The island of Texel: a lovely place and one of the most popular Wadden islands in the Netherlands. But what can you do on Texel? In this blog the 10 best activities and sights of Texel. Including tips for fun activities with kids on Texel and an answer to the question “what do you do on Texel when it rains”?
10 awesome activities and things to do on Texel!
Like I wrote in my previous blog “Travel Guide: Food hotspots and our favorite restaurants on Texel!“, we are lucky enough to have friends living on Texel. We visit them often and they show us their beautiful island. Besides good food, drinks and conversations, we also do a lot of cool activities in Texel. And so in this blog 10 times the best activities and sights on Texel!
1. Visit one of the many beaches on Texel or go water skiing
Along the entire West side of Texel, there is a 30-kilometre long sandy beach. Where most beaches in the Netherlands are incredibly busy in the summer, you have plenty of space on Texel even in high season. Every time we visited Texel the weather was amazing, so we went to the beach, played beach tennis and did some sunbathing. But even in spring or autumn, a walk on the beach is lovely.
My favourite beaches on Texel:
My favourite beaches are (click on the name and the google maps location opens):
Paal 12 on the beach of Texel: where all the locals go!
This is where all the locals go. Jorinde and Tim have friends who have a small beach house here, which they can also use. So we have relaxed a lot of hours over here.
Paal 31 on the beach of Texel: the Texel Lighthouse called Eierland
This is the beach at the famous Texel lighthouse Eierland. The beach here is very wide, from the dunes to the sea over a kilometre, and it is really beautiful!
Paal 33 on the beach of Texel: where you take the boat to Vlieland!
This is the last part of the beach, all the way to the north of Texel. From here you can go by boat to Vlieland (an another Wadden Island), which you see well in the distance.
2. Must do activity on Texel: Watersports
With so much water around you, it is certainly possible to practise various water sports. You can go kite-surfing on the high waves in Texel, but you can also practice other water sports, such as rafting, kayaking and sailing. There are several surf and sailing schools on Texel, including Paal 17, Paal 19.5, Paal 20 and Oudeschild.
We drove a boat up to the Wadden Sea with some friends. Afterwards, a rope was hung behind the boat, water skies emerged from somewhere and Ries went water skiing.
3. Walk or cycle through the nature reserves of Texel
Texel is an island with beautiful nature. There are several beautiful nature reserves where you can walk or cycle. The largest area is National Park Dunes of Texel, which covers the entire West side of the island. Here you will find a varied landscape full of dunes, forests and many moors. One of the most beautiful pieces is the Bollekamer in the South West. Wild horses (Scottish Highlanders and Exmoor ponies) run here and you will find a bunker from WWII.
A bit further north you will find the Slufter, an area with all saltwater creeks that is directly connected to the sea. This was laid out by the man in the 20th century with the intention of poldering it, which did not succeed. The result is a beautiful area, full of sea lavender and samphire. In the summer, the entire plains turn purple from the sea lavender that is in bloom. You will also find many different species of birds here.
De Dennen is a beautiful forest to walk through. There are, as the name says, quite a lot of pine trees. In addition to walking and cycling, you can also go horseriding on the equestrian trail.
4. Try Texel wine or Texel speciality beer
You might have drunk a Texel beer, but did you know that on Texel there is also a vineyard? At the Kroon de Texel vineyard, there are 8500 vines, yielding +/- 6,000 liters of wine per year. There is red, white and rosé wine produced and especially the latter seems to be very good. You can do tours and tastings here. As soon as we are back on Texel, I just have to go here, this seems so nice to me!
Where: Winery De Kroon van Texel, Den Burg
Price: 9 euro per person
Reservation and more information: website
Cool activity on Texel: Visit the Texel Brewery!
The famous Texel beer brewery is also worth a visit. This is where Texel’s speciality beer comes from, completely brewed with products from Texel’s soil. Guided tours are given, where everything is told about the brewing, fermentation process and the bottling of the beers. Afterwards, you can try a tasting of the different beers in the tasting room. The tasting room can also be visited without a guided tour, to taste a beer or to buy beer for at home.
Where: Texelse Bierbrouwerij, Oudeschild
Price: from 12,50 euro per person
Reservation and more information: website
5. Take a parachute jump above Texel
Imagine: at three kilometres above the ground, the flight door opens, you see Texel lying beneath you. You feel the wind and the power of the plane. And then you jump, together with your supervisor, into the depth. The first 30 seconds is a free fall, where you shoot down at 200 kilometres per hour. Then you open your parachute and float quietly further down the road. With a beating heart, you land on the ground, wow that was so cool!
My friend Jorinde did this Tandem jump last week and is completely lyrical about this. This is how you see Texel at its best! I do not know if I would dare, but after Jorinde’s stories and photos, I started thinking about it.
Where: Paracentrum Texel
Price: from 199 euro per person
Reservation and more information: website
Kidsproof in Texel: the best activities during a holiday to Texel!
We don’t have them ourselves, but for the many Texel visitors with children, the following kid-proof activities are fun to do! Also, nice some activities are perfect to do when it rains on Texel!
6. Make a covered wagon tour around the island.
The perfect activity with kids on Texel is a tour over the island! In three hours, you drive with a covered wagon from Jan Plezier, over the beach, through the nature reserves and through the woods. During this activity, you immediately get a good picture of Texel and how much fun it is for the kids to ride behind horses in a covered wagon!
7. Practice old Texel handcrafts.
At Landgoed de Bonte Belevenis, children can bake their own bread, make soap, candles and paper. After all that tinkering, you can have a drink in the original tearoom and eat freshly baked cakes. Also the perfect activity for when it rains on Texel!
8. Visit ice cream farm Labora.
With the enormous trampoline, the playground and petting zoo a nice place to spend an hour and enjoy fresh ice cream. Okay, I have to admit, secretly we also did a lot of jumping on the trampoline, but really, it’s so big and fun! A trip to the ice cream farm is perfect for the little ones to let off their energy. Also nice are the animals that the kids can visit, so that they understand a little better where that delicious ice cream comes from now!
9. Must do on Texel: Go to the Juttersmuseum Flora
In the Juttersmueumum all finds from beachcombing are exhibited. There are also various exhibitions about shipwreckings and the rescue sector.
10. Go shrimp fishing on the Wadden Sea.
On an early Saturday morning, we were ready to go with boat TX20 Walrus. The goal: looking for shrimps. Together with dozens of families and the hilarious skipper Herman, we sailed into the Wadden Sea. The fresh air did us good and it was a great morning: Herman told us the craziest stories while fishing, we saw a seal and the catch did not only contain shrimps, but also crabs, starfish and quite a few jellyfish (the latter were returned into the sea). The morning ended with the peeling and eating of the freshly caught shrimps and crabs.
A nice activity with nice weather to do with children on Texel. The kids are looking breathless while all that sea life is being fished and how nice that they can peel the shrimp themselves!
Our favorite hotels on Texel!
Below are three nice hotels on Texel. The first is perfect for an overnight stay on a budget. The other two hotels on Texel are perfect if your budget is a bit higher!
Stayokay Texel €
This cute hostel near Den Burg has private rooms, dormitories and a large common room to let the kids play. You can sleep here from €57 per night (2 persons) in a private room with breakfast.
Book now!Nieuw Leven Texel €€
This beautiful hotel, located in an old farmhouse, is located just outside Den Burg. Some rooms have a private sauna and there is a large playground for kids. You stay here from € 80 per night.
Book now!Texel Suites €€€
Are you ready for design and luxury? Then spend a night in one of the beautiful suites of Texel Suites! These are located in Oudeschild above restaurant ‘t Pakhuus. You stay here from €225 per night.
Click here for an overview of all the hotels on Texel
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Thanks, Charlotte! Visited Texel with my wife, son and parents. Your post were super helpful :)
Hi Nathan! Thanks so much for your message!! You just made my day 😀😀