This year I finally went to one of our Wadden Islands: Terschelling for the first time in my 31 year old life. I always liked the idea of the Wadden, but somehow I had never gotten around to actually visiting them before. Fortunately, my grandmother decided to celebrate her 90th birthday on Terschelling and I was able to explore this beautiful island with my family.
The trip to Terschelling
Terschelling, like the other Wadden Islands, can be reached by ferry. From Harlingen, Friesland, several boats sail back and forth from the mainland to the islands every day with both passengers and/or cars. A ferry ride to Terschelling takes about 50 minutes with the express service - which is only for passengers - or 110 minutes with the regular - and cheaper - ferry which also has room for passenger cars.
Whatever your preference, when the weather is good it is certainly worthwhile to sit on deck and enjoy the fresh sea air and the view of the Wadden Sea. There is also quite extensive catering available on board and they also have an area for parents with young children where the kids can play.
Once arrived on the island
When you get off the ferry you immediately arrive in the largest village on the island: West-Terschelling, or as the islanders call it: West. Here you will find most amenities and you can enjoy delicious food, sit on a terrace, shop or visit a museum.
If you are up for a bit more adventure, fortunately there is plenty to do here. From the port of West Terschelling you can go on one of the many boat trips to see how shrimp fishing works, for example, or to visit the seals that lie on the sandbanks around Terschelling.
Cycling through the dune landscape and along the sea
You can rent (electric) bicycles, tandems, (electric) fat bikes for the beach or e-choppers on almost the entire island, ideal if you really want to explore Terschelling! I am absolutely not sporty myself, but I really enjoyed all the trips around the island on my electric bike . Terschelling may only be 30 kilometers long, but the villages and beach bars are still quite far apart for a nice walk. And let's face it, sun in combination with some fresh air from the sea is much nicer than a hot car or bus, right?
They have created beautiful cycling routes throughout the island. On the southern side of the island you can enjoy cycling along the sea, sheep and beach birds. On the northern side, on the other hand, you have more forests, dunes and wide beaches.
Beach trip with the covered wagon
If you are looking for a nice outing on Terschelling with family, then I can really recommend one of the covered wagon trips! Together with a local coachman, you will be pulled by horses through the forests, dunes and across the beach. Because the coachmen are real islanders, they supplement the already beautiful ride with facts, history and beautiful stories about Terschelling.
Children are usually allowed to sit at the front of the covered wagon during the ride, next to the coachman. Here they receive an explanation about how to control the horses and they are sometimes allowed - under supervision - to take the reins into their own hands. This way, the relatively long rides fly by, even for children!
A holiday for nature lovers
Apart from the fact that there is plenty to do on the island, Terschelling is really the perfect holiday destination for people who like to be outdoors. You can enjoy walking and cycling through nature and villages and you will see that the residents of the island also live closely with their environment.
As a result, they offer a large amount of beautiful local products on Terschelling. For enthusiasts, I would like to recommend trying some of the local beer, the available herbal bitters, fresh fish, sheep's cheese or cranberry pie. Everything is made on the island itself and is fresher than fresh!
Something to do for the whole family
We were several families on Terschelling, with children of different ages and adults of different generations. I thought the great thing about Terschelling is that there is something to do here for everyone.
For the elderly and disabled, many of the beach tents have electric wheelchairs available that are specially made for use on the beach.
For the slightly younger generations, there is still plenty to do in the evenings in terms of catering and live music on the island. Children can enjoy an adventure in the forest or on the beach, go horseback riding, or play in one of the many playgrounds.
There may not be many shops for those who want to do some shopping, but the range of local boutiques is very good. You can actually eat delicious food almost anywhere, just be prepared for the fact that everything is a bit more expensive on Terschelling.
All in all, enough reason to go sometime!
The author: Shannah van der Wal
Photographer & content creator Shannah combines her love for photography and food on her food blog Just Gimme Fries . Here she brings Asian & Western food together through easy, but delicious recipes. Furthermore, you always make her happy with fries, videos of cats & facts about Japan. Shannah's blog posts >
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