If your looking for a beach you’ll find plenty in Belgium! We recently went to check out Westend, Belgium and ended up driving along the coast down to Ostend. You can be at these beaches in 3-3.5 hours from Spangdahlem! And you can even tie them in with a trip to Bruges, Belgium (LINK) because the nearest ones (Ostend & Blankenberge) are only a 25 mins drive from Bruges.
When researching the areas for our trip I choose to stay at Westende because I prefer to stay outside the ‘touristy’ areas. It was only an easy 45 min drive from Bruges. We made it to the hotel in time to head to the beach to catch the sunset, and it was amazing!
We even got to see a spectacular rainbow before the sun went down.
We stayed at Hotel Westendia which I would not personally recommend, it was close to what you’d consider a Motel 6 stay in the US but with free breakfast. While the breakfast was good the rooms left something to be desired, especially the non-usable shower. So I’d say shell out a few more bucks and stay at a different place. At least the wifi worked which keep the teenager happy 😉
I will say that we LOVED Westende, it’s a great hidden gem. It’s far enough outside the touristy area that it was not crowded. There were some people on the beach that evening but for the most part we had the place to ourselves. There was also a public parking area near the beach. We went back the next morning but the weather was not cooperating so we decided to drive along the cost towards Ostend.
We made our way along the beach stopping in Ostend where we parked at the harbor and went to a cafe to get some warm drinks since it was a bit chilly out. We then decided to find something indoors to do. Pickings were slim so we decided to check out the Storm Expo.
While it was something to out of the cold & rain it was a bit overpriced, it was €46 for the 4 of us.
Most the info is in French so they gave us an English booklet. Overall it was a bit cheesy and not really ‘worth’ the cost but it served it’s purpose for the day. It was neat that its out at the end of the pier so surrounded by water at high tide.
There were also a couple of simulators that were neat, and the movie in theater style seats as great, especially if you like watching tornado chasing.
The boardwalk at the beach is nice with lots of little restaurants, waffles, and even a bike track where you can rent some crazy looking bikes and ride around it. The Ostend area was much more touristy than Westende. As you can see from the above photo the weather was not cooperating to hang out on the beach but we still enjoyed just walking along it and taking in the sea air.
So if your looking for a beach there are quite a few to choose from in Belgium, and in just over 3 hours you can be at one! If you’ve been what is your favorite Belgian Beach?
Know Before You Go
What: Beaches in Belgium – Westende, Belgium
How To Get There: It’s about 3 hours 30 mins from Spangdahlem, and 4 hours 30 mins from Ramstein.
Parking: Parking should be available in several places. In Westende by the beach there was a lot for €5 for the day. In Ostend we used parking on the street that was metered.
Cost: Free to visit the beach, bring money to spend on food, etc.
Traveling with little kids: The storm center is not really stroller friendly with narrow spaces, it would be best to use a carrier if you decided to check it out. Along the boardwalk however a stroller would be just fine.
How long: However long you want to hang out on the beach and surrounding area, it will vary by family and weather.
Leave a Reply