Words and pictures - John Lymer

The land of wind and water …

We spent a month touring the Netherlands by motorhome in May to June 2025. 

The Netherlands offers plenty of clean, consistent wind combined with flat water. The lakes and impounded waterbodies of this country offer good water quality and a safer feel than the open sea. That’s especially welcome if you’ve not yet mastered water-starts, or developed rubber legs for windsurfing on sea swells. I generally did over 20 miles, and sometimes well over, in each 2 hours session, so that’s a good indication the wind wasn’t nearly as gusty as we get inland in the UK.

Here are the places I windsurfed, or weighed up …

I windsurfed 4 times in 3 different places and the wind was around mid to high Force 4 each time:

1. Port Zeelande, Brouwersdam. This is 35 miles W of Rotterdam and right next door to Center Parcs. You might just be able to see a giant water slide in the background of some photos! It was the most popular place I sailed, with 30+ on the water and a fair proportion wingfoiling. It’s saltwater, but behind a dyke on Gravelingen Meer, so flat water. Some of the area is in your depth. There’s weed, but it doesn’t affect the sailing. Reaches were mostly about 1/3 mile. Parking is right near the launch and you can rig on grass. Center Parcs take beginners on a more enclosed part of the area. You could also opt to sail on the North Sea near here, but that looked shallow for a fair distance, so mostly kite surfers … and you have to rig on sand or tarmac.

We stayed at Camperpark Marina Port Zeelande near the windsurfing spot, but there’s not much else around there. It’s surrounded by embankments due to the exposed nature of the location, so there isn’t much of a seaside atmosphere on site either.

2. Anjam (Eanjam in local dialect so you may see both on maps), Lauwersmeer. This is a tiny place 60 miles West of the border with Germany. It’s 2 miles West of Lauwersoog and just West of a dyke. Parking is on hardcore near a snack van. On a sunny, windy day there may be 20 or more here. It’s flat water again, but fresh water this time. Reaches can be up to 1.2 miles and the lake is vast! You’re probably in your depth only near the edges. There weren’t more than 3 out on the overcast, showery day I picked. This location has the benefit of a well organised camperplaats with friendly owners about 2 miles away. The area is rural though, so not much else except walking, cycling and bird watching ... and a seal sanctuary at Lauwersoog.

3. Edam on the Markermeer, 15 miles NE of Amsterdam.  The town is small and very nice and of course it has a cheese museum! We stayed at Camping Strandbad 6 years ago when I actually windsurfed from my motorhome pitch! This time my pitch was further away so I needed to use my trolley, but it was still convenient and good. The site is pricey though at 41.50 euros per night on a public holiday weekend. Reaches were mostly around 1/2 to 2/3 mile but some longer. If you go further out you could just keep on going forever! I don’t think you are in your depth for much of the area, but it’s impounded fresh water and flat. There were a handful of windsurfers when I sailed. For a cheaper spot you could try a free car park (no height barrier) just South of Volendam (Volendam itself is very touristy) which gives access to a beach. It wouldn’t be too far to carry kit and possible to rig on grass then launch outside a marked swimming area. A camperplaats (aire) is being redeveloped near here, or there’s a cheap one at Purmerend where we also stayed that’s fine. That’s a nice town about 5 miles away and has plenty of bars, restaurants and shops. Off the water, this area offers more tourist interest than the other places above.

There are a great many other places you can windsurf in the Netherlands! I’d planned to sail at Makkum on the East side of the IJsselmeer but it was drizzly and light wind and a bit of a carry from a car park to the beach near a watersports centre so I didn’t bother. I weighed it up though - there’s an island just offshore, so the bay is quite sheltered or you can go further out for more wind and choppier water. I was also planning to sail on one of the many lakes around Sneek, but there wasn’t much wind when we were near that area so that didn’t happen either. A useful (and to some people obvious) tip is to look at the map on the Windy app. Zoom in and it shows kitesurfing symbols for popular spots and nearly all will be suitable for windsurfing too.

We really enjoyed our time in the Netherlands. Highlights included the medieval town of Leiden (best not to arrive on marathon day like we did though!), Madurodam model village (sounds unlikely but way beyond expectations with moving cars, planes, boats, trams and trains and very detailed buildings) near The Hague, Keukenhof tulip gardens (March to mid-May), Zuidersee museum and a multitude of incredibly pretty towns, many with medieval centres interlaced with canals. One word of warning though - ‘wild camping’ - motorhome stays off-grid - are something of a no-no. You have to stay at campsites, camperplaats (aires), jachthavens (marinas) and the like. There are some free/cheap informal stopovers, such as in marked motorhome spaces and some are next to canals. There aren’t that many of these though. Use an app like Search4Sites and you’ll not go far wrong. Roads are in better condition than in the UK, there are no tolls and cycling infrastructure is fabulous!