German Islands and Hamburg – 3 Days/ 2 Nights

Very few international itineraries include the German North Sea islands, which is precisely the argument for selling this one. Three days take your clients from the dunes and beach clubs of Sylt to the near-empty sands of Amrum and then back to Hamburg, combining a landscape almost no competitor is offering with a city everybody recognises. The whole programme runs privately, with a guide and vehicle throughout.

Day one – Sylt

A full guided day on the island by car. Sylt is more than a place for its regulars; it is a way of living, and the appeal lies in its contrasts – metropolitan ease set against unspoilt nature, laissez-faire against savoir-vivre. The day includes a guided walk through the dunes, along the beach and through Kampen, where the Uwe Duene rises to fifty-two metres, the highest point on the island. Kampen also holds the legendary Whisky Street with its clubs and a golf course of some reputation. From lively Westerland the route runs north to the small harbour at List and finishes in Kampen itself.

Day two – Amrum

The second day is spent on Amrum, reached by ferry and best covered by bicycle along the edge of the Wadden Sea, which entered the UNESCO World Heritage list in June 2009. Your clients climb the lighthouse for the view over the sandbanks, see a fully intact windmill, and take a guided visit of the Carl Zeiss Naturzentrum that includes a walk through the dunes and out onto the beach with an explanation of how the tidal flats work. The Oeoemrang Hues museum returns the island to the age of sail, and the carved gravestones in the churchyard read as biographies of the men who sailed. The Maritur nature centre and the bird warden’s station at the northern tip round out the day.

Day three – Hamburg

The programme closes in the Hanseatic city: the Jungfernstieg and its shops, the Binnenalster and Aussenalster, the Reeperbahn, Germany’s largest harbour, the old Speicherstadt, the new HafenCity and the Elbphilharmonie above it all. Depth can be added with the private sightseeing tour of Hamburg or the Elbphilharmonie Plaza tour.

Season, pace and who it is for

The islands are a May-to-September proposition; the light in late summer is exceptional and the crowds thin sharply after the German school holidays. The pace is gentle – walking, cycling, ferries – and the tour suits couples, nature-minded travellers and repeat visitors to Germany who have already done the classic south. It is not the itinerary for clients who need a castle a day. Background on the island is on our Sylt destination page, the city programme on the Hamburg destination page, and guide languages under our tour guide service.