Wild island and a national park
Schiermonnikoog is the wildest island and has been declared as a national park in 1988 as many birds were coming to the island to nest and breed. You can also see some seals and rare plant species. There are a couple of hotels and a great camp site. Cycling around this island was a wonderful memory, especially watching all those birds nesting… Cars are forbidden on the island, only electric buses can circulate.
Did you know that the dutch voted Schiermonnikoog the prettiest place in the Netherlands?
To reach it: the island is farer than Texel but the journey will take you to beautiful places. Count about 4h from Amsterdam to reach the town center of Schiermonnikoog. Take the train to Lelystad Centrum. Then you need to change to go to Groningen, the northest city of the Netherlands. This city worth a visit too, so if you have time, you should stop by! Then take another train, in direction of Roodeschool and stop in Winsum. Right outside the station, there’s a bus stop. Take the bus 68 to Leens via Pieterburen and stop at Priorstraat (about a couple of stops). At this stop, you’ll have to jump into another bus to reach the ferry station. The bus is the 163 in direction to Holwerd Haven. You will stop at station Haven where the ferry departs. The ticket for the ferry can be bought there. It takes 45 minutes to reach the island by boat and the journey is wonderful, a lot of shallow waters, seals and birds on the way. Once arrived, you can decide to take another small bus (bus 1) to reach the city center or rent a bicycle. You can make an online reservation to pick the bicycle directly when you come out of the ferry.
