Isle of Rugen, Germany

Rugen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the vast part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.

Rügen is one of the most popular holiday and recreation areas within Germany It offers a variety of landscapes, fashionable seaside resorts, health resorts, dreamy fishing villages, castles, mansions, virgin nature and excellent sand-beaches.

Things to see and do

* Binz
* Ralswiek Castle
* Rügensche Kleinbahn - historic narrow gauge railway
* Jamund National Park white chalk cliffs
* Sellin

Cruise Season - March - Nov
Currency - Euro (€) (EUR)
Language - German
Land Area - 926 sq km's
Population - 75,000 approx
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT plus one hour
International Country Telephone Code - + 49

Port Location - The main embarkation point is the port at Sassnitz.

Transport Links - There are two crossings from the mainland to Rügen; the new Rügenbrücke bridge joins the older Rügendamm (1936) in crossing the Strelasund channel. Both are reached via Stralsund's Karl Marx Strasse.

IC trains connect Binz to Hamburg and beyond, all via Stralsund. Local trains run hourly from Stralsund to Binz and also to Sassnitz . To get to Putbus, change RE trains in Bergen. Other destinations are served by the historic Rasender Roland train.

Rügen is a stop for domestic ferries to the mainland and international ferries (Denmark and Sweden). Weisse Flotte operates passenger and car ferries to Rügen.The passenger ferries leave Stralsund harbour for Altefähr on Rügen's southwestern shore. 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).