Cycle from Hamburg to Sylt

Welcome to Hamburg and the start of the cycling trip towards the North Sea! Feel free to arrive early so you have time to get acquainted with one of Germany's most exciting big cities. Hamburg is built around the Elbe, and the vast harbour, water, bridges and shipping give the city its character, as does its long history. A great first stop is St. Michael's Church, commonly known as "Michel". From the church tower you get a fantastic view over Hamburg, the harbour and the Elbe – and can also scout out the landscape awaiting you over the coming cycling days.

Now the cycling begins for real. You leave Hamburg and follow the Elbe westwards through the varied landscape around the lower part of the river. After the pulse of the big city, the surroundings quickly become calmer and more open. The destination is Glückstadt, a small harbour town with an unusually grand history. The town was founded in 1617 by the Danish king Christian IV, who envisioned an important trading town that would compete with Hamburg. It didn't quite turn out that way, but the maritime heritage lives on. Don't miss the town's most famous speciality either: matjes herring, which is almost an institution here.

Today's main attraction is the Kiel Canal and the impressive locks at Brunsbüttel. The canal is one of the world's busiest artificial waterways, and here you can see enormous cargo ships and cruise ships glide by at surprisingly close range. After that you follow the canal for a while before the route turns inland through the open landscape of Dithmarschen. Today's destination is Schafstedt or St. Michaelisdonn. The latter is locally called "the bridge between marsh and geest" – a fitting description of the place where the low, fertile marshland meets slightly higher ground.

Today you meet the North Sea in earnest. From St. Michaelisdonn, where the historic windmill Edda is a local landmark, you first cycle towards Meldorf. The town's large brick Gothic church can be seen from afar over the flat landscape. The route then heads back towards the North Sea and the seaside resort of Büsum. Here you'll find kilometres of beaches and an excellent opportunity to try a classic North German shrimp sandwich with fresh North Sea shrimp. Delicious! The journey then continues to the Eider Barrage, Germany's largest coastal protection facility. After today's longest cycling stage, you finally roll into the historic harbour town of Tönning.

In the morning you take the train to St. Peter-Ording, the classic seaside resort on the Eiderstedt peninsula. Here a huge, twelve-kilometre-long sandy beach stretches out along the North Sea, lined with sand dunes and the characteristic stilt houses. Charming and inviting. During today's cycling you can also head towards Westerhever Lighthouse, one of the most well-known motifs from the German North Sea coast. The journey then continues through Eiderstedt's open landscape. Train travel including bicycle is included.

Feel free to start the day by seeing more of Tönning's historic harbour. Here you'll also find Multimar Wattforum, the largest visitor centre for the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Then a shorter cycling day awaits towards Friedrichstadt, the charming "Dutch town" between the rivers Eider and Treene. Since today's distance is relatively short, there's plenty of time for lunch, a walk, or perhaps a boat trip on the canals. After that you continue through the flat North Frisian landscape to Husum. End the day among old alleys, colourful houses and the boats in the town's fine harbour.

Time for the grand finale of the trip! The train takes you from Husum via Niebüll out to Sylt, the largest of the North Frisian islands. Here await kilometres of sandy beaches, dramatic coastal cliffs, sand dunes and classic thatched-roof houses. Sylt has over 200 kilometres of cycle paths, so you choose today's itinerary yourself. For example, follow the old railway embankment of Sylt's former island railway, cycle south towards the lighthouse in Hörnum, or north towards the Red Cliff at Kampen and List. A fish sandwich by the sea feels almost obligatory. In the evening you take the train back to Husum. Train travel and bicycle transport included.

After breakfast, the cycling trip from Hamburg to Sylt comes to an end. You leave Husum on your own and begin your journey home, or stay for another night or two if you want to continue enjoying North Frisia's sea air and harbour life. For the return journey to Hamburg, there are frequent trains taking just a couple of hours.