose Halsbury for educational school trips that inspire.

  • School trips designed by teachers for teachers

    Originally founded by teachers in 1986, we understand the pressures on you as Group Leader and are here to make the process of running your school trip as easy as possible.

    Learn more about Halsbury Travel

  • School trips tailored to your curriculum

    We'll design your trip around your specific learning objectives and curriculum, to ensure your school trip is a truly educational experience.

    Discover how we’ll tailor your school trip

  • Health & safety prioritised

    As a proud Assured Member of the School Travel Forum, the health and safety of your group is always our priority.

    Find out how we ensure your health and safety

  • Support every step of the way

    We'll be with you every step of the way, from your very first enquiry until the moment you return home, including 24-hour support while you’re on your school trip.

    Find out about the support we offer

  • Financially secure school trips

    We're ABTA bonded and all our air tours are ATOL protected, so you can be sure that your school trip is financially secure.

    Find out more about our accreditations

  • Rewarding loyalty scheme

    You'll earn loyalty points from your very first school trip with Halsbury. These can be used towards a discount on your school trip or a free gift for your school.

    Explore our loyalty scheme

Request a quote

The Halsbury Difference

School trips designed by teachers for teachers

Originally founded by teachers in 1986 and with several former teachers in our team, we understand the pressures on you as Group Leader and work hard to relieve them.

Trips tailored to your curriculum and learning objectives

We’ll design your trip around your specific learning objectives and curriculum, to ensure it meets your particular requirements.

Rewarding loyalty scheme

Work together with other teachers in your school to save thousands of pounds on future school trips with our multi-trip loyalty scheme!