A relaxed friends weekend on Texel
Shopping in Den Burg, a dune walk through De Slufter, cosy game nights, cooking together and ultimate relaxation in the sauna and jacuzzi. Mart spent a weekend with friends in our spacious Villa Duyncoogh on Texel. In this blog, he recounts his experiences.
The holiday feeling starts right away
It sounds a bit cliché, but it really is true: get on a boat to one of the islands and you are on holiday. As soon as you see the boat in the harbour, the itch starts to grow. Once on board, the daily routine falls away from you and you immediately feel relaxed; exactly what we needed!
Tip: if you arrive on a Friday, make sure you get to the boat on time. You can pre-order tickets online to make it all go a bit faster. Unfortunately, you can't reserve a time. We wanted to take the 17:00 boat on a Friday and despite getting to the port well in time, this boat was already full. This applies to the return trip from the island especially on Monday morning, also a changeover day for many holiday destinations on the island. Fortunately, a boat goes every hour, so you never have to wait long.
The crossing is short, about 20 minutes. Just enough time to have a cup of coffee. Once on the other side, it's a fifteen-minute drive to de Koog, our holiday address for the weekend: the luxurious holiday home Duyncoogh.
We had been in touch beforehand with Peter, the house manager and contact person, and he was already waiting for us. After a brief explanation about the sauna, the Jacuzzi® and some tips about the island, we decided not to cook, but to order food at Pollo de Koog. This is the place to go for all kinds of delicious chicken dishes, from burgers to salads. They deliver until quite late and one of the owners, the incredibly friendly Vin, is always there for you. Eating out is also fine on Texel. Plenty of choice.
Our favourite restaurants for eating out on Texel listed:
- Vibes Foodbar, in Den Burg, is a hip and modern restaurant, where the chefs cook with Texel products as much as possible.
- Restaurant BOSQ is a beautiful restaurant, where you can really eat on a high level. Hospitality is hugely important here and it shows in everything. BOSQ has a fantastic wine list as well as organising boozy brunches!
- After a lovely walk on the beach, Coffee & More Texel is the place for a cup of hot chocolate (with rum or amaretto!).
Wellness in your own garden
Did we mention there is a sauna and a Jacuzzi® in the garden of the villa? Of course we couldn't wait to try them out, which we did in the evening. From the Jacuzzi® you can rinse off under the outdoor shower and then step straight into the sauna for the ultimate relaxation session
Tip: It takes a while for the sauna to reach a good temperature. So make sure you turn it on an hour beforehand.
Exploring Den Burg
After a comfortable night - in a Dutchen house you always sleep well on those lovely boxsprings - a breakfast with a fine cup of Nespresso coffee and some fresh rolls from the bakery, we decided to visit Texel's capital. Den Burg is a 15-minute drive from De Koog. It is a cosy and old town with lots of yammy restaurants, cafés and nice shops. You can easily spend a day wandering around here.
Going for a day of shopping in Den Burg? These are our favourite shops:
- Boutique De Kust
- STEK Conceptstore
- Interior shop Kees de Waal
- Silt Texel
Did you know that there are no less than five breweries on Texel? The most famous is the Texelse Bierbrouwerij, but the other breweries are also worth a visit! You can find the beers at various liquor stores and cafés on the island. Café de Slock is the place to taste these beers or to take them with you.
After an afternoon strolling around Den Burg, it was time to drive back to 'our' villa. In the car, we realised that we hadn't even been to the beach yet, so once back at the house, we already turned on the sauna and put on our walking shoes. We wanted to check out the beach anyway.
From the house, you walk straight through the forest and the dunes - almost in a straight line - to the beach. A nice walk of about 10 minutes. Once we reached the beach, it was already starting to get a bit dark and with the hot sauna in the back of our minds, we thought it would be a good plan to postpone a real beach walk until tomorrow.
We had done extensive shopping in Den Burg so that we could cook a delicious meal in the evening. The kitchen really does have everything you need, including a well-stocked wine fridge. That goes for the whole house by the way; fully equipped. There were five of us in the house. Although the house is large enough for as many as fourteen people, it feels comfortable and cosy. You notice in everything that good thought has gone into it and comfort really comes first.
After a fine meal, it's game-night! We had brought UNO and 30 Seconds, among others. The big sofas around the fireplace are the perfect place to play games - and we did so all evening.
A visit to De Slufter
A visit to Texel should include at least one brisk beach walk. On Sunday morning, we got up in time for our walk to De Slufter, a unique area in the National Park Dunes of Texel. It is a large sandy plain largely enclosed by dunes. Because there is an open connection to the North Sea, a beautiful and hugely photogenic salt marsh landscape has been created here.
The Slufter is about a seven-kilometre walk from Duyncoogh. We walked there along the beach and then back through the dunes. The beach is wide and hard enough to walk comfortably. On the way, you pass several beach bars, where you can go for a cup of coffee or a nice lunch.
After some seven kilometres of walking, the huge inlet in the dunes comes into view. What a spectacular picture! The part of the water that really lies between the dunes is a lot bigger than we expected. Anyway, the dune area here is beautiful. The paths are good and there is more than enough to see along the way. You first walk right through the gently rolling dunes, a little later you walk through a forest and again further on you pass streams and herds of sheep.
All in all, it is quite a long walk and it is advisable to take some food and drink with you, but with good weather, the National Park really is a beautiful place to spend a day hiking. And after such a day of hiking, there is nothing better than ultimate enjoyment in your own Jacuzzi®.
The Duyncoogh long weekend really did us good. You get away from it all and forget all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Duyncoogh is the ideal place for a relaxing weekend and Texel is a lovely island with plenty to do. We will definitely be back!
