The coast and dunes
1. Bergen aan Zee to Egmond aan Zee along the beach — 8 km of open North Sea beach with the Schoorlse Duinen behind you, ending in Egmond's low-key seafront cafés. 2. Zandvoort through the Amsterdam Waterleidingduinen — pay €1.80 at the gate, walk 10-15 km through dune valleys where fallow deer are near-guaranteed at dusk. 3. Texel: De Slufter to De Cocksdorp — 6 km through a salt marsh that floods on high tides, one of the few genuinely wild landscapes in the Netherlands.
The coast walks all share a problem: wind. Check the forecast and walk with it at your back. In winter these are more atmospheric than in July; in summer the beach is busy south of Bergen but empty north of Camperduin.
Inland and historic
4. Naarden-Vesting star-fortress loop — 4 km around the bastions and moats of a 17th-century garrison town, best at golden hour. 5. Waterland north of Amsterdam — take the free ferry behind Centraal to Buiksloterweg, then cycle-and-walk through Broek in Waterland to Monnickendam via wooden houses and polders. 6. Muiderslot to Muiden along the Vecht — 3 km, short but ends in a working castle and a harbour.
I’ve ranked Waterland fifth because a lot of it is better on a bike; on foot the 12 km version drags. Naarden is the sleeper pick — most visitors have never heard of it, and the geometry only makes sense when you walk the full pentagon.
Questions answered
Can you walk between Zandvoort and Bloemendaal aan Zee?
Yes, 4 km along the beach, and most of the beach clubs stay open into October. It's the easiest coastal walk from Amsterdam by public transport.
Are the dunes free to enter?
The Amsterdam Waterleidingduinen charge €1.80 per day at the gates. Schoorlse Duinen, Zuid-Kennemerland and most of Texel's dune reserves are free.
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