Lübeck Travel Forum

Hi together,

some friends of mine and me, all from Hamburg, would like to go to the Ostsee one weekend and camp there one night. Preferably at the beach and NOT at a camp site. Is this possbile in your opinion?

We know that it is not allowed, but it would still be nice to do it anyways. In other parts of the world noone would care ALTOUGH it is not allowed. This might be different here in Germany I guess. We'd just sit around in the dunes with a keg or case of beer and get the tents up around 1 hour before sunset and take them down again early in the morning. Has anyone done this before? Anyone been caught?

We'd come by train and/or bus from Hamburg. Any recommendation where exactly at the Ostsee it might not be so crowded and therefore possible to do this from Saturday to Sunday one weekend?

If all of you are strictly recommending NOT to do it, tell me. And which camp site/ where would you recommend then instead?

Regards and Danke in advance,
Phil

Normally wild campers on the beach get swept away by high tide ;-)

No, seriously: You have a strange perception, claiming in other parts of the world no one would care about wild camping. I live in New Zealand now and people do care about it, even if people only stay on carparks in their campervans over night. The problem is less that they stay there but use the carparks as open-air toilets, and the next visitors step into their... you know what I mean. In some areas police have started to check on wild campers because the locals are tired of them, and cleaning costs millions every year, and the locals have to pay the bill by increasing rates, so the visitors can save on accommodation costs. Also many carparks and beaches etc. have been declared camp-free zones.

Camping on a beach can also disturb wildlife BTW Only because someone might not be caught there is no reason to break the rules/laws.

kakapo, there are no changing tides at the Ostsee.
I agree on the rest of your message!!!

Thank you for the tides info of the Ostsee ;-) Too many changes in NZ LOL

Well, you know that the Germans did not necessarily invent the 'live-and-let-live' approach. I've never done it myself but I've been around the Baltic sea quite a bit and at some places they are very strict about such things as camping or having a fire at the beach. Either, there is some guy from the Ordnungsamt around (which is quite likely in popular tourist villages/areas at the sea and yes they work at night) or someone local feels disturbed / threatened by some boys camping at the beach and calls the police. However, it should not be a big problem if you choose a remote place, not close to other houses, camping sites and so on. Although that does create two problems for you: 1. it's not that safe 2. you'll have to walk a bit if you go by public transport (or you take your bikes). I am not sure if camping sites are a good place to go for a cheerful night with your buddies... the clients of camping sites are even less known for their live-and-let-live attitudes than the average German.

Can't give you any advice on nice places at the Baltic sea that are in reasonable distance to Hamburg. I am more familiar with the part east of Rostock.

Well at least there isn't a beach patrol chasing you off the beach at 10 PM like there is in Los Angeles. Why don't you try it out? The worst that can possibly happen is a "Platzverweis" (leave order) plus maybe a reasonable fine. Especially if you just take sleeping bags and don't create a large beach fortress my guess would be they just let you do it. People will get especially angry and call police if you make a wild fire/noise/create and leave lots of rubbish and broken glass. In that case you can expect a rather hefty fine plus possible prosecution for environmental offenses.

Actually, of all the countries I know, Germany is the most liberal one at the moment. By far. At least of all those countries that have sufficient funds and are organized well enough to enforce their laws and regulations.

Don't go to posh Timmendorf though. Try the Priwall backland and backcoast near Travemünde.

We often camped around lakes as teenagers and asked the farmers for permission. We always received it too. The beach is usually owned by the communities, villages and towns which border it and they usually they have local ordnances which forbid camping on it. It does, however, allow unlimited public access, so if you just stay there....

Google Earth might come in handy to pick out a good spot :)

sorry to write again. This is the city ordnance of Lübeck for its beaches, including Travemünde.

http://stadtzeitung.luebeck.de/artikelarchiv/2003/295/2959903.html

Forbidden are open fires, barbecueing outside the facilities, and putting up tents. It is NOT forbidden to sleep on the beach. Maximum fine for violation is 500 EUR, but all administration is bound by the proportionality principle, so if you don't cause any trouble, they probably wouldn't fine you at all and just tell you to leave.