Search flights to the Netherlands
Schiermonnikoog, the first National Park of The Netherlands, a part of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The name comes from the island’s original owners, the monks of Klaarkamp Abbey on the Dutch Mainland.
Schiermonnikoog translates as “Island of the Grey Monks” and today it is a draw for hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.
Ferries run regularly to cater for the mass of visitors and take less than an hour from the mainland. The island may only be about 10 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, but it is vastly rich in nature of all kinds.
Flowers, mudflats, wildlife, open country, dunes and quiet wide beaches… So rich and unique is the fauna that more than half the flowers that are listed as found in The Netherlands can be found on Schiermonnikoog.
It has a population of only about 1,000 and its only village is also called Schiermonnikoog.
The only cars on the island belong to the people who live there; they hold a special licence. Bikes, buses and hiking are the ways to get around. One can say it is a perfect peaceful European island escape with nature. Even more so if staying overnight after all the day trippers have shipped back to the mainland.
For bird lovers too, the common nickname for the island is “Bird Island”. If you think that even when all the holiday homes are full in the height of Summer, there are still more birds than people here.
The island is surrounded by great wide sandy beaches with never a point where it can ever be called crowded. The sea is shallow, so it a fantastic place to explore, sunbathe, paddle, swim and enjoy. You may even catch sight of the seals!
Cheap flights to the Netherlands
Main Image by DymphieH
