Sylt

German island in the North Sea

Sylt (North Frisian: Söl, Danish: Sild) belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. It is a narrow island with a 40-km white beach and dunes on the western (sea) side and opens to mudflats on the eastern side.

Thatched cottages in Kampener Heide on Sylt
Sylt
Hindenburgdamm

Understand

Geologically, Sylt originated as a terminal moraine of the Saale glaciation; it was connected to the mainland until a devastating flood in 1362. In the 1920s a rail only causeway was built once again linking Sylt to the mainland.

The island, and especially the city of Kampen, were traditionally known as a meeting place for Germany's high society, and many rich Germans maintain holiday homes on the island. Accordingly, Sylt is the most expensive island in Germany, so plan your budget accordingly. That being said, the expensive things are mostly lavish holiday apartments and champagne at the high prized bars and restaurants, so you can mitigate the impact somewhat by avoiding those.

Get in

By train

After Germany lost its harbour with direct Sylt connections due to World War I, some other mode of transportation to the island had to be found and with neither air nor car travel commonplace, a railway only causeway was the logical consequence. The Hindenburgdamm (named for the rather infamous conservative/reactionary Reichspräsident who made Hitler chancellor in 1933) has connected the island to the mainland ever since and remains railway only, although some trains do transport cars.

There are hourly connections by regional train from Hamburg's Altona station via Itzehoe or Intercity & overnight trains from most of Germany via Hamburg main station. An overnight Alpen-Sylt express also operates a summer overnight train from the Alps to the Sylt coast, terminating at Salzburg in Austria and Konstanz in Germany with stops at many major cities along the way such as Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, and Hannover.

  • 🌍 Westerland train station. The terminus of all island-bound trains, famously with a Frisian/German bilingual station sign. (updated Nov 2023)
  • 🌍 Morsum station. The first stop on the island. Skipped by the IC. No accessible entry to Westerland-bound platform 
  • 🌍 Keitum station (Bus 4 Keitum Bf). The second stop on the island for regional trains. Skipped by almost all IC trains, except a few select ones. Lift to Westerland-bound platform, ticket machine on Hamburg side. (updated Nov 2023)

By plane

  • 🌍 Sylt - Westerland Airport (GWT ). This airport offers flights to and from domestic and Swiss destinations. Operations are mostly seasonal. 

By boat

  • Sylt Ferry, ☏ +49 461 864-601. This company runs a year-round ferry from Havneby on the island of Rømø (in Denmark) to 🌍 A mooring in List on the northern part of Sylt. It may be cheaper and/or more convenient than taking the train, especially if your final destination is on the northern part of the island. €48.30 for a car €8.10 for a single adult; discounts for round trips and frequent travel. (updated Feb 2017)

By car

Similar to most other North Frisian islands, Sylt allows cars and there are several options of getting your car on the island, though driving it yourself isn't one of them. As mentioned above you can take the car ferry from Rømø. The other two options both use the causeway, in which the docking station for your car at the mainland is Niebüll station. Alternatively, if you wish not to bring a car onto the island, which is recommended considering the difficult parking situation, park at the same station for €5.50 per day and take the train for approximately €7 one way.

  • Sylt Shuttle, ☏ +49 180 6 22 83 83, fax: +49 461 861 486. The Sylt Shuttle is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, the national railway, and has been operating on this route for decades. Since the liberalization of the railway market, others have tried to enter the market and DB has thus tried some arguably underhanded tactics to keep competition from gaining the upper hand. €54 for a car one way. Discounts for round trips and travel in the middle of the week.. (updated Feb 2017)
  • Autozug Sylt, ☏ +49 4661 736 87 27, . This company is a venture of American RDC and as such the newer entrant to the market. They have less brand name recognition, but they use the same terminal on both sides of the trip as DB and their travel times are roughly the same. Depending on how important money is for you and which departure time works best for you, you can certainly choose either operator. €40 for a car one way. They also have pre-booked tickets from €19 but they are only valid on the train booked and should you get caught in traffic they won't reimburse a cent.. (updated Feb 2017)

Cities

  • 🌍 Westerland. The main city, with the railway station, all amenities and a beach promenade. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 List. A harbor at the north-eastern end of the island with ferries to Denmark. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Kampen (Bus 1 from Westerland). It has bars, restaurants, galleries, and holiday mansions. The beach at Kampen is bordered by a 30-m-tall red cliff. Here you'll also find the 50-m-tall Uwe Düne, the island's highest point. Being obscenely rich is a requirement to even think about owning a house here. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Hörnum. A city at the southern tip of the island, with ferries to Amrum and Föhr. (updated Aug 2017)

Get around

By bus

Bus is the easiest, serving all of the island. There are two systems, both run by SVG. All buses except Bus 5 meet at Westerland station.
Island-wide buses:

  • 1 Westerland - Kampen - List and retour
  • 2 Westerland - Rantum - Hörnum
  • 3 Westerland - Tinnum - Keitum - Munkmarsch - Braderup - Wenningstedt - Westerland
  • 3a Opposite loop of Bus 3
  • 4 Westerland - Tinnum - Keitum - Archsum - Morsum
  • 5 List Hafen - List Weststrand (taking over the route from Bus 1 in List at times)

and Westerland city buses A, B and C, running through the town of Westerland with small buses. An all-island day ticket costs €11.70, a three-day bus ticket costs €31.10. The nationwide 49€-Ticket is accepted. You can also take a bicycle on the bus, requiring an additional ticket.

By car

A lot of people choose to take their car with them across the causeway on trains, in part because of the island stretching rather far, in part because why be rich if you can't show off your new luxury car?. Traffic during the high-season can be heavy. Save yourself the trouble, park your car on the mainland.

By bike

Being a Frisian island, the flat terrain suits itself for bike riding. There are bike paths all over, including the entire distance of the island, and bikes can be rented at numerous places.

See

Seal Willy in Hörnum harbour
  • 🌍 Denghoog, Wenningstedt-Braderup. Neolithic passage grave dating from around 3200 BC. This is the biggest and most impressive of the island's megaliths; for a fee you can enter the grave which is covered by 3 massive stones, the largest of which weighs 20 tons. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Rotes Kliff (Red cliffs) (between Wenningstedt and Kampen). 30-metre high line of sea cliffs. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Uwe Düne. A dune that marks the highest point of the island; stairs lead to the top, with a wonderful view. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Wandering Dunes of List. The last wandering dune of Germany, which marches east about 7 metres per year. (updated Aug 2017)
  • 🌍 Sylter Heimatmuseum, Am Kliff 19, Keitum. 
  • 🌍 Altfriesisches Haus, Am Kliff 13, Keitum. 
  • 🌍 The Seal Willy (Often seen in the Hörnum Harbour). (updated Sep 2015)

Do

Classically Sylt is a beach destination and this still remains the main draw of the island. While the landscape of the German coast is beautiful even for those who don't want to swim or bathe, the temperature of the water rarely exceeds 20 °C even in the summer and it can get rather windy. Sunburn is, however, a common concern especially when it is windy and appears to be cold, as the sun's UV rays are unperturbed by wind or temperature.

Several segments of the beach are officially declared as FKK (German for "nudist"), but these designations carry little weight; nude and non-nude bathers are tolerated everywhere.

A typically German thing to do at the beach is renting a Strandkorb (a wooden roofed beach chair) and just sitting in it and relaxing.

Along the beach, concrete groynes were built into the sea in an effort to halt sand erosion. These groynes are not visible at high tide and present a danger to unaware bathers. They are marked with cross signs along the beach.

Adults must pay a fee to access the beach (€4 per day from May to October, €2 from November to April); it's €3.30 or €1.65 if you pay in advance at your hotel or pension.

You may want to hike along the beach, along the paths in the dunes and heath behind the beach (it is forbidden to stray from the paths though), and near the mudflats on the western side of the island. Several dozen megalithic graves dating back to the neolithic (c. 3000 BC) can be found on the island.

Buy

Square with stores in List, Sylt, you can see Strandkörbe in the foreground

Eat

Almost every restaurant on the island serves seafood, with the fish burger being considered something of a takeaway speciality. The island is definitely not cheap with the prices somewhat inflated by the wealthy German tourists who seem to make up 95% of the tourist traffic.

Budget

  • 🌍 Susi's Sylt Kantine, Keitumer Chaussee 6a, Westerland, ☏ +49 4651 4493799. M-F 6ː30-15ː00, Sa 7ː00-14ː00, Su closed. Cheap canteen serving breakfast and lunch. The dishes change weekly. (updated Feb 2023)
  • 🌍 Habibi Sylt, Paulstraße 3, Westerland, ☏ +49 4651 3384688. M-Sa 6ː00-17ː00, Su 6ː00-midnight, Tu closed. (updated Feb 2023)
  • 🌍 Münchner Hahn Wenningstedt, Dünenstraße 37, Wenningstedt-Braderup. (updated Feb 2023)

Mid-range

Splurge

Confectionary

Drink

Kampen
Rantum
Westerland

Sleep

Go next


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