Guide to Warnemunde & Rostock, Germany Travel

Warnemunde is a small German beach town that has become a favorite stop for Baltic Sea cruises.  It has a cruise ship dock, a rail line leading to Rostock and beyond, and a canal lined with shops and restaurants.  This is a tourist town, utilized both by Germans who come to the beach, and by cruise ships.

It's an easy walk from the docks past the train station into the center of town, where you will find a canal lined with shops and restaurants.  From there, you are only several blocks from the beach, or from further exploring the town.  The merchants speak fluent English and are friendly. Stroll through the shops, walk to the beach, and even walk through the back streets to see the "real" Warnemunde away from the tourist areas.  Elevated photos in our Germany collection, were taken from our ship.  There were several large ships in port while we were there, but the town was easily able to handle the crowds.

Depending on their positioning, cruise ships can dock either on the port side or the starboard side.  Our ship docked on port side, and we had a nice view of the town from our balcony.

It's also a short trip to Rostock by train, or by tour bus.  Rostock was founded in 1218 and has some great old architecture. 

Tips

1. We were able to find German beer steins in only one shop in Warnemunde.  Surprisingly, our tour guide (a German girl in her 20's) was unable to suggest where we could purchase one.
    

2. There is a fantastic pastry shop/bakery in Rostock, in the main square near the fountain.
    

3. We walked several miles in Warnemunde, seeing the beach and several of the tree-lined back streets.  It was very pleasant, and the town is worth seeing.
    

4. The highlight of this port, and one of the top memories of our cruise, occurred as the ship was pulling away from the dock.  We were seated at dinner, but our dining companions had been told by crew members to go out to the railing as we departed, so we did.  What we saw were hundreds of local residents standing on the pier, cheering our ship as it departed, with loudspeakers playing "Time to Say Goodbye."  Harbor tour boats escorted our ship, blowing their horns. Don't miss this.

Shore Excursions

1. Hanseatic Rostock in Bloom -- We booked this tour primarily to be able to see Rostock, since it was the only organized group that would be spending some time there.  We were pleasantly surprised at the International Garden Exhibition & Fair and our visit there was fun.  Then it was on to Rostock.  This is an old German town, and we toured several of the buildings, St. Mary's Church (with a clock dating back to 1472), and the town square.  We also walked along the old city walls that long ago protected the inhabitants. We had an hour or so of free time for shopping and personal sightseeing before boarding the bus for the return to the ship, but the tour also offered participants the opportunity to stay in Rostock and take the train back to Warnemunde at their leisure.  Everything on this tour seemed to be just the right amount of time.  Overall value = 8
    

2. Berlin -- We had been cautioned about this one.  It's a long train ride (2.5 hours) to an unimpressive, modern city.  We didn't book it, but other people on our ship did, and they were not complimentary upon their return.  Some of them complained about the graffiti on many of the public buildings, and that Berlin is just a typical big city.  If you take this 12 hour tour, you will have very little time to explore Warnemunde, and none in Rostock.  However, if you really must see Berlin, this is the tour for you.  Overall value = 4

For photos of Warnemunde & Rostock, Click Here