Germany / Schleswig-Holstein
Heiligenhafen Strand
Heiligenhafen Strand is a 781 m-long sandy beach facing north-north-east, 800 m north of Heiligenhafen (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). The sea averages 18.5 °C in August, its warmest month, and 2.1 °C in February; it never reaches 21 °C on average.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
![500px provided description: A Day At The Beach [#beach ,#ocean ,#colorful]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/A_Day_At_The_Beach_%2864108067%29.jpeg/960px-A_Day_At_The_Beach_%2864108067%29.jpeg)
Month by month
October at Heiligenhafen Strand
Beach-day index 2.3/10 · Germany median 2.3
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 2.7 °C | 2.1 °C | 3.0 °C | 5.3 °C | 10.9 °C | 15.1 °C | 17.9 °C | 18.5 °C | 16.0 °C | 12.4 °C | 8.6 °C | 4.5 °C |
| High °C | 3° | 3° | 5° | 9° | 14° | 18° | 20° | 20° | 17° | 13° | 8° | 4° |
| Low °C | 0° | 0° | 2° | 5° | 10° | 14° | 16° | 16° | 14° | 10° | 6° | 2° |
| Rain mm | 59 | 47 | 43 | 35 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 76 | 56 | 61 | 58 | 63 |
| Cloud % | 84 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 63 | 66 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 73 | 80 | 84 |
| Wind m/s | 7.8 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 7.7 |
| Daylight h | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 15.0 | 12.8 | 10.7 | 8.6 | 7.4 |
| Record high/low | 11°/-9° | 11°/-9° | 14°/-5° | 19°/-1° | 24°/4° | 27°/8° | 29°/12° | 28°/12° | 25°/9° | 20°/2° | 17°/-1° | 10°/-8° |
| Beach index | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
No month reaches 5.5 on the beach-day index; the best is August at 5.0/10, held back mainly by cool air (highs of 20 °C) and cold water (18.5 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 9.8 °C, cooler than 90% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
August is the wettest month (76 mm) and April the driest (35 mm); the yearly total is about 680 mm.
Daylight runs from 7.4 hours in December to 17.2 hours in June; in mid-August the sun rises at 05:51 and sets at 20:50 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces north-north-east (28°). Open water fills about 44% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in June–July; in mid-June it goes down at 21:51 local time on a bearing of 314°.
Sunrise is over the sea in February–April, June–July and October–November.
The opposite shore is only about 8.0 km away to the north-north-east, which keeps the water sheltered from big waves.
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 2 m deep and 8 m at 3 km, a shallow, gently shelving sea floor. Behind the beach the ground is about 5 m above sea level 500 m inland and 38 m at 1.5 km.
Within 1 km, the land is 50% built-up land, 23% grassland and 17% tree cover (satellite land-cover map, 2021): an urban beach. Water makes up 54% of that circle.
- Built 50%
- Grass 23%
- Tree 17%
- Bare 5%
- Wetland 4%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
The sea peaks at 18.5 °C in August. Most swimmers find water below 20 °C cold; a wetsuit is common here.
Average wind speed at 10 m reaches 7.8 m/s in January, the windiest month.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 67Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 12Public toilets
- –Showers
- 43Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 39Hotels & guesthouses
- 2Campsites
- 6Grocery shops
- 3Water-sports spots
- 1Marinas & slipways
- 37Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 2Pharmacies & clinics
- 3Cash machines
- 1Bike rental
- 1Viewpoints
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 48 restaurants, 8 cafés, 10 bars and 1 fast-food outlet. Accommodation: 39 hotels and guesthouses.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Attractions & museums
- Heimatmuseum Heiligenhafen museum 610 m S
Lighthouses & piers
- Steg 10 pier 200 m E
- Steg 7 pier 210 m SE
- Steg 9 pier 220 m E
- Steg 8 pier 220 m E
- Steg 6 pier 220 m SE
- Steg 11 pier 250 m E
Marinas
- Yachthafen Heiligenhafen 450 m SE
Diving & boat hire
- Fahrradvermietung Heiligenhafen 220 m N
- Yacht and Charter Center 510 m SE
- Wassersportcenter Heiligenhafen 590 m SW
Campsites
- Wohnmobilstellplatz Heiligenhafen 230 m NE
- Bulli-Garten (Stellplatz) 270 m NE
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lübeck Blankensee Airport Lübeck | LBC | 65.8 km | south |
| Rostock-Laage Airport Laage | RLG | 99.1 km | south-east |
| Sønderborg Airport Sønderborg | SGD | 100 km | north-west |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 37 bus stops within 1.5 km and 43 mapped car parks within 1 km.
4 towns and villages of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 14.1K residents); within 30 km there are 22 (about 81K).
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heiligenhafen Strand | – | 18.5 °C | 781 m | Sand |
| Weissenhäuser Strand | 13.8 km SW | 18.5 °C | 1.5 km | – |
| Sehlendorfer Strand | 19.5 km SW | 18.5 °C | 2.1 km | Sand |
| Klausdorfer Strand | 21.4 km NE | 18.4 °C | – | – |
| Grömitz Strand | 26.0 km S | 18.6 °C | 2.5 km | Sand |
| Pelzerhaken Strand | 33.2 km S | 18.6 °C | 214 m | Sand |
| Schönberger Strand | 36.2 km W | 18.5 °C | 241 m | Sand |
- Weissenhäuser Strand13.8 km SWCompare
- Sehlendorfer Strand19.5 km SWCompare
- Klausdorfer Strand21.4 km NECompare
- Grömitz Strand26.0 km SCompare
- Pelzerhaken Strand33.2 km SCompare
- Schönberger Strand36.2 km WCompare
- Scharbeutz Strand40.8 km SCompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 6.4 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w446640432; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2A_32UPF_20230906_1_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 880 Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.