CUXHAVEN – walking on water

“The sun reflects strongly off the puddles, so don’t forget to put sun protection on your knee pits”, orders Ute pointing at my bare legs as we start walking on water off the shores of Cuxhaven.

Crossing the mudflat from Cuxhaven to the Neuwerk island.
Crossing the mudflat from Cuxhaven to Neuwerk island. About twelve kilometers lay ahead of us.

I already did, but under her strict eyes, I repeatedly do as I am told. I do everything Ute marshals: The next four hours, she will guide me together with about two dozen other hikers into the tideland off the shore in Cuxhaven. My life will depend on her knowledge and sense of orientation.

We will be sort of walking on water – so I better listen to my leader.

Mud

I was raised in Northern Germany and like any kid that grows up there, almost every school field trip meant going to the North Sea and….nope, not hanging around on the long beaches that end somewhere on the horizon, chasing after boys while being chased by humongous seagulls for any kind of snack we held in our hand.

Mudflat between Cuxhaven and the island of Neuwerk
Each of these little heaps of mud was ejected by a sandworm.
The land in the backdrop is Sahlenburg, a neighborhood in the outskirts of Cuxhaven from where most of the tideland wanderers start their tour.

Nope, a field trip to the North Sea always meant learning about the rich and fascinating phenomenon of the tideland – including far too long walks wearing ugly yellow gumboots. We were sliding on the disgusting slush of the mudflats and squeaking hysterically as the Arenicola Marina, or more rustic: sandworms, ejected mud that hit our calves.

Mudflat between Cuxhaven and the island of Neuwerk
The water is gone so that we can see the fascinating micro-life on the ground of the tideland.

This wasn’t by any means alluring. All we yearned for was the water to come back and end those stupid walks so we could just hang out on the beach chasing and being chased.

Today, many decades later, I still enjoy hanging out on the beach, but I also totally appreciate the fantastic phenomenon of the tides, created by moon phases.

Mudflat between Cuxhaven and the island of Neuwerk
Algues and mussels – making sure that we are living in a good atmosphere.

I’m grateful for the slimy, smelly slush that actually is full of life and more important for our atmosphere than the rainforest. I’m awestruck by the tiny, practically invisible creatures that are there in incredible numbers. And I’m thankful for what they are doing for our planet.

Wadden Sea

The world’s largest Wadden Sea stretches in the North-West of Europe from the Netherlands along Germany all the way up to Denmark and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009.

Taking a carriage or walking on water from Cuxhaven
The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea can be crossed by walking or on a horse carriage. All the way in the back you can spot big freight ships. So there, obviously, did the water go.

The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park is a major part of this area and spreads over 1,335 sq mi. It was established in 1986 and consists of the East Frisian Islands, mudflats, and salt marshes.

Flying

The National Park is home to about 10,000 species of flora and fauna such as mussels, fishes, and mammals like seals. In addition, every year, 10 to 12 million birds are taking a refreshing break.

Flock of Birds
This is just a fraction of all the international fowl passing through.
(Photo: Jürgen Hamann, Zugvogelstart Norderney Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer, cropped to 7:5, CC BY-SA 3.0)

On their long trip between the breeding habitats of Siberia, Scandinavia, and Canada and their wintering grounds in South West Europe and Africa, they feast here on worms, fishes, clams, and snails.

Hiking

But also wingless visitors enjoy the diversity and beauty of the mudflats: As soon as the water is gone, you can see people observing the ground for worms, crabs & co. Or just strolling around enjoying the squishy mud between their toes.

Women's Legs on the mudflat beween Cuxhaven and Neuwerk island
Special socks for a very special walk

For longer hikes, a guided tour is recommended. Firstly, you’ll get tons of information on all the incredible phenomena you cannot see just by looking around. Secondly, it’s dangerous to venture on the mudflats by yourself.

Group of people walking on water from Cuxhaven to Neuwerk
This basket is actually for people who do not listen and think they can just wander around the tideland as they please and believe the water doesn’t come back that quickly. Well, it does. And they have a chance to save their butt by climbing into these baskets. Then, the coast guards come to rescue them – they should call them cost guards since this service starts at about 500 €uro and goes up to thousands. Nope, just waiting for the next low tide is not an option; you are dealing with forces beyond your ken (I’m referring to the water, not the coast guards).

The term ‘mudflat’ is misleading since the ground hardly ever is really flat: There are tidal creeks whose courses are not always clear and might change pretty fast. As the water comes back, these creeks fill up really quickly and entrap lost wanderers. Faster than you think the vast, empty mudflat turns back into an ocean with high waves.

What to Wear

When I was a kid, we used to wear gumboots in the mudflats. According to recent findings – respectively to my guide Ute – you should wear shoes that are tight around your ankles otherwise the mud just sucks them off your feet.

We also used to walk barefoot. This is not recommendable because you might cut your foot pretty badly on some of the shells and oysters. This is a rather new phenomenon and due to climate change that has a negative impact on the mudflats.

Crossing the Ocean

The most spectacular walk on the mudflats can be taken at Cuxhaven, a small town located about 100 km / 62 miles either from Hamburg or Bremen. Here, you don’t have only the chance to meander along the shore, here you can actually cross the mudflat and walk all the way to an island.

A carriage is the alternative to walking on water from Cuxhaven
Swing low sweet chariot: Getting ready to cross the ocean.

The tours start in the districts of Duhnen or Sahlenburg in the outskirts of Cuxhaven and they take between 2.5 and 4 hours depending on how many stops your guide makes to explain things and, of course, on the walking speed of your group. But don’t worry, these experienced and prudent guides get you across the ocean on time before the water comes back.
Just so you know, the distance is 12 km / 7.5 miles from Duhnen and 10 km / 6.2 miles from Sahlenburg.

Guide guiding people walking on water from Cuxhaven to Neuwerk
Ute’s license to guide us across the tricky mudflat.

Obviously, the schedule depends on the tides, and trips are canceled if the weather gets really bad; some drizzle is considered liquid sunshine…. Clearly, the tour guides cannot wait for guests who run late: It’s the water and the water alone that determines the program.

I took the guided tour with

Wunderwelt Watt
Brandentenweg 2
27639 Wurster Nordseeküste
Phone: + 49 – 173 – 734 15 19
Email: kontakt@wattwandernneuwerk.de 

They offer different tours, just walking or combined with a boat trip; no horseback riding or carriage trips. The guides are very experienced, knowledgeable, and highly passionate and make the trip a wonderful experience.

Different Options

There are basically three means of transportation to cross the tideland: By carriage, on horses, or using your own feet.

People crossing the mudflat from Cuxhaven to Neuwerk
Whether walking….
People on a horse carriage instead of walking on water from Cuxhaven
…..or on a horse carriage…..
Group of girls riding from the island of Neuwerk on the water to Cuxhaven
….or horseback: The trip across the tideland is educational, great fun, and good exercise.

Going by carriage or riding allows you to make it to the island and back within one low tide. If you choose to walk – and if you are not lame or footsore, you should definitely do the walking, it’s amazing – you have to go back by ferry. And this is what determines the number of participants: The ferry, obviously, can go only during high tide, and spaces are limited to one trip per tide, so when the boat is full, the boat is full.

What to Take

Before you start, you should pack sun protection and a hat, a change of clothes since you do not want to spend the rest of the day soaked in mud and slush in case you slip and fall. A pair of shoes for your stay on the island: Mind on the tideland you will be walking in mud, but also through more or less deep tidal creeks – your shoes will be soaked (on Neuwerk, you can leave them in front of the Information Center to dry a little, nobody will take them).

Walking on water from Cuxhaven to Neuwerk
According to Ute we were very lucky that on the day of our trip the good people of Neuwerk came to the tideland with their Watt Oase, their mudflat oasis: A beer stall (to the right) and a mobile toilet (to the left).
Nice, but not necessary: One more hour and we set foot on Neuwerk, anyway.

Possibly a bottle of water – and on the other hand, make sure to go to the bathroom before you leave, it’s up to four hours and there are no bushes or trees to squat behind.

Dike on Neuwerk
To watch the grass grow in comfort – like here on the levee, you can leave your stuff at the Nationalpark-Haus. They are kindly providing free lockers for the island’s visitors.

Depending on the schedule, once you reach the island, you have between one to three hours to relax and refresh, visit the information center Nationalpark-Haus for more information, eat fresh fish and homemade cake, watch the ocean, the seagulls, or the grass grow.

It’s calm. Very calm.

Neuwerk Island

This calm spot amidst the rough Northern Sea is called Neuwerk. 39 people share 3,3 square kilometers. Interestingly, although from here it’s about 120 km to the city, Neuwerk belongs politically to Hamburg; which even many Hamburgers do not know, though. I spare you the details of the changing history why Cuxhaven and Neuwerk used to belong to Hamburg; and the latter still does.

Renata Green with a sign pointing towards Neuwerk when walking on water from Cuxhaven
To Neuwerk – this way! These signs don’t help you much when the tideland fills up again.

It’s sort of a North German Gibraltar and the 39 people have the same rights as any other citizen of Hamburg: In Germany, there is compulsory school attendance and homeschooling is illegal. Therefore they had to send a teacher to instruct both the two pupils that are currently living on the island.

House on Neuwerk where you can take a break after walking on water from Cuxhaven
One of the three old farms – this barn was built in 1854 – in front of Neuwerk’s most important sights: The lighthouse, built in 1310 and one of Hamburg’s oldest buildings and gave the island its name: Neues Bauwerk (new building) over the years became Neuwerk. Today, there is a guest house on the upper floor and even if you’re not a guest, you can enjoy a wonderful view from the observation deck.

Every small child in Hamburg is entitled to a place in daycare. Therefore they had to send a kindergartner for the younger sibling of the two pupils.
It probably won’t surprise you that the teacher lives at the school and the kindergartner at the kindergarten?!

Living Off the Island

The parents of these three Neuwerkers – along with the rest of the islanders – make their living from tourism: Many houses have guest rooms, many homes run cafés and restaurants; and the pupils’ father has a cute little souvenir shop where he sells really cool stuff – mostly designed by himself.

Souvenir T-Shirt from Neuwerk to where you can walk on water
Probably world’s smallest badge of souvenir Ts. If you want one, you have to look for the small souvenir shop next to the school building.
By the way, Watt is German for tideland.

So after you had time to recover from the walk and get to know cozy little Neuwerk, it’s probably time to hop on the ferry and head back to Cuxhaven.

Taking the ferry back to Cuxhaven after walking on water
Incredible that only a couple of hours ago we were walking here.

Another 90 minutes to just sit back, relax and awe at the wonders planet earth has in store.

Note: You’ll find a comprehensive guide to this hike and the Island of Neuwerk in a chapter of my series Island Hopping in Germany.

Cuxhaven

So you’re back to Cuxhaven, to the port called Alte Liebe, Old Love. From here, you can take either one of the city buses or a shuttle bus back to where you started from.

Alte Liebe Cuxhaven
The harbor Alte Liebe with the old lighthouse Hamburger Leuchtturm, built between 1802 and 1804 and used until….2001! These Cuxhavians really tending their stuff well.

Cuxhaven – while the trip to Neuwerk is undoubtedly the most unique attraction in this coastal town, there actually is more to explore.

Beaches

First of all, the ocean also fills up again so that you can spend the day on the beach doing everything people do on beaches around the globe: Playing, swimming, sunbathing…possibly in a typical German Strandkorb, a wicker chair, invented 1882 in Rostock.

Beach Baskets on the Beach of Cuxhaven
On German beaches, you can rent your personal Strandkorb per day, per week, or for the season. Actually, it’s like a very comfy yet small beach cabana.

This chair provides shelter against the sun but also against the wind so that you can enjoy the beach regardless of the weather conditions. It is cleverly designed with little foldout tables and lots of storage room in the extendible footrests. Actually, I don’t understand why the good old Strandkorb never became an export hit – it’s such a genius invention.

Thalasso and SPA

However, it’s Northern Germany so, despite the fact that it’s a beach destination, the weather gets often more bitchy than beachy. The clever Cuxhavians have provided for the days of liquid sunshine by building the SPA and thalassotherapy center with the silly name ‘ahoi!’.

Ahoi SPA in Cuxhaven
Relaxing on these deck chairs after your schwitz will make you feel like sailing on a luxurious cruise liner. Please note the freight ship in the background – what an idyllic place!

While the name is tacky and old-fashioned, the facilities are very spacious, beautifully decorated and state of the art.

Besides about eight different saunas, a steam bath, various jacuzzis, and pools in the SPA area, they have a huge and fun swimming pool and on the hour for about five minutes, there are huge waves – a great alternative to the sea outside.

Besides this super-fun wave-pool, they have two smaller pools with all sort of water jets massaging your entire body.

Add the inviting lawn for sunbathing and you’ll understand how to spend an entire day at these great facilities – and already be looking forward to coming back as soon as possible.

I’m a huge SPA-expert – and this place is probably the nicest I’ve ever visited.

Sauna at the Ahoi SPA in Cuxhaven
A sauna for all senses – even for the eye: Overlooking the beach and the North Sea adds to the relaxation.

If your guesthouse doesn’t have a sauna – most of them do, though – it’s also a great place to relax these tense muscles after a hike across the tideland.

Thalassozentrum ahoi!
Wehrbergsweg 32
27476 Cuxhaven
Phone: 04721 404500

The Center is open daily from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m.

Downtown Cuxhaven

Before Cuxhaven became a popular German beach destination, it was a mediocre town, living mainly off the fishing industry. Like I already mentioned, it belonged to Hamburg till 1961 and the land the new harbor was built on even till 1993.

There are still remains from these times to be found around the city which I personally find pretty charming.

The Alte Liebe, a wooden pier and jetty, built in 1733 in Cuxhaven
The Alte Liebe, a wooden pier and jetty, built in 1733.

Chronologically incorrect, we start at the harbor. There is the part called Alte Liebe, Old Love, where you cannot only take a ferry to Neuwerk, but also to Helgoland, Germany’s only deep-sea island, or to Hamburg cruising along the river Elbe.

There are a couple of restaurants and souvenir shops, but nothing special. Later it gets much better, I promise.

Elbe 1 ship in Cuxhaven
This red beauty can be visited.
(Photo: Ra Boe, Cuxhaven 2006 – ELBE1 – Bürgermeister O’Swald (ship, 1948) by-RaBoe, cropped to 7:5, CC BY-SA 2.5)

Wanna visit a really special ship? Right next to the Alte Liebe pier docks the Feuerschiff ELBE 1 which is a museum ship, but it’s quite a mobile museum: Formerly Germany’s largest lightship, built in 1948, is still carrying passengers back and forth between Cuxhaven and Heligoland.

Downtown Cuxhaven
The terraces of the cafés can hardly be spotted behind the levee.

Walking from the Alte Liebe towards the city center, you’ll spot a quite high levee to your right and at the end actually floodgates; they are not for decorative purposes, believe me.

On the Waterfront

As you make a sharp left turn practically back towards the sea, there are old cobblestone streets between the canals. Here you find an unbelievable number of excellent fish restaurants – many of them have a store where they sell their fresh goods so you can prepare it at home as you wish. Don’t worry about the smell, firstly, fresh fish doesn’t smell much and secondly, they are really handy packing it tightly.

Buildings in Cuxhaven
Elegant buildings housing exquisite restaurants: There’s a reason Cuxhaven is a popular holiday destination.

You will notice – and it won’t surprise you that this area is undergoing some gentrification because it’s actually a prime location.
Today, Cuxhaven’s industry is taking place elsewhere: Cuxport, the modern industrial part, is located about a mile down South. Here, fish is being canned and made into fishmeal.

Fishing harbor Cuxhaven
Fish – freshly from the cutter.

Also, the entire car trade to and from Great Britain is proceded via Cuxhaven, on the huge parking lot you see all these BMWs with the wheel on the wrong side and Rovers that just were shipped in. Yes, the key is in the ignition – so this is a high-security area.

Cars in the harbor of Cuxhaven
In 2017, almost half a million vehicles were transshipped via Cuxport.
(Photo: Ra Boe / Wikipedia, Cuxhaven 2015 by-RaBoe 111, cropped to 7:5, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)

If you are really interested in this aspect of Cuxhaven, I suggest you join a CUXLINER tour. It is a hop on hop off bus tour that takes you to all the points of interest. If you don’t feel like hopping, they offer the same tour for only 13 instead of the regular 16 €uro.

The CUXLINER also stops at the next two points of interest – where a visit is highly recommendable.

Wind Forces

Already the building of the museum Windstärke 10, storm force 10 – that would be a heavy storm, that was opened only in December 2013, is spectacular: Not only did they remodel two former fish market halls, they also integrated the street between them by constructing a fantastic glass structure.

Museum Windstärke 10 in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
A museum on the power of the sea and life along the shores. The glass building in the center used to be a street – as you can still see.

The exhibition is very informative and grasping, using all sorts of modern media. And life with and from the sea is not sugar-coated here.

Museum Windstärke 10
Ships that were wrecked by the fierce North Sea are a central topic at the Windstärke 10-museum.

It starts with a wreck – focusing on the struggle and hardship, the tough jobs on the fish trawlers, the danger of wreckage and much more.

Museum Windstärke 10 in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
Struggling with the forces of nature was their everyday job.

It’s very vivid, complete, and actually exciting. In one word: a must-see (actually it’s two words and a hyphen).

Museum Windstärke 10 in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
Agreed, she’s not in danger, but I doubt that it is great fun to fumble together Rollmöpse day in day out. What a Rollmops is? It’s a pickled herring wrapped around a pickled cucumber and sometimes a piece of onion. It’s a hearty breakfast after a long night out.

Windstärke 10
Wrack- und Fischereimuseum Cuxhaven
Ohlroggestraße 1
#27472 Cuxhaven
Phone: + 49 – 4721 – 700 – 708 50
Email: windstaerke10@cuxhaven.de

The museum is open from April to October daily from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. and from November to March from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m.

Migration Through the Port of Cuxhaven

The next one is not as spectacular – anymore, but has a rich history that somehow connects the world: Cuxhaven’s Amerikahafen was one of the ports from where emigrants sailed to the New World. As I explained in my last post, the highest number left via the port of Bremerhaven.

Cuxhaven, belonging to Hamburg at that time, was an important port of embarkation since that way the big ships didn’t have to go from the North Sea along the river Elbe all the way to the port of Hamburg.

Cuxhaven Hapag-Hallen
The Hapag-Hallen were opened in 1902 so that passengers were able to get on board closer to the sea than at the port of Hamburg. Hapag, by the way, stands for Hamburg-Amerikanische Paketfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft, Hamburg-American Shipping Corporation and was founded in Hamburg

There are still the old Hapag Hallen. These were the waiting halls for the passengers coming by train from Hamburg.

Cuxhaven Hapag-Hallen
In the 19th century, people left Europe for very different reasons – and to many different destinations. The passage to Canada was very popular.

The Hapag-Halle can be visited on occasional guided tours.

But on the second floor of the terminal building on the pier Steubenhoeft is a permanent exhibition which doesn’t look very spectacular – compared e. g. with the award-winning hands-on exhibition at Bremerhaven and at the Ballin-Stadt in Hamburg, too – but however, if you take your time reading the panels, it’s very informative and touching. Definitely worth the visit.

Hapag-Halle / Steubenhöft 
Albert-Ballin-Platz 1
27472 Cuxhaven
Phone: +49 – 4721 – 39 65 460
Email: info@hapaghalle-cuxhaven.de

Also, I’ve published a comprehensive post on migrations to the New World through North German harbors.

Schloss Ritzebüttel – The Noble Past

Yes, most of the activities around Cuxhaven are related to the sea. But not exclusively. Coming from the harbor into the city center, pass the train station, walk down the Große Hardewiek and you’ll get the Schloss Ritzebüttel*, a castle from the late medieval times.

Schloss Ritzebüttel in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
Medieval from the back,…..

In the 18th century, a baroque porch was added. The castle together with the administrative building was an exclave of the city of Hamburg from 1394 to 1937. The, however, ever-changing history can be traced on a visit to the castle.

Schloss Ritzebüttel in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
….baroque from the front: The Ritzebüttel castle.

The garden surrounding the castle is not only a serene green oasis in the center of the city – whereby Cuxhaven is not exactly Manhattan – but also has a nice collection of modern sculptures.

Schloss Ritzebüttel
Schlossgarten 8
27472 Cuxhaven
Phone: +49 – 4721 – 721 812
Email: schloss.ritzebuettel@cuxhaven.de

The castle can be visited Monday to Thursday from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m., Tuesday to Thursday also from 2 p. m. to 5 p. m. Weekends from 11 a. m. to 3 p. m.

Schloss Ritzebüttel in Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water to Neuwerk
More buildings of the old castle area: The former guardhouse to the left, the yellow-painted officers club straight ahead – today they call it the garden house since eventually it was inhabited by the castle gardeners. Behind you can spot St. Martin’s church.

In Hamburg sagt man
Tschüß*:

So for the summer season, this was the last post on Northern Germany. I hope I introduced you to some new places and unique and interesting attractions.

Sunset over the beach at Cuxhaven from where you can walk on water
The sun goes down over the tideland. It will be back tomorrow with another wonderful day.

I’d be happy if I inspired you to check out a more unknown part of Germany, far from Oktoberfest and cuckoo clocks.

Let me know what you think in the comment section below.

* Translating to ‘At Hamburg they say Tschüss’ – it’s the title of a popular local folk song.

Practical Information

Getting There

If you’re not driving, you can get to Cuxhaven easily by train. The Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national train company, offers the so-called Ländertickets, the country tickets that are valid for one day in a specific federal state. Every federal state has its own and the cost varies from about 24 to 29 €uro.

Cuxhaven is located in the federal state of Lower Saxony, and the Niedersachsen-Ticket costs 24 €uro for one and you have to add another 5 €uro per person travelling with you. So if you are two adults, it will set you back 29 €uro for both of you, if you travel with four other people, you’ll pay 44 €uro for your party of five; not bad, right?!
A child under 15 travels for free with two adults.

Hamburg train station
Here, at the main station in Hamburg, you can see two different regional trains. On these, you can travel an entire day with a Lower Saxony ticket that you can also use going only to Cuxhaven with another person.

While you can actually travel the entire day within the respective federal state, you are only allowed to take the regional trains – train numbers beginning with RE, MET, etc., but not the interregional trains such as the Intercity (IC) or Intercity Express (ICE).

Extra: The city-states of Hamburg, as well as Bremen and Bremerhaven, are automatically included in the country tickets of Lower Saxony.

However, keep in mind that if you are travelling by yourself, just a oneway trip to Cuxhaven from e.g. Hamburg or Bremen might be cheaper than the Niedersachsen-Ticket. Therefore and for other connections and rates, please visit the Deutsche Bahn’s website, it’s available in seven languages.

And Getting Around

If you are coming to Cuxhaven to hike across the mudflat to Neuwerk, you should check the tidal calendar and plan your trip accordingly.

Cuxhaven has a very good public bus system, however, their website is only in German. Long live the google-translator!

Where to Stay

Especially if the walk is taking place in the morning, you might want the spend the night before at Cuxhaven, hence, you’ll find some suggestions on where to stay on this map*:

Booking.com

Cash And Cards

Until now, 20 European countries replaced their former local currency with the €uro starting in 2002. Obviously, Germany is one of them. The exchange rate is 1 US$ = 0.94 EUR as of January 2023. However, you can check today’s conversion rate on this page.

Euro coins and bills as well as credit dards
On the Island of Neuwerk, only cash is King.

Mind you, there is no ATM on the island of Neuwerk so you have to bring cash from the mainland.

Language

Cuxhaven caters mainly to national tourism so that people’s command of English or any other foreign language might be limited to some very basic expressions.

Therefore, for some useful words and phrases, you might want to practice a little with help from e. g. Babbel (the first lesson is for free and already supplies you with useful basic vocabulary).

Note: In this article, I’m writing out some of the German names of brands and places and you will notice that there are letters that might not exist in other languages: First of all there is the letter ß that exists only in the German alphabet and it’s by no means a B – it’s a ‘sharp’, double S as in kiss. When writing, you can actually replace it by a double S. Then there are three more vowel, ä being the easiest one since it’s pronounced like an open e as in head. Ö and ü are tougher, ö being pronounced more or less like the e in her and ü as the u in huge.

Tourist Info

After having read this post down to here, do you still need further information or have specific questions? Of course, I’m here for you, but more importantly, so are the people at the Tourist Information.

You can check their website or get your info in person at

CUX-Tourismus GmbH
Cuxhavener Straße 92
27476 Cuxhaven
Phone: +49 – 4721 – 4 04 – 200
Email: info@tourismus.cuxhaven.de

The shipping company serving Neuwerk will be happy to inform you of ways to get to the island and back

Reederei Cassen Eils
Bei der Alten Liebe 12
27472 Cuxhaven
Phone: +49 – 4721 – 66760-0
Email: info‎@‎cassen-eils.de

If you book a hiking tour, the ferry ticket should already be included. I went with the company

Wunderwelt Watt
Brandentenweg 2
27639 Wurster Nordseeküste
Phone: + 49 – 173 – 734 15 19
Email: kontakt@wattwandernneuwerk.de 

Pinnable Pictures

Please use one of these pictures if you choose to pin this post:

Note: This post is being regularly completed, edited, and updated – last in January 2023.

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Disclaimer: I deeply appreciate that the Nordseeheilbad Cuxhaven GmbH generously supported my blogger trip by supplying me with various tickets, booking the hike to Neuwerk and a visit to the Thalassozentrum ahoi! as well as a hotel room for me. However, all opinions on these services are mine and weren’t by any means influenced by my cooperation partner.

41 Replies to “CUXHAVEN – walking on water”

  1. I'll be honest mud really isn't my thing , but it looks like a very interesting journey. Germany is great to visit and I would love to visit Schloss Ritzebüttel.

  2. It's so lovely to read about this place, it's unlike any I've seen before, especially in Germany. I think it looks almost ethereal, especially when the sun's shining down!

  3. Heh, never thought that mud can be interesting 🙂 You get to locations I would never thing visiting. Opened something new with this review.

  4. This reminds me of family days out to Western-super-mare in the UK. Affectionately called, Weston-super-mud here. The Severn River never really goes completely however we used to be able to walk out really far so we could walk under the pier. Interesting on having to wear shoes now, we too went bare feet. Something to remember if I take my nieces.

  5. This was a really unique thing for me. Never knew mudflats like these existed and to walk through them: that seems absolutely surreal. Would love to experience this one day.

  6. I never knew of mudflats but I really want to walk on them now! Looks like you had a super fun trip. I would love to walk through the ocean like this 🙂

  7. I had NEVER heard of this!! This is amazing. I am putting this on my bucket list. To walk through the ocean and watch the water fill back up would be amazing.

  8. I think it is so great that you can enjoy a much better appreciation for those fieldtrip days, that's the greatest gift of getting to spend time exploring a childhood place as we grow! I think it would be such an interesting place to visit, I'd love to "walk on water" for a day!

  9. Crossing the ocean to an island by foot what a great experience. I also think a guide is much needed, the water usually come back faster than people think

  10. I don’t think I have ever encountered mudflats. They look amazing. In the northwest of the US we have beaches that aren’t good for bathing but are great for watching wild life. They are rocky and freezing but so much fun to visit.

  11. Wow this sounds really cool! I would definitely take a guided tour over doing it myself, I don't want to end up needing a basket. Plus its better with someone who knows what they're doing.
    -Jackie

  12. I love hiking but I've never hiked on the tideland like Cuxhaven. The whole tour even seems surreal. Nature is simply amazing and to get to interact and enjoy it while doing an activity like this must be awesome!

  13. I’m surprised that people would even try to do this on their own or not listen to their guide. I would be terrified to go out on my own to do this (and I certainly wouldn’t want to pay those “cost guard” prices!) but the flats really look cool. Awesome visual and I would definitely want those photos!

  14. I love this whole idea of "walking on water" 🙂 I've never been to anything like this before, so would love to experience it at some time! x

  15. This is such a beautiful area of coastline and wonderful nature too. I have family in Hamburg and have visited a few times but never knew about this. I think the German coastline gets a little bit forgotten about!

  16. I love hiking to some unusual places and that beach looks challenging because the slimy mud. Thanks for sharing your experience loved reading it !

    1. I had family in Cuxhaven but sadly I visited them in winter. I would have loved to walk to the island across the mudflas. It looks like such fun.That whole area is gorgeous to explore.

  17. Wow I never would've guessed that such a pretty beach would also present such a tough hiking challenge! I can totally appreciate the need for ugly galoshes…that mud must be nasty to get stuck in!

  18. I always find it interesting to explore the shore when tides are out. But I never thought about the need to put sunscreen on my lower legs! Great tip. I have not experienced mud worm but I have walked in low tide and had geoducks (clams) buried in the sand spit at us. I too find the tide waves in the sand interesting. I am not sure about being around when that large swarm of birds moves! Reminds me of “The Birds” movie – a horror from my youth. Interesting that you can go across on horse or carriage rather than walk to get to Cuxhaven! Given that the water is so cold, I would be running before the tide returns.

  19. This seems like a lot of fun. I can tell you enjoy your experience, thanks for sharing with us.

  20. What a unique place to visit, I've never seen anything like this before! Great photos and post

  21. We used to wear gumboots to the beach too, I wonder if wet sand has the same suction effect? This hidden part of Germany looks like a much more relaxed setting too!

  22. Some places and memories associated with them stay with us forever. Like your account in this post…the part about the gumboots caught my attention the most. Reliving such experiences is so enriching.

  23. Cuxhaven looks amazing. I love hiking and this is one of the places I'd love to explore. It's great that most of the guesthouses have saunas! Thanks for sharing a very detailed guide.

  24. This is such a unique and interesting place! I've never visited terrain like that before, I would love to do that hike!

  25. Oh, I love this idea of walking in the mudflats in sock feet what fun! I enjoyed reading this post – walking on water, or mud, touring the historical town, horsebackriding, beaching (or bitching as you said! haha! ) Looks like a fun weekend away in Cuxhaven. Thanks for the inspiration!

  26. Despite really not living that far from Germany and the Netherlands – and having travelled a lot in Europe, I've never heard of this part of the European coastline. It looks fascinating and the horse pulled carts are really quite unique. Definitely something to seek out!

  27. This looks amazing. I've never heard of mudflats before, but they looked super fun to walk on! Also hilarious that you get a knee-pit tan!

  28. I'm not a fan of mudflats, but I would love to visit Schloss Ritzebüttel. Also I see lots of interesting sights to see in Cuxhaven. I hope I get to go there someday.

  29. Cuxhaven is definitely a unique place to visit and has inspired me to explore more of Germany. What an experience to be able to walk on the mudflats and to be able to see the microlife up close. Still can't believe that the sandworms created all the bumps in the mud. Taking a guided tour would be a good idea, as the last thing I would want is to end up climbing into the basket and getting the coast guards to rescue me! Would love to test out the spa there – sounds amazing!

  30. Sounds like a unique and interesting adventure! I have not been to northern Germany, so these are some great ideas. And you're right, the Strandkorb sounds like a fantastic invention that they should export!

  31. Wow, that's a huge mudflat. I love that you had to sunscreen your 'knee pits'. Returning to the joys of childhood wonder is always a blast.

  32. Wow. That seems kinda surreal. Especially liked the great sweeping views until the horizon. And so many more things to do as per your description! Wouldnt mind going there too!

  33. Wow! When I visited Germany a few years ago we only did the tourist thing in Berlin. I hope that when we return we can visit beautiful places like this.

  34. It's wonderful sometimes how the trails and tribulations of childhood turn into cherished memories over time. I still remember my school trips, and none of them were as interesting as walking on the mudflats. This concept was new to me until I moved out west and saw Bosque de Apache, a dry lakebed the filled up with seasonal rains. When the rain came, the mud filled with life. Then, millions of birds would swoop in for dinner. It's a brilliant circle of life, not unlike the tidelands on the North Sea.

  35. I bet walking through all that mud would be quite a workout! I think I would really enjoy the carriage ride

  36. Wow. I have never seen such a large tideland before. In fact, I didn't even know that word existed! Crazy amounts of mud turn into an ocean within a few hours. I loved the ecosphere you discussed. I will have to show my kiddo this blog, she loves things like this!

  37. What a fun tour of the area and historic towns with so much beautiful architecture an details. I love beach combing and would have loved to explore the area for shells which I collect.

  38. This looks like a great place to check out in the summer months but with a similiar climate to the UK (my home country), unless its really warm, would you really want to go to the beach here as I think the wind is very strong here and the sea cold? Am I right? 😀 But the town looks quaint and worth checking out.

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