Copyright © 1997-2009 Richard Burnham
Clothes are Optional
I have spent a great deal of time in the Netherlands over the last two years, and have taken advantage of some of the excellent CO facilities in the country. This page is to pass on my experience for, I hope, the benefit of others. Some of the public CO opportunities are easily accessible by public transport. Unfortunately, the weather doesn't always turn out right when one has the free time.
Although I have visited the Netherlands many times, I do not claim to be an expert on the country, and things can change after I have been to a place, so I do not accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this information, or for any consequences of your use of this information.
CO opportunities in the Netherlands
Some CO sites in the Netherlands
General information about the country
Perhaps surprisingly in view of the climate and the Calvinist tradition of the majority in the country, the Netherlands is quite CO-friendly. In fact, if I understand what I read in the NFN's leaflet correctly, the law specifically states that clothes-free recreation in "suitable" (geschikt) places is not an offence, even if they have not been designated for that purpose. I am not a Dutch lawyer, so do not ask me what is a suitable place. Clearly, suitable places do not include city streets (even in Amsterdam) or village greens (people in many Dutch rural areas are very religious) or the beaches in front of the main resorts (where there are often signs prohibiting nudity).
In practice, you can be naked on official and unofficial beaches and lakeside bathing places, some recognised areas in parks, at nude swimming sessions (some private and some public), in clubs and anywhere you won't annoy others. Because of the population density, it may be hard to find pleasant places in Holland which are away from other people. Topfree for women is common on beaches generally, but not universal. There are many boats and waterways in the Netherlands, and these also offer possibilities for CO recreation.
The clubs in the Netherlands use the term "naturisme", but public facilities are usually indicated by Nudist or the plural Nudisten, Naaktstrand (nude beach), Naaktrecreatie (nude recreation) or the German FKK.
I was pleased to see a number of single women of different ages using the public beaches, so I suppose that they find the atmosphere agreeable, but I and my partner also saw some examples of unacceptable male behaviour. Police and rescue services regularly patrol the beaches, so in case of trouble help is not far away.
To find out specific CO opportunities, try the following:
This section comprises only sites that I have visited and can give some practical information on.
Flevo-Natuur: this is the prime naturist resort in the Netherlands: strictly speaking not CO, since you are supposed to be nude whenever the weather allows, and always in the pools. It is attractively situated in the southeastern corner of Flevoland near Nijkerk, surrounded by extensive woodland where you can walk (clothed). Flevoland is the newest province of the Netherlands, reclaimed from the Zuider Zee (now the IJsselmeer).
Admission to Flevo-Natuur is open to anybody. A day visit (1996) costs fl 12.50 (fl 1 is about GBP 0.40), a chalet for up to 5 people ranges from fl 385 to about fl 930 per week depending on the season, and camping/caravan sites up to fl 16 with electricity plus fl 12.50 per adult per day. The address is Wielseweg 3, 3896 LA Zeewolde, and the telephone is +31 (0)36 522 8880.
Facilities include extensive grounds with grass and pools and plenty of shade trees, a restaurant, bar and snack bar, outdoor and heated indoor pools, children's pools, playground and farm, a supermarket in the summer, boules, volleyball and so on. Entertainment is laid on at summer weekends: the weekend I was there, there were bands from blues to light classical and a comedy act, and on the Saturday there were stalls (don't nudists love shopping for clothing!) and a children's roundabout.
There is no public transport to Flevo-Natuur. If you don't have a car, take the train to Nijkerk, then hire a taxi or a bike (or bring a bike on the train).
About 20 minutes walk away, not part of Flevo-Natuur, is a designated naaktstrand by the lakeside, signposted Laakse Strand. It is a very pleasant spot with a large grassy area with shade. It has a Tardis-style toilet and someone selling ice-cream, soft drinks and beer comes by from time to time. Some people land there by boat. If you come by car, it costs fl 5 (free in the evening) to park in the car park, about 5 minutes walk along the path or dyke from the naaktstrand.
Hoek van Holland beach: take the train to Hoek van Holland Strand station. If you come by car, the nudist beach is prominently signposted on the main road. Park in the main car park (fl 5) and walk north along the beach. Nudity is not allowed outside the designated zone.
Scheveningen beach: take no. 1, 1K or 9 tram from Den Haag (The Hague) Centraal Station, or the no. 8 tram or no. 14 or 22 bus. Parking in Scheveningen is sheer hell, but the nearest car park to the naaktstrand is at Zwartepad, at the end of the main street, Gevers Deynootweg - it cost fl 2 per hour. The beach is about a kilometre north from the pier, beyond the yacht club pavilion, with the dunes behind it. It has two cafe/bars. South of the harbour are two shorter designated naaktstranden, one between the harbour and Kijkduin, and one between Kijkduin and the southern boundary of the city of Den Haag.
Zandvoort beach: The nearest resort to Amsterdam, easily accessible by train. The naaktstrand is south of the town, backing on to the dunes. It may be less of a walk to go along the beach, as there are only a few places where you are allowed to cross the dunes (the dunes are what keep the sea out of central Holland, so they look after them carefully). There are half-a-dozen beach cafe/bars within the designated area. Naturists spread north of the designated boundary and textiles spread south, so there seems to be quite a zone of mixing.
Callantsoog: I don't know how easy it is to get here by public transport. The beach is about 1 km south of the town (notices prominently forbid naturism on the main beach). It looked as if it would have been very pleasant if cold rain and sea spray hadn't been driving over it at the end of May. Historically, this is honoured as the first naaktstrand in the Netherlands. (It's also a place to see the land clearly lower than the sea.)
Naturisten Federatie Nederland
Web site: http://www.nfn.nl
David Martin, Naturist Guide to Europe, vol.2:
Coast and Country Publications
3 Mayfield Avenue, Scarborough, North Yorks, YO12
6DF, UK
Tel. +44 (0)1723 370691, Fax +44 (0)1723 500576
VVV (Tourist information)
Web site: http://www.nfn.nl
The country is officially called Nederland (the Netherlands). Holland is, strictly speaking, the middle part adjacent to the coast, comprising the provinces of North and South Holland and perhaps Utrecht. Although many Hollanders refer to the country as Holland, don't expect the residents of Groningen, for example, to be pleased if you refer to their area as Holland, any more than a Scot would be if you said that Edinburgh is in England.
The area of the country is 41,863 sq. km., 16,169 sq. mi. (roughly the same as south-eastern England, from East Anglia to the Solent) and the population is about 15 million. This makes the Netherlands the most densely-populated country in Europe, with the larger part in the ring of large cities in Holland sometimes referred to as the Randstad (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Hilversum).
The country lies mostly between about 50 and 53.5 degrees North (Amsterdam is almost on the same latitude as Birmingham) and climatically is most definitely part of northern Europe. It has a temperate, wet climate (although up to 1997 it has experienced a period of drought) and is prone to strong winds off the cold North Sea. (Remember that the Dutch drained much of their land originally with windmills!) Californians who plan beach holidays here in February are in for a nasty shock and possible loss of parts of their limbs. On the other hand, when the weather is good in the summer it is often ideal: not too hot, with a pleasant breeze. Remember that it can be very variable: what starts as a beautiful morning can have turned cloudy and wet by lunchtime, and cleared again in the evening.
The country is mostly low-lying and flat, with about one quarter actually below sea level. There is an extensive network of rivers, canals and lakes of different sizes. You can travel through much of the country by boat. The massive civil and mechanical engineering works, like the Afsluitdijk (barrier dam) that encloses the Ijsselmeer, the Delta Project in Zeeland and the Cruquius steam pumping station that helped drain the Haarlemmermeer in the 19th century, are worth visiting in their own right.
The Netherlands is a highly-developed country with a strong economy and good facilities, including medical care. My very subjective impression is that price levels in 1996 are fairly similar to, or slightly higher than, in the UK, but rented accommodation is rather more expensive and real estate to purchase very expensive indeed. Petrol is about one-third more than in the UK, and if you rent a car you should choose a diesel as the fuel is much cheaper. (Note added in summer 1997: the strong pound sterling makes prices seem much lower for British visitors than in 1996, and, with tax increases in the UK, petrol is now roughly the same in the two countries.)
Credit cards are not accepted anything like as widely as in the UK, so cash is necessary for most transactions, except in shops and hotels that cater specifically to tourists and in petrol stations. Credit cards are not usually accepted for car servicing and repairs. The Dutch use their own locally-issued debit cards.
The road network is good, but because of the population density, usually very crowded. Parking can be difficult and is expensive in cities. I always prefer to make use of public transport whenever possible. There is an excellent network of regular, punctual and clean trains, buses and trams. The trains are the best way of travelling into cities. (Hint: when you travel somewhere by train, check if a treintaxi is available from the destination station to your final destination. These are shared taxis at a fixed price which is much cheaper than an ordinary taxi.)
Buses often have their own lanes and priority at traffic lights. Most Dutch people have bicycles and use them for pleasure and often for getting to work: bicycles (and mopeds/scooters) also have their own lanes on most main roads. There are huge numbers of boats of all sizes in use on the waterways.
For English speakers who are afraid of attempting another language (as is often the case), there is the advantage that most Dutch people speak English, and are proud of it. However, do remember that it is a second language for them. There are two particular linguistic traps to beware of. In Dutch, "half acht", for example, means "a half hour before eight", not "after". Always check the time using the twenty-four-hour clock, for example, 20:30.
Secondly, in Dutch you say "four and sixty" for "sixty-four". Take care over numbers, because Dutch people sometimes say "sixty-four" when they mean "46".
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Copyright © 1997-2009 Richard Burnham |