Zoutelande

The Dutch coast runs north-east to south-west and almost every beach on it faces roughly west into the prevailing wind - except on this corner of Walcheren, at Zoutelande, Dishoek and Westkapelle, where the shoreline turns so the beaches face south. The consequences are practical: the dunes behind shelter it from the westerlies that make the rest of the coast cold, it gets sun from a different angle through the day, and it is warmer and calmer than most of the coast, which is why it fills. It has a high dune belt behind it, a village of a few thousand and a strong German holiday trade - Zoutelande is well known in Germany, and the village gave its name to a 2017 Dutch hit song by BLØF. The Westkapelle sea dyke is a few kilometres north-west and Domburg is beyond it.

Highlights

• A south-facing beach - one of the few on the Dutch coast, sheltered from the westerlies.
• Warmer and calmer - the reason it fills when west-facing beaches do not.
• A high dune belt - the shelter that makes the difference, directly behind.
• A German holiday trade - strong here; the village also gave its name to a 2017 Dutch hit.

When to go

May to September. A day.

Before you go

Very busy in season precisely because of the aspect, and parking is charged and fills early. The village is small for the numbers it takes. The sea is still the North Sea and still cold.

Nearby

Westkapelle is north-west; Domburg is beyond it; Middelburg is inland.