Westerland / Sylt / Germany

Westerland is the Capital City of Sylt and offers a wealth of shops, restaurants and places to stay. The long sandy beach is situated on the western coast of Sylt and is popular with both experienced surfers and sailors. The season runs from April to November.

The beach is 7 km of gorgeous white sand and there is plenty of space for assembling and rigging of kites. The beaches become very crowded in the summer months and kitesurfing is actually forbidden as it can cause problems. In addition there is a charge for entering the beach and tourists are also given right of way. If there is an onshore wind then forget it. It's a good idea to talk to the guys in the Seeblick Restaurant before going onto the water as they are pretty much in the know. Kitesurfers are best heading for either nearby Rantum or Sansibar during the summer. To get here is easy by driving to Westerland and access is either north of the big building on the beach or south of the building by the Seablick restaurant.

This spot has good winds for much of the year, with the exception being summer, and they can be quite strong. The main direction is from the west and the best time is fall through to spring. The water is quite cloudy and it can be a bit of a struggle to exit the water in strong onshore winds because of the shore break. The spot offers a lot of variation, however, with small choppy waves extending to large powerful waves of up to 3 meters high. You need to have your wits about you and your eyes open as there are some rocks in the water and you can get strong undercurrents.

There is a surf school here as well as toilets, showers and places to buy food. Westerland has lots of restaurants, bars and shops plus in the summer there is lots of nightlife with entertainment and dancing. The winter is far quieter though.

Watch out for the rock lines which are marked with a notice on the beach and also be aware of strong under currents.