Zandvoort's beach is the closest piece of open North Sea coast to Amsterdam and the city treats it accordingly. The sand is fine and pale grey, the gradient gentle, and the beach itself wide enough on a low tide to lose a thousand sunbathers and still feel open. The water is cold even in August — fifteen to seventeen degrees — and the surf is steady rather than dramatic.
The central two kilometres in front of the town are walled with strandpaviljoens (beach pavilions), each licensed for the May-to-October season and tipped down each winter. North towards Bloemendaal aan Zee the bars get louder and younger; south towards the nudist beach they thin out into something quieter. There are showers, paid lockers, and lifeguards in season; pay attention to the rip-current warnings, which are real.