Map › Germany › Nordsee — Amrum Norddorf to Sylt Hoernum Moewennest › Foehr Nieblum
Nordsee (Schleswig-Holstein e Niedersachsen) · Foehr, Schleswig-Holstein · Northern Friesland · Nieblum
Foehr Nieblum
also known as Nieblum, Surfstrand Nieblum, Nieblumer Wassersportschule
Nearby Amrum Norddorf 11 km · Westerland / K4 (Sylt) 16 km · Sylt Hoernum Moewennest 16 km · Ellenbogen (Sylt) 38 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
No daily onset to plan around. The wind is frontal and can be in at any hour, so the clock that matters is the tide clock. The session local riders single out is a morning easterly on the incoming water, about three hours before high tide. The daily swing is small: measured 30 km northwest at Westerland on Sylt, with no measurement at Nieblum itself, hourly means run near 11 kt overnight and 13 kt in the middle of the day.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
synoptic
fills in: No daily onset to plan around. The wind is frontal and can be in at any hour, so the clock that matters is the tide clock. The session local riders single out is a morning easterly on the incoming water, about three hours before high tide. The daily swing is small: measured 30 km northwest at Westerland on Sylt, with no measurement at Nieblum itself, hourly means run near 11 kt overnight and 13 kt in the middle of the day.
Typical strength
No measurement at the spot. Measured 30 km northwest at Westerland on Sylt over 2024-2025, the wind averages about 12 kt across the year, sits at 15 kt or more in roughly a third of hours and over 20 kt in about one hour in ten. December and January are the strongest months, July and August the weakest. A Wadden Sea beach in the lee of the island reads lower than that in easterlies.
Also on record
14
The quiver, in words
Nothing spot-specific has been published; the following is indicative, not measured. For 75-85 kg on a twin-tip: a 12 m covers the common 13-16 kt days, a 9 m the 20-25 kt fronts, a 7 m the spring and autumn gales.A 14 m only earns its place on light summer afternoons, and on those the tide window usually runs out before the wind does.
Direction to shore
WNW and ESE are sideshore, north is offshore; southerly sectors are onshore to on-side-on for the south-coast beach.
Dominant direction
Anything from E through W works, or more narrowly ENE through WSW; the nearest station's average direction from 2024-10-01 to 2026-07-31 was SW.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month90
- Feb, riders' month91
- Mar, riders' month78
- Apr, riders' month80
- May, riders' month77
- Jun, riders' month73
- Jul, riders' month88
- Aug, riders' month81
- Sep, riders' month80
- Oct, riders' month96
- Nov, riders' month91
- Dec, riders' month87
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 21Jan4°
- 21Feb5°
- 16Mar5°
- 16Apr9°
- 15May13°
- 14Jun17°
- 17Jul19°
- 14Aug19°
- 15Sep19°
- 18Oct14°
- 18Nov10°
- 19Dec6°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 90% | 20.5 kt | WSW | 4.3°C | 4.1°C |
| Feb | 91% | 20.5 kt | WNW | 5.3°C | 4.5°C |
| Mar | 78% | 15.6 kt | E | 5.3°C | 5.4°C |
| Apr | 80% | 15.7 kt | WNW | 7.9°C | 8.8°C |
| May | 77% | 15 kt | NNW | 12.7°C | 13.3°C |
| Jun | 73% | 14.1 kt | NW | 15.4°C | 17.1°C |
| Jul | 88% | 17.3 kt | SW | 16.9°C | 18.8°C |
| Aug | 81% | 14.2 kt | WSW | 18.1°C | 19.3°C |
| Sep | 80% | 15.3 kt | E | 16°C | 18.6°C |
| Oct | 96% | 18.2 kt | SW | 12.3°C | 13.8°C |
| Nov | 91% | 18.3 kt | SW | 7.3°C | 9.6°C |
| Dec | 87% | 18.5 kt | SW | 4.5°C | 5.6°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
Wadden Sea tidal flat / shallow beach
Standing depth
Standing depth over a wide area at high water, running a few hundred metres out from the beach. The kite area between the red buoy in the east and the start of Goting beach in the west is estimated at over a square kilometre of water at high tide.Two to three hours either side of high water it is also the low-current part of the bay, which is why the school teaches there; at ebb the whole thing dries.
Tides
Strongly tide-dependent. The spot is rideable about 2-3 hours before and after high water; the area is mainly useful around flood/high water and largely dries at ebb.
Temperature
17°C summer · 4°C winter
Wetsuit
High summer can be a shorty or reportedly just shorts; autumn through spring needs a full wetsuit and winter is very cold.
Currents
Little current in the two-to-three-hour window either side of high water, and that is what makes the teaching area work. Once the ebb sets in, the water drains off the flats through the channels.The deeper Föhr spots run a proper ebb stream, the Wyk lighthouse corner in particular, where it pulls away from the island, so a downwinder on a falling tide is a different proposition from a session in front of the school.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch: large
Somewhere else
Amrum Norddorf, 11 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Access is by Nieblumer Wassersportschule. Launch/landing is west of the Hobie Cats, with the kite area running from the red buoy near the school's sailing-boat line in the east to the start of Goting beach in the west, an area estimated at over one square kilometer of water at high tide; kite use is also bounded by orange buoys and the strandkorb (beach-chair) zone near the school.
Space
large
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Arrive 2-3 hours before high water and leave when it turns; at low tide there is nothing to ride.
- Launch and land west of the Hobie Cats, and keep clear of the strandkorb zone and the sailing-school buoys.
- Read the tide table and the NWS station forecast together; wind without water is a walk on the flats.
- Skip north wind: it is offshore here and turbulent.
- Stay inside the marked Nieblum zone; outside the designated zones kiting is not allowed anywhere in the national park.
- The session locals name is a morning easterly on the flood, roughly three hours before high water.
- West of Nieblum the flats hide fish traps, oyster beds and boulders. Walk the area at low water before you ride a downwinder over it.
- Lifeguard cover is summer only, and it is aimed at swimmers. Outside the season, ride with someone.
Getting there
Airport
Hamburg Airport (HAM) is the practical gateway; Wyk auf Foehr has a small airfield with no scheduled service.
Route
Most people drive or train to Dagebüll and take the W.D.R. ferry to Wyk auf Foehr, then head west to Nieblum; by rail it is Niebüll and the NEG line to Dagebüll Mole.
No-wind days
SUP, windsurfing, catamaran sailing, kitebuggy at low water, beach time and Wadden Sea excursions.
Photos
FAQ
Is Nieblum suitable for beginners?
Yes, the very large high-water standing area and the on-site Nieblumer Wassersportschule make it a beginner-friendly spot, with freeride options for stronger riders too.
What is the wind like?
Wind from east through west is generally usable, with westerlies most common, while north is treated as offshore at this south-coast beach.
How does the tide affect sessions?
The spot is strongly tide dependent and is rideable roughly two to three hours before and after high water, largely drying out at ebb tide.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
Yes, kitesurfing on Föhr is allowed only in designated zones, mainly Nieblum and Utersum, because the island lies within the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Yes, Nieblumer Wassersportschule operates directly at the spot and manages the marked launch, landing and kite areas.
Last updated: August 2026