The Netherlands is not only known for its colourful tulips, windmills and picturesque cities but also offer amazing beaches! Enjoy cute beach cafes, go surfing or just relax in the ocean breeze. The Beach Getaway Zandvoort is only 40 minutes from Amsterdam and one hour from Volendam (a must-visit!) which makes it the perfect day- or weekend trip. In this Travelguide, I’m sharing our top tips when visiting Zandvoort!
Things To Do in Zandvoort
Zandvoort is a cute coastal town located on the Dutch coastline offering beautiful sandy beaches. It’s only one of the many beach locations you can choose from along the coast and has a lively, semi-urban vibe with all the surf schools and seaside restaurants. We spent 3 days in Zandvoort to enjoy the most of the place and had the best time here!
Ocean Air, Salty Hair – Zandvoort Beach
The main reason when coming to Zandvoort: it’s beach! The beach is a long stretch of white sand lined with dunes and ocean waves. There’s nothing better than going for a long beach walk, enjoying the sun or heading into the water for a refreshing swim.
Zandvoort’s beautiful beach
➳ Tip: If you rent a bike and follow the coastal walk you will come to the less touristic spots and have more space on the beach for yourself!
Rent a bike
Renting a bike in Zandvoort is awesome for exploring a little bit more of the coastline and its beauty. You get to see some less touristic beach parts away from the centre and will pass many fresh fish stands where you can have some fresh “Hering” (so yum!)
Head north towards “Bloemendal”, another cute beach town and soak in sunny beach views! The ride is only about 30 minutes, so you can make several stops in between to enjoy the beach.
➳ Tip: The best bike rental is “Behind The Beach Rental” where you can get a bike for 15 EUR/day.
Zuid & Kennemerland National Park
Don’t miss “Zuid & Kennemerland National Park” for some stunning sand dune views! It’s the habitat of countless special animals and plants and you can take a walk in the dunes for some dreamy landscapes and maybe to spot some special wildlife.
➳ Make sure you follow the yellow signs to stay on the right path! We didn’t pay attention and got lost in the dunes (which happens really quickly) and it was quite complicated to find the way back again. 😀
Town Center & Cute Shops
Besides beach and sand dunes, Zandvoort has a little town centre where you can also eat the most delicious and cheap croquettes at FEBO. You can have a walk around and spot the one and other cute clothing shop, if you’re up for some shopping.
➳ Like to travel Europe? Also read: Austria Travelguide – Summer Getaway Tyrol.
Watch the sunset
Last, but not least: watch the sunsets! The sunsets at the beach in Zandvoort are unbelievably magical. It’s the most beautiful thing in this world when the sky turns into an orange-purple dream. There’s no better way to end the day!
Places To Eat
Honestly, there are so many yum restaurants in Zandvoort at the beach that it’s kind of hard to choose where to go. Most of the cafes offer amazing ocean views and hip vibes! Here are some of our favourite places that I can highly recommend.
➳ Tip: If you are traveling on a budget and want to save money by buying your own food, there’s a big “Dirk van der Broek” supermarket in Zandvoort Centre.
Tijn Bar
Tijn Bar is a beautiful bar with awesome ocean views and delicious food. You can get fresh seafood as well as vegetarian and vegan meals while enjoying the sunset with an Aperol Spritz and some good music on the side!
Vegan Poke Bowl, Veggie Burger, Aperol Spritz and ocean views in Tijn Bar.
Rapa Nui
Rapa Nui is located between Zandvoort and Bloemendaal (making it a good lunch spot for your bike trip). It’s a cute beach cafe offering many yum salads and other vegetarian options.
➳ Try the vegan croquettes, they are sooo good!
Pumpkin Spinach Salad & Vegan croquettes in Rapa Nui.
➳ Good to know: There’s a surf school right next to Rapa Nui called Surfana! They offer beginner to advanced surf classes, a great option if you want to get active during your time in Zandvoort.
Hippie Fish
One of my favourite places! Hippie Fish is a really chilled bach cafe with cool vibes. They have a delicious menu (also vegan options) and it’s a very cozy place to enjoy dinner (the brekky here is awesome too!).
Seafood Pasta & Falafel Hummus Plate with coocktails in Hippie Fish.
➳ How cool is that? You can buy all of the decoration and furniture that’s inside the cafe (and they really have cute stuff here!)
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a relaxed place to lounge, eat and have a drink. It’s very similar to Hippie Fish and they have a stunning outside area on the beach that’s perfect when sunny!
Places To Stay
Zandvoort is a very popular place to visit especially in the summer months. Therefore, you should make sure to book enough in advance when coming here.
Hotel Zand
A really cute place to stay is “Hotel Zand“. This small hotel is located in the centre of Zandvoort and only 400 metres from the beach, so it’s very easy to get around from here! The rooms have a private bathroom and there’s a kitchen available for all hotel guests.
➳ Hotel Zand has one of the best parking options! Usually parking is very expensive in Zandvoort (20 EUR/day), but here you get a parking badge for only 7,50 EUR/day.
➳ Book your stay at ‘Hotel Zand’ here.
➳ See all available accommodations in Zandvoort here.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Zandvoort and it’s beach is from May until September when temperatures are mild to warm. The water in Zandvoort can still be very fresh during that time with a maximum of 20°C and you should have in mind that it can get very windy at the dutch coast (even in the summer months.) So, bring enough overalls in case it gets cold!
Netherlands during Covid-19
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been moderately affected by COVID-19. Hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions are open, but you are required to keep the distance of 1,5 metres to other people.
Besides that, the borders are currently only open to countries with a health risk that is the same as or lower than that of the Netherlands (Germany is classified as equal and can enter without restrictions).
In general, I found it really relaxed to travel in Zandvoort. We could visit all the spots without difficulties and our time was very enjoyable! Coming here as a day tourist or several days is not a problem as long as you’re from a country that’s not excluded from the entrance allowance.
Just have in mind social distancing as it was partly very crowded in Zandvoort beach and there were lots of people in the same spot.
Check current information on entrance restrictions here.
➳ Must Read: Your Guide to visit Volendam & Marken – a real dutch experience!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this beautiful beach getaway in Zandvoort! Have you ever been? Leave your thoughts and questions below- let’s connect!
