At the Beach in De Haan, Belgium

When you get home from a trip, it’s so easy to just carry on with life– without taking the time to reflect on what you did (and felt) and sharing with others. So today I’d like to make the time to show you some things I love about the beach in De Haan, Belgium.

Some things I love about the beach in De Haan:

•It has the softest sand I have ever felt.  Seriously.•Families from all over the world.  De Haan is very much a family-friendly town. There are lots of parks, bikes and trikes of all kinds to rent, and you will just see families all over the place. I love it. I really enjoy being just one family amongst so many, from so many different places.• Another family-friendly aspect of this beach is that, for most of the day, there is a small, shallow area of water for kids to play in.  It’s warmer, and great to splash around in, for kids that are not yet strong swimmers. Amelia loves it. •The beach in De Haan still retains a little bit of wildness.  Most beaches in Europe have huge hotels covering their sea front. Not only is there really charming Belle Époque architecture, but there is a great stretch of natural grassy dunes, and it’s pretty. I love that. (And yes– I do want to ride a horse on along the shore one of these days!)•It’s so easy to enjoy the beach all day when you have lounge chairs and parasols available to rent! This was the first time we rented any equipment at the beach in De Haan, and it was great. For £17 we had the use of two lounge chairs and a parasol all day long. Totally worth it.  We brought a cooler with lunch items from the grocery store, and we were able to look out at the sea, watch Amelia, eat lunch, and not worry about sunburns. (I’ll admit that I don’t really “get” the allure of using the loungers like you see in the picture below– so far from the sea, not even facing it. We dragged ours out away from the windbreaks, and pointed them at the sea.)
• Drinks on the beach!  We didn’t notice this little wine bar until we were already leaving. How fantastic! Next time, I will definitely want to enjoy a Belgian beer or a cold glass of wine with my feet in the sand here. (I’m pretty sure they serve ice cream, too.)•As you leave the beach, there are brushing stations, where you can brush the sand off your feet and fix your hair in the mirror.  How thoughtful! Another thing I love (not pictured) which is common at other European beaches is a promenade just up the steps from the beach front where you can eat, have a drink, and look out at the beach. We love that. And sometimes, if your husband is committed to making you very happy, you can convince one of the restaurants to let you take moules frites right on the beach!

We have friends that let us stay in their beach house, and so we have been able to make it out there four times now. We love it and are always so thrilled and thankful to get to unwind in De Haan! It looks like there are some homes for rent there, too– my favorite travel tip.

Are you ready to visit De Haan yet? It’s just a 20 minute drive from Bruges, so you should definitely work it into your trip to Belgium!