Zwijndrechtse Waard

This article is about the city in the Netherlands. For the city in Belgium, see Zwijndrecht (Belgium)

The Zwijndrechtse Waard is a former island in the Meuse river delta, consisting of the municipalities of Zwijndrecht and Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. The region is bordered by rivers and former rivers on all sides, with the Waal in the north, the Old Meuse (Dutch: Oude Maas) to the south and east, and the Noord on the northeast.

Understand

The Waard houses some 72,000 people, of which 44,000 live in Zwijndrecht and 28,000 have their homes in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. The area is marked as a commuters region, with the east part being predominantly for housing as well as some industry in Zwijndrecht's case, and rural area to the west, where the Devel river is located, traversing the nature area of the same name.

The island, being located to the south-east of Rotterdam, sees a lot of traffic coming through the region, with the rail classification yard of Kijfhoek taking up a lot of space. The region is also cut in half by the infamous Betuweroute, a goods-only train line from the Rotterdam harbour (Europort) to Zevenaar. The HSL-Zuid, a high-speed railway from Schiphol to Antwerp also crosses through the Zwijndrechtse Waard, without having any stops in the Waard.

Get in

Ferry at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Noordeinde.

By car

The Zwijndrechtse Waard is the meeting point of the A15 and A16 highways. The A15 starts as the N15 national road on the Tweede Maasvlakte, a part of the Europort harbour of Rotterdam, becoming the A15 near Brielle. The highway passes Rotterdam on its south side, continuing all the way to Nijmegen. As of 2022, the A15 is panned to be connected to the A12 highway inbetween Zevenaar and Duiven. The A16 starts where it meets the A20, which runs through the north of Rotterdam, continuing south to Breda, becoming the Belgian A1 connecting to Antwerp and Brussels.

By public transit

The Waard is only serviced by a single train station, albeit one on the central and frequently used The Hague — Dordrecht line. 1 Station Zwijndrecht is only serviced by the Sprinter stopping train. Intercity trains do not stop at Zwijndrecht, but instead use the outer tracks to speed through the station. The station is closed off by fare gates, which can be opened by holding an OV-Chipkaart, the transport pass of the Netherlands against the gate's scanner. These can also be opened using an E-ticket or disposable chipkaart, the latter of which can be purchased in the station, outside the gates.

From Station Zwijndrecht, busses run further into Zwijndrecht (line 12), to Rotterdam (lines 88 and 92), Barendrecht (line 717), Dordrecht's train station (lines 11, 12, 88 and 92). Line 88, as well as line 21 which connects to Dordrecht's train station, service Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht.

Public transit is also available in the form of ferries across the Rhine delta, which the rivers surrounding the island are a part of. Stops here are 2 Zwijndrecht Veerplein (lines  21  to Dordrecht Hooikade (near the Grote Kerk) and  24  to Dordrecht Merwekade (north side)) and 3 Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Noordeinde (line  20  to Dordrecht Merwekade and Rotterdam Erasmusbrug)

See

• Beeldenpark Zwijndrecht. Park with over thirty mostly abstract sculptures, also houses the Noordparkfestival every year. (updated Nov 2017)

Eat

• 1 De Oude Haven, Havenhoofd 1, Ridderkerk, ☏ +31 786 812 121, restaurantdeoudehaven@gmail.com. (updated Nov 2017)
• 2 Bella Milano, Kerkstraat 7, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, ☏ +31 786 819 994. (updated Nov 2017)
• 3 De Heeren van Ambacht, Dorpstraat 22, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, ☏ +31 786 842 321, info@deheerenvanambacht.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 4 Happy Italy, Rossenburgpad 10, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, ☏ +31 786 822 876. (updated Nov 2017)
• 5 ZOHEJ!, Veerplein 12, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 455 897. (updated Nov 2017)
• 6 Florizz Ridderlijk Eetcafé, Veerplein 1, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 200 255, info@florizz.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 7 Parmesan, Veerplein 21, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 126 636. (updated Nov 2017)
• 8 Aan de Maas, Maasboulevard 222-224, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 191 950. (updated Nov 2017)
• 9 Dok, Maasboulevard 134, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 120 780, info@dokrestaurant.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 10 MJM Grillroom, Stationsweg 1-5, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 190 904. (updated Nov 2017)
• 11 De Beren, Develsingel 9, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 122 644. (updated Nov 2017)
• 12 Het Develpaviljoen, Parklaan 1, Zwijndrecht, ☏ +31 786 100 901. (updated Nov 2017)

Sleep

Zwijndrecht and Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht house one hotel in total. More hotels can be found in Dordrecht.

• 1 ARA Hotel, Veerweg 10, ☏ +31 78 623-1780, info@hotelara.nl. €95. (updated Nov 2017)

Go next

• Nearby locations include Dordrecht, which can be easily reached by ferry.
• Somewhat further east of Dordrecht you will find the Biesbosch National Park.
• Following the Nieuwe Maas river, you will find Rotterdam, Spijkenisse, Vlaardingen, Maassluis, Brielle and the Hook of Holland.

Routes through Zwijndrechtse Waard

Amsterdam ← Rotterdam ←	N  S	→ Dordrecht → Antwerp
Brielle ← Spijkenisse ← Rotterdam ←	W  E	→ Gorinchem → Tiel → Nijmegen