Tourists can gradually return to the islands and beaches on the North and Baltic Seas. Some things are as always. However, due to the corona pandemic and the associated restrictions, the holiday will be different this year than usual. "A Sylt holiday, as many have been used to from the past years, cannot and will not take place this summer," says the head of Sylt Marketing, Moritz Luft.
What do holidaymakers have to prepare for and what do they have to bring with them? A corona etiquette:
Masks: A mouth-and-nose cover will also be a constant companion on vacation – regardless of whether you are browsing in your favorite boutique, shopping in a supermarket or taking a bus trip across the islands. It is mandatory to wear an everyday mask in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in public transport and in shops.
distance: "This is practiced on the mainland and the guests bring it with them," says Göran Sell, managing director of the tourism company on Borkum, the largest East Frisian island. Many places have created their own posters and information material with the applicable corona rules or developed one-way street systems at the beach entrance in order to remind the "by far the best guests in the world" – as it is called in Sankt Peter-Ording – of the commandments of the hour. And if it gets a little too narrow on the beach and promenade? "Go on a tour of discovery, because: It goes on behind the beach!" Recommends the Lübeck Bay tourism agency. Julia Lund from Sylt Marketing has the following tip: "Find peace and avoid hotspots."
getting there: One-way street rules on board, a traffic light with red and green marked seats, mask requirement or capacity restrictions: The ferry operators that sail to the North and East Frisian Islands have come up with a number of considerations to take their guests safely on vacation. If you want, you can, for example, sit in the car on the crossing to Föhr and Amrum, unlike in pre-Corona times. When traveling by train, the same rules apply as at home.
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Patience and consideration: Are virtues that vacationers should bring to their travel destinations from Usedom to Borkum. The situation is also unusual and new for hoteliers, retailers and restaurant operators, as touristists emphasize in many places. And other holidaymakers should also be taken into account – whether in the queue at the bakery, on a walk on the beach or by not making the visit to the restaurant too long with limited capacities, so that other guests also have a chance to get a seat.
accommodation: When you arrive at the hotel or apartment, a lot will be different. Information folders in the room, newspapers in the foyer and other difficult-to-clean utensils, which are often picked up by different people, are not allowed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, for example. There will also be no breakfast buffets, and the wellness areas in many hotels are currently still closed.
Restaurants: Spontaneously eating out, maybe even with the nice family from the apartment next door? It won't be that easy. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, for example, no more than six guests are allowed to be at one table. Reservation is also recommended in the coastal countries, even where it is not mandatory. Because if you reserve, you avoid the risk of being rejected due to insufficient capacity, according to the Tourismus GmbH auf Föhr.
Events: "The program is in the nature," says Borkum's managing director, Göran Sell, describing what the current situation is not only on the largest East Frisian island. In many places, larger and smaller events have been canceled well into the summer. Guided mudflat hikes or sports on the beach are often possible, although under the now known restrictions. Vacationers should also inquire about what is and what is not. For example, outdoor pools and amusement parks in Lower Saxony are allowed to reopen on May 25, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania only the outdoor pools on the same day. However, opening dates for such facilities in Schleswig-Holstein were not yet available.
Beach: Bathing in the sea is always possible – "the North Sea is always open", says Helgoland, where the public outdoor pool is also still closed. The lifeguards are already in use in many places. But the same applies to swimming as to sunbathing, walking on the beach and sports: The well-known hygiene rules and minimum distances must be observed, as the marketing coordinator of the East Frisian Islands GmbH, Marc Klinke, says. In order to be able to maintain the minimum distance in the beach chairs on the North and Baltic Sea beaches, they were placed accordingly. Before use, they must also be disinfected, as is said in Binz on Rügen and Sylt. In addition, placing or placing other objects between the beach chairs, for example in Binz, is not permitted.