There are a variety of unusual accommodation options on the North Sea. However, some of these accommodations are only suitable for a short stay.
It doesn’t always have to be a hotel, holiday apartment or tent: If you want to spend your holiday on the Lower Saxony coast or on the East Frisian Islands, you can also sleep in a tower, on a raft or in a specially equipped beach chair. Some accommodation options are only designed for one night, others have a minimum of three nights. A selection:
Anchor buoy
Since 2022, two ancient anchor buoys have been standing in the middle of the dunes in Harlesiel, where two guests can stay overnight. The buoys served as anchors for ships off the Norwegian North Sea coast around 1900 – unlike floating buoys, they lay on the seabed.
Christian Pree and Andreas Smidt had the 3.20 meter long buoys prepared as a place to sleep: through a huge porthole as a door, guests can look out from their bed towards Wangerooge and Spiekeroog, and the ceiling hatch offers a view upwards. This is fascinating both when the sky is clear and when there is a thunderstorm, says Smidt.
Sleeping hammocks
Right next to the Wadden Sea, guests in Spieka-Neufeld (Cuxhaven district) can spend the night in two hammocks under the open sky. “The offer is very well received, for example for a father-son adventure,” says Louisa Wesler from the Wurster Nordseeküste spa administration.
The padded hammocks are designed for one person each; you have to bring your own sleeping bag. If it rains, there is protection “like a tent door,” says Wesler. The hammocks can be booked for a maximum of two nights.
Sleeping beach chair
These can now be found in several places on the coast and on the islands, for example in Schillig and Dangast in the Friesland district, Otterndorf (Cuxhaven district) or on Norderney and Wangerooge.
The special baskets each offer two sleeping places for a romantic date outdoors. A weatherproof cover protects against wind and rain, and the windows can be closed to keep out prying eyes.
raft
Guests can spend a night on the raft on the Hadelner Canal near Otterndorf. There is room for up to six people on the “NoBoat” raft, which is powered by a 15 HP motor and can be steered without a boat license.
House boats
Overnight stays on floating houses are offered, for example, on the canal in Bad Bederkesa (Cuxhaven district). They are comfortably furnished, with a television, electric fireplace and fully fitted kitchen.
That’s not what they’re going for: Every houseboat comes with a rowing boat. You can go on a houseboat trip in East Frisia: Start in Aurich and head towards Emden or Wilhelmshaven via the Ems-Jade Canal.
Ship
The 66-meter-long “Arcona” had been in service with the Navy since 1958, until the German Marine Association took it over in 2021 and had it converted into a floating hostel. The ship is moored at Bontekai in Wilhelmshaven and offers 21 cabins and 52 berths. From 1984, the “Arcona” had served as a home and residential ship for the Wilhelmshaven Marine Association.
Pipowagen
The homes on wheels are based on historic circus wagons. They are located in Dornumersiel (Aurich district), and guests have a wide view of the salt marshes from the small veranda. There is room for two people.
Right next door are the so-called North Sea carts, which are based on shepherd’s wagons. These vehicles once served as mobile sleeping quarters for shepherds. According to the vendors, two of the nostalgic wagons were faithfully recreated and offer space for three guests.
Windmill
The mill, named Betty, stands on a mound in Cuxhaven-Lüdingworth. It was restored in the 1990s and converted into holiday accommodation for four people. Typical mill technology has been preserved: the restored spur gear is on the ground floor. One floor up there is a true-to-original rebuilt grinding mechanism. There are also wings.
lighthouse
The 23-meter-high “Hamburg Lighthouse” in Cuxhaven was built at the beginning of the 19th century on behalf of the city of Hamburg and was in operation until 2001. Inside there is a 60-square-meter holiday apartment with a view for two guests; the official opening was in November 2023. The monument stands on a viewing platform at the mouth of the Elbe in the immediate vicinity of the harbor.
Water tower
Holidaymakers can stay in three holiday apartments in the historic water tower in Cuxhaven. The Swiss couple Mirabelle and Alain Caboussat extensively rebuilt the 48-meter-high tower, which dates back to 1897, and they now run a café on the ground floor. The water tower and its owners became famous because Swiss television followed them for years for the emigration series “Auf und davon”.
Signal tower
The listed signal tower is located on the Schleuseninsel in Wilhelmshaven. Military messages used to be transmitted from here using signal flags and light Morse code. The tower now serves as holiday accommodation on two levels for two people. At a height of around 30 meters, you have a 360-degree view, and binoculars are at the ready.
If you want to go to the toilet at night, you should dress for the weather: There are 124 steps down the outside staircase, as the sanitary facilities are located at the foot of the tower.
Stilt houses
In the treehouse hotel in the Otterndorf lake district, guests stay in comfortable, 30 square meter stilt houses with a fireplace. From the terrace at a lofty height, they can watch birds in the treetops or deer in the adjacent meadows.
