Christmas in Oostende 2026
Wednesday 23 December – Sunday 27 December 2026
We love Belgium (and winter beers) at Christmas and we love taking a coach full of like-minded people. For Christmas 2026 we are based in the seaside city of Oostende in West Flanders from where we will explore Belgium at Christmas-time. Oostende is a great city, known as "the queen of the Belgian seaside resorts", yet small enough to walk to the best beer bars. Have a look at Podge's Oostende Bar Guide for our hand-picked beer bars.
Cafe Botteltje in Oostende - probably the best beer bar on the coast
We are based at the lovely four star Hotel Cocoon**** in central Oostende, very near the sea front promenade - so you might be able to hear the sea from your room! The hotel has coffee and tea making facilities in every room, a lounge and bar open every day, plus a restaurant. Siobhan has chosen this hotel because it is luxurious (nice for wintertime) and is a two minute walk from the best beer cafe in Oostende, Cafe Botteltje! This cafe has dozens of beers on draft, their own house beers and hundreds in bottles. About 25 years ago Siobhan stayed there for Christmas with Podge and his Mum & Dad and we had a great time. The hotel is also a two minute walk from artist James Ensor's house (1860-1949) which has reopened after years of renovation work and Siobhan would very much like to visit. So cross fingers it is open at Christmastime!
We will manage to fit in a brewery visit or two, some great meals in top beer/restaurants and plenty of visits to interesting cafes across Flanders. All from the comfort of our luxury 49 seater coach. Join us.
We are based in Chelmsford in Essex and we use a UK hired coach to travel. We try to use Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) from Folkestone to get to and from Belgium, but if not available we go by ferry from Dover to Calais. Most of our Travellers join the Tour at our main pick up point outside The Woolpack Pub, 23 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN and most come from other parts of the UK, and some from further afield, especially USA. Lots of our Travellers stay the night before a Tour (and often the night of our return) at Chelmsford Travelodge, only a few minutes walk from The Woolpack or at the Premier Inn, near the Railway Station, about a 10 minute walk to the pick up point at The Woolpack. Podge's Central Chelmsford Map shows suggested accommodation and pubs! We all usually pop in to The Woolpack the night before departure for a meet, greet and a few beers with Siobhan who is your Tour Manager, Tour Guide and drinking pal for the duration.
Our Galloways luxury coach (49 seater coach with toilet) starts from Suffolk and on the way to Folkestone (or Dover if we go by ferry) and picks up at several points, as agreed with Siobhan, as below:
Ipswich, Bus Stop, Tesco Extra Store, Copdock Interchange, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.
Colchester, McDonald's, Tollgate West, Stanway, Colchester C03 8RG.
Chelmsford, The Woolpack, 23 Mildmay Road, CM2 0DN.
Dartford, BP Garage (formerly Esso) 474 Princes Road, DA1 1YT. On the return leg we drop off at Dartford Railway Station DA1 1DR.
Swanley, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, BR8 8DE.
Ashford, pull in Outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opposite Premier Inn, Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.
Folkestone, Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.
The visits for this Tour are mostly all arranged and set out below in the timed itinerary. The final detailed and timed itinerary will be posted here at least four weeks prior to departure. If you would like to join us please send Siobhan an email or call on +44 (0) 7722 724 558 for details on how to secure a place and pay the deposit for this Tour, or if you have any questions about this Tour.
St Bernardus Abt Beer - A Black Beauty.
Day 1 - Wednesday 23 December 2026
Very Early! Coach departs from Galloways coach depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5RR.
05.15hr Coach pick up at Bus Stop, Tesco Store, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.
06.15hr Coach pick up The Woolpack, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN.
07.00hr Coach pick up at Howdens, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 8DE.
07.45hr Coach pick up at the pull in outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opp. Premier Inn Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.
08.00hr Coach pick up at Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.
08.20hr Arrive Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Train Crossing from Folkestone.
10.50hr Departure of Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) Train crossing from Folkestone.
12.35hr Arrive/Disembark Calais.
14.00hr Arrive at our first stop of the Tour at the superb Beer Cuisine Restaurant (H)eerlijk near Oostende. The concept of ‘beer cuisine’ is relatively unknown in the U.K., but the Belgians do this very well. The food here is fantastic. Vicky and her husband chef Kevin moved here from further down the coast in 2017. They wanted to concentrate on beer and food pairing, rather than pairing with wine. The great feature of the restaurant is the big beer fridges which take centre stage. They offer around 160 beers, including all the Trappist beers in the world and more than 60 Oude Geuzes/Lambics, including offerings from 3Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, Eylenbosch, Boon, Lindemans, Devillé, Girardin, Hanssens, Timmermans, Cantillon, Lambiek Fabriek, De Cam and the newer ones too. They and are very proud of Belgian beer, like to support smaller breweries and get in new beers every month. We’ll stop here for our first meal in Belgium and slake our great thirst with a fresh beer.
16.15hr Leave Bier Restaurant (H)eerlijk at Raversijde.
16.30hr Pay a visit to Citybrewery 't Koelschip in Oostende. This city brewery has been here for a few years and produce a number of beers themselves. They also make the kit available for other brewers. We’ll have a brewery visit and a beer tasting here*. The brewery is on the ground floor with a tasting area on the first floor. They are also a BIG Beershop. They are fond of the Belgian cartoon character Cowboy Henk who had a huge blonde quiff and has a beer named for him. They are prolific brewers, but core beers include:
• Saison a L’Ostendaise 5%abv
• Session IPA 4.5%abv
• Oostende Bonsoir 8.4%abv
• Blonde Kuif (Blonde Quiff) a 5%abv a blonde saison beer made with sea salt and Poperinge hops.
Hopefully they will have the 8.9%abv Winter is Coming too.
18.00hr Leave the Citybrewery 't Koelschip in Oostende.
18.15hr Arrive at the comfortable and very centrally located four-star Hotel Cocoon**** in Oostende. The evening is free for you to explore this seaside city with its Christmas Markets and Stalls armed with a copy of Podge’s Oostende Bar Guide* and accompanying map*.
A nice black beer - go on - it's Christmas!
Day 2 - Thursday 24 December 2026
10.00hr Following a superb buffet breakfast* in our hotel we head off by coach for a day out.
10.45hr Arrive in Nieuwpoort. It would not be a Podge’s Belgian Beer Tour without a visit to something odd, interesting and very Belgian to look at and photograph. Siobhan is taking us to the lovely coastal town of Nieuwpoort to see:
• The Giant Gold Turtle. This is a massive 10-foot artwork of a man riding a turtle with reins, which hovers over a watery plinth. It is facing the sea and is called Searching for Utopia. Yes. Created by Belgian artist Jan Fabre, the turtle and its rider are on their way to Utopia, an ideal reality or place that does not exist. It was originally placed on the beach here in 2003, but the gold surface wore off in the wind and sand and he was moved here and given a permanent gold coating. Sadly, his sea view is impeded by a row of buildings, but he is still searching for utopia.
• In the same square we’ll also have a look at a beautiful example of a WW1 Demarcation Stone. These little pink Alsace granite 3 ft bollards were erected by public subscription between 1921 and 1930 in France and Belgium to mark the limit of the German advance during the First World War. Siobhan is an expert in the history of these odd memorials.
11.15hr Call in at a lovely bar next to the Golden Turtle called Tortu. Here we can have a little rest, and you might want to try one of their draft beers from West Flemish Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste, either the Rood Bruin or the Tripel Le Fort.
There are a couple of other beer bars nearby which might also be open for a visit and Siobhan will check before we depart:
• De Nelson is a nice little sea front tearoom with 30 beers.
• De Vismarkt aan Zee is in the same family ownership as The Times in Ypres and Vismarkt in Poperinge. They offer 12 beers on tap and more in bottles.
• Brasserie Carrousel has 35 beers on the card. Try local the draft Middelkerke beer Jus de Mer 7.2%abv. In bottles they have the local heroes beer Hendrik Geeraert 7.0%abv and Karel Cogge 7.0%abv. Also local Zeevonk at 7.2%abv or Heroes Amazing Blond at 8.5%abv.
13.00r Leave the pretty seaside town of Nieuwpoort.
13.30hr Arrive at the Toogoloog in Middelkerke. This excellent beer café is found near the main crossroads at the centre of the town near the church (if you want to pop in). This was formerly a butcher’s shop and the architectural traces can still be seen inside. They have added lovely sepia photo panels of West Flanders old bruin brewers Rodenbach, Omer Vander Ghinste including a Flemish Dog Cart. They have a superbly picked menu of 250 beers plus 10 on draft which are likely to be seasonal. We will have a meal here and a beer or two. Joy!
16.00hr Leave the Toogoloog in Middelkerke.
16.30hr Arrive back at Hotel Cocoon in central Oostende for a little nap, followed by a night out.
Bruges in the snow, 2010
Day 3 - Friday 25 December 2026
10.00hr Following a superb buffet breakfast* we head off by coach for a day out.
10.30hr Call in for a Christmas Morning beer - Siobhan is still working on this visit! More coming soon!
13.30hr We make our way into Bruges, but for this visit we are dropping down to the south side of the town at Bargeweg, where the coach parks and to a lovely big red wooden ship moored in the Gent-Oostende canal called the Mayflower Lichtschip. The vessel was built in 1883 in Amsterdam by the Rijkswerf (State shipyard) as Lichtschip Number 3 (Lightvessel) for the Dutch Government. This lightvessel is a ship which acts as a lighthouse for use in waters too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. They were customarily painted red, as this one is. Sadly, automated buoys have now made these nice ships obsolete. This one has no engine and is moved about by tugboat. In 1940 it was taken over by the Dutch army, was renamed the 'Hollandse Glorie' and was used to train young Dutch marines. We’ll have a group meal here. There are about 20 beers to choose from, including local Brugse Zot Blonde, made in Bruges, of course. Better have one of those, then.
16.00hr Leave the Mayflower Lichtschip in Bruges.
17.00hr Arrive back at Hotel Cocoon in central Oostende for a night on the tiles town.
Day 4 Saturday 26 December 2026
10.00hr Following a superb buffet breakfast* in our hotel we head off by coach for a day out.
10.45hr Call in at Stacks Beer Shop in St Kruis, near Bruges to buy some beers to take home. This is a big beer shop with a choice of 1000 beers. This is your opportunity to buy some of your favourite bottled Belgian beers to savour at home, at good prices.
11.45hr Leave Stacks Beer shop in St Kruis.
12.00hr Arrive at the weird and wonderful Brouwerij Skøllmann in Sijsele/Damme, near Bruges. This is a new craft brewery. Jonas and Tom are childhood friends. They do what many in Belgium do – take a brewery course and start brewing as a hobby (in 2020). They both have proper jobs too. In 2023 they realised their dream of getting their own brewery, in premises within an impressive Old Sanatorium complex in Sijsele/Damme. This huge place was built as a hospital in 1921 within 33 acres of grounds. Today as well as a brewery out back it is a non-profit organisation with a sports centre, health campus, and a restaurant. Since arriving here the two friends are constantly extending their brewing kit, bottling plant and other bits and are aiming to brew more of their beers here. They don’t brew typical Belgian style beers, but international styles with a twist. Their bottle labels sport graphic, swirly artwork too. Their first beer was Burning Skoll, a Saison at 7%abv made with spelt and fresh ginger. They also brew:
• Swarte Gront – a Black IPA at 8%abv (brewed at Sijsele).
• Rauchkopf – A smoked saison at 6%abv (brewed at Sijsele).
• Grand Cru – a Strong Blond at 8.6%abv (brewed at Sijsele).
• White Kveiking – A White IPA (Wheat) at 6%abv (brewed by Skollman at De Meester).
• Meester Skoll – A Blond Brut at 10.5%abv with the addition of fresh rhubarb. We’ll have a look round this new brewery and a beer tasting here too*.
14.00hr Leave Brouwerij Skøllmann in Sijsele/Damme.
14.30hrArrive at the very pretty farmhouse-style, red-shuttered Urbancafé in Beernem. The name is something of a misnomer, as it in the middle of a big green belt south of Bruges called the Bulscampveld. It formerly stretched between Bruges and Ghent and was once the largest heathland in Flanders. The whole of the Bulskampveld was sold to the province of West Flanders in 1970 and opened to the public as a nature reserve. The first lord of Bulskampveld, Lambert Malfait, converted his farm into a castle which stands today near to this uber-modern café. We will stop here for a meal, and a beer, if you are still thirsty. Try one of these newer beers all on offer here:
• Obuz (Passchendaele)
• Dark Love (Blankenberge)
• Zeven Zonden Gula (Kortrijk)
• Betsy (Bredene)
16.45hr Leave the Urbancafe in leafy Bulskampveld, Beernem.
17.15hr Arrive back at Hotel Cocoon in central Oostende for an evening at leisure, or maybe a bit of a snooze first.
Day 5 Sunday 27 December 2026
10.00hr Following a superb buffet breakfast* in our hotel we check out of our hotel and head off for our return journey, via a couple of visits on the way.
11.00hr Siobhan is currently working on a morning visit. Keep 'em peeled!
13.00hr Arrive at the lovely beer café and restaurant the Vlasschaard in the village of Stene, just outside Oostende. This is a long-standing, well run pretty old estaminet in a picturesque village next to the windmill and church. Hilde offers a good menu of 60 beers, including around 10 on draft with a strong slant to local breweries. So that’s nice. We’ll have a meal and a beer or two here, as it’s our last stop of the Tour!
16.00hr Leave the Vlasschaard in Stene.
17.50hr Arrive Calais Le Shuttle (Eurostar) Terminal.
19.50hr Leave Calais on Le Shuttle (Eurostar) train.
19.35hr Arrive Folkestone Le Shuttle (Eurostar) Terminal.
19.45hr Coach drop Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.
20.00hr Coach drop pull in outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opp. Premier Inn. Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.
20.45hr Coach drop Howdens, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, Swanley BR8 8DE.
21.30hr Coach drop Junction of Lady Lane & Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0EA.
21.45hr Coach drop Travelodge Hotel, 128-136 Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7GY.
22.00hr Coach drop Premier Inn Victoria Road, Chelmsford CM1 1NY.
23.15hr Coach drop Galloways coach depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5RR.
Gouden Carolus Christmas from Het Anker.
Tour Price is £1150 per person price sharing a double or twin room.
Single Supplement is £390 if you would like a room of your own.
The deposit payable to secure a place on this Tour is £200 per person.
Send Siobhan an email to find out how to pay the deposit.
Included in the cost of this Tour are:
Hotel accommodation and breakfasts;
Hotel city taxes;
Luxury coach travel on a 49 seater coach with toilet;
All brewery visits, tours and brewery beer tastings;
Entrance fees to attractions, museums and historical sites;
All items marked with an asterisk above and on the individual detailed tour itinerary when issued;
Copies of Podge’s City Bar Guides and Maps for the town where we stay or spend some time;
Free bottled water on the coach;
Pick up from one of our agreed joining points on the way to Folkestone or even on the other side of the channel.
Courier Services from Siobhan McGinn, your Tour Guide.
Travellers are responsible for the costs of all food and drink apart from items marked with an asterisk on the detailed itinerary plus all passport and insurance costs.
All itinerary times are local and approximate.
Personal insurance is not included in the Tour price but is required to be taken out by Travellers on Podge's Belgian Beer Tours, as is carrying the free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is the 2021 replacement for the old EHIC. You can still use your EHIC card so long as it is in date, then you need to apply for the GHIC replacement online.
All Tours are subject to our Terms and Conditions.
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