Rederij Doeksen Schedules 2026

Rederij Doeksen has been a family business since 1908 and has run the ferries between Harlingen, Terschelling and Vlieland since 1923 — across the Wadden Sea, itself a UNESCO World Heritage site. It carries about 785,000 passengers a year on car ferries and fast catamarans, and runs a cargo ship that brings freight and supplies out to the islands.

The company behind it

Part of Koninklijke Doeksen BV, headquartered in Rotterdam, with roughly 166 staff plus 119 in its catering arm TSM Horeca across the three locations. It holds ISO-9001 and is certified to the ISM Code. It is also the main sponsor of Oerol, The Great Wide Open and the Berenloop, and backs smaller island things — music lessons for children, outings for the pensioners' association.

Dogs travel free, and there are dog-free zones

Your dog crosses free of charge on every ship, fast ferry included, and needs no ticket. The detail most operators leave out: on the car ferries there are pet-free zones, signposted, for passengers with allergies or a fear of dogs. Dogs may not occupy a seat, must stay on a lead unless they are in a basket or crate, and Doeksen recommends boarding via the pedestrian bridge with them. On the islands themselves, dogs run free in the forest and on the beach — on Vlieland only in the forest around the village — and are otherwise leashed, because disturbed nesting birds may not return to the nest.

The off-peak fare is four specific sailings

20% off for passengers, cars and bicycles between 1 April and 30 September — but only on the regular ferry, never the fast one, and only on four departures: Harlingen–Terschelling at 19.55, Terschelling–Harlingen at 07.20, Harlingen–Vlieland at 19.10, Vlieland–Harlingen at 06.50. Pass holders get further discounts on top.

Booking channel changes the price

Online booking is €2.00 cheaper than by phone or at a desk, and lets you go straight to check-in rather than via the service desk. Payment is by iDEAL or card. If you do use a desk, note that they open half an hour before every departure regardless of normal hours. Tourist tax for the islands is charged on the ferry ticket itself.

At the terminals

Harlingen has the Grand Café Promenade looking over the ferry harbour and a shop, De Parlevinker. All three locations have coin-operated luggage lockers, free accessible toilets, service desks and free wifi. By road the terminal is reached via the Afsluitdijk (A7) and the N31, or the A31 from Leeuwarden — Waddenpromenade 5, Harlingen.

Accessibility is not the same at all three terminals

Doeksen publishes its facilities terminal by terminal, and they differ — worth checking before you pick a direction:

	Lift	Accessible toilet	Wheelchair to borrow	Wheelchair ramp
The ships	✓	✓	—	—
Harlingen (mainland)	✓	✓	✓	✓
Terschelling	—	✓	✓	—
Vlieland	—	✓	✓	—

The mainland terminal is the fully equipped one; the island terminals have accessible toilets and loan wheelchairs but no lift and no ramp. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at all three.

⚠ The escort travels free — but you pay first and claim it back

Holders of a Dutch Public-Transport-Escort pass travel with a companion at no charge, but the mechanism is unusual: you book and pay for the ticket online or by phone as normal, then present the pass at the service desk on the day of travel to be refunded. Turning up expecting a free booking will not work.

Two exceptions worth knowing. On the fast ferry the escort is not free — they pay the fast-ferry surcharge only. And if MS Friesland or MS Vlieland is in dry dock, that surcharge is waived altogether.

Quieter space, assistance dogs, autism pass

Passengers who find a crowded lounge difficult can use a separate area aboard — the rest room or sick bay — arranged with the purser. Assistance dogs travel free. The company also asks passengers with an Autism Disability pass to show it to staff so they can help accordingly.

What is actually at each terminal

Harlingen carries the weight: Grand Café Promenade (breakfast through dinner, overlooking the ferry harbour) and De Parlevinker, a shop for souvenirs, magazines and travel essentials. Vending machines are at Harlingen and Terschelling but not Vlieland. All three have coin-operated luggage lockers, free accessible toilets and a staffed service desk.