Things to Do in Texel

Ecomare seal and porpoise sanctuary

Tucked into the dunes between De Koog and De Slufter, Ecomare is part rescue centre, part natural history museum, and the closest most visitors get to the grey seals that haul out on the sandbanks offshore. Feeding times at 11:00 and 15:30 are the obvious draw, you'll hear the barking from the car park. But the underrated bit is the dune walk out the back, where the wind smells of sea buckthorn and rabbits bolt across the path.

Cycling the dune-and-polder loop

Texel has roughly 140 kilometres of signed cycle paths and the whole island is mercifully flat apart from the dune crests near De Koog. The classic full loop runs from Den Burg out to De Cocksdorp at the northern tip, back along the Wadden coast past the lighthouse, and home through the lamb-grazing polders, you'll feel the wind shift direction about four times and pass more sheep than people.

Wadden mudflat walking (wadlopen)

At low tide, the seafloor between Texel and the mainland turns into a vast, glistening flat of ridged sand and clay, and licensed guides lead groups across it in rubber boots. You'll feel the suck of clay around your calves, hear oystercatchers piping overhead, and probably end up shin-deep in a tidal creek at some point. It's the kind of experience that sounds gimmicky and turns out to be unexpectedly moving.

Texel brewery and lamb-tasting circuit

The Texelse Bierbrouwerij near Oudeschild has been brewing on the island since 1999, and the Skuumkoppe (a dark wheat beer named after sea foam) tastes like nothing else in the Netherlands, slightly briny, faintly malty, properly local. Pair it with Texel lamb at one of the polder farms doing tastings. The meat is leaner and grassier than mainland lamb because the sheep graze on salt-marsh herbs.

De Slufter nature reserve walk

De Slufter is the only place in the Netherlands where the North Sea is allowed to flood inland through a gap in the dunes, and the result is a salt-marsh basin that turns purple with sea lavender in late July. You'll climb a wooden staircase up the dune wall, see the whole valley laid out beneath you like a creased map, and then drop down onto a beach that's often emptier than you'd believe in peak season.

Den Burg: the practical pick. Central for the supermarket, the Monday market, and most of the restaurants worth queueing for.

De Koog: beach-resort energy. Bars open late and the widest sand on the island. Expect families and bike-rental queues in July.

Oudeschild brings working-harbour charm. Smoked-fish smells off the quay. Easy walks to the brewery. Quieter than De Koog by a long way.

De Cocksdorp sits at the northern tip, near the lighthouse and the ferry to Vlieland. Remote-feeling, big-sky character. Birders love it.

Den Hoorn is the prettiest of the villages: white-washed cottages and a pointed church tower. Walkable to the southern dunes.

Oosterend stays the quietest. A fishing village turned residential. Best if you want a self-catering cottage and zero nightlife.