Texel

Texel is an island in the West Frisian Islands region of the Netherlands.

Understand

The Lighthouse at De Cocksdorp, one of the famous landmarks on the Island

Texel is an island with four types of landscape: dunes and beaches in the west, flatland and polders in the east and hilly in the center of the island (the remains of the ice age). Inland you find the fourth landscape - wetlands - with beautiful walking trails in the center west coast of the island, like The Slufter. Along the wadden-coast in the east there are comparably smaller Wetlands. In the dunes, valleys like The Muy are quite popular with tourists.

Both tourists and birds are abundant. The tourists visit mostly in the summer.

The islanders call their hilly area the Hoge Berg ("High Mountain"). Its highest point is about 15 meters above sea level and gives a fabulous view over the island. It's not the summit of the island. The dune Loodsmansduin in the south reaches 30 meters above sea level.

Originally, the locals spoke their own dialect, known as "Tessels". Nowadays it's dying out and is replaced by a more Standard-Dutch tongue, although still with specific words and accents. The inhabitants have their own name for the mainland: de Overkant, literally "the Other Side".

The official name is Texel. The x in it is normally pronounced as ss, so the name sounds like "Tessel". In Standard-Dutch, the correct pronunciation is Tessel, but a lot of Dutchmen pronounce it with an x-sound. The locals however always pronounce it as "Tessel".

The following villages are on Texel:

• 🌍 De Cocksdorp (North of island). Home of the lighthouse and miles of beach 
• 🌍 Den Hoorn (South of island). Leafy village with pretty rustic cottages. 
• 🌍 De Koog (West side of island, by the beach.). The town where the sun lovers go. Small place, but busy. A bit trashy, lots of night life. Two supermarkets, lots of bars/restaurants, and not much else. 
• 🌍 Den Burg (Centre of island.). Largest town on island, home to about half the island's inhabitants. It has the most facilities and is the best shopping destination. 
• 🌍 Oudeschild. (southeast of the island) fishing harbour 

The information center is located in Den Burg:

• 🌍 VVV Texel (tourist office), Emmalaan 66, Den Burg. Mo-Fr 9:00 - 17:30, Sa 9:00 - 17:00. 

Get in

Teso ferries meeting half way between Texel and Den Helder

As Texel is an island, the only realistic way to get to it is by ferry. Teso operates a 30 min ferry trip from Den Helder to Texel. Ferries depart from 06:30 until 21:30, every hour, with less departures on Sunday. In summer and on busy days, two boats are deployed. Ferries dock at 't Horntje along the southern end of the island. From there, buses bring you to the larger villages.

Den Helder can be reached by train. The ride to Den Helder station takes 1 hour and 15 minutes from Amsterdam and 2 hours from Rotterdam. At the station, bus 33 takes you to the ferry pier, or you can walk the bit through town.

Getting there by car is also an option. From the south (Amsterdam), take the A9 to Alkmaar. The A9 stops at the traffic lights in Alkmaar. From there, take a left at the roundabout as the road changes into the N9. Keep following the N9 till you arrive at Den Helder. From the east (Friesland/Groningen/Germany) you can take the A7 motorway across the Afsluitdijk dam to Den Oever, and then N99 expressway to Den Helder. Cars can be taken on the ferry to Texel. On busy days (e.g. the Easter weekend) there can be traffic jams for the ferry.

Get around

By bike

The island is best experienced by bicycle, especially in summer. There are many place to hire bikes on the island.

By bus

Public transport busses run each hour to each village and connect to the hourly ferry services (but not to any additional sailings). You can buy tickets at the driver; a map of bus lines is available at the Connexxion website.

By car

For parking at paid parking lots or parking zones you can either pay individually (€ 2,50 per hour in 2014), but in case you stay for longer than over the weekend, purchasing a yearly parking vignette might be a good idea (€ 15 in 2014). Add the vignette to the collection of dozens of other vignettes on your front screen and you can park in designated areas without additional charges. There are however some time limitations at some of the parking lots, which are explained in the brochure that comes with the vignette and the signs at the parking lots. The stickers can be purchased for example in the VVV information center in Den Burg or in supermarkets.

See

The whole western coast consists of the Duinen van Texel National Park, a protected nature reserve. It is a varied dunescape with heath, salt fens and grassland, and is the best attraction Texel has to offer. Some areas are protected as bird breeding grounds.

• De Slufter/De Muy (northwest of island). Den Slufter is a tidal inlet with marshes and a lagoon. 
• Eierland ((English: egg land)) (north and centre of island). Eierland means "egg land" in Dutch. This is a breeding ground for 1000s of birds. 

Some other attractions include:

• 🌍 Texel Lighthouse (Vuurtoren Lange Jaap), Vuurtorenweg 184, De Cocksdorp, ☎ [phone]. Apr 10:00-17:00 daily, May-Sep M-Th 10:00-20:00, F-Su 10:00-17:00, Oct 10:00-17:00 daily, Nov-Mar W, Sa-Su 10:00-17:00. The lighthouse is one of the landmarks of Texel. The top is at 45 metres high and gives a great view over Texel and the Wadden Sea. The way up there is basically a museum, which explains the history of the lighthouse and its current purpose. €4.50.  
• Maritime & Beachcombers Museum (Maritiem & Jutters Museum), Barentszstraat 21, Oudeschild, ☎ [phone]. Jul-Aug M-Sa 10:00-17:00, Su, hols 12:00-17:00, Sep-Jun Tu-Sa 10:00-17:00, Su, hols 12:00-17:00. This museum makes for a delightful visit. In past times many ships sunk around Texel due to stormy weather, so a lot of treasures have been found in the surrounding area. This museum shows what kind of stuff they have found, and the collection is truly amazing (almost funny). The outdoor section show demonstrations by craftsmen, such as rope-making and blacksmithing. €6.50, children €5. 

Do

There are many activities you can do on the isle of Texel. Just some of them include swimming, sunbathing, kitesurfing, golfing and go-karting. Cycling and hiking through the nature reserve is particularly popular. You can rent bicycles at the ferry pier 't Horntje and in the other villages.

There are numerous possibilities for cycling. English-language cycle routes are the Texel South Cycle Route and the Texel North Cycle Route, which can be combined into one long trip around the whole of the island.

Buy

Den Burg has the largest facilities for shopping.

Eat

• Bij Jef, Herenstraat 24, Den Hoorn, ☎ [phone]. Feb-Dec Su-F 18:00-late, Sa 19:00-late, Jan closed. This is a highly appraised French restaurant that has one Michelin star since 2009. Excellent food and service as the chef informs about your personal wishes. They also have an excellent wine list. And they even bring you home when you're done eating. But of course this all comes at a price. €45-100. 
• Van Der Star, Heemskerckstraat 15 , Oudeschild, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 09:00-18:00. This seemingly simple eatery serves some of the best seafood on Texel. Their specialty is smoked eel from the North Sea. They also have mussels, cod, prawns and fish soup. It is also a stand-alone shop with fish and bread for take-away. €10. 
• Texel Catering en Banket Service (Ruud Boom), Stoompoort 16, ☎ [phone]. 6am to 11pm. Catering food delivery company serving food for groups of 10 and above (up to 200 should not be a problem). Budget groups can have dinner from €6 p.p., more luxurious meals are also available. Ruud speaks only a little English, but their website shows many options - thus you should be fine. Booking several days in advance is recommended. However, ordering for the next day (or even later that day) is often possible for simple meals. €5-50. 

Drink

As most travellers stay in De Koog, this is where the island's nightlife takes place. There are many bars and cafes, and it even feels a bit seedy at night.

Sleep

A lot of hotels and campsites are found on Texel.

• 🌍 Hotel de Lindenboom, Groeneplaats 14, 1791 CC Den Burg, ☎ [phone]. double from € 100, room with sauna from €140. 
• 🌍 Restaurant & Hotel Bij Jef, Herenstraat 34, 1797 AJ Den Hoorn, ☎ [phone]. Small hotel including a restaurant Double from € 120, Suite from € 150. 
• 🌍 Hotel Op Diek, Diek 10, 1797 AB Den Hoorn, ☎ [phone]. double from € 81, single from € 49. 
• 🌍 Hotel Greenside, Stappeland 6, 1796 BS De Koog, ☎ [phone]. Including a large wellness area double from € 105, Grand Suite from € 170. 
• 🌍 Strandhotel Nordzee, Badweg 200, 1796 AA De Koog, ☎ [phone]. On the outermost row of dunes directly on the beach double € 140. 
• 🌍 Grand Hotel Opduin, Ruijslaan 22, 1796 AD De Koog, ☎ [phone]. Directly at the dunes double from € 110, Panoramasuite Superior from € 165. 
• 🌍 Herberg De Zeven Provinciën, De Ruyterstraat 60, 1792 AK Oudeschild, ☎ [phone]. According to their own claim dating back to 1666 and thus the oldest hotel on the island double from € 50. 
• 🌍 Hotel Oranjerie Molenbos, Postweg 224-226, 1795 JT De Cocksdorp, ☎ [phone]. from € 110. 

De Cocksdorp

• 🌍 Hotel Pension 't Anker, Kikkertstraat 24, 1795 AD De Cocksdorp, ☎ [phone]. A very nice but relatively small hotel aimed at families double from € 88. 
• Holiday-Park de Krim, Roggeslootweg 6, De Cocksdorp, ☎ [phone]. With spacious bungalows, luxury chalets, a five-star campsite and many other facilities. 
• Vacation home Rabbit, Roggeslootweg 393, De Cocksdorp, ☎ [phone]. Check-in: Friday, check-out: Friday. Vacation home in Holidaypark De Krim, onlinebooking. 

Den Burg

• Vakantiebungalow Leeuwwitje, Gerritslanderdijkje 284, Den Burg, ☎ [phone]. Check-in: Friday, check-out: Friday. Holiday home Leeuwwitje, luxury bungalow, sleeps six, private forest, whirlpool, fire place, online booking. 

De Koog

• Hotel De Branding, Boodtlaan 6, De Koog, ☎ [phone]. This hotel has 30 modern rooms, each with their own bathroom seating area and television. Only the rooms on the ground floor have outdoors seating. €45-77. 

Connect

There is a post office in the centre of Den Burg, at the corner of the Burgwal and Parkstraat.

Go next

During the summer a special touristic boat service to the neighboring island of Vlieland, is available. This boat leaves near De Cocksdorp. The Wadden Sea sealife is also seen on this trip.