Location
St. Peter Ording is situated about 1.5h by car north-west of Hamburg on the western coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It boasts one of the widest and - from my perspective - most beautiful beaches in Germany with very fine white sand.

Quite unusual though, part of the beach can be accessed directly by car, i.e. one can park on the beach. Unfortunately they will charge you about EUR 8,- per day to access the beach by car. Without a car you would still need to pay the obligatory ‘beach tax’ (Kurtaxe), a concept to boost the local finances of the respective community, which you will find in most of the sea resorts in Germany. In general we would prefer a tax on the accommodation instead of this annoying charge. However, we understand, that via this concept also daily guests will pay part of the costs of maintaining the elevated ‘beach houses’ with its free toilets, the fresh water showers and the disposal of the rubbish left by visitors each day.

The village

St. Peter Ording has only recently tried to change its image and attract also young guests by organizing the Kite Surf World Cup and a Beach Volleyball Masters. There are further events like the Beach Polo, Sand Yachting Regatta, Triathlon and a (normal) Kite Festival. Further Gosch and Sansibar have supplemented the restaurant szene, which - although one can find some really excellent restaurants with good local food - is still a bit limited. So do not expect, the buzz and variety of some other sea resorts, like Sylt or Kuehlungsborn.
 

                      

The Spot
As said, you can drive with your car directly onto the beach, which is quite handy especially for windsurfers. However, you will still need to carry your gear some hundred meters from the parking area over the beach to reach the water. Expect also lots of sand everywhere. Especially in windy situations (precondition for windsurfing), the sand will creep in every part of your gear, car and cloth, which can be a bit annoying.

Much better for the kite surfer: there is lots of space to prepare and start the kite. As the beach is very flat it is also popular for sand yachting and kite buggies.

A local windsurfing and kite surfing school offers courses for the beginners and advanced.

Especially during the above mentioned events (Kite Surf World Cup and Beach Volleyball Masters) the beach and village can be extremely packed.
 


Wind & Waves
The prevailing wind direction is - as common at the North Sea - westerly or north-westerly (on-shore or cross-on-shore from the right).

As the beach is very flat there is usually no big shore break and the water is very shallow a good way on - perfect for beginners.

 

Accomodation
There are numerous appartments and hotels in the different parts of St. Peter Ording. Several camp sites complement the offering and some big super markets (which are open also on Sundays) will guarantee a good choice of food for self-catering or barbecue.