Greetsiel: exploring the harbor, cycling & swimming – camping vacation in East Frisia

Greetsiel – Are you looking for a relaxing camping vacation by the sea?
Then Greetsiel is definitely worth a recommendation.
Greetsiel is considered by many tourists to be the most beautiful seaside resort in the North Sea.
Alongside Neuharlingersiel, Bensersiel and Harlesiel, Greetsiel is one of the places where there are seaside resorts.
Beautiful landscapes and exciting activities await you here.
Whether it’s mudflat hikes in the Wadden Sea, cycling along idyllic nature or swimming in the lake – there’s plenty for families, couples and singles to experience here.
Grab your loved ones and your roof tent and start your camping vacation in Greetsiel.
Find out everything you need to know here!

Carefree between quaint alleyways & picturesque nature

In Greetsiel, you can expect not only beautiful landscapes, but also charming alleyways in the town center, historic buildings and exciting sights.
There is definitely something for everyone to do and see in the small fishing village.
A few eventful days with the whole family await you, but of course relaxation and recreation are not neglected!

The highlights of Greetsiel:

  • Beautiful, idyllic landscapes
  • Charming fishing village
  • Quaint, dreamy alleyways
  • Historic buildings
  • Exciting sights
  • Family-friendly activities

Before we go into more detail about our vacation tips, here is some general information about Greetsiel:

Map: Greetsiel on the North Sea coast

Greetsiel is a popular vacation resort on the East Frisian North Sea coast.
Numerous German tourists travel here every year to visit the fishing village and its unique, rustic atmosphere.
Greetsiel is part of the municipality of Krummhörn in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony.
You can easily reach the resort by car.

Vacation in the old fishing village: First impressions

Watch the following video for your first exciting impressions of the fishing village of Greetsiel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj5ntLXt-oY Now let’s move on to our specific vacation tips:

To do list in Greetsiel: Things to do & activities

The coastal town of Greetsiel is known for its harbor with fish restaurants and traditional fishing boats.
It is surrounded by brick houses and alleyways in a historic, quaint style.
You can take a leisurely stroll along the pedestrian zone and enjoy the charm of the fishing village with your loved ones.
There is also something to see and do on every corner.
The top things to do in Greetsiel:

  • Greetsiel harbor
  • Birdwatching
  • Ride a bike
  • Swimming in the lake

Take a walk to the Greetsiel harbor

Greetsiel harbor – Greetsiel harbor is one of the most famous sights in the fishing village.
Explore the harbor with its many fishing and shrimp boats, mussel catchers, excursion steamers and Dutch tjalks.
This is home to the largest fleet of cutters in East Frisia!
The many canals that run through the town are also impressive.
The highlights of the harbor:

  • Largest cutter fleet in East Frisia
  • Fishing boats, mussel boats, excursion boats, tjalks
  • Impressive jetties and canals

The Greetsiel harbor is one of the most famous parts of the town and is definitely worth a visit!

Birdwatching in the Leyhörn nature reserve

Birdwatching – The Leyhörn nature reserve is an excellent place to observe migratory birds – especially during the main bird migration season!
Visitors can observe a variety of different birds in their natural habitat in two refuges in the Leybucht without disturbing the animals.
Barnacle geese and brent geese are the main species to be observed here, but spoonbills and oystercatchers can also be spotted.
This is what awaits you in the Leyhörn nature reserve:

  • Birdwatching during the main bird migration season
  • Birds in their natural habitat
  • Especially barnacle geese and brent geese
  • Partly spoonbills and oystercatchers

Birdwatching in the nature reserve is definitely an unforgettable experience for young and old!

Swimming and relaxing at the lake

Bathing lake – Greetsiel may not have direct access to the North Sea, but it does have a bathing lake with a beautiful stretch of sand.
This is the perfect place to spend a few relaxing hours, sunbathe in the sand, read an exciting book or take a dip in the water.
Relaxation should definitely not be neglected on vacation!
The bathing lake invites you to enjoy a relaxing day full of recreation and fun in the water:

Cycle tour along idyllic landscapes

Bike tour – The beautiful, rustic landscapes and streets in Greetsiel are perfect for a bike tour.
Cycle along the harbour, marvel at the colorful historic buildings and end your bike tour at the Leysiel lock, for example.
Don’t forget to take a break and get yourself a delicious, culinary fish sandwich.
Hire a bike and explore the picturesque areas of the fishing village! Three children ride their bikes across a meadow

Plan a mudflat hike and explore the seabed

Mudflat hike – The Wadden Sea is definitely one of the absolute highlights of the North Sea.
You can book a guided mudflat hike for the whole family on the North Sea from the National Park House.
The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is protected as a national park, which is why it is definitely worth a visit.
Nowhere else in Germany do holidaymakers have the opportunity to walk along the seabed and discover a unique world.
From unique shells to colorful crabs, there is a lot to discover and explore.
An unforgettable experience, especially for young children!
The highlights of the Wadden Sea:

  • UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Park
  • Exploring the seabed
  • Fascinating wildlife and shells
  • Mudflat walks with interesting information
  • An unforgettable experience, especially for children

The Wadden Sea – Explore the fascinating seabed!

Family-friendly highlights in Greetsiel – Holiday tips

Of course, you can also explore a number of sights in Greetsiel in addition to exciting activities.
These include, for example, the famous Pilsum lighthouse and the Greetsiel National Park House.
All the highlights are summarized here.

Visit the famous Pilsum lighthouse

Pilsum lighthouse – The Pilsum lighthouse is one of the most famous landmarks in East Frisia and is located on the North Sea dyke not far from the municipality of Pilsum.
A visit here is an absolute must during your vacation in Greetsiel.
You can relax on the grass around the lighthouse and enjoy the picturesque view!

Attraction for the whole family: National Park House

Greetsiel National Park House – The Greetsiel National Park House should also be on your to-do list.
This shows the seasonal changes in the Wadden Sea in an exciting exhibition.
There are many interactive elements and you can learn a lot about nature experiences and excursion destinations in the area as well as the life of the people on the coast, including coastal protection and fishing.
A great experience, especially with children!
The highlights of the National Park House:

  • Exhibition with seasonal changes in the Wadden Sea
  • Some exciting interactive elements
  • Information about nature experiences and excursion destinations in the area
  • Impressions of the habitat, coastal protection and fishing

Overview and directions:

4.6 stars / 370 Google reviews

  • Address: Zur Hauener Hooge 11, 26736 Krummhörn
  • Opening hours: 10:00 to 18:00
  • Phone: 04926 2041

Seal station: Rescue & rearing of stranded animals

Seal station – Another top attraction for families is the National Park House seal station.
Stranded seals are given a temporary new home and pups can also be born here safely and securely.
Every year, between 80 and 150 seals find a temporary home in the National Park House alone and are cared for and raised by the helpers.
If you want to learn all about these extraordinary animals, their habitat and how they are reared, then you should definitely plan a trip to the seal station.
Feeding sessions are also held daily and can be observed if you are interested.
Information about the seal station National Park House:

  • Temporary home for stranded seals
  • Young can be born and be born
  • Between 80 and 150 seals per year
  • Interesting information about habitat and breeding
  • Daily feedings

The seal station is only a 25-minute drive from Greetsiel:

What to do when it rains in Greetsiel?

The weather can be unpredictable on the German North Sea and can sometimes bring rain and wind.
But don’t worry!
Even in bad weather, there are a few activities that are possible without any problems and are a lot of fun.
Treat yourself to a warm cup of tea in the tea museum, visit the Norddeich children’s playhouse or the Ocean Wave adventure pool with real seawater.
The following activities are also available in bad weather:

  • Ocean Wave adventure pool in Norddeich
  • Tea museum in Norden
  • Children’s playhouse Norddeich
  • “Klabautermann” indoor play park in Esens
  • Automobile and toy museum
  • Museum Railway Coastal Railway East Frisia
  • Seal breeding station

When visiting Greetsiel, you should definitely go camping, as this is the best way to enjoy the natural highlights and your vacation.

Camping vacation near the North Sea: Nature and freedom

When camping, you can expect a carefree time and intense conversations in the open air until the evening hours.
While you can explore the sights and enjoy activities during the day, pure relaxation and nature await you at the campsite in the evening.
If you travel with a rooftop tent, you are flexible in how you spend your day and always have a comfortable place to sleep on the roof of your car.
It can be unfolded in just a few minutes and offers space for up to 5 people.
Read more about the benefits, different models, costs and assembly here: Roof tent for the car.

That speaks for camping in Greetsiel

  • Intense time with your loved ones at the campsite
  • Close to nature until the evening hours
  • A sense of freedom and idyllic tranquillity
  • New experiences and adventures
  • Flexible daily organization and travel planning
  • Sleeping space in the roof tent is always ready
  • Cheaper than a vacation apartment or hotel
  • Dog and family friendly

Whether in summer or winter camping – sitting together in the evening at the campsite is part of camping!

Accommodation: Campsite recommendations

Campsite recommendations – As wild camping is generally prohibited in Germany, you should choose a campsite or legal pitch for your overnight stay.
Here you will find a summary of some popular and centrally located campsites:

Camping on the North Sea dike

  • 4.5 stars / 1,314 Google reviews
  • Address: Erbsenbindereistraße 3, 26736 Krummhörn
  • Opening hours: 08:00 to 18:00
  • Phone: 04923 525

Motorhome site Greetsiel

  • 3.9 stars / 758 Google reviews
  • Address: Mühlenstraße, 26736 Krummhörn

What time of year is best for a vacation in Greetsiel?

Greetsiel: Temperatures and trend

Weather – The highest average temperature in Greetsiel is 21 degrees in July and the lowest is 4 degrees in January.
The average water temperature is between 5 and 20 degrees.
The best time for a vacation here is therefore in the summer months between June and September, as you can expect pleasant, mild temperatures and little rainfall at this time of year.

  • Highest average temperature: 21 degrees in July
  • Lowest average temperature: 4 degrees in January
  • Average water temperature: Between 5 and 20 degrees

Weather today / in three days

Here you can already find a weather forecast for today and the coming days:

FAQ: Everything about Greetsiel

What is special about Greetsiel?
Does Greetsiel have a beach and what is the best way to get to the sea?
Finally, a few questions that often arise in connection with Greetsiel are answered here.

What is special about Greetsiel?

Greetsiel is particularly well known as a fishing village, which is why you should definitely visit the harbor and the fishing boats here.
There is also an amazing variety of birds that you can admire in the Leyhörn nature reserve.
The Pilsum lighthouse should also be on your to-do list during your vacation in Greetsiel.

  • Harbor and fishing boat
  • Bird diversity in the Leyhörn nature reserve
  • Pilsum lighthouse

Does Greetsiel have a beach?

Although Greetsiel does not have access to the North Sea beach, it does have a bathing lake with a large sandy area.

How do you get to the sea in Greetsiel?

You can explore Greetsiel by canal boat, for example.
In summer, there are also trips from the harbor to the North Sea islands.

Is Greetsiel car-free?

The town center of Greetsiel is generally car-free, so tourists can take a relaxed stroll through the streets and visit some of the many cafés, restaurants and stores.

Reading tips: Vacation at the North Sea

If you haven’t yet decided on your destination, there are other recommended vacation regions on the North Sea besides Greetsiel.
So read other articles here for inspiration:

Camping by the North Sea

North Sea – Whether sunbathing on the beach, walks in nature or exciting mudflat hikes: Apart from Greetsiel, the North Sea has much more to offer and impresses with its diverse range of amazing landscapes, beaches, interesting sights and cultural highlights, so that everyone gets their money’s worth.
Find out more about a vacation on the beautiful North Sea here:

Camping in Bensersiel

Bensersiel – In Bensersiel, just a short distance from Greetsiel, you are definitely guaranteed a carefree and adventurous time.
Here you can find out what sights await you in the North Sea spa town, why camping is the ideal accommodation option here and interesting information about prices, opening times and information about the popular campsite:

Camping in Neuharlingersiel

Neuharlingersiel – Neuharlingersiel is also one of the most popular vacation regions on the North Sea coast.
In addition to the sea and extensive sandy beach, you can also expect exciting highlights in nature, water sports and activities away from the water.
Find out more here:

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Offroad
Raised and extra stable for road and off-road… What do you do if you are traveling in regions with poor roads or drive an off-road vehicle or SUV whose dome height does not fit conventional trailers? The solution: the off-road tent trailer from CAMPWERK – specially developed for extreme conditions. This unique model impresses with a raised and particularly robust AL-KO chassis that can withstand even the most demanding off-road routes. The entire body is made of lightweight but sturdy aluminum, reinforced with durable stainless steel components. So you are perfectly equipped for any terrain.
Black / Silver
Available now: The CAMPWERK Offroader in the exclusive Black/Silver Edition CAMPWERK is expanding its range and now also offers the popular off-road tent trailer in the coveted Black/Silver Edition. The high-quality aluminium body is completely anodized in matt black, while the mudguards are powder-coated in elegant “Gun Silver Metal”. An absolute eye-catcher on any road and in any terrain!
The off-road trailer from CAMPWERK impresses with its lightweight construction: Thanks to the aluminum body, the base only weighs around 300 kg when empty. With a permissible total weight of 1.5 tons, it offers an impressive payload capacity of up to 1.2 tons – ideal for small excursions, transport and even larger expeditions.

Visually, the trailer blends in perfectly with the appearance of an off-road vehicle or SUV with its coarse-tread MT tires and robust, full-length aluminium mudguards. The mudguards are also designed in such a way that they are ideal for the safe transportation of petrol and water canisters or gas bottles.

To ensure flexibility, the off-roader’s tyres can be individually adapted to the towing vehicle on request, so that only one set of spare wheels is required. The standard ball head coupling can also be optionally replaced with a DIN or NATO eye.
T-drawbar or V-fork ?
Thousands of trailer drivers know the problem of tight spaces only too well: if you drive into a narrow lane and have to turn, it is important to back your car as far as possible against the trailer in order to get around the bend without any problems. With a T-drawbar, you can utilize the maximum steering angle. This is precisely why we at CAMPWERK rely on this tried-and-tested technology – for optimum flexibility and maneuverability, no matter how tight things get.
T-drawbar
V-fork
T-drawbar
V-fork
Chassis
Aluminum body
Wheels
Terrain values
Equipped for every situation thanks to the versatile accessories...

Raised dropside

20L canister

Towbar adapter for bike carrier with coupling connection

2-4 bike racks

Anti-drag clutch

Onroad

The perfect solution for your camping adventure:
Road trailer with tent
Imagine a first-class equipped road trailer that is ideal for camping trips in Germany and the surrounding countries.
This trailer comes with a sturdy holding device for a matching tent that can be set up in no time at all.
The result is your mobile home – ready for unforgettable tours!

Your decisive advantage: you are ideally equipped for your vacation in a particularly cost-effective way. And when you’re not on the road, you can use the trailer as a conventional utility trailer. We offer you the road trailer in two versions, depending on your needs: An unbraked version with a permissible total weight of 750 kg and the braked version recommended by us with a permissible total weight of 1,300 kg.
10-year guarantee
Our trailer base was not created in the laboratory – it was made for the real world. The robust construction is optimized for tough conditions. Oversized axles and virtually indestructible aluminum frames ensure exceptional durability. We are the only supplier in Germany to give you a 10-year guarantee on this unique quality!
T-drawbar or V-fork ?
Thousands of trailer drivers know the problem of tight spaces only too well: if you drive into a narrow lane and have to turn, it is important to back your car as far as possible against the trailer in order to get around the bend without any problems. With a T-drawbar, you can utilize the maximum steering angle. This is precisely why we at CAMPWERK rely on this tried-and-tested technology – for optimum flexibility and maneuverability, no matter how tight things get.
T-drawbar
V-fork
T-drawbar
V-fork
Chassis
Aluminum structure
Equipped for every situation thanks to the versatile accessories...

Raised dropside

20L canister

Towbar adapter for bike carrier with coupling connection

2-4 bike racks

Anti-drag clutch

Material and processing.
The tent fabric of our trailer tents is made from a high-quality, 450 g blended fabric, also known as canvas. This unique combination of cotton and polyester combines the advantages of a natural fiber with those of a modern high-tech material. The result is a robust, breathable fabric that impresses with its pleasant feel and high dimensional stability.

The tent fabric, which is also used by the military, is impregnated and particularly tear-resistant thanks to the ripstop process. In this special weaving technique, thicker threads are woven into the fabric at intervals of around 10-15 millimetres, giving the fabric its characteristic tiled structure and exceptional tear resistance. It goes without saying that our fabrics are opaque and therefore offer optimum protection and privacy.
The basis of our trailer tents is a robust stainless steel frame with a thickness of 3×3 cm. A 1.8 cm thick, water-resistant wooden floor panel is securely fastened to this sturdy frame with stainless steel screws. The frame of the trailer tents is also made of galvanized steel tubing and special stainless steel components that ensure maximum stability. The modern surface finish not only offers a high level of corrosion protection, but also gives the material a pleasant feel and ensures a durable, weatherproof construction.
We rely exclusively on yarn from the German market leader Amann. Thanks to the combination of a cotton core and a high-tenacity polyester core, this yarn is characterized by a particularly high tensile strength and excellent water resistance.

On contact with water, the cotton coating swells and closes the seam holes created during sewing. For additional protection, all seams in the roof area are fitted with a transparent sealing strip to ensure maximum waterproofness.
Less is sometimes more.
We are often asked: What about the water column? For tent fabrics, the impermeability of the fabric is specified in the form of the water column. For cotton tents, this value is usually around 300 to 400 mm. However, our tent fabric offers an exceptionally high water column for cotton fabric of around 750 mm. This means that theoretically more than 75 cm of water can stand on the material before the first drops penetrate.

A major advantage of cotton as a natural raw material is its ability to swell when it gets damp, which provides additional waterproofing. In contrast, synthetic fabrics, which cannot swell, must have a much higher water column (between 3,000 and 10,000 mm, depending on the material) in order to achieve comparable waterproofness.
Good night.
The comfort sleep set consists of a high-quality visco foam mattress that adapts perfectly to the individual body shape, ensuring a restful night’s sleep. The set is complemented by the innovative Froli bed spring system, which guarantees an exceptional sleeping experience. Perfect sleeping comfort in a well thought-out overall package.
Premium mattress.
An excellent mattress is the basis for healthy and restful sleep. Just as every person is unique, their mattress should also be individually tailored to them.
Our premium mattress adapts perfectly to the contours of the body and promotes orthopaedically correct positioning of the spine. Thanks to targeted pressure relief, back muscles and intervertebral discs can relax optimally. The innovative construction and high-quality materials create an ideal sleeping environment.
There are no compromises at CAMPWERK: We rely on flexible visco foam with memory function. The unique combination of supportive foam core and relieving visco foam topper ensures maximum sleeping comfort.
Suspension.
Good ventilation is crucial for your well-being and sleep hygiene. To ensure maximum sleeping comfort, we combine our mattress with an innovative Froli slat base. The flexible spring elements form a comfortable slat base with individually adjustable firmness zones. This combination ensures orthopaedically correct positioning of the body and provides targeted, pressure-relieving support. This effectively prevents tension and one-sided strain. The open, air-permeable cells also enable optimum ventilation and create a healthy sleeping environment.
Are you allergic or do you have special health requirements? No problem! We cooperate with a renowned German mattress manufacturer to offer customized solutions. Simply contact us and together we will find the ideal mattress for your needs.