It constitutes the main village of the eastern, Roman Catholic part of Ameland and had a population of 1,155 as of January 2017.

Nes has since become a popular tourist destination, as the place where the ferry from the mainland arrives.

[5] At Nes, on the south side of Ameland, lie the spring dock and marina on the island, one of the 17 Wadden Sea ports.

The rescue station KNRM has separate these facilities in the Ballumerbocht, about 4 km east of the causeway.

At low tide, the port only to sail on small boats because of the shallow depth of 0.60 to 0.80 m at the harbor entrance.