Sea swimming in Netherlands: 2025 coastal water quality
Netherlands reported 82 coastal bathing waters for the 2025 season. 78% were classified Excellent — 7.1 points above the 70.9% for all 757 bathing waters in the country — and 0 were Poor. 40 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 20 countries with at least 30 coastal bathing waters, Netherlands ranks 13 by Excellent share.
coastal bathing waters
Excellent in 2025
Poor in 2025
Season status: Today (6 November 2026) is outside the official bathing season (1 May – 30 September). Official monitoring is tied to the season (a first sample may be taken shortly before it opens), so there are no current official water-quality results now. The next season starts on 1 May 2027.
Find the nearest Excellent coastal site to you →
Map of coastal bathing waters
How coastal bathing waters in Netherlands rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | 64 | 78% | 0 |
| 2024 | 81 | 68 | 84% | 0 |
| 2023 | 81 | 66 | 81.5% | 0 |
| 2022 | 80 | 71 | 88.8% | 0 |
| 2021 | 80 | 68 | 85% | 0 |
| 2020 | 78 | 63 | 80.8% | 0 |
| 2019 | 79 | 62 | 78.5% | 1 |
| 2018 | 78 | 61 | 78.2% | 0 |
| 2017 | 77 | 66 | 85.7% | 0 |
| 2016 | 78 | 69 | 88.5% | 0 |
| 2015 | 77 | 64 | 83.1% | 0 |
Most consistent Excellent sea and coast
40 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 60 are shown.
- BADSTRAND BUREN, AMELAND 11 seasons
- BADSTRAND HOORN, TERSCHELLING 11 seasons
- BADSTRAND NES, AMELAND 11 seasons
- BADSTRAND PRINS BERNHARDWEG, SCHIERMONNIKOOG 11 seasons
- BADSTRAND WEST AAN ZEE,TERSCHELLING 11 seasons
- BERGEN AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- BERGSE DIEPSLUIS NOORD BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- BLEEKERSVALLEI 11 seasons
- BLOEMENDAAL AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- BRESKENS FORT FREDERIK HENDRIK 11 seasons
- CAMPERDUIN 11 seasons
- CASTRICUM AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- DE KOOG 11 seasons
- DE KRIM 11 seasons
- DOMBURG BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- EGMOND AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- GROOTE KEETEN 11 seasons
- GROTE VLAK 11 seasons
- JULIANADORP 11 seasons
- KAMPERLAND DE BANJAARD BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- KAMPERLAND DE ROOMPOT BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- KATSE VEER BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- NIEUWVLIET-BAD OOST BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- OESTERDAM WESTZIJDE BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- OOSTKAPELLE DUINWEG BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- OUDDORP STRAND 11 seasons
- PETTEN 11 seasons
- RENESSE WILHELMINAHOEVE BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- SINT MAARTENSDIJK MUIEPOLDER BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- SINT PHILIPSLAND BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- VLISSINGEN NOLLE BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- VROUWENPOLDER BREEZAND BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- WEMELDINGE BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- WEST NIEUWLAND 11 seasons
- WESTKAPELLE ERIKA BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- WIJK AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- YERSEKE POSTWEG BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- ZANDVOORT AAN ZEE 11 seasons
- ZOUTELANDE DISHOEK BADSTRAND 11 seasons
- ZWARTE WEG, HEEMSKERK 11 seasons
- HET ZWIN DUINLAAN BADSTRAND 10 seasons
- STAVENISSE BADSTRAND 10 seasons
- BADSTRAND HOLLUM, AMELAND 9 seasons
- SINT ANNALAND BADSTRAND 9 seasons
- COLIJNSPLAAT BADSTRAND 8 seasons
- NIEUW HAAMSTEDE VUURTORENPAD BADSTRAND 8 seasons
- TWEEDE MAASVLAKTE 8 seasons
- BROUWERSDAM KABBELAARSBANK 7 seasons
- KRAMMERSLUIS LAAGBEKKEN BADSTRAND 7 seasons
- STRAND NOORDPIER, VELSEN 6 seasons
- 'S-GRAVENZANDE 5 seasons
- CADZAND BADSTRAND 5 seasons
- HOEK VAN HOLLAND 5 seasons
- KENNEMERSTRAND 5 seasons
- KRABBENDIJKE ROELSHOEK BADSTRAND 5 seasons
- BADSTRAND BADHUIS, VLIELAND 4 seasons
- GREVELINGENDAM PLAAT VAN OUDE TONGE BADSTRAND 4 seasons
- MONSTER TER HEIJDE 4 seasons
- ROCKANJE BADSTRAND 4 seasons
- OUWERKERK HOEK VAN OUWERKERK BADSTRAND 3 seasons
Sea and coast rated Poor in 2025
None of the 82 coastal bathing waters in Netherlands was classified Poor in 2025.
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (2)
- WASSENAARSE SLAG Good → Excellent
- ZANDMOTOR Sufficient → Good
Declined (8)
- CALLANTSOOG Excellent → Good
- HARLINGERSTRAND, HARLINGEN Excellent → Good
- HUISDUINEN Excellent → Good
- NOORDWIJK AAN ZEE Excellent → Good
- SCHARENDIJKE BADSTRAND Excellent → Good
- SCHEVENINGEN NOORDERSTRAND Good → Sufficient
- SCHEVENINGEN ZWARTE PAD Good → Sufficient
- SINT MAARTENSZEE Excellent → Good
Coastal bathing waters by province
| Province | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeeland | 34 | 88.2% | 0 |
| North Holland | 21 | 81% | 0 |
| South Holland | 18 | 50% | 0 |
| Friesland | 9 | 88.9% | 0 |
Provinces with at least three coastal bathing waters; counts include only this water type.
Near which major cities?
Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:
- Amsterdam 25 coastal bathing waters within 60 km
Sea and coast compared across Europe
| # | Country | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cyprus | 123 | 100% | 0 |
| 2 | Greece | 1,733 | 97.1% | 0 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 92 | 96.7% | 0 |
| 4 | Denmark | 917 | 92.1% | 2 |
| 5 | Spain | 1,925 | 92% | 10 |
| 6 | Portugal | 487 | 92% | 3 |
| 7 | Italy | 4,782 | 90% | 65 |
| 8 | Germany | 346 | 89.3% | 0 |
| 9 | Malta | 87 | 88.5% | 0 |
| 10 | Croatia | 957 | 88.3% | 0 |
| 11 | Romania | 48 | 83.3% | 0 |
| 12 | Ireland | 138 | 79.7% | 1 |
| 13 | Netherlands | 82 | 78% | 0 |
| 14 | France | 2,035 | 76.3% | 35 |
| 15 | Sweden | 268 | 74.3% | 4 |
| 16 | Poland | 149 | 67.8% | 0 |
| 17 | Belgium | 41 | 63.4% | 0 |
| 18 | Finland | 78 | 55.1% | 2 |
| 19 | Estonia | 30 | 40% | 2 |
| 20 | Albania | 113 | 15.9% | 26 |
Countries with at least 30 coastal bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.
Quick answers
- How many coastal bathing waters in Netherlands are rated Excellent?
- 64 of 82 (78%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
- Which sea and coast in Netherlands have the best long-term record?
- 40 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example BADSTRAND BUREN, AMELAND, BADSTRAND HOORN, TERSCHELLING, BADSTRAND NES, AMELAND. See the full list.
- Can I check current conditions?
- The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on Zwemwater.nl. Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.
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