Surfing in the Netherlands might not have the fat shoulders and glistening A-frames of Portugal but it’s fairly decent for the Low Countries, offering lots of windswell beaches that are great for all levels. We’d also add that Dutch surf culture is some of the best in the world, with chilled locals and loads of great spots to get stuck into out of the water. Let’s take a look…
An introduction to surfing in the Netherlands
The Netherlands aren’t prime surf country by any stretch. This low-lying nation has just a dash of about 450km of coastline on the North Sea, with dominant on-shore winds for much of the year and hardly a reef to be seen. But there is a growing surf scene, made up of dedicated cold-water rippers who don’t mind pulling on five mils of rubber when wintertime NW windswells roll through.
When that happens, the quality of the surf can be surprising. A series of long sandbanks, groynes, and manmade jetties chop up the surf spots of the Netherlands as it runs from the wetlands around the French border to the barrier islands near Germany in the north. Bigger days bring powerful wedges to bear on those, while smaller spring and autumn days offer crumbly sets that are great for beginners.
The key locations to know about are Scheveningen – home to the country’s largest surf festival and most of its top surf schools – and Hoek van Holland – an accessible spot near The Hague with peeling lefts off its pier. Crowds can be big here, but the vibes remain good. This is Low Countries, not SoCal, and we’d rate it among the best learner locations in Europe if Portugal or France aren’t an option.
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This is just one part of our guide to the surf in Europe
Surfing in the Netherlands at a glance
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What will I find in this guide to surfing in the Netherlands
The top surf destinations in the Netherlands
Starting in the south close to the Belgian border, here’s a look at all the top spots in the home of pancakes and smoky coffee shops (ahem). Generally speaking, the further north you head, the quieter the spots will get but the further you’ll be from surf camps, surf shops, and surf schools.
Domburg
Domburg is officially a part of the greater Zeeland region (see below) but it’s worth a mention here in its own right because it reigns as perhaps the second best surf spot in the whole country after Scheveningen. The setup here is a long, ruler-straight run of powdery sand that has shifting banks that form and reform throughout the winter season. Depending on where they sit, you’ll get different sorts of waves, usually forming on the groynes that divide the beach every 200 meters or so.
We have a complete guide to surfing in Domburg
Zeeland
The Zeeland region makes up the southwesternmost corner of the Netherlands. That makes it the swell magnet of the country, because any half-decent SW groundswells with the power to push up through the English Channel get here first, plus there’s still nice exposure to winter N windswells. The area is actually a series of islands and peninsulas that are linked together by more bridges and dykes than you can shake a Dutch pancake at. There’s loads of exploring to be done if you have your own car, with breaks that work on outer sandbanks that barely a soul knows about. There are also some fine spots for learners, like the lighthouse-topped beach breaks around Leuchtturm and the exposed sands around Domburg.
Slufter
Slufter is a fishhook of a sandbank that runs along the port outside of Rotterdam. When there’s strong SW or big N in the swell, it can throw out what’s arguably one of the best waves in the country, a hollow A-frame that’s loaded with almond barrels and various technical sections. It’s not for nothing that it’s a stomping ground of the best Dutch surfers of all when it’s on.
Hoek van Holland
Hoek van Holland lies just to the south of Scheveningen and offers similar beach-break waves of varying quality to suit all levels depending on the size of the swell. It can be dumpy at high, so wait for a dropping tide or a push at mid. The best spot here is just around the pier when there’s some SW element in the compass – that can give rippable lefts that peel for 50 meters or more.
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is the main beach of The Hague and the undisputed capital of surfing in the Netherlands. It’s perfectly positioned to get head-on N swells in the winter. But the angle of the beach also means that the better SW groundswells that come from the Atlantic can work their way in here, which are what the locals watch out for, because they are what offer the peeling, workable shoulders. Most of the time, Scheveningen is about short-period beach breaks that turn to mush real easy. But it can show quality from time to time.
We have a complete guide to surfing in Scheveningen
Texel
Texel is one of the first Wadden Islands along the north coast of the Netherlands. It’s a major magnet for winds from the N, the W, and E compass directions, which really helps to pump up the consistency. It can be working here when other spots are flatter than a flat thing, though the drive north and over to the 15km coast can be a long one if you’re after a quick sesh. The other bonus there is that you’ll often be totally alone, without the big crowds of the Scheveningen surf schools. Mid-tide sets tend to be best on the push, when the dumpiness drops and the left-right shoulders open a little to offer more water face to work with.
We have a complete guide to surfing in Texel
When to surf in the Netherlands
The best time for surfing in the Netherlands is between November and March, when strong winter storms in the North Sea help to push regular N-NW swells southwards into the Low Countries.
The swell season really starts in the fall (around October) here, which is when cold air systems move through the North Sea and begin the N-NW windswells that feed the beaches from Zeeland up to Scheveningen. This is also the best time to catch the irregular SW groundswells that can refract through from the Atlantic Ocean.Summers tend to be flat but can sometimes offer N windswell conditions and rideable waves, though that’s definitely a better time for total beginners and groms.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!