Monster Travel Guide

Monster is situated just South of The Hague and easily reached from the area Kijkduin (South-Western part of The Hague). It's only three kilometres and by bike the route is going through wonderful dunelandscape.

There is dog excrement all over the beach, the car park near the beach (near the village of Ter Heijde) on the dyke, and on all the footpaths leading from the beach into Monster. It is the worst I have ever seen, in any town or village in my entire life. The whole place is a dog-toilet.

I came here specifically because I have a dog and there are times and places on the beach where he can run free. He is young and curious, and has a tendency to try anything he finds that resembles food. He loved the sand - his first time on it, but managed to find and taste some dog turds and eat the horse dung that is near the sea and floating about in it within a few minutes. I have had to keep him on a lead ever since. I can't take him on the beach at all - he's too excited and I think it's unfair to restrain him.

He was reasonably well-trained in dropping anything he found on command before we came here, but there is so much s**t lying around he has developed a kind of mania for it. I have driven to the Haag area and gone to a park (20 minute drive each way, and a lot more in rush hour) just so he can get some exercise. (There are also some issues with dog excrement here, but not to the same extent and I can live with this). I plan to drive to Delft today and do the same, and look for somewhere else to go the day after. This means I booked accomodation near the sea, staying in a campsite to do so, but need to drive for an hour a day to get somewhere clean.

The worst thing though is that my dog has an upset stomach, something he has never had before, and unlike the other dog owners, I am diligently picking up the evidence of this several times a day. I will have to take him to the vet soon - which I am dreading. This place is so dirty I am sure he has picked up a disease, I might well visit the doctor myself just to be on the safe side.

It's cold now, but it must stink here in warmer weather. I have barely seen a child, which is hardly surprising, parents with children should avoid this place like the plague (lest they catch it!)

I may add some pictures to show how bad this is, but am hesitating to post something so disgusting.

Monster, in the shade of The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam and hiding behind an enormous amount of greenhouses (the largest concentration on earth). Therefor it's a destination that will not appear in many masstourism-documentation. But if you're going just for the beach and the Northsea ... and also with (little) children ... then Monster will do just fine.

Outside the summer season the beach is the ideal place for sports. From para sailing to jogging, wahtever you want.

Favorite thing: Monster has many things that makes it to a typical Dutch village. Agriculture in the form of horticulture and it's enormous amount of greenhouses. The wonderful windmill that rises high above all the rooftops. Canals that are there especially to drain out the water, as this area is well beneath sealevel and a cosy village, with some wonderful churches, as well as local shops and cafes. Yes, one can say that Monster has it all.

More about monster at the next page (in Dutch) from where I also borrowed the picture.

Fondest memory: Ilja playing in the sand at the beach and together playing in the surf that he does not dare to go into without his dad (the big protector - hahaha)