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.
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!
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.
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.
