Country
Germany
North Sea, Baltic - and Europe’s biggest river-wave scene. On many days there is more surfing inland here than on the coast.
- Best season
- Autumn and winter on the coast, river waves year-round
- Water temperature
- 4-19 °C
- Spots
- 18
The region
Germany has no ocean, and that determines everything. The North Sea and the Baltic receive no distant swell, only the waves the local wind is generating right now. Such wind waves have a short period: they sit close together, stay choppy, and disappear as soon as the wind drops. Surfing here means chasing the storm.
On the North Sea, Sylt, St. Peter-Ording and Norderney are the best-known addresses, and the large tidal range is part of the planning. The Baltic needs even more wind because the fetch is shorter, but in exchange the tide is all but absent.
The second and more reliable half of German surfing happens inland. Standing river waves such as the Eisbach in Munich run regardless of weather or season, alongside several artificial installations. It is a discipline of its own with its own equipment — but it is the only way to surf here to a plan. Water between 4 and 19 degrees means a wetsuit all year, and a thick one in winter.
- Sylt
The cradle of German surfing: the first lifeguards paddled out here in the 1950s.
- St. Peter-Ording
The North Sea classic: endless sand beaches that stretch up to 2.5 kilometres wide at low tide.
- Norderney
The East Frisian island offers everything from relaxed sessions to genuinely punchy waves, depending on the conditions.
- Timmendorfer Strand
On the Baltic you need wind for anything to happen: with a solid northerly to north-easterly a usable wave builds here.
- Warnemünde
On the Baltic coast, wind swell and ferry wake meet here, producing smaller but genuinely rideable waves.
- Eisbach
The best-known river wave in the world, in the middle of the Englischer Garten.
- Floßlände
The relaxed alternative to the Eisbach: considerably tamer, and far easier to get onto the water.
- Leinewelle
A semi-natural construction in the middle of Hanover’s old town — surfing among historic buildings.
- Fuchslochwelle
In a purpose-built channel beside the Pegnitz: semi-natural, with modules that shape a wave up to eight metres wide.
- Blackforestwave
Surfing in the middle of the Black Forest: a hydraulic installation run by a club, adjustable to conditions.
- RheinRiff
A large covered Citywave in a former industrial area — urban, raw, and established in short order.
- Hasewelle
A wave roughly eight metres wide inside the L&T sports store — surfing between escalators.
- Wellenwerk
A standing wave has been running in Lichtenberg since late 2019 — and the venue is more meeting point than sports facility.
- Irie Surf
A nine-metre-wide Citywave has been running in Freiburg since May 2025.
- Surf Langenfeld
The first standing wave in Germany built into a lake — real lake water rather than circulation pumps.
- Kanupark Markkleeberg
Originally built for canoeists and rafting, now established with surfers too.
- O2 Surftown MUC
A 180-metre wave pool near Munich that comes closer to the ocean than any standing wave: real moving waves you ride along, rather than surfing on the spot.
- Jochen Schweizer Arena
A Citywave that runs constantly — the advantage over the ocean is banal and decisive at once: there is no waiting.
Countries