Two Full Days Visiting Föhr
In September, my parents and I visited Föhr, an island just south of Denmark in Germany. Here is how we spent two full days on Föhr, what I am glad we did and what I would do differently. If you have not heard about Föhr, head to our post: Slow Travel on the Island of Föhr first, to learn more about Föhr, how to get there, and what to do.
Spending three days on Föhr clearly does not make me an expert. I did, however spend many hours planning this trip, looking for lodging, scouring German-only websites (thank you translation apps and my small amount of German language skills!). I learned several things from this trip that I hope will help you plan your trip to Föhr!
Getting to Föhr
Reaching Föhr was the most difficult part of the trip. You may be able to get a sense as to why based on it’s location above. A ferry takes you to and from Föhr in about 50 minutes. You can get to the ferry either by train or by car. Föhr was an outlier in terms of location for the rest of our trip which made for long travel days. If you are planning a northern Germany or Denmark trip, it would be a great time to include Föhr.
The Train Portion
Föhr was the first stop on a multi-stop trip around Germany for us. We weighed the pros and cons of where we would travel from, would we get a car, etc. We opted for the least stressful (for us) option but it did make for two long travel days on arrival and departure days. This meant taking the train. We took an ICE (express train) to Hamburg, changed trains in Hamburg to a regional train (an RE train) to Dagebüll. From there, we were pedestrian passengers onto the ferry. We then waited for a taxi to take us to our accommodations on Föhr.
Lessons Learned from this Route:
1 – What you have heard about German trains being late is true. In Fall of 2025, only 55% of Deutsche Bahn trains were less than 6 minutes late. Our train to Hamburg was late as well as our regional train coming back to connect from Hamburg. We thought we would have time in both directions in Hamburg to stretch our legs, get food, etc. Instead, we had less than 3 minutes each time to make our connections. Luckily for us, the trains ended up being on neighboring tracks. We would not have made those connections if that were not the case. If you plan to travel by rail in Germany in the next couple years, I would give yourself plenty of time to make train connections and bring plenty of food and water with you.
If you want to learn more about Deutsche Bahn delays, see this article from Deutsche Welle. To learn about mobility requirements for German train travel, see our post: German Train Travel and Mobility
2 – The regional train to/from Dagebüll makes a 10+ minute stop in Niebull. This was noted on the train’s schedule. It allowed us to get off the train and walk a couple laps to stretch our legs. We noticed others even had time to go into the train station for a beverage as there is no dinning train on Deutsche Bahn regional (RE) trains.
Note: Niebull is also where a couple rental car companies are located. If you want to have a car on Föhr, you could pick up one from there and drive it onto the ferry. The other option is to rent a car on the island. There are not many options so make sure to book either ahead of time as well as book a spot for the car on the ferry.
Ferry to Wyk
The regional train’s terminus is Dagebüll. You get off the train and walk across a paved lot to the ferry entrance. The ferries and trains are timed so that you will make your ferry or train pending which direction you are going. It took a lot of time researching to find that those times are coordinated. We only had 5 minutes between the train arriving at Dagebüll and the ferry departing to Föhr.
Accommodations on Föhr
There is a lot of variety in terms of lodging on Föhr. There are hotels in the main town of Wyk, B&Bs in several of the villages, rental homes and guest suites in locals’ homes. We underestimated the challenge of finding lodging on Föhr. We stayed in early September from a Sunday to a Wednesday and assumed that would allow us plenty of options with visiting mid-week and as children are back in school. Lodging ended up being challenging for two reasons: Demand and Lodging minimums
Demand
There were many more people heading to Föhr with us than we expected. There were some young families but mostly older women traveling with friends. The majority of our fellow travelers were German.
Stay Minimums
Aside from some of the hotels in Wyk, most accommodations had at least a 3 night stay minimum. This was something I was not expecting in outside of the high season. Several places had 4-7 night minimums.
Due to these factors, we ended up staying in an accommodation in the middle of the island between the towns of Alkersum and Nieblum. It was a series of apartments in a 2-story converted barn. It appears that it used to be a hotel but is now rentals. We had an option of a staff member greeting us upon arrival but we arrived outside of the check-in window and checked in via a lock-box instead. We did not see any staff during our stay. Not having a car and not being directly in a village made it a little more complicated for getting around and for getting food.
Note: Several eateries were closed on a combination of Sunday/Monday/Tuesday, the days we were there. Especially outside of high season, check what will be open nearby where you plan to stay. I found that most restaurants had a website with up-to-date open days/hours.
Day 1 – Exploring via Bicycle
Nieblum
Nieblum was about a half mile away and I was able to walk to get groceries and visit the bakery the first morning. We walked to Nieblum again mid morning to explore and stop for coffee. We watched a roof being rethatched for a while and walked down the cobblestoned lanes. There are a couple shops selling clothing, housewares, etc that are worth exploring.
We rented three bicycles in Nieblum. E-bikes are available as well as baskets and helmet. We rented bikes without a reservation for 1.5 days. The roads on Föhr are small. It is easy to avoid the main roads and there are many small roads to bike on. There are dedicated bike paths between Nieblum and Wyk, Alkersum and Wyk, and on Hauptstraße between Oldsum and Alkersum.
The rest of the day was spent biking through the southwest of the island. From Nieblum, we biked to St. Laurentii church and cemetery, which is from the 1600s and 1700s.
Utersum, Oldsum and Alkersum
After visiting the church, we biked west to Utersum. We walked through a craft market and the biked to the beach. It was breezy and not quite warm enough to sit and linger. From there, we biked east to Oldsum and had lunch outdoors at the worthwhile Im Apfelgarten (meaning in the apple garden). We continued east and stopped at a large indoor farm stand in Alkersum called the Hofladen. There, you can find produce, dairy, meat, beverages and gifts. Our tired legs then delivered us back to our accommodation.
Day 2 – More Cycling and Wyk
Alkersum and Midlum
The next morning, we got on our bikes and headed north. We biked through Alkersum and Midlum. Our journey was mostly past farms and fields. We then biked south again to return our bikes in Nieblum. After another coffee break, we called a taxi to take us to Wyk.
Wyk
We decided collectively to return the bikes and head to Wyk via taxi. We do not normally cycle with car traffic and decided it would be a calmer experience to taxi. Wyk is the main town in Föhr. There are hotels, spas, restaurants, shops and more. It was quite busy when we visited on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. We had lunch, stopped in a few shops, walked along the promenade and onto the pier.
Final Thoughts
I would really recommend no fewer than three nights on Föhr. The island encourages you to slow down and not be in a rush. With out limited time, we only saw a few villages. We did not have time to visit the museums. We could have enjoyed more time relaxing either at a cafe, on the grounds of our accommodations, or near the beach. For us, this was a great place to get over jet lag. Nothing on our agenda needed to be set in stone. We were able to plan based on our energy levels and the day’s weather. I can see how people spend a week or more here. Especially if you enjoy the beach or going to a spa, you can easily fill several days on this island.
If you decide to visit Föhr, book your accommodations early and decide how you want to get around the island. Weather changes quickly so leave time to be flexible. Enjoy the slow pace and rural beauty.
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