Our colleague Eva gets on her bike herself in September 2024 and explores the bike tour at the Baltic Sea between Lübeck and Stralsund.

Conclusion:

Dear guests, I'll start with what you actually end with. With the conclusion. If you want to read more, feel free to scroll down.

The Baltic Sea Cycle Route from Lübeck to Stralsund is one of our most popular trips for a reason. This cycle path is really beautiful! The path meanders between meadows, fields and forests and of course you often cycle close to the sea. If the weather is nice, you should always take your swimming trunks with you. You hardly ever cycle on a road and only small sections of the cycle path run directly alongside the road. Anyone expecting a flat, paved cycle path throughout will be surprised. Between Travemünde and Boltenhagen in particular, you can expect the odd incline and even if the quality of the cycle path is generally good, you will have to cope with a somewhat bumpy surface from time to time. Nothing that a normal touring bike can't handle, but you should leave your racing bike at home. I have posted a few pictures of the cycle path in the section "What's it like cycling on the Baltic Sea coastal cycle path?".

The journey is varied! There are great cities along the route such as Lübeck, Wismar and Stralsund. Beautiful highlights such as the island of Poel, the "Gespensterwald" (ghost forest) in Nienhagen or the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park. Sometimes you will be guided through bustling places like Kühlungsborn. Sometimes you walk along the beach at Groß Schwansee all by yourself.

Does the arrival and departure work well?

Yes, Lübeck and Stralsund are both well connected by train. If you come by car, you should plan for the cost of a parking garage. From Stralsund, you can either return by train or take advantage of our return transfer service.

What's it like cycling on the Baltic Sea coastal cycle path?

The cycle path is simply great! You are almost always on your own cycle path. You rarely have to share the road with cars. Of course, you won't always be cycling with a view of the sea, but it's never far away. The quality of the cycle path is very good 80% of the time. On paved or surfaced cycle paths. Every now and then there are sections where you will be a little more rattled. You have to get through them! These paths are easy to manage for normal touring bikes. If you are a little sensitive, I recommend a suspension seat post.
Between the larger towns, you cycle a lot in the countryside, next to beaches, through fields and forests. Only between Wismar and Kühlungsborn you will cycle alongside a country road for half a day. Relaxed cycling, but not very exciting. My tip here: Take the opportunity and make a detour via the island of Poel. On the north side, the cycle path runs directly along the beach through the adjacent forest. It could hardly be more beautiful. And if the extra kilometers put you off, you can - after getting off the ferry - cycle once across the island and only half the tour. It's worth it.

Here are a few impressions of the cycle path. Here you can also see what is meant by bumpy cycle path:
 

Is there a lot going on?

It is no longer a secret that the section between Lübeck and Stralsund is particularly beautiful. Depending on when in the year you cycle, you will encounter a few other cyclists. This gets lost over the many kilometers. I was out and about at the beginning of September, in perfect weather. There were a few cyclists on the road, but not many. For me, it was very, very relaxed cycling.

Is the bike tour difficult?

A very clear "yesno". I was surprised at how hilly it is, especially between Travemünde and Wismar. I had to "puff" a bit on one or two of the climbs (I didn't have an e-bike). But where it goes up, it goes down again. 
I have already described the most strenuous part. From Wismar it becomes flatter. What you can't plan for is the wind. It can hit you on the coast at any time of day and from any direction. I can't speak from personal experience here, I simply had too good weather for that. 😊
 

E-bike or no e-bike?

A little more info about the trip?

The Baltic Sea resort of Boltenhagen is mainly frequented by spa guests. The town is nice and manageable, and tourists are in good hands here. You can cycle on to Wismar and take your time. A stroll through the town is worthwhile and if you haven't had the obligatory fish sandwich by the Baltic Sea by then, you'll find it in Wismar harbour.

We offer our customers two options for the cycle tour from Wismar to Kühlungsborn. Directly to Kühlungsborn/Bad Doberan. Or via ship to the island of Poel, including a round trip. Then on to Kühlungsborn. I should definitely take the boat and have to set my alarm clock. Even when planning ahead, I roughly estimate the number of kilometers and come up with about 70 km. That puts me off a bit, so I cut the round trip on the island of Poel in half without further ado. If I hadn't had the task of testing the boat trip, I would probably have taken the direct route. I'm very glad I didn't. The north side of the island of Poel was one of my cycling highlights on the entire tour!

From Kühlungsborn, the character of the trip changes. Before you had beautiful little towns, now you have smaller towns and lots of nature on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. A highlight for me was the spooky forest in Nienhagen. In order to have enough time here, I even set off very early on my own initiative.

I had the best weather up to this point, even though I was out and about in early September. Only sun and hardly any wind. On the last day, I was supposed to get to know the wind on the Baltic Sea. So the almost 60 km from Zingst to Stralsund turned out to be a challenge. On this stage, you cycle a lot on open land through meadows and fields. A nice change, but not very sheltered from the wind. My ego doesn't allow me to let up. After so many kilometers, I can still manage the last stage! I would have liked to just fall into bed afterwards, but a short walk through Stralsund is a must. I like the town and I want one last fish sandwich to say goodbye.

Where is an extra night worthwhile?

If you would rather be in a city, I recommend Lübeck or Kühlungsborn/Bad Doberan. There are enough other activities here to make an extra day worthwhile. If you prefer to be surrounded by nature, you should plan an extra day on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. Be it to spend the day in the national park. Or to relax and unwind on the beach.

Any further questions?

Just write to us! We are here for you.