Longing For Summer - More Zandvoort Memories

During the winter months when it is cold and dark, we often look back to the summer and long for those warmer, sunnier days when the world seems a different place. Zandvoort is one of those special places that takes on a very different atmosphere when it's sunny and warm. The sunset over Zandvoort beach is particularly special as it creates some wonderful seascapes; at the end of a summer's day the colours are magnificient, changing over and over as the sun slowly sets. Here is a typical beach cafe bathed in the fading golden light of the sun's last rays that day.

Dancing On The Beach!

There are many things people do on Zandvoort beach but one you don't often see is a big group of people dancing. However, one evening whilst strolling by the seashore at sunset we came across a party being held at one of the beach cafes with about 30 people all dancing down on the sand. There was a full PA system and DJ and everyone was having a great time!

Ijmuiden Ferry - Just 20 mins From Zandvoort

One of the routes that Dutch people take to travel to the UK and that the British take to travel to The Netherlands is the ferry which goes from Ijmuiden just North of Zandvoort to North Shields close to Newcastle in England.

It is a route we have travelled often and whenever we leave we tell our friends on the beach to watch out for the ship sailing out in the early evening. They always tell us they do it - it's fun!


Here is a photograph we took standing on Zandvoort beach one summer evening in July 2009. We watched the ferry leaving Ijmuiden harbour and disappearing into the distance headed for England.

Beach Sunsets In Zandvoort

There is possibly little else that compares to a golden, setting sun reflecting on the sea. As it faces West, Zandvoort is perfectly placed to witness many such sunsets.

Here are just 2 from the summer of 2009 ....

Kitesurfing Lessons

Watching kitesurfers is fascinating and you can get absorbed for hours as they test themselves over and over against the conditions, doing jumps and stunts. Just as interesting is watching someone have a kitesurfing lesson.

At the very beginning they might just be asked to get used to the feel of a small kite using a harness and the bar with the lines attached.

Later when they take to the water they will have their kitesurfing teacher close by. Here is a great example of that - Okke Engel with one of his students on Zandvoort beach just after finishing a kitesurfing lesson.

Okke has his own kitesurfing school in Zandvoort.

Kitesurfing & Walking The Kite

One of the most popular pastimes in Zandvoort is kitesurfing. We started covering this topic in our Zandvoort Blog a while ago when we did our first post about kitesurfing in Zandvoort.

Classed as an 'extreme sport' it attracts many kitesurfers to the Zandvoort beach every year. We always enjoy watching them and this summer we took more photos than usual, even filming a kitesurfing teacher Okke Engel (photographed below walking his kite after a long kitesurfing session). You can watch Okke showing how it's done in our kitesurfing video.

Below is an interesting picture of a girl who was learning to kitesurf last summer - she was able to kitesurf downwind (towards the north beach) but had not yet learned how to sail into the wind and return back southwards. So every time she went as far north as she could within the kitesurfing zone, she had to come in to shore and walk her kite back up.


Kitesurfers always keep a keen eye on the weather and with Zandvoort weather you have to know what you are doing. The winds can be very strong and the weather sometimes unpredictable. Understanding the weather conditions is crucial to safe kitesurfing.

Read more about kitesurfing - check out the some kitesurfing FAQs (kindly written for us by Okke Engel).

Here is a list of kitesurfing locations around the world.