Ostend

Ostend beach is located in West Flanders in Belgium. It is visited by many day-trippers, as it is very close to many towns in West Flanders. It is only at a stone's throw from Ghent, at only a 40 minutes ride with the train. Once you get there you will feel that unique atmosphere that only the beach can offer. Seagulls are everywhere and if you are eating a sandwich or snacking you must be an observant traveler as you can end up without food within seconds.

As you walk towards the beach you will see plenty of little shops and restaurant where you can eat as many seafood as you wish. Compared to other locations in Belgium the prices are not that high. I'm not a big fan of seafood so I didn't try any, but I haven't seen so much seafood in my entire life!

The closer you are to the sea the better you feel and once the sand is beneath your feet, you can't deny that this is one of the best moments of your life!
If you are a morning person, you can go to the beach at 8-9 in the morning. At this time of the day the beach looks pretty abandoned, but don't worry at around 11 a.m people will start to arrive and soon you will realize there many blankets around you and the beach is full.

The North Sea is indeed a little bit colder than expected, but once you take the courage to enter the water, you will have so much fun that you won't even notice that the water isn't that warm.

The good thing about Ostend beach is that of you are hungry you can always eat at one of the many restaurants that you can find in the town. You can find either traditional restaurants, where seafood is the first item on the menu, or restaurant with Italian, Spanish and French specific. If you feell like eating a dessert, I would recommend trying an ice-cream. You can buy either a natural, home made ice-cream or opt for the unhealthier, but absolutely delicious alternative. From personal experience I can say that where you see people waiting in a long row for ice-cream it means that you should take your place in that row, because the ice-cream is worth it!!Less