Terschelling and Vlieland islands - Daytrips

After extensively investigating the different options for visiting Tershelling and Vlieland islands - I eventually settled on being based in Harlingen and doing daytrips ... which worked out well.

Getting to Harlingen

The extensive rail network in the Netherlands means that it's fairly straightforward to get anywhere in the country by rail.  I flew into Eindhoven Airport from Stansted - which meant taking one of the regular buses to the Central Station (2.83 euro using a Contactless card) ... and then a couple of trains (31.20 euro using Contactless).

The Dutch railway system is so user friendly that you don't have to buy a ticket - you just tap your Contactless payment card at the gateline when you enter, and again when you leave ... and the relevant price is charged to your card.  The NS app is very helpful - and shows the destination of the train that you should board.  Don't make the mistake I did a couple of years ago and board a train for Zwolle just because you know you need to change in Zwolle!

Just be aware that Dutch trains don't have any catering facilities - so you need to buy your coffee in the station before boarding.  And most of the NS trains that I used over the weekend didn't have any power sockets.  Both the Arriva trains did provide power.

To get to Harlingen you must change in Leeuwarden - where you need to tap out of the NS network (yellow), and tap into the Arriva network (turquoise) - with the NS app reminding you to do it.  There are card readers at the end of most platforms in Leeuwarden, and lots of other travellers were doing the same.  I had no problem changing trains and doing the tapping within the scheduled 6 minutes.  And the Harlingen train does wait if your train into Leeuwarden is late.

If you're travelling in the evening you may have a half hour wait at Leeuwarden - but there's an Albert Heijn To Go in the station itself.  You can go through the barriers to wait in the station - worth the small extra charge for splitting your journey!

Arriving into Harlingen you have the choice of getting out at the town station - apart from the Jumbo supermarket there isn't much around the station. The Haven station is right on the western edge of the town and close to the ferry terminal.

Staying in Harlingen

I started looking for two nights accommodation a couple of months before arriving, and didn't find a lot of choice.  Eventually a few weeks before arrival the only reasonably priced good options were an AirBnB place in the centre of town and the B&B Zeehoeve just to the south of town. We went for the "tiny house" in the centre of town - which turned out to be a good choice.

Harlingen itself is a lovely town, full of canals and old houses, with plenty of food and drinking opportunities.  It was relatively quiet in May, but I'm sure it gets busier in the Summer - especially in the school holidays.  Many of the restaurants shut surprisingly early starting from around 9pm - and many were fully booked when we tried to get a table.

Eetcafe Noottgedagt is the number one rated restaurant on Tripadvisor, and looks great both outside and inside - but they were fully booked when we tried.  We ended up eating Cafe Restaurant t'Noorderke - which was a lovely place, with friendly staff and great food.

There's also a good size Albert Heijn supermarket near the Haven train station.  It stocks a decent range of goods and is open until 10pm Monday-Saturday and until 6pm on Sundays.

Ferries to the Islands

Our AirBnB host reminded me that booking daytrips to the islands online in the advance gives a better price as well as giving the option of a "package" including bicycle hire for just 5 euro extra.  We did this both days, although we misunderstood the 10% voucher that came with the "package" - and failed to get reductions on the coffee and beverages we bought on the ferry!  And the fast ferry doesn't have a cafe!

Some of the ferries back to Harlingen do get fully booked - especially on a Sunday evening, so keep an eye out on how many spaces are left, and try and book once you've seen the weather forecast and decided what you're doing.

The ferry terminal is close to town and is an excellent facility.  The staff at the ticket desk were pretty helpful (although they could have better explained the 10% voucher) when printing our tickets.  There's a handy little shop in the building, which even includes mobile phone cables in case you (also) forgot yours!  The ferry company operates a nice looking cafe restaurant in the building where the 10% voucher is also valid.

Downstairs in the basement (lift available) the toilets are clean - although they did get very busy when a boat load of people arrived into port.  And there are 12 huge left luggage lockers down next to the toilets - which never got full over the weekend.

The ticket desk staff happily exchanged my two 1 euro coins for the 2 euro coin I needed to pay for the locker for the day.

Vlieland

Doing a daytrip to Vlieland is very simple - there's a ferry departing Harlingen at 9.10am and the last ferry back to Harlingen departs at 4.50pm (with a later fast ferry on a Sunday that gets into Harlingen at 8pm).  The six hours on Vlieland is a decent amount of time to cycle around most of the island, stopping off to see the main sights.

Whilst the ferry website tells you to be at the terminal 30 minutes before departure - you really only need to be there about 15 or 20 minutes ahead of time.  There were still people boarding around 10 minutes before we pushed off.

The tourist information office "VVV Vlieland" is just as you come off the ferry - but we forgot to hand over our "package" voucher to receive our freebies!  The most useful thing in the VVV office was this big island map on the wall showing the bicycle routes in red.

The bicycle hire voucher from the ferry company can be used in any hire shop on the island.  We just went to the nearest one to the ferry building - Jan van Vlieland.  Their bicycles weren't great - a bit uncomfortable after a couple of hours, with rather stiff gears, and not enough suspension.  I would definitely try one of the other nearby hire shops if going again.

The voucher can alternatively be used for a day long bus pass.

The main street through the village (there is really only one village on the island) is a bit Disney esque - even in the rain it was charming!  There are plenty of places to eat, caffeinate, buy tourist stuff and even a small supermarket.  Just be aware that some shops (including the bakery) shut for an hour or so over lunchtime.

One of the main sights on Vlieland is the Lighthouse - which officially closes at 12.30pm at weekends, whilst some days it's only open in the afternoon.  Luckily the day we were on the island there was a big group visiting, so the lighthouse stayed open late, and we managed to get in.  It's well worth the 3 euro fee to climb up the inside, get some great views across the island, and descend the vertiginous stairs on the outside of the building.

From the lighthouse we cycled along the "main road" right the way to the most westerly point on the island we were allowed.  The western third of the island is a military zone - Kamp Vliehors.

The most westerly human habitation is the Posthuys - a cafe restaurant.  We stopped for a coffee and to use their facilities!  There were plenty of people eating full meals here.  This is also the most westerly point served by the Vlieland public bus.  And it's also the point where day trippers from Texel island are deposited.

After our mediocre coffee, we took the wonderfully deserted cycle track along the northern side of the island back towards the east.  Along the way we stopped at the Bunker Museum Wn12H.  This is a seriously impressive establishment - with a mix of excavated original concrete structures, and reconstructed wooden huts.  Apart from a handout map in english with brief descriptions, all the displays in the different huts and buildings are exclusively in Dutch.

The displays inside and outside the buildings are a rather eclectic mix of wartime items - including this wonderfully displayed propellor.  The standard entrance fee is 8 euro - so it's worth spending the best part of an hour to take in the extensive site.

With the rain starting in earnest, we donned our waterproof trousers and continued cycling to the eastern end of the island in search of the Fortuna brewery.  I had hoped to source some local beer, but they didn't have a shop, and the upstairs bar was quite busy.  With limited time until our ferry, we left empty handed!

We had actually started our day with a visit to the Commonwealth War Graves in the grounds of Nicolaaskerk.  The church itself is worth a visit - I've never seen so many model ships inside a place of worship!  And the helpful member staff hands out a leaflet in english explaining the different items in the church.  The cemetery is also worth a visit.

Overall I'd highly recommend Vlieland for a day out if you like this sort of thing!

Terschelling

The choice of ferry to Terschelling is a bit more complicated than Vlieland - you have to choose between the 8.15am fast ferry or the slow one which only gets to the island at midday.

We got up early and arrived at the ferry terminal at 7.50am to put our bags in the locker - having collected our tickets and vouchers the evening before.  The Sunday morning fast ferry wasn't busy, but be aware that you're supposed to stay seated for the 50 minute journey - and there's no cafe!

We were a bit more organised this time (monkey learns) and went straight to the tourist office on arrival in Terschelling and presented our "VVV voucher".  This meant we each received a handy drawstring backpack bag, as well as some brochures.  Again the most useful thing was the huge map of the island on the wall of the VVV office.

The helpful staff member suggested that with the strong wind, we'd be better cycling against it on the inland cycle path rather the more exposed main road or polder dyke - which is what we did.

The bicycle voucher can be used in any hire shop - we just went to the Tijs Knop shop near the VVV office.  Their bicycles were definitely a cut above the ones we used on Vlieland, with more comfortable saddles and better suspension.  Just like on Vlieland, the voucher can alternatively be used for a day long bus pass. 

Cycling east (with the wind on our backs) we did a mix of dyke cycling (great fun) and used the bike path beside the main road to see some of the villages.  I didn't find the villages as interesting as the ones on Ameland or the main village on Vlieland - but maybe a Sunday morning with everything closed isn't the best time to visit!

The village of Formerum does have a good size Jumbo supermarket - but only "smart" shoppers are welcome!

Before long we were at the eastern navigable limit of the island - the last quarter of the island is a nature reserve for hiking only.  We'd cycled 20km by now - so probably enough with the wind against us on the way back.

With the village of Oosterend being the end of the main road, it was probably the busiest place on the island with people stopping for lunch in the sunshine.  We skipped the crowds and cycled back along the excellent cycle track with a parallel horse track.

Along the way we stopped to caffeinate (strangely no toilets at the Patatelier Prell cafe) and we also stopped at the Bunker Museum / Tiger Stelling complex.  You can visit the outdoor section (including this German "Rettungsboje" rescue buoy) without entering the Museum.  After visiting to the Bunker Museum on Vlieland the previous day we opted not to visit this one.

Before long we were back in the main town of West Terschelling and we stopped at the Commonwealth War Graveyard on the way into the centre.

The main point of reference in West Terschelling is the lighthouse at the top of the town - you can see it from the far end of the island.  It's not a bad looking structure, but probably won't win any design awards!

Then it was time to hand back the bicycles, and grab a quick drink at the beautiful Raads Cafe before getting the Tiger fast ferry back to Harlingen.  We needed the quicker option because we had to catch a couple of trains to get to Amsterdam.  If you can take the extra 70 minutes, then worth getting the slow ferry - and using your 10% discount voucher on food and drink!

Another great island daytrip - with the added bonus of lots of sunshine.

  

Ameland Island

In May 2023 I visited Ameland island - here is how I did it!

I decided to stay in the city of Leeuwarden for the weekend, and make a daytrip to the island.

Getting to Leeuwarden is straightforward - with Dutch trains being frequent and not even requiring a ticket.  Pretty much all mainline train stations now accept Contactless cards - so you just tap in and tap out.

The only mistake I made was jumping on the first train to Zwolle, rather than the Groningen train that ran fast to Zwolle!  But there's so many trains that it wasn't much of a problem.

The city of Leeuwarden is great - canals, old houses, little shopping streets ...

And an excellent ceramics museum - Princessehof

Getting to Ameland from Leeuwarden starts off with a bus to the port of Holwerd.  This departs from the very well organised bus station adjacent to the train station.  Bus bay letters are so big you can't miss them!

It was a pleasant bus ride to Holwerd, where you purchase your ticket for one of the regular ferries over to Ameland.

There were lots of families with kids and dogs going for a few days - so they put their own luggage onto the cart ...

Which drives onto the ferry first ...

And then it's a self service collection system at the far end - all very straightforward and Dutch !

Whilst lots of the locals brought their own bicycles onto the ferry - there are also plenty of bicycle hire shops on the island, including some near the ferry harbour.

Ameland has numerous cycle tracks - most of which are fairly flat - so you hardly ever even see a vehicle.  Some of the high quality tracks are parallel to main road, with bicycles banned from the road.

Ameland is mostly a low key relaxed island - the highlight is probably the impressive lighthouse.

Amongst the other sights is an impressive propellor sculpture.

And of course the World War II cemetery containing Commonwealth Graves.

At the end of the day I dropped off my hire bike, caught the ferry back to the mainland, and the connecting bus back to Leeuwarden.  A very enjoyable day out.

Frisian Islands travel planning

A couple of years ago I visited Ameland island as a daytrip from the wonderful city of Leeuwarden.  

It was a pleasant bus ride to the port of Holwerd, and then an enjoyable 50 minute ferry ride across to the island.

Over on Ameland I hired a bicycle and had a great day exploring the island before taking the ferry and bus back to Leeuwarden.

This year I want to visit Terschelling, and originally assumed that I'd travel via a similar route - taking the ferry from Harlingen.

But another option might be able to visit three islands starting from Den Helder.

So whilst Google Maps makes it look simple - is it achievable in practice?

Firstly getting to Den Helder from Amsterdam or Schiphol - there's trains every half hour (until 11.53pm) - remembering to change at Sloterdijk instead of Centraal.  And of course tap in and tap out using Contactless on Dutch trains means there's no need to spend time buying a ticket before catching a train.

From the train station in Den Helder it's less than half an hour walk to the ferry - or there's the number 33 bus every half hour.  On the return journey you don't need to pay for the bus!

The ferry from Den Helder over to Texel harbour, operated by Teso, is extremely frequent and runs until 9.30pm, taking about 20 minutes.  A great service for the jaw dropping price of 3 euro per return journey for foot passengers!

Once over in Texel there's a bicycle hire company right next to the ferry building.  It's open from 8.50am to 5pm (anytime return) and offers a range of different machines!

From the northern end of Texel the ferry service over to Vlieland, which includes a high clearance truck across the sand / mud flats on the Vlieland side, only operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.  From mid July it operates more frequently during the peak holidays.

The morning 9.30am departure from Texel is only available on a daytrip basis and does not allow bicycles.

The afternoon 5.15pm departure from Texel to Vlieland does allow bicycles

Going the other direction, you can travel on a Sunday morning from Vlieland to Texel with your bicycle.

The ferry service between Vlieland and Terschelling islands only operates Monday to Friday - weekend services commence on 12th July.  With a capacity of just 12 passengers - reservation is essential for the 30 minute ride!

The Monday to Friday service departs Vlieland at 8.30am & 3.15pm and departs Terschelling at 9.15am & 4pm.

From Vlieland there are three daily ferry services over to the mainland - with the last departure to Harlingen being 4.50pm Monday to Saturday and an extra 7.10pm service on Sundays.

The limited inter island ferry service means that a circular routing via Harlingen is a more practical three island option than a there and back.

Going clockwise it would be something like:

Friday - travel to Den Helder / Texel

Saturday - on Texel and overnight (although availability may be a challenge)

Sunday - 9.15am ferry to Vlieland & afternoon / evening ferry to Harlingen

Monday - optional day trip to Terschelling

Going anti clockwise it would be something like:

Friday - travel to Harlingen & 7.10pm ferry to Vlieland (most accommodation requires 2 nights)

Saturday - day on Vlieland & overnight

Sunday - 9.30am ferry to Texel - day on Texel & afternoon / evening ferry to Den Helder

The lack of resilience in either direction is far from ideal.  It would be considerably safer (but not as interesting) to just stay in Harlingen and take day trips to Terschelling and Vlieland.

Terschelling is well serviced by ferries from Harlingen - with the last ferry over to the island departing Harlingen just before 8pm every day, making a night on the island possible.  The last ferry back from the island is at 5.35pm every day.

A Friday or Saturday daytrip to Vlieland would give about five and a half hours, whereas a Sunday daytrip would allow nearly eight hours.  A circular cycle of Vlieland takes a little over an hour.

Another option is to travel over to Vlieland on the 09:10 on Friday morning - have four hours on the little island - and then take the water taxi at 15:15 from Vlieland to Terschelling.  Stay Friday night on Terschelling (where there are slightly more accommodation options) and have Saturday on the island - or even stay both Friday and Saturday nights on Terschelling, and travel back to the mainland on Sunday morning.

Taking the 16:30 fast ferry from Terschelling to Harlingen should connect to the 5.40pm train, and with a connection in Leeuwarden it would mean getting to Schiphol at 8.30pm - in time for the final departures.  If that's too tight for your personal risk appetite, then you could stay somewhere close to Schiphol for a departure the next morning.

Alternatively you could travel to Terschelling on Saturday or Sunday, staying on the island, and then take the 09:15 water taxi on Monday morning to Vlieland - allowing closer to seven hours on Vlieland before getting the 16:50 ferry back to the mainland.  Arriving into Harlingen at 18:25 would be too late for the last flights out of Schiphol, or to connect with the ferry to Harwich. 

After evaluating the various combinations and permutations - it seems like the best option is probably to travel on a Friday to Leeuwarden or Harlingen.  Do day trips to Terschelling and Vlieland on the Saturday and Sunday.  A Saturday daytrip to Vlieland would get back to Harlingen 1.5 hours before the last ferry to Terschelling - meaning a night on the island would be very feasible.

As an alternative to flying home, to get the overnight ferry from Hoek to Harwich would require getting to Hoek by 9pm, so leaving Harlingen by 4.40pm - which in turn would mean leaving an island around lunchtime.  So not particularly appealing.

To get the daytime ferry from Hoek to Harwich would require getting to Hoek by 1.30pm - which would mean leaving Harlingen around 8.45am.  Or if staying closer to Schiphol, a leisurely trip to the port.