Beach vacation without flies: These are the most beautiful beaches on the North and Baltic Seas

Breathe in the salty sea air, dig your toes in the fine sand, let the waves play around your calves and enjoy the freedom: summer is approaching and the longing for beach holidays is growing. You don’t necessarily have to travel to the south for this, there are also fantastic beaches on the North and Baltic Seas. Without palm trees, but with plenty of space and dune landscapes, wonderfully light sand and a variety of activities.

If you want something more exotic than in your own country, you will also find beaches with wow potential in the two neighboring countries of Poland and the Netherlands. Poland in particular is an insider tip for beach holidaymakers because of its low prices. We show the most beautiful beaches on the North and Baltic Seas.

Four beach paradises for holidays on the North Sea

1. St. Peter-Ording: Longer, wider, sandier

When it comes to superlatives, St. Peter-Ording in western Schleswig-Holstein is at the forefront. Because the sandy beach on the North Sea is twelve kilometers long, up to one kilometer wide and is lined with dykes, shifting dunes and seal banks. And it is in the midst of the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Wadden Sea.

Expansive dunes and a fresh breeze convey an uplifting feeling of freedom and enough space for everyone: bathers, nature lovers and athletes.

The North Sea resort attracts with a variety of activities – from kite and windsurfing to sand yachting and beach volleyball. After that, relaxation in one of the more than 1000 beach chairs is the order of the day or a dip in the dune thermal baths. Because St. Peter-Ording is the only German seaside resort that has a sulfur spring. Characteristic of the long sandy beach are the stilt houses erected on high stilts, the so-called poison stalls, where there are cafés, restaurants, sanitary facilities and play equipment for children.

2. Baltrum: mini island, mega beach

Seven East Frisian islands belong to Germany and lie like a string of pearls off the coast of Lower Saxony. All of them (Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge) have fantastic sandy and dune beaches. For once, however, we will not be highlighting the largest and westernmost island of Borkum, but rather its smallest sister.

With a length of five kilometers and a width of one and a half kilometers, Baltrum is the smallest East Frisian island and is located in the middle of the island chain in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park. Only the western part of the beach of light, fine sand, which stretches almost all the way around the North Sea island, has been developed for tourism – seven kilometers of wide sandy beach invite you to swim and relax. The rest belongs to plants and animals, so the wild nature, idyll and tranquility for which the car-free island is known should be preserved.

From Westdorf you can reach the beach in a few minutes, where there are beach chairs, lifeguards and water sports schools. Due to the constant fresh breeze, kitesurfers will find ideal conditions here.

3. Noordwijk: Boho-style flower town

The coastal town of Noordwijk is located in the middle of the bulb-growing region between Amsterdam and The Hague. It is not only known as a spa, but also as one of the coolest beach locations in the Netherlands.

The reasons: casual boho-style beach clubs, unconventional beach pavilions, 13 kilometers of sandy beach that shines in a color mix of bright golden yellow and soft pink and the Blue Flag, the seal of approval for clean and safe beaches.

Swimmers, kitesurfers, riders, joggers and children can let off steam here to their hearts’ content. Those who like it quieter can chill in one of the lounges in the beach club, sip a cocktail at sunset and enjoy the lightness of being.

4. Cadzand: Southern, clean and most hours of sunshine

Cadzand-Bad is located at the southernmost point of the Dutch North Sea coast, on the border with Belgium. In the middle of a dune area, the wide, light-sandy beach of Cadzand stretches over ten kilometers. It has been awarded several times as the cleanest beach in the country. The high quality of the bathing water is also confirmed by the international Blue Flag seal of approval, which the well-kept beach was awarded again in 2021.

Baywatchers keep an eye on bathers in midsummer. Because at low tide there is a strong current here. In this phase it is better not to go into the water.

How about a walk on the beach? Always keep your eyes on the powder-sugar-fine sand and feel with your bare feet, fossils of mussels, shark and ray teeth have already been found here.

Four beach paradises for holidays on the Baltic Sea

1. Timmendorfer Strand: Beach life in a double pack

A community surrounded by two seaside resorts and many beaches: the seaside resort of Timmendorfer Strand is located in the Bay of Lübeck next to Scharbeutz and Niendorf. The sandy beach named after the town is seven kilometers long and is considered one of the best beach locations in the Baltic Sea bay. There is always something going on!

The many different and numbered sections make it so interesting: There are free beaches that do not cost admission, sports beaches with surf schools and where beach volleyball or beach soccer is played, dog beaches and sections with cool beach bars. And of course beach chairs everywhere in the soft, light yellow sand. If you like it quiet, you will find a small fishing port, a new beach promenade and lots of sand in the district of Niendorf. From the beach it is very shallow into the sea – a play paradise for children.

2. Südstrand on Fehmarn: White beauty in the south of the island

With around 2200 hours of sunshine, the island of Fehmarn is at the top of Germany’s ranking of the sunniest regions. Along its 76 kilometers of coastline there are plenty of beaches with a maritime-Mediterranean flair. Our favorite is in the very south near Burg and is referred to either as Burgtiefe beach or Südstrand.

It impresses with its fine sand, which is considered the whitest on the island – and is perfect as a building material for sandcastles. Children can also splash around here, as water sports are not allowed in the bathing zone. Meanwhile, parents make themselves comfortable in a beach chair and enjoy the view of the endless blue horizon of the Baltic Sea. Only dogs have to stay outside.

3. Usedom’s Polish part: seaside resort architecture in Swinoujscie

Świnoujście, which has been awarded several times as the most beautiful beach in Poland, owes its name to the inlet of the Świna – in Polish Świnoujście. It lies to the west of the estuary and directly on the German border on Usedom, is three kilometers long, has fine sand and is getting wider every year. This comes from the sand that is removed from other places on the island of Usedom, settles here and makes the coastline ever wider.

From the Dünenweg, which is also wheelchair accessible, you have a great view of the Usedom Bay and the imperial baths of Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf. The beach has showers and changing rooms and is monitored by lifeguards. There is also a lot to do behind the beach: Świnoujście is a health resort with historic villas in seaside resort architecture.

4. Łeba: Wonderful shifting dunes

Finest sand in Poland and wandering dunes: The Polish seaside resort of Łeba is located in eastern Pomerania, or to put it simply around 100 kilometers west of Gdansk. In addition to its kilometer-long, wide, clean beach with the country’s finest sand, it is best known for the shifting dunes around a lake.