Adolph Bermpohl

Amrum Bank

Borkum

Die Düne

Jungfernstieg

Kathedrale

Langeoog

Lummenfelsen

Norderney

Nordostwrack

SMS Ariadne

Sylt-Ost

The North Sea coast is defined by its seafood: North Frisian shrimp (Krabben), Heligoland lobster, plaice and the famous Finkenwerder Scholle fried fish. The islands serve hearty lamb from the salt meadows, rich cheeses and the region’s distinctive black bread. It is robust, oceanic food built around the cold, productive sea.

Hotel Helgoländer Kneipe

Haus Achtern Diek

Hotel am Meer Sylt

Hotel Amrum

Hotel Friesenstube

The German North Sea is a world apart from the gentle Baltic: colder, clearer and richer in life, centred on the red-rock island of Heligoland, Germany’s only true offshore rocky island. Heligoland is a cold-water jewel, where the wall of Die Düne, the towering Kathedrale rock cathedral and the Lummenfelsen kelp forests host lobsters, cod, nudibranchs and year-round grey seals. The SMS Ariadne wreck lies in deeper water for technical divers. East of the mainland, the East Frisian Islands of Sylt, Amrum, Borkum, Norderney and Langeoog offer tidal-flats training, the Adolph Bermpohl lifeboat wreck and spring cuttlefish, though diving here is dictated by the formidable tide. This is advanced, drysuit, big-biodiversity diving with visibility that can reach 20 m, and the chance to share the water with curious seals.

North Sea – Heligoland & East Frisian Islands

Fly into Hamburg (HAM) and take the train to the North Sea ports, then the ferry to Heligoland (from Cuxhaven or Büsum) or the islands (from the mainland terminals). Heligoland diving is boat-based; the East Frisian islands have harbours at Sylt, Borkum, Norderney and Langeoog.

Dive Sites in North Sea – Heligoland & East Frisian Islands