Rügen Island Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Car & motorcycle

From 2007, there will be two crossings from the mainland to Rügen, which should mean no more – or at least fewer – traffic bottlenecks in the high season. The new Rügenbrücke bridge joins the older Rügendamm (1936) in crossing the Strelasund channel. Both are reached via Stralsund’s Karl Marx Strasse.

Train

IC trains connect Binz to Hamburg (€44.20, four hours) and beyond, all via Stralsund. Local trains run hourly from Stralsund to Binz (€9.10, 1¼ hours) and also to Sassnitz (€9.10, 50 minutes). To get to Putbus, change RE trains in Bergen. Other destinations are served by the historic Rasender Roland train.

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Boat

Rügen is a stop for domestic ferries to the mainland and international ferries (Denmark and Sweden).

The mainland

Weisse Flotte (0180-321 2120; www.weisse-flotte.com; Fährstrasse 16, Stralsund) operates passenger and car ferries to Rügen.

The passenger ferries leave Stralsund harbour for Altefähr on Rügen’s southwestern shore (one-way/return €2.50/3.80, 15 minutes, hourly 9am to 7pm).

Car ferries leave from Stahlbrode, 15km southeast of Stralsund, for Glewitz every 20 minutes, between 6am and 8pm from April to November only (car/passenger €3.80/1.10).

Sweden

Scandlines (01805-116 688; www.scandlines.de) runs five ferries daily from Sassnitz Mukran, several kilometres south of Sassnitz, to Trelleborg (adult/child €15/7, 50 daily in high season, 3¾ hours). Cars cost from €100 in the high season.

Denmark

Scandlines also runs ferries between Sassnitz and Rønne on Bornholm Island from April to November (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday April to June and September to November; daily in July and August). The trip takes 3¾ hours and costs €21/10 per adult/child in the high season. Cars cost from €115 in the high season.

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