West-Terschelling is the largest village of Terschelling. This nostalgic village consists of a couple of lively shopping streets that offer many nice shops, restaurants and interesting museums. When the weather is good, you can spend hours at one of the pleasant terraces. Did you know that the port of West-Terschelling is an exceptional one? It is the only natural bay in the Netherlands and one of the most beautiful ports of Europe at the same time.

Lighthouse ‘Brandaris’
This lighthouse has been shaping the image of Terschelling for ages. This high, square lighthouse with more than 206 steps, dates from 1594. The Brandaris is the oldest lighthouse in the Netherlands and has been guarding the island for over four hundred years now. The lighthouse has the entire northern Dutch coast within range and it functions completely automatically nowadays. Due to the enormous amount of machinery that has been installed in the lighthouse, it is no longer possible to mount the Brandaris.
Address: Brandarisstraat 2 West-Terschelling

The museum of nature and sea aquarium

The museum of nature shows the incredible natural richness of the island. In our exposition room, we demonstrate many aspects of island weather, as part of our exposition ‘Weather at the Wadden and climate in movement’. You will be astonished by the many types of fish and sea animals that live around the island, and: please feel free to stroke the rays in our aquarium.

‘Het Behouden Huys’

This museum of cultural heritage shows every aspect of the culture and history of Terschelling. Are you interested in knowing how people used to live on the island? Then, museum ‘Het Behouden Huys’ is definitely worth a visit!

Indoor swimming pool ‘De Dôbe’
Indoor swimming pool ‘De Dôbe’ is a lively indoor swimming pool on the island. This swimming pool has something to offer for everyone, no matter your age. For the littlest ones, there is a special toddler’s pool with a slide and many toys. The pool also has a water slide, jet streams, turbo-showers and a bubble bath.

Seal spotting trips

At the port of West-Terschelling, you will find multiple ships that organise seal spotting trips. Such trips are fun for young and old. These trips take about one hour and a half.

Walking across the shallows

During summertime, you can join a walking trip across the shallows, organised by Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch public organisation that manages a sizeable amount of the nature reserves in the Netherlands).

Sheep and cow farm ‘Halfweg’

This farm produces sheep’s cheese that is prepared using traditional methods. There is also a cosy farm shop with a corner where children can play and read all about the process of cheese making. Here you can also find lamb’s fleece products, sheep’s wool crèmes, and other local products. The owners of the farm regularly organise viewing days and demonstrations.

The town of Hee consists of a row of farms, and is located halfway between West-Terschelling and Midsland. In the inner dune ridge, next to Holiday Park De Riesen, a small idyllic dune lake can be found. With clear water, where you can swim, sunbath, go canoeing and fishing.

The village of Midsland is situated in the heart of Terschelling. In this village, you will find many nice shops and attractive restaurants with terraces, where you can spend days during summertime. Midsland used to be the administrative centre of Terschelling, but at a certain point the island was divided into two different municipalities: West-Terschelling and East-Terschelling. From that time on, Midsland has functioned as the administrative centre of East-Terschelling. 

Originally, Midsland was a farming village and cattle breeding was the most important source of revenue to the islanders. Nowadays, tourism forms the most important source of revenue. The village of Midsland offers multiple conveniences to its tourists, such as bars, a disco/nightclub, and many restaurants,

This village consists of a row of farms and houses situated both sides of the main road of Terschelling. Originally, Landerum is a farming village. Cattle breeding used to be the most important source of income to the habitants of this village.

Horse riding rental ‘Lok’

Novice riders: saddle up and get acquainted with horseback riding in nature! Go for a lovely outside-ride through the forest and/or dunes. The beginners’ rides take about one and a half hour. Advanced riders can go on a varied ride (about 2 to 3 hours) through the forest and the dunes and across the beautiful, wide beach. For the little ones, there is the opportunity to go for a walk with a pony.

This village, situated between the villages of Landerum and Lies, is built upon an old barrier beach. An important characteristic of this village is the large number of farms. Some of the oldest farms on Terschelling are situated in Formerum. In this village, you will also find the only mill of Terschelling. This flourmill is no longer running; it serves as a coffeehouse these days.

Miniature golf course ‘De Molenbaan’

Relaxation and sports at the same time, for young and old! Who would not want to go for a round of mini golf with their family, friends or colleagues? Our mini golf course is situated in a unique location: right next to the mill of Formerum on Terschelling. ‘De Molenbaan’ has a spacious miniature golf course with 18 holes. The course is well-lit so you can play in the evening as well.

Cranberry Cultuur Skylge

After a ship ran ashore in 1839, many barrels washed ashore. The barrels were filled with sour, red berries. Beach combers thought that the barrels contained wine and they were highly disappointed when the barrels turned out to be filled with the (nowadays very famous) cranberry. These days, the cranberry is being used as a medicine and as an ingredient for various recipes. The cranberry fields on Terschelling belong to Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch public organisation that manages a sizeable amount of the nature reserves in the Netherlands). In this cranberry factory, you can taste the cranberry, visit the shop and discover all about the history of this local product.

Museum of (ship) wrecks ‘Wrakkenmuseum De Boerderij’
Slightly eccentric: this is how this museum can be labelled. Wrakkenmuseum De Boerderij is an extraordinary museum: it contains thousands of discoveries from the island. The objects exhibited in this museum were found on the beach and under the sea by divers in over 150 shipwrecks around the West Frisian Islands. It is a great attraction for your children, as the museum offers (among other things) a tree house, a pirate ship and a pirate castle. All the way at the top of the museum, you will find a magnificent treasure-chest, which is especially suited for small children. It is a museum for children from zero to eighty years old. The museum serves food and drinks and has a beautiful outside terrace. The owners believe that their museum is the most amusing museum of all the West Frisian Islands and that your holiday on Terschelling is definitely not complete without having visited it.

Pony farm ‘De Prairie’

Do you absolutely adore ponies, or have you always wanted to be a prince or a cowboy?! It is all possible at pony farm ‘De Prairie’! This farm has an entire herd of sweet Shetland ponies at Terschelling. At pony farm ‘De Prairie’, situated on the fringes of the forest of Formerum, it is all about ponies. A wonderful adventure for children!

The village consists of a centre of farms and houses situated along the main road of Terschelling.

To the northeast of Lies, bordering on the village of Hoorn, you will find a small alder cutting forest, called ‘Lergerbos’.

On Terschelling, a habitant of Lies, is called a ‘Lerger’. In the dunes to the north of Lies, you will find the vast nature reserve ‘De Koegelwieck’. The lake called ‘Liesinger’ or ‘Liesterplak’ situated to the southwest of this reserve serves as an ice skating rink to the habitants of Lies during the winter.

The Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch public organisation that manages a sizeable amount of the nature reserves in the Netherlands) shed

You will also find the Staatsbosbeheer shed in Lies. This shed is used for activities and many excursions departs from this shed.

If you think of the village of ‘Hoorn’, you will immediately think of the island’s famous singer Hessel as well. His café/restaurant ‘De Groene Weide’ is situated in this village: the place where his career started. You will also find the oldest church of Terschelling, the beautiful ‘Sint Nicolaas’ church in Hoorn. Definitely worth a visit!

Agricultural museum ‘Het Hooivak’
When you visit the agricultural museum ‘Het Hooivak’, you will go on a guided tour, during which you will learn a lot about the origin of the farm. The museum is a true attraction, especially for children. They learn how to milk a (fake) cow, they will get to walk on stilts, ride ponies, feed calves, give milk to little lambs, sieve grain, and so on. Your children will learn all about daily life at the farm in a playful way.

Covered wagon/horse keeping company ‘Terpstra’
This company organises covered wagon rides and horseback rides for young and old: these rides will lead you through the dunes and across the beach.

Oosterend consists of one long main street. This village on the east side of Terschelling is a real fishermans village. It is perfect for people who are looking for tranquillity and tourists who wish to be alone. Our holiday park ‘Tjermelân’ is situated in an ideal place for people who love quietness and nature. This villages has the shortest and most peaceful beach. Here you can also find the European nature reserve ‘De Boschplaat’.

Beachbus excursion

You can enjoy the beautiful beach of Terschelling from a comfortable beach bus ride. You will hear exciting stories about the stranded ships, salvages and rescue-missions, through which you will gain an insight into the way in which the islanders have been living off and on the beach for the last hundred years. The beach is more than just a strip of sand; the beach is alive! Every day, the currents, the wind and the tidings ensure that the beach environment is undergoing a continuing change. The coastline provides many bird species with their daily bread and butter.

Covered wagon/horse keeping company ‘Puur Terschelling’

The ambitious horse keeping company ‘Puur Terschelling’ in Oosterend offers you the possibility to go on horseback rides, covered wagon rides and donkey back rides. The company’s activities are true adventures, during which you will not only see much of the island, but you will also hear a lot of facts and details about the history and culture of Terschelling. You can go on campfire trips, you can go on shrimp fishing trips, or you can take a ride to nature reserve ‘De Boschplaat’. You can also choose to go horseback riding at night-time, or even to take your horse into the North Sea breakers.