Germany ferry routes & schedules — Baltic crossings

Scandlines sails Puttgarden on Fehmarn to Rødby in Denmark in about 45 minutes, with departures roughly every 30 minutes around the clock, year-round. It is essentially a drive-on shuttle on the Hamburg–Copenhagen corridor.

Sylt is connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway, which carries only a railway, so cars cross on a car-carrying train, not a ferry. The only car ferry to Sylt is FRS Syltfähre from Havneby on the Danish island of Rømø to List, about 40 minutes.

Both East Frisian islands are served by Reederei Frisia from Norddeich, which has a direct rail connection. Norderney ferries run to a fixed timetable, but Juist times are tide-dependent and shift daily, so always check the day's schedule.

Helgoland, Germany's only offshore island, is reached mainly from Cuxhaven: Cassen Eils runs the year-round MS Helgoland ferry (about 2.5 hours) and a seasonal catamaran (about 75 minutes), and FRS Helgoline's Halunder Jet runs seasonally from Hamburg via Cuxhaven. The island is car-free.

Stena Line runs Kiel–Gothenburg (about 14–15.5 hours overnight), TT-Line runs Travemünde–Trelleborg (about 7–9 hours), and both operators serve Rostock–Trelleborg (about 6 hours). All carry cars, coaches and freight.

Yes — Color Line operates Kiel–Oslo once daily each way, year-round. The crossing takes about 20 hours on the cruise-ferries Color Fantasy and Color Magic, effectively an overnight mini-cruise as well as a transport link.

The Finnlines Travemünde–Helsinki route to Finland, at roughly 30 to 31 hours, is Germany's longest scheduled ferry crossing — a passenger-and-freight RoPax service with cabins for the multi-day journey.

Yes — Bornholmslinjen sails from Sassnitz (Mukran) on Rügen to Rønne on Bornholm in about 3 hours 20 minutes, roughly five times a week and mainly seasonally. It is the only direct Germany–Bornholm sea route.

Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei runs year-round car ferries from Dagebüll to Wyk on Föhr and Wittdün on Amrum (some Amrum sailings call at Föhr first). Dagebüll Mole is rail-connected; the company also serves the Halligen Hooge and Langeneß from Schlüttsiel.

AG Ems runs conventional car ferries and the fast catamarans Nordlicht and Nordlicht II from Emden to Borkum, the westernmost East Frisian island. The catamaran is considerably faster than the vehicle ferry.

Germany is in the EU and Schengen Area, so its ferries to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are intra-Schengen and the North Sea island ferries are domestic. Non-Schengen visitors, including Turkish passport holders, need a Schengen visa to enter Germany.

A fixed Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Puttgarden and Rødby is under construction and will eventually change the corridor, but for now Scandlines' frequent car ferries remain the crossing.

Some are: Helgoland is entirely car-free (passenger ferries only), and islands like Juist and Wangerooge heavily restrict cars. Others such as Föhr, Amrum, Borkum and Sylt are reached by car ferry or car-train and allow vehicles.