Last weekend, when the very shy sun made its way out from behind the clouds, we made our way to one of our favorite summertime spots. Zandvoort aan Zee is a sweet little beach town located about 25 km from Amsterdam on the coast of the North Sea. We drove and with the crazy summer vacation traffic it took us the better part of an hour, however you can easily catch the train from Centraal Station to the Zandvoort station and be there in about half the time.

The beach is stunning with 9 km of soft, white sand peppered with beautiful seashells. It’s a wide beach, tucked in against a bit of cliff and there are many beach-themed restaurants along the strip. One of my favourites is a place called, Vooges Strand located in the Strand-Zuid (South Beach) area. Its modern décor is clean and slick and they have large pillows that you can lounge on while you sip your beer and enjoy the view. And their washrooms are clean!

For about 12 Euro you can rent a wind screen and a pair of loungers and enjoy your beach time in comfort. But if you’re up for some exercising, check out the 45 sq. km of rolling sand dunes behind the beach. It’s popular with hikers, dog walkers, dune buggy drivers, mountain bikers etc. The water is a bit cold for my liking but others seem to enjoy swimming, kite surfing, wind surfing and kayaking.

Another quaint detail about sea-siding in Holland is the mobile fish wagon that makes it way along the beach hawking herring and all sorts of deep-fried fish bits and fries, too. Mmmmmm, lekker!

So if you’re stuck in the city this summer and with no plans to jet off to beaches of Portugal, Spain or Greece, then grab your sunscreen and a towel and catch the train to Zandvoort.