A seaside holiday in Belgium! It’s not the first destination that springs to mind for a coastal getaway, so we sent Chris from the BreakFree team on a beach break near Bruges, staying with the wonderful Sunparks.
Where did you go, how did you get there?
We stayed at Sunparks’ holiday village in de Haan aan Zee. Getting there was straightforward. We flew into Brussels and drove for just over one hour to de Haan. Alternatively, you can take a short ferry to Calais and drive from there, the journey is just 1.15 hours.
Tell us about De Haan
It’s a pretty seaside resort with several great restaurants, so we ate well and then walked off each meal as we toured the town.
De Haan has a giant beach that is the longest on the Flemish coast. We took the opportunity to go kite surfing, which was exhausting but exhilarating.
The giant beach at de Haan
Bruges is just 25mins drive so we visited a couple of times. The entire city centre is a Unesco World Heritage site filled with incredible buildings that take you back to another time – really fascinating.
Who are Sunparks?
Sunparks owns four holiday villages in Belgium. Guests stay in villas and each village has a huge, covered pool complex.
The Sunparks holiday village in de Haan was very green and clean, with friendly staff who speak excellent English. The atmosphere inside the village was peaceful and once you’ve dropped off your luggage cars are kept outside, so there is very little traffic.
We spent loads of time in the huge indoor pool which is surrounded by palm trees, and there are plenty of extra activities available for a small charge.
You stayed in a villa?
The accommodation is really large, relaxing, and set over two storeys so it feels substantial. Our villa was surrounded by bushes and hedges and felt very private. We especially enjoyed the outside terrace which had its own fireplace, so we could spend our evenings relaxing under the stars.
We had everything we needed for self catering and there was a handy supermarket on site, plus lots of stores in de Haan itself.
Stay in a Sunparks villa
What foods would you recommend?
We fell in love with Belgium fries coated in ‘Joppiesaus’ – it’s a yellow sauce that is slightly sweet and more exotic than mayonnaise. And of course, we took the chance to stock up on delicious Belgian chocolate.
Top tips for future travellers?
Use the tram that runs between seaside towns so you can enjoy the Belgian beer without worrying about the taxi fare. If the ticket office is closed, simply pay the driver.
Want to know more? Follow the link to find out more about Sunparks holidays in Belgium.