Whether you are here for a short visit or long-term stay, you have probably wondered which boulder gym in the Netherlands you should visit, or if there is a ‘best place to boulder’. For outdoor bouldering there is not much, but for indoor bouldering there are just enough boulder gyms spread over the Netherlands. You certainly can boulder in  ‘de Randstad’ (the agglomeration of cities in Netherlands): Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag (The Hague), Utrecht. Check here the list of all the boulder gyms in the Netherlands.

The best boulder gym for indoor bouldering

Is there a best gym for bouldering? I would say no and just go to the nearest boulder gym from the place where you are staying / living. All boulder gyms are good enough for a first / second visit.  Especially if you have limited time to spend. Considering it costs money and time to travel across the Netherlands, you would only build up your expectations. So I would say go for the easy route.

Every boulder gym has at least the basic walls: slab, vertical and overhang. So you can have a full body workout or spend your time at your favorite wall. In general, the Dutch bouldering community is friendly. Ofcourse everyone is different. But if you ask someone for help, most will certainly help you.

If you are a regular at your nearest gym, it is worth checking out other boulder gyms. You will notice every gym has a different route setting style. So you can work out different muscles. Also each gym has a slight difference in ambiance. Some gyms are more focused on ‘gezelligheid’ (cosy, typical Dutch word that cannot be directly translated), while other gyms are more focused on training (more hardcore bouldering).

So while every gym is mostly the same (from a first time perspective), there are still some differences. My opinion saying there is no best gym, is because everyone is different. Some prefer a quiet place, others love crowded places. Some want to purely train, others want to socialize. There is no right or wrong about that. Even one person can change over time, having phases of wanting to socialize, get stronger muscles, improving weaknesses, etc.. Or just having a different goal / attitude every day.

After a while you will get the feeling of the gym and decide which aspects you like and do not like.

Hope this helps you with deciding which boulder gym in the Netherlands you should visit!