Holidays on Juist

Beach and swimming

Juist has 17 kilometres of sandy beach on the north side, over 100 metres wide in many places. The beach is open to everyone, and you only pay for a roofed wicker beach chair (Strandkorb) and beach tent.

• Main beach: About 3 kilometres long in front of the town. The beach accesses are marked with brightly coloured animals. In summer there are football goals, volleyball nets and playgrounds on the beach, and at lifeguard tower 2 you will find beach sports and a children's programme.
• Loogbad: A lifeguarded bathing area of about 300 metres, around 2 kilometres to the west, with a playground and beach chairs.

Lifeguards are on duty from 15 May to 15 October. Bathing times follow the rising tide and shift every day, and they are posted at the lifeguard towers. A yellow flag means danger, and a red flag means no swimming.

Beach chairs are out from Easter to October, mostly at the main beach. You can book online for the Damenpfad and Schoolpad accesses, and otherwise directly with the hirer.

Sights

• Hammersee: The only freshwater lake on the East Frisian Islands, in the quiet zone of the national park. A circular path of about 4 kilometres runs round the lake, and dogs must be kept on a lead.
• Domäne Bill: Food and drink at the western end of the island, about 6 kilometres from town and reached by bike or carriage.
• Nationalpark-Haus: An exhibition on the Wadden Sea with an aquarium and the skeleton of the minke whale Waltraud. Opening times change with the season.
• Island museum: Island history in the Loog, open on a few afternoons in winter.
• Kurplatz: With the Haus des Kurgastes and the Altes Warmbad, where exhibitions and events are held.
• Otto-Leege-Pfad: A nature trail through the little wood to the goldfish ponds. A second nature trail lies at the Kalfamer in the east.

Activities

Mudflat hikes: The Nationalpark-Haus team offers taster mudflat walks for everyone and mudflat hikes from the age of 6, plus longer tours with a mudflat guide. Hikes run all year. Never go out on the mudflats without a guide.

Cycling: The island is flat but often windy. You can hire bikes, e-bikes and trailers from several rental firms in town and at the airfield. E-scooters are banned on Juist.

Carriage rides: Around 50 carriages and 100 horses are out and about on the island, as taxis, for deliveries and for trips to the Bill, the beach and the Loog.

Seawater leisure pool: At TöwerVital in the dunes there is a 30-degree pool with a slide, plus a baby pool and two whirlpools. The panorama sauna is separate. With your visitor's tax paid you pay less to get in, and children up to 13 pay nothing for short visits.

With children: Several playgrounds in town and in the Loog, children's play rooms in the Haus des Kurgastes and the Loogster Hus, and children's entertainment on the beach in summer.

Best time to visit and climate

Juist has no weather station of its own with long-term records. The long-term averages from the station on neighbouring Norderney apply here approximately too:

In winter Juist is windier but milder than the mainland, and in summer sunnier but cooler. You can swim until September. High season runs from 1 April to the end of October. In winter some restaurants and shops close for the season while the supermarkets stay open, and in January the seawater leisure pool closes for a few weeks.

Events

The Maizeit concert series plays in May, and the free Juistival music festival takes place on Ascension Day. In summer there are Töwerland concerts every week. In October the Nationalpark-Haus invites you to the Zugvogeltage (migratory bird days).

Dogs on Juist

On the beach and in the national park dogs must always be kept on a lead, even on the dog beaches. From 15 April to 15 October your dog may not go on the swimming beach and only on the two dog beaches: East from the Karl-Wagner-Straße access to the end of the swimming beach, and West at the western end of the swimming beach in the Loog, reached only via the Domäne Loog access. For the rest of the year it may go on the main swimming beach on a lead.

In town dogs must be kept on a lead from 1 March to 15 November and from 20 December to 15 January. The dunes are closed to dogs and people alike. Your dog may run free in the off-lead area in the Ostdorf on Flugplatzstraße. On the Inselfähre and the Inselexpress it needs its own ticket, and on the Töwerland-Express it travels free.

Visitor's tax

You pay a visitor's tax for every night on Juist, at a reduced rate in the low season. Children up to 5 are free. Day visitors pay a day rate too. In return you get, among other things, reduced entry to the seawater leisure pool, events at the Haus des Kurgastes, beach sports, children's entertainment and lifeguards. How to pay and where to stay is covered in Where to stay on Juist.

Day trip from Norddeich

From Norddeich-Mole the Inselfähre of the Norden-Frisia shipping company takes about 90 minutes to Juist and the Inselexpress about 45 minutes. The Töwerland-Express leaves from the Osthafen in Norddeich. Sailings depend on the tides and change every day, and so does the time you have on the island. From March to October you can fly from Norden to Juist in about 7 minutes.

The timetable, prices and parking in Norddeich are covered in Ferry to Juist.