Belgium Travel Forum

Hello,
I'm planning to Brussels for a few days from the 11th to 14th of July. I will have a car, and wanted to go 1 day to the sea side.

1/ Any suggestions on a spot, where I can enjoy the beach and the sea ?
I saw Ostende, but maybe a smaller place would be nicer ?

2/ Should I expect a lot of people on the road and at destination ?
I'm not really keen on getting few hours of traffic jam :)

thanks

Yannick

When I go to the sea, I like Oostende, Blankenberge and De Panne. In July, if the weather is good, the beach would be busy everywhere. I suggest you drive around or take the tram along the coast and see where you want to stop to enjoy the sea.

As for traffic, since you're traveling on a Saturday, it will be quite busy, especially if the weather is good. A lot of people are starting their vacation, so it's possible you get stuck in traffic. A solution to this would be to take the train from Brussels. If you do take the car, you'd have to leave very early just to be on the safe side.

If the weather is nice you will probably encounter very heavy traffic, but the biggest problem will probably be finding a spot to park your car. Better to take a train, although these will be full too if the weather is good. But if you get the special "Dag aan Zee" ticket you can go to one town, and return from another, travelling along the coast on the tramway. Just go to Blankenberge, get yourself a dayticket for that tram, hop on a southbound one, and just get off wherever the beach fancies you. Then later hop on again to Oostende or De Pannen en return from there.

I prefer Sint Idesbald/Koksijde because of it's very clean beaches and the culture in the villages.

peter

I agree with previous posters about traffic and dicculties to find a place to park your car. You can either choose for a train to Oostende or Blankenberge. From there, I'd take the coastal tram to DE HAAN, which is between both cities. It's a little turn of the century town without high rise buildings. Very nice, but not for shopping. De Panne used to be beautiful, but lost a lot of it's architectural charm since the greater part of the old houses were demolished and replaced by ugly blocks.
If you decide to spend a day in Blankenberge, I can advice you the "Art Nouveau walk" and a visit to the "Belle Epoque Center". It shows how the town was around 1900.
Both towns, Blankenberge and Oostende are not very clean, while dog owners don't take the responsibility, if you know what I mean.
Since you have a car, why wouldn't you drive a few kilometers more towards Cap Blanc Nez in France? It's located 75 km South of De Panne, just over the Belgian border. White cliffs. And when the sky is clear, you can see Great Britain across the Channel. Furthermore, the landscape is hilly and a lot nicer.

Oh, I am sorry, I adviced you to drive to Cap Blanc Nez, but I now see you are French. Silly me.
However, I think "Le Pays des Ch'tis" is really charming :-)

Thanks all for clear and complete answer.
And no, that is not silly the suggestion you made :)
I don't know every part of France specially the northern area so that is good advices.

I prefer Ostend over Blankenberge, but that is of course a personal choice.
In Blankenberge you can visit the Sea Life Centre, in Ostend you have Earth Explorer and the Mercator (large old sailing boat).
Lika already said above, the holidays start for a lot of people that weekend, so I'd go for the train as well.
We've been to Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Griz Nez too and we also liked it very much (think Blanc Nez is better) !

Have fun !
Jessika