MapNetherlandsWijk aan ZeeIJmuiden (Zone 1)Wijk aan Zee

IJmuiden (Zone 1)

North Holland · Velsen · IJmuiden

also known as IJmuiden aan Zee, IJmuiden Zuidpier, Zuidpier beach, Strand IJmuiden aan Zee

Part of Wijk aan Zee →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jan–Dec

Months riders and schools name

How windy

13 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

19 °C in summerBroad sand North Sea beach

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

30 min

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)

On the clock

16:00 · 21:00

There is no daily cycle to wait for. This is frontal wind, not a sea breeze: a good day can be on at first light and blown out by mid-afternoon, or fill in only when the front crosses. Lessons here are confirmed the evening before, between 16:00 and 21:00, once the forecast settles, which tells you how late the day stays uncertain.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

IJmuiden Zone 2no page yet
IJmuiderslag / Zone 3no page yet
Wijk aan Zee / Noordpier
Castricum aan Zeeno page yet
Bloemendaal aan Zeeno page yet

The spot

IJmuiden Zone 1 is the year-round kite area at IJmuiden aan Zee and the Zuidpier, in the municipality of Velsen, on a very wide sand beach just south of the harbour entrance.

The South Pier advantage

The South Pier makes it odd for this coast: south wind is rideable here, while the same direction is offshore and dangerous at most other Dutch North Sea beaches. Do not expect a lagoon. You get tide, chop, surf, current and cold North Sea water, and Zone 1 is still used for lessons only because the beach shelves gradually and stays reasonably shallow to about 100 m from the tideline.

Wind and waves

W and NW wind produce slow, workable waves, while stronger winter systems and high-tide current make the spot more demanding. Room to rig is generous, but the marked launch and landing zone, the walker strip and the swim and recreation zones all matter, because the beach is shared with swimmers, walkers, surf schools, beach sports and summer day visitors.

Zones and facilities

Zone 2 to the south is a separate seasonal area, closed to kitesurfing from 1 April to 1 October. Facilities beat most Dutch wave beaches: paid parking close by and year-round pavilions, Makai among them.

The wind

Direction

cross-onWSW/SW to W/NW

Direction to shore

cross-on

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Sizing guideIndicative only, because no local school publishes a quiver. For a 75-85 kg rider on a twin-tip: a 12 m covers the 13-16 kt that the year-round station mean and mean gust sit on, a 9 m is the workhorse through the October-March frontal season when 18-22 kt is normal, and a 7 m earns its place when a winter system pushes past 25 kt.Summer light windsLight summer days often fall under the 12 kt that schools set as their lower limit, so a big light-wind kite or a foil is what saves a June evening.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

Average strength

Typical strength

Makai teaches from 13 knots, and beginner lessons on this beach normally run between 12 and 25 knots. The nearest station, IJmuiden Zuid havenhoofd, gives a 13 kt annual mean and 16 kt mean gusts for 2015-04-01 to 2026-07-31.

Synoptic North Sea wind. SW/W/NW/N/NE are all usable, and NW, W and S are the safe directions for Zone 1. Models diverge on windy frontal days, so look at live readings before you drive out.

Zone 1 is open all year. The wind blows year-round and is strongest October to March; June-August and October-March are both given as seasons for IJmuiden and IJmuiderslag. Summer means more bathers on the sand, winter means colder water and harder frontal wind.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month75
Feb, riders' month79
Mar, riders' month65
Apr, riders' month70
May, riders' month53
Jun, riders' month60
Jul, riders' month62
Aug, riders' month47
Sep, riders' month47
Oct, riders' month69
Nov, riders' month70
Dec, riders' month65

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

16 ktJan7°
17 ktFeb7°
13 ktMar8°
14 ktApr10°
12 ktMay14°
12 ktJun17°
13 ktJul19°
12 ktAug20°
11 ktSep19°
13 ktOct16°
14 ktNov12°
15 ktDec8°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	75%	15.9 kt	WSW	5.5 °C	6.5 °C
Feb	79%	16.5 kt	WSW	6.8 °C	6.8 °C
Mar	65%	12.9 kt	SW	7.4 °C	7.7 °C
Apr	70%	14.1 kt	SW	9.2 °C	9.9 °C
May	53%	11.6 kt	SW	13.5 °C	13.6 °C
Jun	60%	11.5 kt	WSW	16.5 °C	17.2 °C
Jul	62%	12.9 kt	SW	17.8 °C	19.3 °C
Aug	47%	11.6 kt	WSW	18.7 °C	20.2 °C
Sep	47%	11.4 kt	S	16.5 °C	19.4 °C
Oct	69%	13.3 kt	SSW	13.3 °C	15.7 °C
Nov	70%	14.3 kt	SSW	8.5 °C	11.6 °C
Dec	65%	14.5 kt	S	6 °C	8 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

The beach shelves gradually and you can wade a long way out.Zone 1 is quoted as reasonably shallow to about 100 m from the tideline, and a longer standable stretch of roughly 200 m is quoted too; the difference is at least partly tide, and no measurement settles it.Not a standing lagoon in any case, because surf, current and a moving tideline all apply.

Tides

Tidal North Sea beach. Tide tables for IJmuiden Zuidpier show roughly 0.2-0.5 m lows and about 1.9-2.18 m highs around late August and early September 2026, with an average tidal range near 1.8 m.

Temperature

19 °C summer · 5.4 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 7–20 °C

Wetsuit

Cold North Sea spot: 3/2 mm in summer and 5/4 mm in winter; local February water averages about 5.4 °C and August about 19.0–19.3 °C.

Currents

North Sea surf with current. The South Pier cuts the current close to shore, but it builds with tidal flow and around the pier system.

Conditions

Broad sand North Sea beach. Expect surf and current, shallow water to about 100 m from the tideline, and slow workable waves in W/NW wind.

Zone 1 has moderate chop with small to medium waves: chop at low tide, waves at high tide.

Zone 2 next door runs more dynamic at high tide and should not be treated as Zone 1.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Zone 1 carries a beginner rating and is also described as beginner to advanced. That assumes riders stay in Zone 1, use the safe wind directions, and keep clear of the pier, the current and the shorebreak; less supervised days and strong wind suit independent riders. An intermediate label exists too, so unsupervised novices should confirm locally.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingfreeridefoilingbeginner lessonsafter-work sessions from Amsterdam

Who it suitsbeginners

A popular, school-used North Sea beach with pavilions and an active scene around Makai. The Zuidpier end gets busy with summer day visitors, though the sand is wide enough that it rarely feels overcrowded.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

7 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

A lifeguard post with a lookout tower covers the beach in season and there is no cover in winter. No kite-specific rescue arrangement exists for either period.

The KNRM lifeboat station sits beside the main beach car park and 112 is the emergency number. Food, drink, toilets, showers and an air pump are on the beach, and Makai is the local information point.

Launch

Large sand beach at IJmuiden aan Zee and the Zuidpier, with room to spare. A 40 m walker strip runs up to the tideline, and the kite launch and landing area in Zone 1 is marked with yellow flags. Paid parking sits at the large KNRM and IJmuiden aan Zee beach car park.

Hazards riders report 9 reported

Wind

In south wind, riders can drift toward the pier from the wrong side or the wrong part of the beach.

Crowds and zones

zone 2 to the south is closed to kiting April 1–October 1 (swim zone)
Zone 2 south of Zone 1 is closed to kitesurfing from 1 April to 1 October and is swimmer/recreation water in that period.
Summer beach users, swimmers, golfsurfers, kitebuggies/blokarts and other beach activities share the area.

Bottom

Sharp shells on the sand.

Waves and currents

shorebreak and currents near the harbour piers
North Sea surf, shorebreak and current are part of the spot character.
Currents and waves can increase with tidal flow and near the South Pier; adjacent Zone 2 is reported stronger at high tide.

Other

Keep the 40 m strip above the tideline clear for walkers and respect yellow launch/landing flags.

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: IJmuiden Zone 1 is open to kitesurfing all year. Zone 2 immediately south is forbidden for kitesurfing through the bathing season because it is swimming water, even when no swimmers are present; the closing date is given as 1 April in every source, the reopening date as either 1 October or 31 October depending on which one you read, so treat October as uncertain and check the beach signs.

Rules and requirements

Riding the recreation zone inside the closed period can draw a fine. Under the 2019 IJmuiden and Velsen zoning, the Zone 1 activity area permits kitesurfing and Zone 2 permits it only outside high season, and instructions from supervisors and police must be followed. Keep the 40 m strip up to the tideline clear for walkers, use the yellow-flagged launch and landing area, and give swimmers priority. No permit requirement is published.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Read the beach zone posts and signs before rigging; empty swimmer water is not open water for kites.
Treat Zone 1 and Zone 2 as separate spots. Zone 1 is the year-round kite area; Zone 2 has a seasonal closure and stronger high-tide conditions.
Check the tide as well as the wind, because high tide and tidal flow bring more current and chop around the pier zones.
For a first session go with Makai or another local school and use the yellow-flag launch and landing area.
Arrive early on warm summer days, when the parking and the beach traffic fill up.
Bring a warm wetsuit outside peak summer; February water averages around 5.4 C.

Getting there

Airport

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)

Route

By car take the A9/A22, N202 or N208 toward IJmuiden and follow Strand IJmuiden aan Zee, Zuidpier or Kennemerstrand. By bus, R-net line 382 runs from Amsterdam Sloterdijk and line 385 from Haarlem Centraal. Bike or car both work for the last stretch to IJmuiden aan Zee.

Transfer

30 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels and beach accommodation in IJmuiden, including Basecamp IJmuiden aan Zee, plus year-round pavilions on the beach: Zeezicht, Zilt aan Zee, Noordzee, Zuidpier and Makai Beach.

No-wind days

Walk or cycle the dunes and the Atlantic Wall bunker route toward IJmuiderslag, go out to the South Pier and the sea lock, eat at the beach pavilions or in the fish harbour, or carry on to Zuid-Kennemerland National Park.

Photos

FAQ

Is IJmuiden Zone 1 suitable for beginners?

Yes, NKV rates it a beginner spot because the beach shelves gradually with shallow water to about 100 m from the tideline, and local schools give lessons from about 12-13 knots.

What is the wind like?

Usable directions run from WSW/SW through W/NW, with NW, W and S listed as specifically safe; the nearest station shows a 13-knot annual average with 16-knot gusts.

When is the best time to go?

The zone is open all year, with wind generally strongest October through March and summer bringing more beach users.

Are there kite schools or rental?

Yes, Makai is the on-site NKV information point and school running lessons March-November, alongside other operators such as Apex Adventures and Kitezone.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Zone 1 is open to kiting year-round, but the adjacent Zone 2 immediately south is closed to kitesurfing from 1 April to 1 October because it is a swimming area.

The bigger pictureEverything about Wijk aan Zee

Last updated: August 2026