Hoek van Holland: Beach, Dunes and Atlantic Wall

Nature

The beach at Hoek van Holland is 250 metres wide and 3.5 kilometres long. The Hoek van Holland sports beach is located on Rechtestraat; sports can be practised there all year round. Sailing, kitesurfing, surfing and surf kayaking are permitted in the designated water sports zones. The restaurants on the promenade and along the Zeekant serve fresh fish.

The Zeeheldenroute is approximately three kilometres long and leads through the Roomse Duin and the Hoekse bosjes to the beach. The Vinetaduin encompasses a diverse dune landscape with dune scrub, dune grassland and areas of windblown sand, and is part of the Hollandse Duinen National Park. Since 2007, Vinetaduin has been part of the Kapittelduinen-Solleveld Natura 2000 area. Animals found there include sand lizards, natterjack toads, roe deer and bats.

By the water

At the Water Information Square, you can learn more by pressing buttons and turning a tap about why the Netherlands is so well protected, when the storm surge barriers close, how river water is managed and what to take into account during dry periods. At the Keringhuis water playground, children can pump water, build dikes with sandbags and accompany shipping on the major rivers.

The new cycling route “Fietsen langs sporen van de Atlantikwall bij Hoek van Holland” is approximately 30 kilometres long and follows traces of the Atlantic Wall. The Verdedigingspark Hoek van Holland route passes numerous bunkers and a fort that were formerly intended to protect access to the Nieuwe Waterweg and the ports of Rotterdam.

Getting around

Metro line B of the Hoekse Lijn stops at Hoek van Holland Strand station, right by Zeeplein, the main beach square. The Hoeksveer is a bicycle and passenger ferry between Hoek van Holland and the Maasvlakte.

Hoek van Holland beach has paved paths suitable for wheelchairs and the Wensambulance. During the beach season, Jutter beach wheelchairs are available on Badweg; they can be used free of charge during this period. The local EHBO association rents out Mobi Chairs that can enter the water, as well as the electric beach wheelchair De Bug.

History and culture

Hoek van Holland was the most important Atlantic Wall location in the Netherlands for the German armed forces because of its access to the port of Rotterdam. Strategically located at the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg, the Hoek van Holland fortress shielded the port against a possible Allied invasion.

The Atlantic Wall Museum presents the history of the Atlantic Wall through authentic objects, dioramas, information panels and photographic material; it also has a special bunker cinema with its own documentary about the Atlantic Wall in Hoek van Holland. Fort 1881 is the best-preserved armoured fort in the Netherlands. The Netherlands built Fort 1881 towards the end of the 19th century to protect the Nieuwe Waterweg.

The Kustverlichtingsmuseum is housed in the old lighthouse “het hoge licht” on Willem van Houtenstraat in Hoek van Holland. It displays optics, lighthouse lamps, oil and gas burners, navigation equipment, model lighthouses and other objects. Museum RockArt collects, manages, preserves, digitises and presents the cultural heritage of national and international music history from the 1950s to the present day. Visitors can enter the artwork Duinkamer.

Other destinations

You can find more destinations under Hoogvliet Rotterdam, Pernis and Rotterdam.

For the higher-level travel overview: Rotterdam.