Fresh Baltic Sea Air – the How To Guide of Hiking, Biking, Walking Cape Arkona
A quick guide of how and what we experienced in Cape Arkona, on the Northern Germany island of Ruegen.
We stayed in the very conveniently located Feriendorf Rugana on the Baltic Sea Island of Ruegen. From there you can either bicycle or drive to Putgarten / Cape Arkona which is at the tip of Wittow peninsula. We were traveling with our dog Fritz, and wanted to visit if a few other places in our limited time, therefore we drove.
Parking
The drive was very scenic, beautiful, quiet, tree-lined roads. We visited in off-season, so I would not expect anything quiet in high season! When we arrived in Putgarten, we quickly realised there is no parking allowed in the village, so we drove back out to the parking lot we had passed and parked there. You take a ticket and pay at the machine before leaving. Our parking cost €4.
Getting to the Village:
Walk: The walk into Putgarten village Ruegenhof is about 2 km. It is an easy, flat walk. For those who are in a hurry or cannot walk distances, they offer a train, or a horse and cart.
Train: The train on wheels had a ticket booth displaying the prices. It gave two possibilities.
1. Eine Strecke – one route or way – I assume into the village and return: €2.50 / adult or €0.50 / child (6 to 14 years). I think this only allows you to go to one of these 3: Ruegenhof / Putgarten village, Cape Arkona, the fishing village Vitt.
2. Umsteigen – Change: €4.00 / adult or €1.00 / child (6 to 14 years) – this is probably the best solution. If I understand it correctly it allows you to go everywhere – Ruegenhof / Putgarten village, Cape Arkona, the fishing village Vitt and back to the parking lot.
Horse and Cart: I assume you just pay the driver of the horse and cart, as there were no booths around where you could buy tickets.
The Sights
Ruegenhof: is a cute little tourist village offering cafes, food and handmade crafts, souvenirs, artwork and clothing. We stopped for a delicious, hot soup at the Rügenhof Cafe.
– Erbsensuppe mit Bockwurst €5.50
Cape Arkona: After our little stroll around the village we hiked another 1.5 km to the Cape. It seemed like a lot longer than that, but that is what the sign said, so it must be so. The vistas are incredibly beautiful. You can see:
– the ramparts of Jaromarsburg, an ancient cult site of a slavic Rani tribe
– the Leuchttürme Schinkelturm, one name for two lighthouses which stand side by side, old and new
– Navigation tower (Peilturm)
– WW2 Bunker and Marine Museum
The Cape is naturally eroding, so stairs were closed in some parts as were many lookout spots.
Vitt: After finding our way past the navigation tower, we found a set of stairs which were not closed off. We made the steep decent and wandered along the Baltic Sea viewing the cliffs.
You can see a lot of erosion, but chalk cliff views from below are perhaps more spectacular than from above. It is a stoney, uneven walk to the fishing Village Vitt. We stopped here and sat in a little fishermans cafe where we had an apple juice and water, listening to the just returned fishermen complaining about the fishing restrictions. Then we made the 1.2 km trek back to the parking lot.
Approximate Time: 4 hours Approximate Total Distance Walked: 9.5 km
Hiking Routes: Scroll to the bottom to get some pre-planned routes from Vitt!
Links:
→ Ruegen Island / Rügen
…..⇒ How to Nationalpark – Jasmund National Park
….⇒ Stay: Feriendorf Rugana
…..→Eat Rugana Restaurant
Location: Europe > Western Europe > Germany > Northern Germany > Mecklenburg – Vorpommern > Baltic Sea > Ruegen > Wittow Peninsula > Kap Arkona / Cape Arkona
