Hiddensee is a car-free island off the west coast of Rügen, about 17 kilometres long and in places only a few hundred metres wide. You arrive by ferry from Schaprode, rent a bike at the pier and cross the whole island in a day.
- Start
- Schaprode
- Destination
- Dornbusch lighthouse
- Stages
- 4
- Countries
- 1
The ferry from Schaprode
Schaprode is a small harbour on the west coast of Rügen with a large car park, because this is where the cars stay. Ferries cross to the three harbours of Hiddensee: Neuendorf in the south, Vitte in the middle and Kloster in the north. I took the first one to Neuendorf to ride the island from south to north.
Neuendorf to Vitte through the heath
Neuendorf is a row of low white houses along the water, with no fences between them. From there a concrete track runs north through the heath of the Dünenheide, where the island is so narrow that you see water on both sides.
My tip
Rent the bike at the pier where you arrive and return it in another village. Most rental shops on the island take bikes back in all three harbours.
Tilda Brennick
Kloster and the Hauptmann house
Kloster is the northern village, at the foot of the hills. The writer Gerhart Hauptmann spent his summers here and is buried in the churchyard; his house is a museum with the rooms as he left them.
Up to the Dornbusch lighthouse
The last part goes on foot. A path climbs from Kloster through the Dornbusch hills to the lighthouse, which has stood on the highest point of the island since 1888. In summer you can climb to the gallery and see Rügen, the mainland and, on a clear day, the Danish island of Møn.
The last ferry back to Schaprode leaves in the early evening. Check the time at the pier in the morning, because there is no other way off the island.
