February 27, 2025, 8:57 am | Read time: 6 minutes
The Danish North Sea island of Rømø can easily compete with the neighboring island of Sylt when it comes to beauty, according to our author. She reveals seven things you will love here.
The North Sea island of Rømø is only a few kilometers away from Sylt and could easily pass as its smaller, less glamorous sister. Just as many dunes and endless beaches, but fewer polo collars, fewer designer bags, champagne bottles, and truffle pizza, but more tracks in the sand, more firewood in front of the houses, more “hygge.” While strolling in your comfy joggers with a soft-serve ice cream in hand, you can savor the simple joys of island life.
Overview
- Time Stands Still
- My 7 Favorite Things and Activities on Rømø
- 1. Lakolk Beach: by Car to the Water’s Edge
- 2. Mudflat Hike: A Walk on the Seabed
- 3. Soft Ice Cream and Guf: Danish Childhood Memories
- 4. Flying a kite: A Sky Full of Color
- 5. Cakes Like Art: the Hattesgaard Café
- 6 Taking the Ferry to Sylt: a Day Trip to the Neighboring Island
- 7. Horse Riding on the Beach: Freedom on Four Hooves
Time Stands Still
I spent a not insignificant part of my childhood in Denmark: In spring and fall, my parents would regularly pack up bedding, towels, my sister and our dog, and we’d pile into the car for a three-hour drive north. Denmark was just a stone’s throw away from Hamburg, so we kept going back.
Even back then, Denmark wasn’t just the place with the best sweets for me (I was allowed to eat as much as I wanted because I was on vacation). Dunes, sand, and sea air made time stand still for me, inspired my dreams, and gave me an extra dose of energy. This is still the case today, and I am still often drawn to the land of Lego bricks and Vikings.
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My 7 Favorite Things and Activities on Rømø
While my family always stayed on the mainland back then, I discovered the North Sea island of Rømø for myself ten years ago. I loved the short drive (it’s only three hours from Hamburg), the long causeway that leads from the mainland to the island, and the seemingly endless beaches. All of this drew me back to Rømø this winter — as did the following seven things that make life here particularly worth living:
1. Lakolk Beach: by Car to the Water’s Edge
Lakolk Beach on Rømø is not only beautiful and particularly long at around 12 kilometers, but it is also impressively wide, up to 3 kilometers in places, which is why it is also accessible. Here, you can drive directly onto the sand and choose your perfect spot by the water. Forget the hassle of carrying beach bags, picnic blankets, and windbreaks — just park, step out, and your beach day begins. Particularly practical for families, all the numerous campers, or anyone who can’t decide between sunbathing and a nap in the car — like me.
2. Mudflat Hike: A Walk on the Seabed
At low tide, the Wadden Sea around Rømø transforms into a fascinating landscape of sandbanks, tidal creeks, and mud. Walking barefoot through the mudflats, observing the tiny crabs in the bottom, and letting the salty sea air blow around your nose — you couldn’t feel closer to the North Sea. Guided mudflat walks not only offer interesting information about the unique ecosystem but also ensure that you are not suddenly surprised by the tide. Of course, you can also do this if you pay a little attention to the people around you. The only danger: don’t park your car too close to the water.
3. Soft Ice Cream and Guf: Danish Childhood Memories
No trip to Denmark is complete without soft ice cream — that’s an unwritten law. And it tastes particularly good on Rømø. If you want it really Danish, order your ice cream with “guf” — a sweet, fluffy meringue mixture that you know from meringue kisses and which is generously topped here. Pure sugar? Perhaps. But also pure nostalgia!
4. Flying a kite: A Sky Full of Color
Thanks to the steady North Sea breeze, Rømø is an idyllic haven for kite aficionados and water sports enthusiasts alike. On Lakolk beach, you can see colorful kites of all shapes and sizes dancing in the sky from afar. If you don’t have one with you, you can buy one on-site — from simple stunt kites to elaborate XXL kites. It gets particularly spectacular every year at the kite festival in September when the sky over Rømø is transformed into a sea of color.
5. Cakes Like Art: the Hattesgaard Café
When visiting Rømø, a visit to the Hattesgaard Café is a must. The lovingly decorated courtyard café serves homemade cakes that are sumptuously decorated like wedding cakes and are almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. Served on nostalgic porcelain and accompanied by freshly ground coffee or fragrant tea, every coffee break here becomes a small celebration. My tip: be sure to check the opening hours beforehand — the café is only open on certain days.
6 Taking the Ferry to Sylt: a Day Trip to the Neighboring Island
If Rømø and Sylt were people, Rømø would be the sleepier, more down-to-earth sister, with whom you can’t party and fool around as much, but you can have hours of good conversation over a cup of coffee. If you want both and fancy a little more hustle and bustle in between, you can take the ferry over to Sylt on your Rømø vacation. Without car transportation, it’s only around 20 euros per person and well worth it. A mere 40-minute crossing from Havneby on Rømø lands you in the vibrant town of List. A stroll along Sylt’s harbor, a fish sandwich at Gosch — and then back to the relaxed side of the North Sea.
7. Horse Riding on the Beach: Freedom on Four Hooves
Rømø is one of the few places where you can ride horses directly along the beach. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced rider, there are various providers offering tours through the dunes and along the North Sea. The wind in your hair, the sound of the waves, and the view of the endless horizon — that is pure freedom.