WattLodge

The historic town of Norden (five minutes’ drive or 20 minutes’ walk) is Amsterdam in miniature, with majestic churches, gabled houses and a scattering of windmills to nose around. There are trains, vintage carriages and steam engines aplenty at the Museum of the Coastal Railway of Ostfriesland and tea-related displays and ceremonies at the Ostfriesisches Teemuseum. But most activities here relate to the sea, from the Seehundstation Nationalpark-Haus, where you can see rescued sea lions and seals swim freely in vast aquariums, to the wave pools and slides at Erlebnisbad Ocean Wave waterpark (both 10 minutes’ drive). Norden and Norddeich (five minutes) together form one of the hottest spots for watersports on the Wadden Sea; you can have windsurfing and kitesurfing lessons, learn to stand up on a paddleboard or take to the waters in sailing dinghies. Depending on tide times, you can also swim off Strand Norddeich beach (10 minutes) or hike along the tidal flats.