We’re thinking of going to Amsterdam and ending in Paris in may. It will be 2 adults and a 2 kids 3 & 5. We’ll be there a total of 14 days excluding travel. We’d like to break up the trip and possibly add a small town or beach for 2-3 days before we head to Paris.
Do yall have any suggestions on beaches or possibly small towns where we can just relax?
It would be nice if your online profile named your home area. The US coasts have some wonderful beaches, superior to many in Europe. On May 15 (check your own internet sources) the English Channel water temperature is in the mid 50's. You may find rougher water and fewer lifeguards than you're used to in the US.
All that said, there are plenty of prominent beach resorts on the way to Paris. Two I've been to (not for swimming or sunning) are Ostend, Belgium, and Schveningen, Netherlands. Both countries have miles of beaches. But you may need to find out when the hotels open for the season. Of course I've been to the Normandy D-Day beaches. We did stay in a tiny beachfront hotel in Dinard, France, which was our base for Mont St. Michel. It struck me as a very family-oriented location: Villa Reine Hortense Hotel. We also walked on the very wide beach at St. Malo. Etretat is quite a famous beach resort, but I haven't been there.
I personally would not drive a car from Amsterdam to Paris along the coast. I would find it endlessly tedious and unrewarding. Opinion. (I have been to Amsterdam 5 times and Paris at least 10 times.)
In The Netherlands, Schveningen is potentially a good choice. It is effecctively a suburb of The Hague and you can stay beachside or ride the tram in from the city center. I don't have a specific suggestion for Belgium or northwestern France.
May I suggest you do some research on Belgian or French water or theme parks? You may find something suitable.
Also, the water in the North Sea/English Channel will be cold (or frigid!) in May...more playing on the beach than actually swimmiing. Be ready to be flexibile. You might get warm, sunny days or cold, rainy days in May.
Half May is not the best time of the year for going to the beach. Best weather has July and August, so high season. June can already have good weather and September can still have that too, but in general May is too early for swimming, the water is too chilly. Nevertheless the kids can play in the sand if the wind is not too strong. In the shoulder season places can feel abandoned as soon as it starts raining.
If it is purely for relaxing you can go to De Haan in Belgium, a lovely seaside village known for it’s Belle Epoque architecture. From there easy to travel to with the coastal tram and the train to Bruges (with a change in Ostend) and with the coastal tram to theme park Plopsaland near the French border. In Ostend you can visit tall ship Mercator.
In France you can’t find much interesting, besides Le Touquet-Paris-Plage that has some charming spots around the casino, but an ugly seafront. And Boulogne sur Mer can be an option for it’s historic centre and it’s sea aquarium. More south charming Valery-sur-Somme with it’s steamtrain.
To my opinion the Netherlands has more to offer, more variety. You can go to Domburg and with the very good infrastrucure you can bike to nearby places like Veere, Middelburg and more on the Walcheren peninsula. There is even a Stayokay hostel in a medieval castle narby Domburg. Not the most actractive but with Scheveningen you will have the most flexibility if the weather turns bad, like the indoor butterfly jungle zoo near Leidschendam. Or nearby Madurodam, the Netherlands in miniature or Duinrell, a playground for children. Not being really beautiful is the downside of Scheveningen.
You can rent (e-)bikes in all the above mentioned places, but with it’s excellent infrastructure, dedicated and so safe bike paths is in this respect the Netherlands to prefer. With the bikes you can rent seats for the kids and think typical Dutch cargo bikes or “bakfietsen” too.
Nevertheless in May you have to be lucky with the weather. Living close to the coast I see that many enjoy staying here despite bad weather, but that’s a minority.
