LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Islands Escapes
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This week-long hop along the Wadden Islands covers just 200km, but you will be tempted to spend longer soaking up their wild, enchanting beauty.
The necklace of low-lying Wadden Islands (Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog) is just the ticket for a week of island-hopping, preferably with bicycle in tow. Some ferry links require advance planning, but if you’ve time and energy, it shouldn’t prove too big a problem.
A full day on Texel is a good starting point; hop on your bike and snake along the western coast from sleepy Den Hoorn through dark copses to the Ecomare seal and bird refuge. Take a catamaran ride near De Cocksdorp before bedding down here for the night. The next day comb the eastern side of the island, admiring pretty thatched houses in Oosterend and visiting the Maritime & Beachcombers Museum in Oudeschild.
From De Cocksdorp board the morning ferry to car-free Vlieland to explore its nature and hiking trails before catching the boat to Terschelling, Friesland’s main tourist island. Hole up in peaceful Oosterend for the night and cycle through untouched De Boschplaat, then hightail it by ferry to Harlingen, a pretty little port on the Frisian coast, and onto Holwerd, where you ferry across for a stay on Ameland.
Its four towns are pretty for a brief stroll, and the eastern end is ideal to bike away from it all. Return to the former whaling port of Nes for the night. The next day stay put for a boat tour to the sea lions, and to convene with nature. Your last stop, via the ports of Holwerd and Lauwersoog, is Schiermonnikoog, the smallest of the Frisian Islands and a wild national park.
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