Holiday apartment in Zandvoort: Beach, dunes and culture

Zandvoort combines a nine-kilometre-long beach with protected dune landscapes, distinctive wildlife, motor racing and a multifaceted local history. Between nature experiences, water activities, museums and historic paths, you will find different facets of the town that can be combined when planning a trip.

Nature

The Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen is a protected Natura 2000 landscape with dune grasslands, wet dune valleys, shifting dunes and shrubland. Fallow deer, foxes, roe deer, bitterns and pine martens live in this area. It is also home to grass of Parnassus, numerous dragonfly and day-flying butterfly species, as well as more than a thousand species of fungi.

The Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen is exclusively intended for pedestrians: cycling is not permitted, while visitors may hike off the paths. The area welcomes visitors every day from sunrise to sunset. The Herten Route runs through the forests, where you can look for fallow deer. From March to June, the Zandvoorts Museum also organises a guided bunker or nature walk there every Wednesday.

Kraansvlak is the dune area between Zandvoort and Bloemendaal in the southern part of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park; its remarkable wildlife includes European bison. The zone bordering the built-up area of Zandvoort is open to everyone and is mainly used as a recreational area. The Duinpieperpad tourist cycle route runs through it. Outside the breeding season, visitors can hike along the yellow route through part of the bison habitat via the Wisentenpad. The Wisentenroute leads to Kraansvlak, one of the few areas in the Netherlands where European bison live.

Beach

Zandvoort beach is 9 kilometres long and 100 metres wide. For years, it has carried the Blue Flag, an award for a clean and safe beach. In summer, you can sunbathe and visit the beach pavilions. You can watch swimmers, surfers, stand-up paddleboarders and kitesurfers, or try surfing, stand-up paddling and kitesurfing yourself.

Even outside the warm season, the beach remains a destination for walks: five beach pavilions open year-round serve visitors after winter beach walks.

Culture

The Zandvoorts Museum presents exhibitions on art and history, as well as lectures and guided tours on Zandvoort’s cultural heritage. It manages the collection of the municipality of Zandvoort and uses its exhibitions to present the town’s past and present cultural heritage. The permanent exhibition “The Life of Memories” covers Zandvoort’s maritime history, village life and the growth of tourism.

The Juttersmu-ZEE-um is a museum with free admission. It displays objects found on the beach by beachcombers. The collection includes, among other things, a mammoth tooth, remains of ships or aircraft, and metal from a NASA rocket.

Historic sites include the Huisje van Wester. The building was originally the service house of the water-pumping engineer and is now open as a landscape observation hut. Behind the beach are the Zandvoortse Sloppies, historic narrow lanes with traces of the fishing era and old fishermen’s houses. The Sloppieswandeling is a guided tour through the narrow lanes in the centre of Zandvoort; stops at houses bring the fishing history to life. The tour is 1.7 kilometres long and leads to places that recall the time when Zandvoort was still a fishing village.

The 13-kilometre-long Beeldenroute is an art walk through Zandvoort and along the sea. It includes 32 sculptures, ranging from historic figures from the village to modern works of art.

Active routes

The Zandvoort mountain bike course runs around Circuit Zandvoort. It is approximately 10 kilometres long and includes steep descents, climbs and the longest Laarwall in the Netherlands. Another connection follows the cycle path between Zandvoort and Noordwijk through a hilly dune landscape; the route can be extended back via the Bollenstreek.

Motor racing is also part of the town’s character. Circuit Zandvoort hosts the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix as well as other racing events and track days. Information about the history of the circuit and its 14 corners complements the offerings of Circuit Zandvoort.

Getting there and selection

Zandvoort has a direct train connection from Amsterdam. Zandvoort railway station is located approximately 200 metres from the beach. For further options among the direct destinations, you can also visit the pages for Zandvoort and Bentveld.

You can find further regional destinations under Niedorp, Waterland, Uitgeest, Huizen, Edam-Volendam and Wormerland.

For the overarching travel overview: North Holland.