Wijk aan Zee

Southerlies wrap awesome waves around the 400m-long harbour wall here – considered top-class, even amongst surfers. It gets biggest in cross-shore south-westerly, and cleanest in southerly (which needs a bit more wind to really deliver). Extremely tide-dependent, the waves can jack right up at high water – so don’t drive home too early, or you’ll probably hit traffic jams around Amsterdam anyway. Ignoring the water-colour, on a good day there’s a whiff of Diamond Head here – and the Hawaiian-style beach-bars add to the aloha spirit. A stark contrast to the backdrop of an industrial harbour and the steel mill looming over the dunes. Strike one against Wijk is a miserably long walk in from the car-park behind the dunes. Strike two is its proximity to Amsterdam, as the light-fingered have sadly discovered this place too. North up the coast are two more launches, with parking in the dunes.