Drive along the Keiemdorpstraat towards Beerst and you will see them: a row of motorhomes between the pollard willows, with black-and-white cows in the meadow next to them. This is Camperhoeve De Bonterie, a motorhome site on a working dairy farm. By now it is known all over Belgium, because De Bonterie has been voted the best motorhome site in the country three times.
A farm that welcomes motorhomes
The name is a play on words. "De Bonterie" refers to the family name Bonte and to the zwartbonte (black-and-white) dairy cattle on the farm, the "boerderie" as farm sounds in the West Flemish dialect. Grass, maize, wheat and beets grow around the pitches, and the cows graze right next to the motorhomes. Open your curtains in the morning and you are looking straight into the meadow.
The site was set up by Wouter Bonte and his wife Ilse Hindryckx. They had never travelled by motorhome themselves, they said in 2021: "You don't just leave a dairy farm, so for us this is a new world we get to discover."
In 2022 Ilse died unexpectedly. Since then Wouter has carried on the work with great dedication together with their three children, the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad wrote in June 2024.
Three times the best in Belgium
Motorhome travellers share their opinion on Campercontact, the largest platform for motorhome sites in Europe. Every year the platform presents awards based on those reviews, and De Bonterie has won three times:
- 2021: Belgian motorhome location of the year, with a score of 4.77 out of 5, ahead of Smart-ijs in Wingene and 't Meikensbos in Dentergem.
- 2023: once again motorhome site of the year in Belgium.
- 2024: best motorhome site in Belgium, with the maximum score of 5 out of 5 based on 31 reviews.
In 2024 the trade press praised "the complete facilities, friendly owner and quiet location between the meadows". De Bonterie is hugely popular on park4night too: 4.87 out of 5 from almost 180 reviews. "Perfect place! Incredibly friendly people, beautiful view and cosy background sounds from the farm," one motorhome traveller wrote just this week.
What you will find
- Hardstanding pitches of 6 by 10 metres, each with electricity, wifi and a small garden with a view of the polders. Thanks to the hard surface, motorhomes stand firm in winter too.
- A service point for grey water and the chemical toilet, a water tap and waste collection.
- A wooden post at every pitch to charge and lock your e-bike.
- A play corner with a sandpit, swing and slide for the children.
- Local produce: fresh cow's milk from the farm, a Keiem cheese (from Kaasmakerij 't Dischhof), a local beer, farm ice cream or chocolate mousse.
There are no toilets or showers: you camp self-sufficiently, in your own motorhome.
Dogs welcome, with a reason for the rules
Your dog may come along, but always on a lead, and you walk it in the dog meadow. There is a good reason for that: the grass of the meadows is used as feed for the cows. Dogs can transmit neospora, a parasite that can cause calves to be stillborn.
Practical
Price
€12 per motorhome per night, including the service point, water, waste, tourist tax and wifi. Electricity costs €3 per night extra and a dog €1 per night.
Arrival and departure
You can arrive between 1 and 8 pm. Check in at the info building, or call if nobody is there. Departure is in the morning, preferably before 11 am. Booking is possible but not required. The site is open all year round.
Nearby
The local shop De Sparre, where you can also buy bread, and the village butcher are about a kilometre away. The farm lies on cycle network junctions 27 and 78, ideal for rides through the polders, along the Yser or to the coast.
Read also: 't Kakelend Kippenmuseum · Kaasmakerij 't Dischhof · Den IJsbol in Beerst
Contact
Camperhoeve De Bonterie (the Bonte – Hindryckx family)
Keiemdorpstraat 170, 8600 Diksmuide-Keiem, Belgium
Phone +32 474 96 10 94 (Wouter)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: debonterie.be
Sources: debonterie.be (about us, rates and rules), Campercontact press release (March 2021), Het Nieuwsblad (19 June 2024), Campersite.nl (May 2024), Campingtrend (April 2023), Campercontact Awards 2024, Pasar (March 2021), De Westhoek, Bezoek Diksmuide and park4night. Photos: Camperhoeve De Bonterie.