Here’s a great cruising guide to The Netherlands, offering some of the most historic waterways in Europe, from Motor Boat & Yachting.
Peter Cumberlidge
Boating is a way of life in the Netherlands, where water occupies a significant proportion of the country’s surface area. Behind Holland’s North Sea flood defences lies an extraordinary network of canals, sounds, lakes, grand estuaries and rivers alive with ships and barges on an impressive scale.
Since the notorious storm surge disaster of 1953, the Dutch have worked tirelessly to protect their low lands from the sea, and their long-term planning has always included an integrated waterway system not just for commercial traffic but also pleasure boating.
As a result, Holland offers visitors a feast of unique and amazingly varied cruising surprisingly close to our own south and east coasts. If you haven’t yet savoured its many attractions, I recommend going there without delay.
It is of course delightful to visit old Flemish harbours lined with traditional brick buildings and cobbled quays, or meander along rural canals past picturesque villages and grazing cows. But it’s also fascinating to see the massive sea walls, enclosing dykes and huge shipping locks so painstakingly constructed over 60 years – incredible projects reflecting the determined spirit of this small but successful nation.
With this in mind, I have chosen my four favourite boating areas, each providing different facets of the Netherlands experience. You could potter in Holland for a lifetime of summers and still find new routes to explore, but for me the cruising grounds of Zeeland, IJsselmeer, the Waddenzee and Friesland are the places to start, whether you are aboard your own boat or chartering for a week or two.
Holland has countless harbours and marinas for pausing between cruise stages, so a two or three-season plan is perfectly feasible. We’ll be there this summer, so may see you in a lock, or alongside some leafy jetty!
Pottering in Zeeland
Zeeland is the south-west corner of the Netherlands, an easy destination from the Thames and Essex rivers. Solent boats can work up the English coast to Dover, cross to Calais and follow the inshore fairways towards the West Schelde.
Zeeland is an odd shape on a chart, its long peninsulas jutting out like tadpoles towards the North Sea. The most popular gateway to these beautiful landscapes is Vlissingen, on the north shore of the West Schelde. There’s a small marina here, but I prefer to head straight into the waterways to Middelburg.
Middelburg and Veere
Arriving from Vlissingen, you pass two lifting-bridges before turning into Middelburg harbour. I like to berth in the Binnenhaven, where tall Flemish houses line the cobbled quays. Arne Yacht Club is a friendly den, with a bar and hospitable members always game to pass on local information. Middelburg has a 12th century abbey and a grandiose town hall. The Thursday market is one of Zeeland’s largest. Read more:
