WorldNetherlands › Zeeland › 't Zwin

't Zwin 27.2

#5429 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Zeeland · near Brugge

Wind is the enemy here, thick rubber, gentle enough to learn.

Beginner friendlyBeginner
't Zwin, Netherlands
Photo: T. Thielemans · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score27.2 /100
Surfable days53% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell0% period 11 s+
Typical size0.6 m 2.0 ft median
Water13°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf 't Zwin

It rarely works. The nearest airport is ANR (78 km) and the nearest town is Brugge (19 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan77%0%1.0 m6°C6/5
Feb70%0%0.8 m7°C6/5
Mar52%0%0.7 m9°C6/5
Apr39%0%0.5 m11°C5/4
May44%0%0.5 m14°C4/3
Jun36%0%0.5 m18°C3/2
Jul37%0%0.5 m21°C2mm
Aug46%0%0.6 m21°C2mm
Sep55%0%0.6 m18°C3/2
Oct59%0%0.8 m15°C4/3
Nov55%0%0.7 m11°C5/4
Dec64%0%0.8 m8°C6/5

What is under 't Zwin

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 21 m.

Depth 8 km out21 m
Depth 4 km out6 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 27.2

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
6.3
Best days 22.4%
5.4
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
5.9
Season spread 4.1%
2.2
Water comfort 6.1%
0.0
Access 4.1%
3.6

The detail

Faces 340° with 36% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 60% of days. Mean peak period 5.4 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.4 m, with a peak period of 7 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 57%. Months that work: 7 of 12. Coordinates 51.371, 3.363 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,750/ month
typically €1,540 – €1,960
Rent, one bedroom€920
Groceries€370
Eating out€210
Getting around€125
Phone + internet€130
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,420/ month
typically €3,010 – €3,830
Somewhere to stay€2,020
Eating out€720
Car, transfers, fuel€465
Data + extras€220
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Netherlands (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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