Martin Elsen Martin Elsen

Ferry Pleasure: Discover Rømø from Sylt

The islands of Sylt and Rømø are separated by barely 6 kilometers. With FRS Syltfähre you can get from List on Sylt to Havneby on Rømø in just under 40 minutes. Reason enough to take a closer look at Denmark's southernmost Wadden Sea island. We would be happy to tell you why we highly recommend a visit to Rømø.

A family facing the open sea from Syltferry.

Rømø, here we come!

Good mood and entertaining variety are recommended travel companions - especially for a family of four with children aged six and eight. With this goal in mind, we were looking for a special highlight for our vacation on Sylt. At first, the island of Rømø did not appear on the top of our list. We had perceived it so far as a pure transit island with unspectacular connection to the Danish mainland. Far from it - that was soon to become apparent. The fact that our children are passionate about boat travel brought us to the FRS Syltfähre. From List, it calls at Rømø up to 32 times a day. So we quickly booked our ticket online for a day trip from Sylt to Rømø - and back.

A ferry trip that makes you hungry

Arriving in List harbor early in the morning, our kids were amazed at all the things that disappear into the belly of the FRS Sylt ferry "RömöExpress": Bicycles, cars, trucks, caravans, motor homes and even horse trailers. We enjoyed the exciting departure from the harbor in List, thanks to the passable weather, of course from the open deck of the ship. There we made ourselves comfortable on one of the benches, enjoyed the view of the Wadden Sea and admired the flying skills of the seagulls that accompanied us. While our youngest was still wondering why we couldn't sink with such heavy vehicles on board, the older one announced that he was acutely hungry. After all, sea air whets the appetite. So, we strolled to the onboard restaurant, which - to my great delight as a fish lover - is run by GOSCH Sylt. Fortified with delicious fish sandwiches, we looked at the clock and were surprised to find that the 40-minute crossing was almost over. So, we got ready for our first Rømø discovery trip.

Fischbrötchen und Backfisch

Captain's yard and bone fence

At the next stop of our little trip, we embarked on a journey into the history of Rømø: From the exit point "Dancenter", we walked a good 20 minutes towards the north. This brought us to the National Museum kommandergården, a commander's court that has been there in its present form since 1749. It bears witness to the prosperity of the captains who spent most of their lives on the high seas doing lucrative whaling. When we visited the painted living quarters, we gained interesting insights into the world of that time and the living conditions of the people. In the neighborhood of the museum, especially the manageable size of the Toftum Skole, the oldest and at the same time smallest school in Denmark, caused incredulous amazement among our children. Also, very impressive for them, but also for us adults: the skeleton of a sperm whale that stranded on Rømø in 1992 and is now exhibited in the barn next to the museum. Spurred on by this impressive sight, we set off in search of Rømø's well-known whalebone fence - despite a rising appetite for lunch. After a walk of another 10 minutes, we discovered the at first somewhat unspectacular looking bone fence. But even our children were impressed when we read on the information board that the special bones there defy wind and weather for about 250 years.

Hot dog and fries on FRS Syltfähre's ferries

Hot dogs in the belly and cars on the beach

Now that lunch time was well past, the next stop was very convenient for our growling stomachs. Popular with tourists, the town of "Lakolk" presented itself classically with a campground, cottages and a hotel. There we made two delicious discoveries: First, the Cafe Retro. The selection and look of the dishes here seem to have fallen out of time, evoking memories of the 70s and 80s and convincing with delicious taste. However, we also quickly agreed that a visit to Denmark could not end without a hot dog tasting. The result: four times grade one. As another classic, we treated ourselves to a super delicious soft ice cream at Cafe Frau Dax for dessert. In 2019, it was voted the best ice cream house in Denmark. Quite rightly, in our opinion. The surroundings of the shopping center offered us a somewhat unusual sight: A beach with an incredible width of four kilometers, which you can even drive on with vehicles. Campers, minibuses and cars serve here not only as a means of transport, but also as wind and sun protection while visiting the beach. Even our 8-year-old was amazed at this "car beach": "Wow, it looks like Mars here!"

Sandcastle building and kite flying

Well filled, at the sight of so much sand, we decided to please the youngest member of our tour group and make another stop at Lakolk beach. It is one of the widest sandy beaches in Europe. The busy section is densely populated by sandcastles that grow there into the sky. Above the same in turn chase the numerous, colorful kites of kite and beach surfers. Unfortunately, we had no bathing equipment with us, but improvised so that we too could refresh ourselves a bit in the cool water of the streams on the beach. Happy and also a bit exhausted, we finally rolled up our towels to drive back to the pier of the FRS Sylt ferry in Havneby.

beach buggy at the beach of Rømø
Martin Elsen Der "Syltexpress" und der "Römö Express"passieren einander auf See.

Farvel, Rømø – Hello again, Sylt

After a full day on Rømø we enjoyed the harbor flair of Havneby. Since we were in the main season on the way, we could observe the colorful hustle and bustle of the seagulls, ships and travelers for a long time and left only with the last FRS Syltfähre "SyltExpress" punctually at 20:15 clock the port. Despite light twilight, we even sighted a group of seals between Havneby and List. This made our unforgettable day on Rømø perfect. We fully enjoyed our "mini-cruise" with a fair price-performance ratio. And so, during the return trip, we already listed all the activities that we had not managed to do in a single day on Rømø but would like to make up for one day, for example: riding on the beach, joining the bunker tour, going on an oyster safari, discovering the maze park and trying out pit-pat golf. Rømø, see you again.

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Schedule

Our FRS Sylt ferries "RömöExpress" and "SyltExpress" shuttle up to 32 times daily between Havneby on Römö and List on Sylt. In summer, the last ferry departs for Römö at 9 pm. This way you can enjoy Sylt particularly long.

https://www.frs-syltfaehre.de/en/schedule/schedule-2021
Both of FRS Syltfähre's ferries driving

Fleet

Our ferries "RömöExpress" and "SyltExpress" run up to 32 times a day between Römö and Sylt. On board, you can expect a restaurant with delicious dishes as well as a selection of GOSCH products, shopping opportunities and open decks with beach chairs, lots of fresh air and a North Sea feeling.

Fleet