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Who’s writing here? Christina Nagel-Gasch | 41 years | Diplom Kauffrau | mother of an 11-year-old daughter | likes to travel | love photography | addicted to tartlets & chocolate
The DJH Resort Neuharlingersiel is the first youth hostel in the style of a club holiday resort – with leisure activities, childcare and full board, just as it should be for an all-inclusive holiday.
At the beginning of June, for the long Whitsun weekend, we visited the DJH Resort Neuharlingersiel as a family. Decisive point for the choice of the DJH Resort was our dog Maya, because this is one of the few youth hostels where also dogs are welcome. That made us curious.
DJH Resort Neuharlingersiel – all inclusive
My last youth hostel experience was a few years ago – bunk beds in dormitories and a gnarled interior are what I remember from that time. But that’s far from the case today. The youth hostels are upgrading and changing their rustic image. Today they offer much more than just cheap accommodation for school trips.
The youth hostel in Neuharlingersiel is located on the grounds of a former spa clinic and is the first club youth hostel in the world. With 6 bungalows, 82 apartments and 14 double rooms, the hostel is primarily aimed at families – and of course everything is included.
We lived in an apartment with bedroom, children’s room, hallway and bathroom in the main house. The apartment is large, spacious and furnished in modern, cheerful colours. The common rooms and the café are also very friendly. Nothing is left of the gnarled old image.
In the new resort we feel like in a club complex. Of course, you also have to like club holidays. This way of being together with a lot of people and children in one pile is no recreation for me in the long run, BUT for a short family holiday I have learned to appreciate the offer and the care very much.
There are countless play opportunities for children at the resort and even single children like mine can quickly find someone to play with. So we as parents finally have some time for ourselves, can have a coffee in peace of mind and have a chat without anyone talking in between.
I also learned to appreciate the full board, because here I don’t have to cook but can sit at the table in a very relaxed way. Also the kitchen of the youth hostels has changed. Instead of liver sausage bread, there is fresh cuisine and a selection of delicious dishes.
As is usual for youth hostels, there is a wide range of sports on offer. In addition to beach volleyball, canoeing and archery, bicycles and kettcars can also be hired. Since the resort was fully booked for the Whitsun weekend and all rental bikes were out of stock accordingly, we borrowed a 4-person Kettcar and drove it to Neuharlingersiel. That was a lot of fun, because the command had the short one and she obviously enjoyed that 
Neuharlingersiel – Water, Watt and Endless Width
From the youth hostel to the harbour it is a stone’s throw. The almost two kilometres can be walked in 25 minutes or experienced with a kettcar.
Neuharlingersiel is probably best known for its ferry connection to the island of Spiekeroog. On this Whitsun weekend the small fishing village was hopelessly overcrowded. Sure, everyone wants to enjoy the sunshine of the first summer days and on a long weekend everyone is on the way … like us. The lively Neuharlingersiel with its fishing cutters is definitely pretty.
Directly next to the harbour is the wonderfully soft sandy beach with countless beach chairs and a great water playground.
At the North Sea, however, the endlessly wide Wadden Sea fascinates me again and again. The alternation of low and high tide makes every beach visit different and it is especially exciting to watch the incoming tide. Already from a distance you can see how the water slowly but surely rises and pushes a thick crown of foam in front of you.
Such a walk in the sand or a mudflat hike are freedom for me. Just relax and enjoy – the peace, the vastness, the sand, the salty air and the sea. Wonderful.
A sturdy sand shovel definitely belongs in the beach luggage. You can not only dig holes in the sand but also dig for lugworms and shells in the mudflats.
With the onset of the tide and the matching stiff North Sea breeze, kitesurfers come to the beach like bumblebees to lavender blossom. The Windloop kite and surf station is located directly on Neuharlingersiel beach. There a trial course gives insight into this beautiful water sport … and at some point we want to try it out.
The sunsets over the sea are priceless and always on a new indescribably beautiful. We were able to combine this perfectly with the evening dog-gasse round. Apropos dog …
Neuharlingersiel with dog
As mentioned before, the DJH Resort Neuharlingersiel is one of the few youth hostels where dogs are allowed.
The stay with Maya was no problem at all for us. Maya was a welcome guest in the resort and was also stroked by children. So you should have a friendly and relaxed dog when you are on holiday in a large number of children’s accommodations.
Dogs are allowed almost anywhere on the resort – except children’s areas and restaurant.
In Neuharlingersiel I have to use a leash during the main season – I did not find a designated free running area, nor the access for dogs to the sea described on the website. Here we often did not feel welcome with dogs. Big dogs forbidden signs are everywhere. A beach visit with child and dog is impossible, because dogs are not allowed on the beach in the high season.
How this works differently and better is shown at the dog beach in Norddeich, where beach and dog beach lie next to each other and the whole family can spend a great day.