Though just 85-odd miles from Amsterdam and northeast of Vlieland (nicknamed “Vli-biza” by Amsterdammers), the 18-mile-long island of Terschelling remains a haven for travelers craving tranquil stretches of sand in lieu of the thumping beach clubs on the mainland. Here, gabled 19th-century villas and clapboard houses are illuminated by the Brandaris lighthouse—the oldest surviving lighthouse in the Netherlands (built in 1594). When dusk falls, around midnight during the summer months, locals sit up late at bistros along the harbor drinking Jupiler beer and toasting their exceptionally good fortune.
