Rügen and Usedom: capes, piers and the Imperial Baths
Across the Rügen Bridge to Cape Arkona and the resort piers, then Caspar David Friedrich’s abbey ruin and the villas of Usedom.
- Distance
- 228 km (142 mi)
- Driving
- 3 h 09 min
- Suggested days
- 5
- Stops
- 9
- Countries
- Germany
- Updated
- June 21, 2026
At a glance: 5-day road trip of about 228 km (142 mi) with 9 stops, from Stralsund to Heringsdorf. About 3 h 09 min of driving in total.
More road trips in Germany
Route description
Cross from Stralsund to Rügen over the Rügen Bridge on the B96 and head north through Bergen and Wiek to Putgarten, about 70 km. All cars must stop in the car park there; walk or ride the road train to Cape Arkona with its two lighthouses and the ramparts of a Slavic temple fort. Stop at Vitt on the way back, a fishing village of thatched cottages in a small ravine, with an octagonal chapel above it.
Drive south to Prora, the huge Nazi-built resort block behind one of the island’s best beaches; the documentation centre is worth an hour. Binz next door has a long promenade and white villas. The Granitz hunting lodge stands in beech woods behind the resort; its road is closed to cars, so walk, cycle or take the road train from Binz. The steam train Rasender Roland also runs through the forest to Sellin.
Sellin’s pier is reached by a broad stairway at the end of Wilhelmstraße. From Rügen, return to the mainland by the bridge and drive to Greifswald, about 90 km, to see the Eldena Abbey ruins painted by Caspar David Friedrich. Then cross to Usedom on the bascule bridge at Wolgast, which opens for boats at set times, and turn north to Peenemünde.
The Peenemünde museum in the old power station deals with the V2 rocket and its forced labourers. Drive the length of Usedom on the B111 to the Imperial Baths of Bansin, Heringsdorf and Ahlbeck, linked by a long seafront promenade that continues into Poland. Summer traffic on Rügen and Usedom is heavy, so travel early; motorhome spaces are on the edges of the resorts. May, June and September are the best months.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Stralsund
Germany - 259 km
Cape Arkona lighthouses
ViewsPutgarten, GermanyRügen’s northern tip, with two lighthouses, a naval tower and chalk cliffs above the Baltic. Cars must stay in the paid car park at Putgarten; walk 1.5 km or take the little road train.
- 335 km
Prora
HistoryBinz, GermanyA 4.5 km block of concrete built by the Nazis as a mass seaside resort and never used for it. Parts are now flats and a youth hostel; a documentation centre explains its history.
- 49 km
Granitz Hunting Lodge
HistoryBinz, GermanyA castle-like lodge on a forested hill, with an open-work cast-iron staircase inside its central tower and views over Rügen. The access road is closed to cars: walk, cycle or take the small road train from Binz.
- 56 km
Sellin Pier
ViewsSellin, GermanyA white pier with a pavilion at its end, reached by a wide stairway down the cliff from Wilhelmstraße and its seaside villas. Come early or at dusk for photos; parking is on the edge of the resort.
- 645 km
Eldena Abbey ruins
HistoryGreifswald, GermanyThe brick ruins of a Cistercian abbey painted several times by Caspar David Friedrich, who was born in Greifswald. Free to walk around, with parking at the site on the road to Wolgast.
- 728 km
Peenemünde Historical Technical Museum
HistoryPeenemünde, GermanyThe former power station of the rocket research site where the V2 was developed, now a museum on the dark history of the weapons. Allow two hours; the town is at the end of the road on Usedom’s north tip.
- 844 km
Ahlbeck Pier
HistoryHeringsdorf, GermanyGermany’s oldest surviving pier, from 1898, with a green-roofed pavilion on stilts in front of the white villas of the Imperial Baths. A promenade links it with Heringsdorf and Bansin; parking is scarce in summer.
- 93 km
Heringsdorf
Germany
FAQs
How long is Rügen and Usedom: capes, piers and the Imperial Baths?
5-day road trip of about 228 km (142 mi) with 9 stops, from Stralsund to Heringsdorf. About 3 h 09 min of driving in total.
How many days do you need for Rügen and Usedom: capes, piers and the Imperial Baths?
We suggest 5 days: about 3 h 09 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.
Where does Rügen and Usedom: capes, piers and the Imperial Baths start and end?
It starts in Stralsund and ends in Heringsdorf.
Which countries does Rügen and Usedom: capes, piers and the Imperial Baths pass through?
Germany.
