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SkyView De Pier Scheveningen

Florian Buechting Places & Sights No Comments

SkyView De Pier Scheveningen

9 EUR
SkyView De Pier Scheveningen
3.6

Rating

 3.6/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Interesting experience to ride above the sea in a Ferris Wheel
  • Modern, air conditioned wheel

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Limited view
  • Exposed to wind and thus sand on the window
  • Many reflections on the windows

The Ferris wheel right over the North Sea – the SkyView at the Pier in Scheveningen is definitely the most iconic attraction of The Hague / Den Haag’s beach borough. No doubt my wife and I had to visit this one when we visited the Dutch coast at that area. Here are our thoughts.

 

SkyView De Pier – Location & Admission

The Scheveningen Pier (or De Pier in Dutch) is located right in the heart of Scheveningen. Two tram lines, 1 and 9 connect Scheveningen with The Hague and even Delft. Alternatively, there are a bunch of parking garages around – the pricing for these in the Netherlands is generally above European average. The area features all touristic facilities, from shopping opportunities, beach bars and restaurants and hotels of all kinds. The SkyView Ferris Wheel itself is located directly at the pier, which is also featuring all kinds of entertainment. Access to De Pier is free. There is of course an admission charge on the observation wheel (see above). The area is extremely popular among tourists.

At the time of visiting, the SkyView Ferris wheel opened at 11:00 hrs daily. It closed at 20:00 Monday to Thursday, 21:00 hrs on Sundays and 22:00 hrs Fridays and Saturdays. Adult admission was 9 Euro. One trip took several rotations. There are also special packages, including High Tea and dinner in the Ferris wheel. You may also book the VIP gondola, which is 55 Euro for a twenty minute ride.

 

SkyView De Pier – The Ferris Wheel

SkyView De Pier was the first Ferris Wheel in Europe constructed over sea. Even though it feels to a quite classic attraction, it is in fact really modern. It became part of the Scheveningen portfolio of distractions on 19th August 2016. The wheel has a height of 45 meters. As it is built on a platform, it is advertised to be up to 50 meters above sea level. It comes with 36 gondolas, each got a capacity of six. There is one dining gondola and the VIP car with a glass floor.

 

SkyView De Pier – The Ride

When we visited SkyView De Pier in summer 2020, it has been a very windy day. This had several disadvantages, which finally just influence the rating: first of all, it was really tricky to leave the pier and walk along the short platform to the Ferris wheel. There was no chance to sip a drink at their terrace (see below). More than that, however, the ride itself was quite adventurous and the gondola was swaying forth and back most of the time. For a Ferris wheel above the sea, what naturally leads to a higher exposure to wind, a mounting of cabins like used at the London Eye may be more favorable. Last, but not least, heavy winds just transport a lot of sand to the outside of the cabins, which lead to worse view.

Nonetheless, the ride has been really enjoyable and a nice experience. On the day of visit, Scheveningen was not that crowded so that we had a long ride time. The view you get from the Ferris wheel is somehow limited, but at least you can enjoy viewing the masses having a bath in the sea or a walk at the promenade from the air-conditioned cabins. There were even zip liners and bungee jumpers – not sure if I would have went for that on a day like that.

 

SkyView De Pier – Services

There is a lovely terrace, where you can hang out for a drink or a snack. As stated above, the windy conditions would not have allowed for a rest there on our day of visit.

 

SkyView De Pier – My View

No doubt, SkyView De Pier is iconic and a nice way to have a look over the touristic wonderland of Scheveningen. Our ride was highly exposed to wind, which lead to the disadvantages described. The quality of the glass of the cabins is not ideal (very reflecting), which is adding to the high probability of having quite some sand on them. Nonetheless, it has been an enjoyable time – and I can recommend to do that ride.

 

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