Texel

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 CocksdorpHome of the lighthouse and miles of beach

• Den HoornLeafy village with pretty rustic cottages.

• De KoogThe 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 BurgLargest 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

  address: Emmalaan 66, Den Burg

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.

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.

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 MuyDen Slufter is a tidal inlet with marshes and a lagoon.

• EierlandEierland means "egg land" in Dutch. This is a breeding ground for 1000s of birds.

Some other attractions include:

• Texel Lighthouse

  phone: +31 222 317-741
  address: Vuurtorenweg 184, De Cocksdorp
  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.

• Maritime & Beachcombers Museum

  phone: +31 222 314-956
  address: Barentszstraat 21, Oudeschild
  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.

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.

Den Burg has the largest facilities for shopping.

• Bij Jef

  phone: +31 222 319-623
  address: Herenstraat 24, Den Hoorn
  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.

• Van Der Star

  phone: +31 222 312-441
  address: Heemskerckstraat 15 , Oudeschild
  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.

• Texel Catering en Banket Service

  address: Stoompoort 16
  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.

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.

A lot of hotels and campsites are found on Texel.

• Hotel de Lindenboom

  phone: +31 222 312 041
  address: Groeneplaats 14, 1791 CC Den Burg

• Restaurant & Hotel Bij Jef

  phone: +31 222 319 623
  address: Herenstraat 34, 1797 AJ Den Hoorn
  Small hotel including a restaurant

• Hotel Op Diek

  phone: +31 222 319 262
  address: Diek 10, 1797 AB Den Hoorn

• Hotel Greenside

  phone: +31 222 327 222
  address: Stappeland 6, 1796 BS De Koog
  Including a large wellness area

• Strandhotel Nordzee

  phone: +31 222 317 365
  address: Badweg 200, 1796 AA De Koog
  On the outermost row of dunes directly on the beach

• Grand Hotel Opduin

  phone: +31 222 317 445
  address: Ruijslaan 22, 1796 AD De Koog
  Directly at the dunes

• Herberg De Zeven Provinciën

  phone: +31 222 312 652
  address: De Ruyterstraat 60, 1792 AK Oudeschild
  According to their own claim dating back to 1666 and thus the oldest hotel on the island

• Hotel Oranjerie Molenbos

  phone: +31 222 316 476
  address: Postweg 224-226, 1795 JT De Cocksdorp

De Cocksdorp

• Hotel Pension 't Anker

  phone: +31 222 316 274
  address: Kikkertstraat 24, 1795 AD De Cocksdorp
  A very nice but relatively small hotel aimed at families

• Holiday-Park de Krim

  address: Roggeslootweg 6, De Cocksdorp
  With spacious bungalows, luxury chalets, a five-star campsite and many other facilities.

• Vacation home Rabbit

  address: Roggeslootweg 393, De Cocksdorp
  Vacation home in Holidaypark De Krim, onlinebooking.

Den Burg

• Vakantiebungalow Leeuwwitje

  phone: +31 6288 36956
  address: Gerritslanderdijkje 284, Den Burg
  Holiday home Leeuwwitje, luxury bungalow, sleeps six, private forest, whirlpool, fire place, online booking.

De Koog

• Hotel De Branding

  phone: +31 222 317-233
  address: Boodtlaan 6, De Koog
  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.

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

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.