The spectacular Hohe Düne on the Fischland-Darß peninsula

You don’t have to fly 8,000 kilometers to see the Caribbean. Perhaps you can satisfy your wanderlust here with us on the German Baltic coast. Dreamily beautiful sandy beaches, cozy fishing villages, lush coastal forests, and the Baltic Sea shimmering in all shades of blue await you.

We were recently back on our beloved Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula for a bike tour from Zingst to Pramort and the Hohe Düne. This easternmost tip had been on our imaginary list for a long time, and we were so happy to finally be able to explore this area. We already talked about this trip in our Instagram story and would now like to share it here on the blog. Enjoy browsing!

Other interesting travel destinations:

Other interesting travel destinations:
Our route for the Hohe Düne
Start in the Baltic Sea spa town of Zingst
Past Zingst harbor
The beautiful Bodden landscape
Sundische Wiese
Pramort viewpoint
The Hohe Düne
Return trip to Zingst & Conclusion
Getting to Zingst
Parking & Prices
Bike Rental
Hotels in Zingst
Travel Reading for Your Vacation

Our Route for the Hohe Düne

On the map below, we’ve marked our route to Pramort and the Hohe Düne. In total, we cycled around 44 kilometers and it took longer than expected. If I remember correctly, we didn’t get back to the car until around 5:30 p.m. This was also because we took frequent breaks and enjoyed the surroundings to the fullest. Generally, this tour can be completed in around 3 hours without long breaks. However, if you want to spend some time at the various spots, you should plan considerably more time.

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Start in the Baltic Sea spa town of Zingst

We started our tour in the Baltic Sea spa town of Zingst, a very beautiful holiday resort between the sea and the Bodden in the Vorpommern Boddenlandschaft National Park. Zingst has a long tradition; the first bathers were welcomed here as early as 1881. We left our car in a public parking lot near the pier (€6 day pass), grabbed our bikes from the trunk, and set off.

First, of course, we went to the sandy beach, then onto the pier with the diving gondola and through the pretty streets of the town. Everywhere we saw beautiful captain’s houses, colorful front doors (typical of Fischland), and those typical thatched roofs. We drove past, among other things, the spa house, the old rescue shed, the local history museum, and some lovely cafés and restaurants.

Fischland-Darss-Ostseebad-Zingst-Seebruecke-Tauchgondel

Sights in Zingst

We really liked the Baltic Sea spa town of Zingst, especially the pretty houses, the cozy atmosphere, the cafés and restaurants, the range of vacation apartments, the charming harbor on the Bodden, and of course, the fantastic location by the sea. We can easily imagine spending a relaxing summer vacation here. You can find out more about Zingst here: Our top sights in Zingst.

Pier
Diving Gondola
Zingst Spa House
Local History Museum
Experimentarium
Horizons Zingst
Max Hünten House
Zingst Harbor
…

Past Zingst Harbor

We followed the signpost and cycled across town to the Zingst South-West Birdwatching Tower. These platforms offer a fantastic view of the Bodden landscape. From there, the cycle path continues to the small Zingst Harbor. Here, you’ll also find the cool Mississippi paddlewheelers and other passenger ships that will take you to various spots. This allows you to explore the unique natural surroundings in a maritime way on Bodden cruises (tours even to Stralsund, Barth, and Hiddensee).

During the crane season, tours on the water are also offered, as well as romantic evening cruises. For departure times and prices, please visit the websites of the Zingst Shipping Company and/or the Poschke Shipping Company. The tour season usually starts in March/April and runs until October. However, the 3-hour crane tours are only offered in September and October. In general, the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula is an extremely good spot to observe the many thousands of cranes in autumn (more on that here).

The beautiful Bodden landscape

The paved path led us along the Bodden and brought us to various viewpoints and rest areas. By chance, we discovered a table with benches, where we had breakfast and enjoyed the view over the Bodden and the large island of Kirr. By the way, there’s also a large picture frame at this point, which makes for a great photo opportunity. We think it’s really cool that these viewpoints are scattered around, allowing you to observe the surroundings in peace. It’s best to pack binoculars so you can get a closer look at the many different bird species.

Sundische Wiese

As soon as you leave Zingst behind, “only” nature and parts of the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park await you. The cycle path to Pramort is paved throughout, making cycling very easy. There are no significant inclines, so even inexperienced cyclists can enjoy a relaxing ride. The cycle path took us past the Sundische Wiese, which forms the eastern part of the Zingst peninsula (also called “The Zingst”).

A wide variety of bird species find ideal conditions for resting and breeding here. There’s plenty of food for the young, enough peace and quiet for migratory birds (like the crane), undisturbed shore areas, ideal hiding places, and plenty of water from the Baltic Sea and the Bodden. We saw numerous geese, swallows, wading birds, buzzards, swans, and other small winged friends.

Pramort Viewpoint

The paved path on the dike led us along the Sundische Wiese to Pramort, a place that was inhabited until 1960 before becoming part of the national park. Here is one of the most important migratory resting places for the grey cranes, which you can observe particularly well between September and October.

But even outside of the crane season, you can spot many different bird species from the observation hut, such as sea eagles, oystercatchers, swans, gulls, and swallows. The view of the landscape is unique and hard to describe in words. For a brief moment, we felt like we were somewhere in Africa. It was probably due to the silence and the vastness.

By the way, you can only reach this place by bike or on foot; the nearest parking lot is at the Hotel Schlößchen (about 8 km away). Another important fact: Between September 1st and the beginning of November, the area is closed to the general public between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m.

You can only experience the crane spectacle with the National Park Card “Observe – without disturbing”. This card can be purchased on the day of your visit at the Zingst Kurhaus and is valid from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. If you don’t have a card, you must leave the area by 3 p.m. All information here: National Park Card.

The Hohe Düne

After sitting in the observation hut for a while and enjoying the time, we slowly made our way to our last highlight – the Hohe Düne. We cycled just under 450 meters back to the starting point of the hike, where we also had to park our bikes (restrooms available). Ahead of us lay a roughly 1.6-kilometer-long footpath to the Hohe Düne.

On the way, we even encountered a family of wild boars with small baby piglets running through the bushes a few meters away from us. Eventually, we reached the wooden path that led us directly to the viewing platform. This idyllic wooden path alone was a real eye-catcher, as it wound so beautifully through the landscape.

We finally reached the viewing platform, climbed the last few steps, and couldn’t believe our eyes! This is clearly the Caribbean! Or is it? No! It’s our homeland in all its glory! The Hohe Düne is the largest unforested dune field on the German Baltic coast and can easily reach 12 meters in some places.

We looked out over the turquoise sea, the bright white sandy beach, the dunes, and the lush lagoon landscape. It’s amazing what Mother Nature has created here. This area is a nature reserve, and therefore you are not allowed to go to the beach or leave the path. Please do not leave any rubbish here!

Return to Zingst & Conclusion

Just before the “Hohe Düne” viewing platform, there is a small covered rest area with a table and benches, where we took a break and devoured the remaining snacks. Afterwards, we hiked back to our bikes and slowly made our way back. This time, however, we took the direct route to Zingst, past the lush Osterwald forest, the border triangle, and Müggenburg.

We cycled the approximately 20 kilometers without stopping, treated ourselves to an ice cream in Zingst, and packed the bikes back into the car. We were completely exhausted, but that was also due to the heat, which surprised us quite a bit that day (almost 30 degrees Celsius on May 10, 2021). We highly recommend this wonderful bike tour to Hohe Düne and Pramort. As you know, the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula is our number 1 destination in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania anyway.

This is one of the reasons why we finally wanted to explore the easternmost tip of the peninsula. The tour couldn’t have gone better: We had fantastic weather, were completely alone in most places, and were able to enjoy the moment to the fullest. If you have any questions about this tour, please feel free to write to us.

Getting to Zingst

By car:If you’re arriving by car, it’s best to take the A19 from Berlin or the A20 from Hamburg towards Darß. Then take the Rostock-Ost exit and continue on the B105 to the Altheide junction. This will take you to Dierhagen, Wustrow, Ahrenshoop, etc. You can also continue on the B105 to the junction towards Bartelshagen and Fuhlendorf. This will take you directly to Zingst.

By train: You can of course also travel by Deutsche Bahn* train and travel to Ribnitz-Damgarten or Barth. From there, buses on line 210 run regularly to the peninsula. Timetables and prices here. Long-distance buses also serve the peninsula, such as Flixbus*. There are direct connections from Berlin with stops in Graal-Müritz, Dierhagen, Ahrenshoop, Zingst, Wustrow, Born, Wieck, and Prerow.

Parking & Prices

There are various parking spaces in Zingst, some of which are subject to a fee, others free of charge. Many parking spaces are just a few meters from the beach. We parked at the Strandübergang 15a parking lot, which costs €6 per day (€1 per hour).

The smaller parking lot across the street costs €8 per day. The Festwiese parking lot, located in town, is cheaper and costs only €3 per day (free from November 1st to the end of February). You can park completely free of charge at the parking lot on Barther Straße. In the town center, you can also park your bike along the streets for free for two hours.

Bicycle Rental

Don’t want to bring your own bike on vacation? No problem, we saw plenty of bike rental shops in Zingst. For example, there’s Shop 8 Bike Rental, which has four locations in Zingst. There, you can get city bikes for as little as €7 per day, mountain bikes from €8, and e-bikes from €25. Cool cargo bikes are also available, as well as tandems, children’s bikes, and a trimobile.

Providers in Zingst:

Luft bike rental
Shop 8 bike rental
Juchatz bike rental
Zingst Rema Rosenberg bike rental
Pedal Power – bike rental

Hotels in Zingst

If you’re not just coming to the peninsula for a day trip, you’ll of course find numerous accommodations on site, such as hotels, vacation homes, vacation apartments, guesthouses, and private rooms. We’ve picked out a handful of accommodations for you and linked them here. We would definitely book them ourselves.

Holiday Apartment Strandmuschel*
Holiday Apartment Haus am Dünenwald*
Haus Meerle Holiday Apartment*
Hotel and Restaurant Boddenhus*
Hotel Garni Am Deich *

Travel Reading for Your Vacation

Want to laze on the beach, enjoy the sun, and read a great book? Or would you like to prepare for your vacation and browse through a travel guide? With the travel guide from DuMont Verlag*, you’re well prepared. On around 120 pages, you’ll learn everything about the picturesque peninsula.

If you simply need a nice book for the beach, check out our article “12 Months – 12 Books” and be inspired. We’ve also put together a small selection for you in our book shop. Enjoy browsing!