Harbours in Bremerhaven: Getting there, harbour information and destinations

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Bremerhaven lies at the mouth of the Weser into the North Sea. Yachts berth here in enclosed harbour basins behind locks, in the Neuer Hafen near the city centre and in the fishing harbour in Geestemünde. Here you'll read how to get to the harbours in Bremerhaven for your trip start and which is where, where you park and shop, how tide and wind determine the sailing, which destinations are nearby and what skippers should know about the locks.

Which harbours are there in Bremerhaven?

In Bremerhaven yachts berth in two places: in Lloyd Marina in the Neuer Hafen, just inside the lock from the Weser, and in the harbour of Weser Yacht Club in the main channel of the fishing harbour in Geestemünde, just under two kilometres southeast on the other side of the city centre. Both lie in enclosed harbour basins which you can only enter through a lock.

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At the southern end of the Neuer Hafen, historic vessels also berth at the mooring of Schiffergilde Bremerhaven. Nearby there are other club harbours and facilities in the city area, such as Wassersportverein Neptun and CityPort on the Geeste.

Feature	Lloyd Marina	Weser Yacht Club
Location	Neuer Hafen, at Simon-Loschen lighthouse	Main channel of the fishing harbour, Geestemünde
Berths	180 on floating pontoons	150, of which 20 for visitors
Access from the Weser	Neuer Hafen lock, VHF channel 69	Double lock of the fishing harbour
Address	Am Leuchtturm 1, 27568 Bremerhaven	Borriesstraße 52a, 27570 Bremerhaven
Phone	+49 471 1428690	+49 471 23531

Arriving for your trip start in Bremerhaven

The nearest airport is Bremen, about 57 kilometres as the crow flies south of the harbours. You cover the last stretch by train. Lloyd Marina is in the Havenwelten, the quarter with museums and hotels at the Neuer Hafen. Weser Yacht Club is in the southern district of Geestemünde, where the main station is also located.

From Bremen Airport to Bremerhaven

Tram line 6 stops at Bremen Airport; take it to Bremen main station. From there, catch a regional train to Bremerhaven. The RE8 and RE9 lines run hourly, and the regional S-Bahn RS2 runs every half-hour on weekdays during the day. The trains take between 35 and 50 minutes to reach Bremerhaven main station.

If you land in Hamburg, take the S-Bahn to Hamburg main station and continue by train to Bremen, where you change for Bremerhaven. Hamburg Airport lies around 94 kilometres as the crow flies from Bremerhaven.

By car, train, bus or ferry

By car, you reach Bremerhaven via the A27 between Bremen and Cuxhaven. For the Lloyd Marina and the Havenwelten, take the Bremerhaven-Zentrum exit and follow the signs to the Havenwelten.

From Bremerhaven main station, bus routes 505 and 506 run to the Havenwelten stop; they depart right outside the station. From the stop, walk past the Deutsches Auswandererhaus (German Emigration Centre), with the historic ships on your right, to the end of the harbour basin, then along the quay. After around 300 metres you'll reach the Lloyd Marina.

From the west bank of the Weser, you can take the Weser ferry from Nordenham-Blexen. The crossing takes about twelve minutes, and the ferry docks in Bremerhaven on the street An der Geeste, a little over 400 metres as the crow flies from the Weser Yacht Club. As things stand (November 2026), owing to a fault at the landing stage, the ferry is carrying only pedestrians and cyclists. It then departs from the tug pier in Bremerhaven, level with the Lohmanndeich, on the hour, and from Blexen on the half hour.

Lloyd Marina or Weser Yacht Club?

The Lloyd Marina and Weser Yacht Club are two separate harbours. The Lloyd Marina lies at the lighthouse in the Neuer Hafen, whilst the Weser Yacht Club is in the main canal of the fishing harbour in Geestemünde on Borriesstraße. The entire city centre lies between them, so for a taxi simply say "Lloyd Marina, Am Leuchtturm 1" or "Weser Yacht Club, Borriesstraße".

Parking

The Lloyd Marina has its own car parking spaces, but only a few. Right next door, the marina's boarding house has a car park with a barrier, which you reach via the Bremerhaven-Zentrum exit and the green direction signs. In the Havenwelten around the Neuer and Alter Hafen, there are also the Havenwelten and Columbus-Center multi-storey car parks, as well as the Alter Hafen car park.

Showers and sanitary facilities

The Lloyd Marina has showers and toilets, as well as a launderette. The Weser Yacht Club also has sanitary facilities.

Shopping for the trip

From the Lloyd Marina, a Lidl in the Lehe district is the nearest supermarket, around 1.2 kilometres to the north as the crow flies. Right next to it is a large E-Center, around 1.3 kilometres from the marina. For a major shop by car, there's also an Aldi in Lehe, around two kilometres northeast of the marina.

From the Weser Yacht Club, the E-Center in the south of Geestemünde is the nearest large supermarket, just over a kilometre to the south as the crow flies.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

In the city centre between the Neuer Hafen and the Geeste, there are several pharmacies. From the Lloyd Marina, the Pinguin Apotheke is the nearest, around 800 metres away, with the Sander Apotheke right next door. From the Weser Yacht Club, you can reach the Löwenapotheke after around 500 metres. The Klinikum Bremerhaven-Reinkenheide at Postbrookstraße 103 has accident and emergency departments.

• 112: Ambulance service, emergency doctor and fire brigade
• 110: Police
• 116 117: out-of-hours medical service
• 0800 0022833: emergency pharmacy service
• At sea: VHF channel 16 or DSC on channel 70, call sign "Bremen Rescue Radio", the maritime rescue coordination centre of the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (DGzRS) in Bremen; by telephone round the clock on +49 421 53687-0.

Where is the Lloyd Marina?

The Lloyd Marina lies in the Neuer Hafen directly behind the lock to the Weser, at the foot of the Simon Loschen lighthouse. Around the basin stand the Klimahaus, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus and the Sail City viewing platform. The pedestrian zone and city centre begin immediately southeast of the harbour.

The Neuer Hafen was formerly the harbour of Norddeutscher Lloyd, hence the name. Today, alongside the yachts, historic museum ships are moored here, and during major festivals such as the Sail, the basin becomes a guest harbour for tall ships from all over the world.

Lloyd Marina facilities

The 180 berths are on floating pontoons. Electricity and water are available at the pontoons. You have Wi-Fi in the harbour. The marina includes a boarding house with apartments and the bistro “Übersee”, with breakfast, light meals and a terrace on the harbour. The harbour office is in the boarding house directly in front of the pontoons, and you can order fresh bread rolls for the next morning at the bistro. There is a fuel station on land near the harbour, but none on the marina grounds.

Where is the Weser Yacht Club harbour?

The Weser Yacht Club harbour lies in the main channel of the fishing harbour in Geestemünde, not far south of the Geeste, on Borriesstraße. From the Weser, you enter the outer harbour of the Geeste level with buoy 61 and pass through the double lock of the fishing harbour. Beyond the lock, you head straight east through the cross channel as far as the canal bridge.

The club has 150 berths, 20 of them for visitors. Visitors berth in the box berths and at the visitors' pontoon. You pay the berthing fee to the boatswain or at the club office; for a boat up to 10 metres it is €16.50 per day (as at November 2024). For the key to the club grounds you leave a €50 deposit. The Löwenapotheke and the Weser ferry landing stage are each only a few hundred metres away, and it is around one kilometre to the town centre.

Weser Yacht Club facilities

Besides the sanitary facilities, there is a restaurant in the clubhouse, which is open daily. Electricity and water are available right at the pontoon, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the harbour; you can get the access code from the boatmen or at the club office. For work on your boat, a crane lifts boats of up to 16 tonnes and is also used for stepping and lowering masts. The harbour holds the Blue Flag, an award for environmentally friendly marinas.

Where is the Schiffergilde Bremerhaven berth?

The Schiffergilde Bremerhaven landing stage lies at the southern end of the Neuer Hafen, right next to the Havenwelten and on the same side of the city centre as the Lloyd Marina. Historic museum ships are moored here, and harbour tours also depart from the landing stage. You can reach the Schiffergilde on +49 471 94646743.

From the Havenwelten to the Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum at the Alter Hafen, everything is within walking distance. Visitors can also sail on some of the historic ships in the Neuer Hafen.

What's the sailing weather like in Bremerhaven?

On the outer Weser, the wind blows predominantly from the west. The Deutscher Wetterdienst issues warnings for the coast from force 6 onwards (wind warning) and from force 8 (gale warning).

For every sailing trip from Bremerhaven, the tide matters: on average, the water rises and falls by around 3.8 metres, and the current runs strongly on the Weser. When the current runs against the wind — for example, an ebb current with a fresh northwesterly — the sea on the outer Weser quickly becomes short and steep. With the current behind you, on the other hand, you make noticeably faster progress.

In autumn and winter, when a strong northwesterly persists, the water backs up in the Weser estuary and the high water rises noticeably above the mean level.

What sailing destinations lie near Bremerhaven?

From Bremerhaven you sail down the Outer Weser into the German Bight, to Heligoland, to the Jade and the East Frisian Islands, or upriver to Bremen.

• Bremen: around 35 nm upriver, best on the rising tide.
• Hooksiel: around 37 nm, round the Outer Jade and up the Jade. Wilhelmshaven is around 45 nm away, further up the Jade.
• Wangerooge: around 40 nm, down the Outer Weser and round the outside via the Harle.
• Heligoland: around 45 nm through the Outer Weser fairway and across the open German Bight.
• Cuxhaven: around 52 nm, down the Outer Weser, north round Scharhörn and up the Elbe.

All distances are rounded figures over water on the usual course; for precise planning use the chart. Downriver you leave on the ebb. In a week you can link Heligoland, the Elbe estuary and the Jade into a circuit. The Jade is described in more detail in the Marina Hooksiel profile, the Elbe estuary in the Ports in Cuxhaven.

What can you do on a harbour day in Bremerhaven?

From Lloyd Marina the Havenwelten with their museums are only a few steps away. From Weser Yacht Club the Schaufenster Fischereihafen is closest.

• Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8° Ost: The exhibition follows the eighth meridian east through reconstructed locations in different climate zones, from the Alps through the Sahel to the Antarctic and the South Pacific. Allow around four hours for the tour.
• Deutsches Auswandererhaus: From 1830 Bremerhaven became the largest emigration port on the European mainland; over 7.2 million people boarded ships here. The museum at the Neuer Hafen tells their story and that of immigration to Germany. It lies on the footpath between the bus stop and Lloyd Marina.
• Simon-Loschen-Leuchtturm: The 38.90-metre tower at the entrance to the Neuer Hafen was inaugurated in 1855 and remains in operation. Together with a lower light it marks the centre of the fairway on a section of the Weser.
• Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum: The museum at the Old Harbour includes a museum harbour with historic ships and harbour installations. The museum is open daily; the ships are accessible during the summer season from mid-March to early November and are closed in winter.
• Schaufenster Fischereihafen: In Packhalle IV from 1907, the oldest surviving packing hall in the fishing harbour, there are fish restaurants, a smokery and maritime shops. Opposite stands the Fischbahnhof, a steel hall from 1914 rebuilt here in 1996.

For skippers: berthing, locks and sea weather in Bremerhaven

You can only reach both harbours from the Weser through a lock. The route to Lloyd Marina is through the Neuer Hafen lock, the leisure boat lock with a chamber 50 metres long and 14 metres wide, which you can reach on VHF channel 69 or on +49 471 9412840. As things currently stand (November 2026), the Neuer Hafen lock has been closed for repairs since 5 October 2026 and is due to return to full operation for the 2027 season. Until then, leisure boats can only pass through the Kaiserschleuse in exceptional cases and after prior notification; you can reach it on VHF channel 10 or on +49 471 30901400. The route to Weser Yacht Club is through the double lock of the fishing harbour, which you can also reach on VHF channel 10 or on +49 471 59613440. As things currently stand (November 2026), locking towards the harbour takes place at half past the hour, and towards the Weser on the hour. The entry signal for leisure boats is a white light above two green ones.

The Lloyd Marina harbour office can be reached by e-mail at bremerhaven@im-jaich.de or on +49 471 1428690; Weser Yacht Club on +49 471 23531.

Approach

Off Bremerhaven the Weser is the approach to major port terminals, so traffic of large vessels is correspondingly heavy. Keep your yacht to the edge of the fairway and give big ships room. On the Outer Weser the Seeschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung applies; traffic is monitored by the traffic centre under the call sign "Bremerhaven Weser Traffic". Its working channels change by sector; when entering listen on the relevant channel and channel 16.

The Simon-Loschen-Leuchtturm at the entrance serves as a landmark for the Neuer Hafen.

Which sea weather forecast applies to Bremerhaven?

The relevant forecast is the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) sea weather bulletin for the German Bight. It is supplemented by the DWD's coastal warnings for the North Sea, which warn of strong winds and gales. You can access the bulletin on the DWD sea weather page and in the WarnWetter app; on board it comes via VHF coast radio, NAVTEX and radio.

Tidal predictions for Bremerhaven and the Weser are published by the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) in its tide tables, which also carry warnings of elevated water levels.

Trips from Bremerhaven on Törnfinder

An overview of the whole sailing area is given on the page Sailing in the North Sea, trips at all German coasts can be found under Sailing in Germany. All current offers are listed in the trip overview.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from Bremen Airport to the harbours in Bremerhaven?

Take tram line 6 to Bremen Hauptbahnhof and from there a regional train in 35 to 50 minutes to Bremerhaven. From the Hauptbahnhof buses 505 and 506 run to the Havenwelten stop, from where it is around 300 metres to Lloyd Marina.

Where do I park at the trip start in Bremerhaven?

At the Lloyd Marina there are a few on-site parking spaces, plus the car park of the adjacent boarding house. The Havenwelten area also has the Havenwelten and Columbus-Center multi-storey car parks as well as the Alter Hafen car park.

Are there showers in the harbours of Bremerhaven?

Yes, the Lloyd Marina has showers and a launderette, the Weser Yacht Club has sanitary facilities.

Which harbour in Bremerhaven is closer to the main railway station?

The Weser Yacht Club, because it is located in the Geestemünde district, as is the main station. To get to the Lloyd Marina at the Neuer Hafen on the other side of the city centre, take bus 505 or 506 from the station to the Havenwelten stop.

How far is it from Bremerhaven to Helgoland?

Around 45 nautical miles. The first half runs through the Außenweser fairway, so you depart with the ebb tide. After that it's across the open German Bight.