Terschelling island Travel Guide

Large parts of the island of Terschelling are nature reserve areas (a total of 80%). Its North Sea coastline is the largest of all Dutch Wadden Islands, from SW to NE extending over more then 30 kilometres. At some places, this northern shore is as much as one kilometre wide(!!). The island's average width of 3.5 kilometres offers a variety of ever changing seasonal landscapes. In the south, a wide polder extends. A polder is "a low-lying tract of land, enclosed by embankments known as dikes and requiring drainage by pumps to maintain the water level within it from rising too high. (by courtesy of Wikipedia)". In the eastern part of the island is "De Boschplaat", 'European nature reserve' since 1970. Because Terschelling borders on the Wadden Sea, which uncovers twice every 24 hours, it makes the island a favourite feeding area for (migratory) birds.

West-Terschelling, the largest of the island's villages, is the port of call for the ferry from the mainland. Here, as in Midsland, typical facades of former Commodores' dwellings recall the Golden Age of international commerce and whaling. Over 600 wild plants species do well on Terschelling: some orchid varieties you see here in May-June are rather rare at this degree of latitude. The Boschplaat, where the water from the Wadden Sea often penetrates deep into the salt marshes and mud flats, offers its characteristic tide vegetation: sea coral, sea aster and sea lavender.

What cannot be found on any of the other Dutch Wadden islands, are the cranberry or American fen-berry bogs; the berries are incorporated in various typical Terschelling products.

The tourist season spreads from june to september. Every year in mid june, there is the eccentric festival called Oerol ('everywhere', in dialect). Check the [Festivals] section for details.