I come from a place where summer is a season of intensity, heat that sticks to your skin, food that sings with salt and sun, and days that blur into late-night laughter. So, arriving in the Netherlands, I braced myself for a quieter, cooler version of the season. What I found instead was not a weaker summer, but a different one. One with softness in its colours, slowness in its pace, and a kind of warmth that doesn’t come from the sun (although lately we had very warm days here too), but from the way life unfolds here.
Let’s skip the clichés and go beyond the crowds, forget about the best-known places and let’s move toward the lesser-known corners of the Dutch summer.
Forget Amsterdam, Keukenhof, or the Zaanse Schans. Here’s the real magic.
Have you ever heard about the Wadden Islands?
As someone raised on a Mediterranean island, I didn’t expect the Dutch to understand island life. I was wrong. The Waddeneilanden offer something raw and poetic. Five are inhabited: Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Each has its own rhythm, its own light.
Texel is the largest and easiest to reach – perfect if you’re easing into Dutch island life. It has sheep, dunes and some surprisingly good gin and local beer.
Vlieland is a no-car island with forests, beaches and a feeling like time has given up rushing.
Terschelling balances quiet nature with a creative pulse, especially during the Oerol Festival in June, when the island becomes one giant open-air stage.
Ameland is greener, softer, more family-friendly, with wide beaches and cycling paths that hug the coast like silk threads.
Schiermonnikoog, the smallest and wildest, feels like the end of the world (at least to me!): just dunes, sea, birds and the kind of silence that makes you listen to yourself.
Something else can be found in cities as well. For example, in August Deventer hosts the largest book market in Europe. If you love art and vintage or antiquities you can definitely enjoy some time in Dordrecht, which was entirely built on water – therefore it definitely gives you those summer vibes! Not far from there, enjoy a long walk at the Dordtse Biesbosch, which is part of the Biesbosch National Park, one of the last extensive areas of freshwater tidal wetlands in Northwestern Europe.
Missing the sea? Go and have fun in Zeeland – when the sun is out it really looks like being in a Mediterranean area. Ok, the sea is different, the water remains too cold for me and not that blue, but the beaches are amazing and all the small villages and cities of the region are blowing in happiness.
Of course there are some things you need to be aware of. Some are cultural; for example, you won’t get passionate street debates or hand gestures. But a Dutch person will say “gezellig” with a sincerity that melts the ice. Learn to love the silence and subtlety. There’s warmth in the still water. Yes, after 8 years it still surprises me.
Dinner is often at 6 or a bit later, even if the sunset is not before 22:30 (yes, be ready for very long days!). Meetings are planned weeks ahead. If you come from a culture of spontaneity, this may feel rigid, especially in a period which is spontaneous by definition, but it’s also freeing. The Dutch don’t waste time, and that includes your own.
You think you know wind? Dutch wind is different. It whistles through your clothes even on a sunny day. It decides how far your bike ride goes and how much is going to be your effort.
What I mean with this description of summer in the Netherlands is that there are other ways to enjoy the season, even if they are different. Summer here is a whisper, not a song like I am used to, but still absolutely enjoyable.
If you grew up where summer is loud and proud, don’t try to recreate it here. Let this country show you its own version.
Written by Rossella Davì