Beaches near Amsterdam: Zandvoort, Bloemendaal and IJburg

Which beach to choose from Amsterdam

Three options stand out, depending on how much time you have:

• Zandvoort: the real North Sea beach, with a direct train from Central Station, a lively resort and more than 30 beach pavilions. It is the simplest choice for a half day or a full day.
• Bloemendaal aan Zee: just north of Zandvoort, with no town behind the beach, but with well-known beach clubs and the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. You get there by bus or bike from Haarlem.
• Strand IJburg: a sandy lake beach in the east of Amsterdam, around twenty minutes by tram. No waves or open sea, but calm water and the quickest option after work or a morning at a museum.

Further away, Scheveningen beach in The Hague combines well with a visit to the city: it is covered in our guide The Hague and Delft from Amsterdam.

Zandvoort: the beach by direct train

Getting there

From Amsterdam Centraal station, a Sprinter train run by Dutch Railways (NS) leaves for Zandvoort aan Zee twice an hour, with no change. It stops at Amsterdam Sloterdijk, Haarlem and Overveen among others, and takes about half an hour. A full-fare second-class single costs €7.30, or €14.60 return; you can also tap through the gates with a contactless bank card (OVpay), remembering to tap again on arrival. Zandvoort station is a few minutes' walk from the beach.

On sunny days, NS adds extra Sprinters between Haarlem and Zandvoort to handle the crowds; these extra trains depend on the weather forecast and appear in the journey planner the day before. On very hot days, the late-afternoon trains back to Amsterdam are the busiest: leave earlier or later if you want a seat.

By bus, Connexxion line 80 leaves from the Elandsgracht, near the Leidseplein, roughly every fifteen minutes and reaches Zandvoort via Haarlem. The journey is much longer than by train, but the Amsterdam Beach Tour pass (from €17 a day) gives unlimited travel on lines 80 and 81 and other regional bus lines, which is handy for combining Zandvoort and Bloemendaal.

On the beach

Zandvoort beach stretches for about 9 kilometres. More than 30 beach pavilions, set up from February to October (five stay open all winter), rent out sunloungers and parasols and serve food. Two lifeguard posts of the Zandvoortse Reddingsbrigade watch over the beach in summer: the Ernst Brokmeier post in the south, on Boulevard Paulus Loot, and the Piet Oud post in the north, on Boulevard Barnaart. In the north, a sports beach is used for kitesurfing and windsurfing; in the south, from beach pole 69, lies the naturist beach, with its own pavilions, which you may only enter clothed.

Barbecues are banned on the beach (the pavilions offer them), and three smoke-free zones have been marked out. Parking is paid throughout the municipality: the train remains the simplest option.

What about the circuit?

The Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix was held at Zandvoort for the last time from 21 to 23 August 2026, after the organisers chose not to extend their contract beyond that edition. The circuit, on the edge of the dunes, still hosts other races and events, which bring crowds to the trains and to Zandvoort station: check its calendar before choosing your date.

Bloemendaal aan Zee and the Zuid-Kennemerland dunes

Beach clubs and atmosphere

Bloemendaal aan Zee is not a village: it is a beach at the end of the Zeeweg, the road that crosses the dunes from Haarlem. There is no promenade and no apartment blocks, just a row of beach pavilions, some of which have become clubs known throughout the country, such as Bloomingdale, Woodstock, De Republiek and Vroeger. The atmosphere is more lounge than in Zandvoort, and people come as much for the terrace as for a swim. Further north, the Parnassia pavilion stands alone in the middle of the nature area, and beyond it begins the Bloemendaal naturist beach.

Connexxion bus 81 links Haarlem station to the Bloemendaal Strand stop in about a quarter of an hour, with a bus roughly every half hour, then continues along the coast to the centre of Zandvoort. For Haarlem itself and a day of sightseeing there, see our guide Haarlem from Amsterdam.

Zuid-Kennemerland National Park

Behind the beach lies Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, 3,800 hectares of dunes, woods and small lakes between IJmuiden and Zandvoort. Entry is free, every day from sunrise to sunset. The De Kennemerduinen visitor centre, Zeeweg 12 in Overveen, on the road to the beach, introduces the park and its animals. Large grazers help maintain the landscape, including Highland cattle, and a herd of European bison (wisents) has lived since 2007 in the Kraansvlak, the southern part of the park, between Zandvoort and Bloemendaal. If you plan to photograph the dunes with a drone, read our guide flying a drone in Amsterdam first: the rules also apply on the coast.

By bike from Haarlem

The finest way to arrive at Bloemendaal aan Zee is by bike: from Haarlem, a separate cycle path follows the Zeeweg through the dunes for about ten kilometres. You can rent a bike in Amsterdam and take it on the train: the Fietskaart Dal costs €8.50 a day, whatever the distance. It is not valid on weekdays during the morning and late-afternoon rush hours, except in July and August, and does not guarantee a space on the train on busy days.

Strand IJburg: the beach by tram

IJburg, the district built on artificial islands in the IJmeer, has its own sandy beach, Strand IJburg, at the end of the Pampuslaan. It was long known as Blijburg, after the beach pavilion that used to stand there and has since closed. It is one of the city's official swimming spots: from 1 May to 30 September, supervision is provided and the toilets are open. People play volleyball, and you can rent paddleboards.

Tram 26 leaves from Central Station, on the IJ side, and reaches IJburg in twenty to twenty-five minutes; since 31 August 2026 it has continued to the new district of Strandeiland, with three new stops, including one on Centrumeiland, on the beach side. A one-hour GVB ticket costs €3.40. The district itself is covered in our guide to Amsterdam-Oost.

Amsterdam has other official swimming spots: the Sloterplas, the Gaasperplas and the Nieuwe Meer, on the edge of the Amsterdamse Bos, which has a naturist beach. They are covered, along with the Marineterrein harbour pool, in our guide to summer festivals and activities.

Swimming safely

Lifeguard flags

On supervised beaches, the Reddingsbrigade lifeguards raise flags on the mast of their post:

• Red and yellow: lifeguards are on duty; preferably swim between these flags.
• Yellow: swimming is dangerous, take great care.
• Red: do not swim, conditions are very dangerous.
• Orange: do not use inflatable mattresses or rings, the wind is blowing out to sea.
• Purple: dangerous sea creatures or polluted water, swimming is discouraged.

The main danger of the North Sea is the mui, a channel between two sandbanks where a strong current pulls water back out to sea. If you are carried away, do not fight the current: swim parallel to the beach to get out of it, then head back to shore. The water stays cool even in summer, around 17 to 19 °C in July and August.

Water quality

In the Netherlands, the official swimming season runs from 1 May to 1 October. During this period, the water quality at official swimming spots, recognisable by the province's blue sign, is checked regularly. Results and warnings (blue-green algae, pollution) are published on zwemwater.nl and in the free Zwemwater app, the joint service of Rijkswaterstaat, the provinces and the water boards. In lakes and canals, Amsterdam's water company, Waternet, advises waiting about three days after a heavy summer downpour before swimming.

Rules: dogs, naturism, barbecues

• Dogs in Zandvoort: banned from the whole beach from 9am to 7pm during the season, until 30 September; allowed all day in winter. Picking up after your dog is compulsory.
• Dogs in Bloemendaal aan Zee: from 1 May to 1 October, they may run free between the Parnassia access and the naturist beach, and are allowed on a lead on the pavilion terraces; in winter, they are allowed on a lead everywhere. They are banned from the naturist beach.
• Naturism: it is practised on marked, signposted sections, south of Zandvoort from pole 69, north of Parnassia in Bloemendaal and at the Nieuwe Meer in Amsterdam.
• Barbecues: banned on Zandvoort beach.

Comparison table

Prices observed in October 2026; NS full-fare second-class single prices.

When to go

The beach season runs from late May to early September, peaking in July and August, when all the pavilions are open and the extra trains run. On sunny weekends, Zandvoort beach and the trains are very busy: come early in the morning or on a weekday. In spring and autumn, the coast is better suited to walks in the dunes than to swimming, and a clear sky does not guarantee warmth, as the North Sea wind quickly cools the air. Always bring a windbreaker.

Further reading

To combine the beach with another town, our guide to day trips from Amsterdam covers destinations within an hour by train. To choose your dates according to the weather, see our guide to the best time to visit Amsterdam. And for tram, bus and train tickets, read our guide to getting around Amsterdam.