Calling all surfers: there are probably a couple of destinations on your bucket list for your dream surf trip, all in the hopes of catching some gnarly waves. Perhaps your bucket list includes Hawaii’s North Shore or South Africa’s Jeffrey’s Bay - but does it include The Hague? We promise we’re not joking; soon, you’ll be able to ride some (artificial) waves in Europe’s first indoor surf pool, right here in the Netherlands!
Clearly, the Netherlands is on a mission to make itself a surfing hotspot. Last autumn, Rotterdam unveiled plans to open an artificial reef on one of its canals in 2024. Now, a successful crowdfunding campaign means SurfPoel - apparently the first indoor wave pool in Europe - is under construction in The Hague and hopes to open its doors later this year!
Talking to RTL Nieuws, one of the brains behind SurfPoel, Joeri Fredriks, explained that the 70 by 20-metre wave pool will be filled with dune water from The Hague, and that the artificial waves will reach up to 1,5 metres high. “A ride from one side to the other takes 10 seconds,” Fredriks said. "You can start surfing here but also get better and better."
Fredriks and his partner Jeroen den Otter hope to start filling the pool in March, which means SurfPoel - located Saturnusstraat in the Binckhorst neighbourhood - should open its doors to the public sometime in 2023.
Thumb: Bignai via Shutterstock.com.