Germany: characteristic landscape — Illustrative image

kitesurf, wingfoil and windsurf spots in Germany

Two seas with nothing in common, shallow lagoons and lakes at the foot of the Alps: Germany is one of Europe's biggest board sports countries, and one of the best organised, whether you are learning or pushing your level.

598 spots listed, across 23 regions. Rideable days are computed from two full years of readings (2024 and 2025), spot by spot.

Germany: an overview

Northern Europe's biggest board sports market

Few people picture Germany as a board sports destination, and they are wrong. The country has one of the oldest windsurfing communities on the continent, a school network that trains thousands of riders every year, and a gear culture that gave birth to some of the most influential kite and windsurf brands. People sail here seriously, methodically, and often in any weather.

Sylt has hosted one of the oldest stops of the Windsurfing World Cup for decades, and Fehmarn has become, generation after generation, the meeting point for the whole northern scene. Wing foiling found ideal ground here: plenty of sheltered water, very little depth, and riders already equipped for the cold.

Two seas, two ways of sailing

The North Sea is all about tides. The Wadden Sea, a World Heritage site, uncovers vast sand flats at low tide, and the huge beaches of Sylt or Sankt Peter-Ording change face twice a day. You get waves, current and endless space — and you need to read the tide table as closely as the forecast.

The Baltic, by contrast, has almost no tidal range. Its coast is cut into bays, lagoons — the Bodden — and peninsulas, offering flat, shallow water a few metres from a livelier sea. This is the coast of schools, fast progression and freestyle sessions, from Fehmarn all the way to Rügen.

And lakes, all the way to the Alps

Inland, Lake Constance, the Bavarian lakes and the lakes around Berlin offer a different kind of riding, more thermal and more local. Many strictly regulate kiting; windsurfing and wing foiling, on the other hand, are right at home, in mountain or forest settings with nothing seaside about them.

The best regions

North Frisia and Sylt

The wildest coast in the country. Endless beaches, dunes, North Sea waves and strong tides. Sylt and Sankt Peter-Ording are its two poles, one more demanding, the other bigger and more family-friendly.

East Frisia

From Norddeich to the Frisian islands, a coast of dykes and polders facing the Wadden Sea. Sessions revolve around high tide, in a Nordic seaside-resort atmosphere.

Fehmarn and the Bay of Lübeck

The historic heart of German board sports. On an island the size of a small district, there is a spot for every wind direction: flat bays, shallow water, small waves on the open Baltic.

Mecklenburg and Rügen

The Bodden, inner lagoons separated from the sea by thin strips of land, form one of the largest flat-water playgrounds in Europe. Unspoilt nature, fishing villages, few people.

Berlin and Brandenburg

Hundreds of lakes around the capital, a handful of them open to kiting. People ride at the end of the day, surrounded by forest, half an hour from the city centre.

Lake Constance and the alpine lakes

Mountain lakes, thermal and spectacular, where windsurfing and wing foiling dominate. Regulations there are often stricter than on the coast.

By region

The spots not to miss

Sankt Peter-Ording (North Frisia)

Schleswig-Holstein

Twelve kilometres of beach, stilt houses planted in the sand, and so much width at low tide that you drive right up to the riding areas. Huge, bright, ideal for your first runs on the North Sea.
Westerland, Sylt

Schleswig-Holstein

The World Cup beach, facing the open North Sea. Waves, current and an upmarket resort feel: a demanding spot, best left to riders who can handle the shore break.
Rantum, Sylt

Schleswig-Holstein

The island's other face, on the Wadden Sea side: sheltered, shallow water backed by dunes. The reassuring counterpoint to the west coast, only a few kilometres away.
Norddeich (East Frisia)

Basse-Saxe

A dyke, a ferry harbour, and a sea that rises and falls with the Wadden Sea. A very local spot that only really works around high tide, with a loyal community.
Wulfener Hals, Fehmarn

Schleswig-Holstein

Germany's largest board sports spot. A shallow bay where you can stand a long way out, and small waves as soon as you head onto the Baltic. Kiting is only free in the bay in the evening: during the day, lessons and windsurfers have priority.
Großenbrode (Bay of Lübeck)

Schleswig-Holstein

Facing Fehmarn across the bridge, a peninsula opening onto flat, shallow water. Less famous than its neighbour, and all the more pleasant on busy days.
Rerik and the Salzhaff (Mecklenburg)

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

A nearly enclosed lagoon between the Wustrow peninsula and the mainland. The water is flat and warm in summer: one of the finest freestyle playgrounds on the Baltic.
Zingst (Fischland-Darß)

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

A narrow peninsula between the Baltic and the Bodden, inside a national park. The sea on one side, a sheltered lagoon on the other: you pick your session according to the wind.
Suhrendorf, Rügen

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The quintessential Bodden spot. Flat water as far as the eye can see, reeds, and an almost unreal calm when the wind drops. A reference for wing foiling and freestyle in Germany.
Schwielowsee (Brandenburg)

Brandenburg

Berliners' lake, at the gates of Potsdam. People come after work for a short session among the pine forests. Very accessible water, relaxed atmosphere.
Langenargen, Lake Constance

Baden-Württemberg

The Swiss and Austrian Alps as a backdrop, on one of Europe's largest lakes. The wind is fickle and the rules strict, but the scenery never disappoints.
Walchensee (Bavaria)

Bavière

A high-altitude lake with turquoise water at the foot of the Bavarian peaks, long prized by windsurfers for its thermals. Mountain sailing, cold and magnificent.

When to ride

2024-2025 average

Rideable days per month, averaged over the 2024-2025 readings, spot by spot. Regions are ordered by number of spots; the grey figure is that count. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com
Region	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Schleswig-Holstein 178	24	19	22	24	25	26	27	25	22	21	20	21
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 57	21	18	20	23	24	25	24	22	20	19	17	19
Bayern 55	10	8	9	12	12	12	13	9	9	8	6	5
Mecklembourg-Poméranie-Occidentale 43	24	20	22	24	26	26	26	25	23	21	19	21
Niedersachsen 35	22	17	20	21	21	24	24	22	19	19	18	19
Bavière 26	12	10	10	14	14	14	15	11	11	9	7	7
Baden-Württemberg 24	10	6	8	12	12	12	13	7	10	9	6	4
Brandenburg 24	21	12	11	15	14	20	18	13	12	17	12	12

The windiest spots