North Sea Coast Cycle Route: Emden - Cuxhaven

Welcome to the seaport town of Emden! Look forward to this small town, enjoy the maritime flair and marvel at the museum ships. If you arrive early, visit the famous Otto Huus, dedicated to Germany's most famous comedian. You can really laugh in this museum! In the late afternoon, a personal information talk and bike handover await you.

Finally you get on your bikes and start in the largest city in East Frisia. On the very well signposted North Sea Coast Cycle Route you first cycle through the Krummhörn (= "crooked corner"). Numerous ditches and canals criss-cross this varied stretch of land, which is dotted with wonderful little villages. Many of them have historic churches. Be sure to stop at the church in Rysum and marvel at the organ built in 1457 - one of the oldest in the world. Look forward to the romantic fishing village of Greetsiel with its 600-year-old picturesque harbour. Here you will find pure seafaring romance: charming historic gabled houses, idyllic alleys and one crab cutter next to the other. Treat yourself to a long break before continuing along the Ley Bay, where you may be lucky enough to spot seals, to the cosy tea town of Norden. Did you know that about ten times more tea is drunk per capita in East Frisia than in the rest of Germany? In the afternoon, if you are interested, visit the East Frisian Tea Museum, which presents this topic in detail in a lively, interactive and colourful way on a 1000 square metre exhibition area.

Experience the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site up close! Visit the seal station in Norddeich, which is responsible for the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea. Between 80 and 150 orphaned seals and grey seals are reared in the care station every year and returned to the North Sea. A large exhibition shows the life of the seals and provides detailed information about their natural habitat - the Wadden Sea. No matter whether the tide is low or high you then cycle from one North Sea coastal bathing resort to the next: Nessmersiel, Dornumersiel with a breathtaking panoramic view of the offshore islands of Baltrum and Langeoog, Bensersiel and Neuharlingersiel with its cosy harbour. For more than 100 years, the harbour has been the town's "good parlour". Every Sunday morning during the season, shanty choirs from the region sing here. Otherwise you just sit in the harbour with East Frisian tea or a Frisian beer, relax, chat and let your eyes wander. Today you will spend the night in the East Frisian chieftain town of Esens or the surrounding area.

In good spirits you cycle along the North Sea coastal cycle path to Carolinensiel-Harlesiel. With its 3 harbours, this place is truly unique on the East Frisian North Sea coast. The museum harbour, with its historic flat-bottomed sailing boats and varied gastronomic offerings, attracts many guests every summer. An approx. 2-kilometre-long promenade runs between the three harbours, with many restaurants and cafés inviting you to stroll and relax. You then follow the North Sea coastal cycle path leisurely to the over 1000-year-old town of Jever with its historic old town and castle, which is well worth seeing, before cycling towards the sea to the coastal bathing resort of Hooksiel. First mentioned in 1479, the town developed into a transhipment port for Jever. The old warehouses and packing houses give an idea of the past activities of traders and smugglers. The "Old Port of Hooksiel" has long been a listed building and has the character of a museum port. If you wish, you can visit the shell museum in the old town hall before tackling the last few kilometres to Wilhelmshaven. The multifaceted harbour complex, the German Naval Museum and the Coastal Museum will entice you. Stroll along Bontekai, where interesting museum ships are moored. The city's landmark - the 159 m long Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge - is hard to miss. When it was built in 1907, it was the largest swing bridge in Germany and still impresses with its steel construction.

Depending on the ferry option, your mood and the weather, you can choose your cycling route today. You can either cycle along the southern Jadebusen to Eckwarderhörne (75 km) or shorten the route by taking the ferry from Wilhelmshaven to Eckwarderhörne (not included, not daily, 45 km). Over the protective dykes you now cycle via Tossens, Langwarden and Fedderwarden through the wide marshland to the North Sea resort of Burhave, where the Weser flows into the North Sea. Take a break and stroll across the imposing 200 m long pier leading out into the Wadden Sea. You then cycle along the Weser to Blexen, where you take the ferry (not included) to the seaside town of Bremerhaven. Marvel at the maritime district Havenwelten Bremerhaven, situated on the Weser dyke. It is a lively tourist centre with unique attractions such as the Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8° Ost, the Atlantic Hotel Sail City with viewing platform, the Lloyd Marina, the successful Deutsches Auswandererhaus Bremerhaven, the Zoo am Meer, the German Maritime Museum, the submarine "Wilhelm Bauer" and the Bremerhaven Historical Museum. You will hardly get bored today!

Following the coastline, you cycle along the Helgoland Bay. Let yourself be enchanted by the unique ambience of the Dorum salt marshes and take a break in the picturesque Dorum harbour. Most of the colourful fishing cutters are still in operation here and make a wonderful photo motif. The informative cutter information boards provide you with interesting facts about the respective cutters. The main attraction and landmark of Dorum is the 37.4 m high Obereversand lighthouse. Climb the 84 steps of the outside staircase and you will be rewarded with a journey through the life and work of the lighthouse keepers in the late 19th century. From the upper gallery, you can enjoy a unique view of the endless expanse of the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea all the way to the island of Neuwerk at the mouth of the Elbe. Then take a refreshing swim at Duhnen beach before reaching Cuxhaven and the destination of your cycle tour. With its historic centre, the pilot quarter and Ritzebüttel Castle, Cuxhaven knows how to impress its visitors. Visit the "Alte Liebe" pier with its beautiful panorama and take the opportunity to make an excursion to the seal banks.

Look forward to another day at the coast and in Cuxhaven. Take a day trip to the island of Neuwerk, which is only 2.2 km by 1.9 km and lies about 11 km from Cuxhaven in the Hamburg Wadden Sea. Not only the journey is spectacular (there through the mud flats by covered wagon, back by boat - or vice versa), but also the island itself. The most impressive building is the historic lighthouse of the same name with a viewing platform and a fantastic panoramic view. And in just 60 minutes you can walk once around the entire island on the dyke! Visit the unique Nature Park House, the island painter's studio and the famous island merchant at the tower, a sociable meeting place for nice people. Alternatively, if you don't plan to visit the island today, simply stay in Cuxhaven, which attracts visitors with sights such as the Kugelbake, the proud Hamburg lighthouse, the Ringelnatz Museum or the "B/H" wind semaphore (a device for optically transmitting weather information to ships) dating from 1884, or take a cycling trip on the mainland.

Your beautiful cycle tour ends in Cuxhaven after breakfast. We would be happy to book you an additional overnight stay.