The Spreewald is definitely one of Germany’s most unusual forests. In this area in the eastern part of the country, the Spree River forms a vast inland delta, with hundreds of interconnected little canals, criss-crossing the landscape.
By far the best way to explore this incredibly picturesque area is by taking a boat tour through a part of the forest, which has been designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1991. However, when traveling through the area, you’ll come across dozens of companies offering tons of different options.
During our recent weekend trip to the Spreewald, Stefanie and I sorted through the options and found the perfect boat trip for first time visitors to the area. Read on for everything you need to know about the perfect Spreewald Boat Trip.
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Where to Base Yourself in the Spree Forest
First things first: The Spreewald has two distinct areas, known as Unter- and Oberspreewald (Lower and Upper Spree Forest). While the former is said to be pretty in its own right, the upper forest is the famous area with the characteristic canals, so make sure to base yourself in the eastern half of the reserve if you want the quintessential Spreewald experience.
In this part of the forest, the main ports for boat tours are Lübbenau and Burg. Lübbenau is easier to reach by public transport and has a better tourist infrastructure, so this is where we based ourselves and from where we started our boat trip.
Hotels in Lübbenau
Lübbenau wears its pride for the local pickled Gherkins on its sleeve, and if you love unusual accommodation options, you can spend the night in a big wooden gherkin barrel, which is exactly what we did. We thought it was fun and surprisingly comfortable, although of course a bit cramped.
If you want something roomier and are not on a small budget, Spree Hotel am Hafen has very good reviews. Have a look below for more options.
Which Boat Company Should You Choose?
You can’t throw a rock in Lübbenau without hitting someone offering boat trips along the surrounding canals. However, we stuck with the official company operating from the town’s marina.
You can check their website for available tours and current prices here. The site is in German, but you can download an English-language leaflet.
Which Trip Should You Choose?
Options range from short one-hour excursions to nine-hour whole-day trips. The shorter trips are ideal if you’re strapped for time, but keep in mind that the boats are slow, so you’ll see only a small portion of the forest.
We chose the six-hour-option called “Große Schleusentour”, and feel like this gave us a thorough introduction to the area with two stops along the way – one at the Wotschofska Inn and the other in Lehde Village. We felt that we got the perfect mix of nature and culture during this trip.
How Much Do the Tours Cost?
This of course depends on the option you choose and the duration of the trip. The 6-hour roundtrip that we recommend was 25€ per Person, while the short two-hour tours are 15€. You can have a look at the current prices here.
Are There Boat Trips in the Wintertime?
As long as the canals aren’t frozen over (which hardly ever happens any more according to our boat captain) there are shorter trips available in the wintertime as well. Companies provide blankets and mulled wine or tea to keep you warm outside and in.
A Description of the Lübbenau-Lehde-Wotschofska Boat Trip
Here’s what to expect from the 6-hour “Große Schleusentour”-Trip. You board the boat at the “Großer Spreewaldhafen” port in the centre of Lübbenau, and the first part of the trip leads past the orangery of the nearby castle park and through some small canals at the eastern end of town.
Almost immediately, you’ll be surrounded on both sides by the well-manicured gardens of mostly private homes. We liked the opportunity of seeing the historic wooden houses of Lübbenau from a different angle and to peer into the cute backyards.
The boat captains steer and propel the characteristic flat-bottomed boats with the use of a barge pole at a very leisurely pace, which gives you plenty of time to look around and soak up the serene atmosphere.
In the tiny hamlet of Kaupen you’ll pass the boathouse of the post boat, which is used to distribute the mail daily during the summer months, as the houses are much easier to reach from the water than the land side. Eventually, the houses thin out, and you’ll only come across the occasional historical farmhouse in the forest.
A detail that struck us about the majority of houses were the carved wooden beams crossing above the gable, which reminded us of the traditional architecture of the Scandinavian countries. Many beams are carved in the form of a snake, a tradition which alludes to the local legend of the snake king, who is said to reside around these parts.
We also noticed that a lot of houses are built on stilts, which is said to go back to an agreement between the humans and snakes, so the latter will always have a place of shelter below the houses. The more prosaic explanation for the raised floors is that with all the waterways around, flooding is a common occurrence around these parts, especially during the wintertime.
Finally, you’ll reach the cute village of Lehde, which is built on a series of tiny islands and criss-crossed by countless canals. Again, historical wooden houses and pretty gardens full of flowering bushes are ubiquitous, and crossing the village feels like stepping back in time a few hundred years. This was definitely my favourite part of the boat tour.
Once you’ve left the village behind you, the tour alternates between broad open meadows and light forest. Twice, you’ll come across sluices, whose gates have to be operated by hand. Eventually, you’ll reach the Wotschofska Restaurant, which is the longest stop on the tour.
The historic Inn sitting on a leafy island deep in the forest is a nice place to try some Spreewald staples. If you’re not super hungry (which was the case for us) I suggest going for the “Wotschofska Brotzeit”, which is basically a snack plate for two, consisting of bread and some local specialities, including cheese and the famous pickled Spreewald Gherkins.
For the way back, our boat captain chose a completely different route, which gave us the opportunity to see a few more parts of the forest, before stopping for a second time in the village of Lehde. This stop was a little shorter than the one at the Wotschofska, but you’ll still have enough time for a short stroll through the surrounding area (or simply for a drink, if you don’t feel like rushing around).
Lehde has an interesting open-air-museum, although properly exploring it takes at least an hour, so you might want to consider coming back on foot if you want to check that out. We did it the next day, as it’s just a 30-minute stroll from downtown Lübbenau. After boarding your boat for a final time, you’ll be slowly navigated back to Lübbenau’s Marina, where you started your tour.
How to Reach the Spreewald
The forest is located close to the city of Cottbus, about 100km south-east of Berlin. Lübbenau can be reached by direct train from Berlin’s main station several times an hour in about one hour. Coming from most other directions, you’ll have to change trains in Cottbus first.
Where to Go Next
Leipzig, Germany’s cultural Boomtown