(coming soon)
On a summer day, ferries will converge at Heligoland from various ports around the German bight. As well as ferries, there are numerous charter boats. They come from as far north as the island of Sylt on the Danish border, as far south as the city of Hamburg on the Elbe River, and as far west as the island of Borkum on the Dutch border. In addition to Hamburg, there are ships bound for Heligoland from the mainland ports of Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Buesum, Husum, and Dagebuell. Most of the travel times are in the two-and-a-half to three hour range, with the longest being five hours from Hamburg (where the fairly recent addition of a high-speed catamaran cuts the time considerably). This smorgasbord of options is great for people who get a kick out of travel by water.
The fares are reasonable. We paid EUR 31 each, round trip from Schleswig-Holstein aboard the Lady von Büsum. For not much more you can buy a roundtrip ticket in which the return ticket is usable within a period of two months, a good choice if you intend to stay on the island for a period of days or weeks. Your choice of ship would have mostly to do with your preferred departure point and how it fits in with your itinerary and other travel plans. The easiest port to reach for people coming from other countries would probably be Hamburg, since the city has an international airport.
