Helgoland June 2027

Day 1:

We gather at Brutus's place in Höör by 10.00 at the latest. There is plenty of parking space for cars here. Pick-up from Höör station for those who take the train. When everyone has arrived, we set off in Fokus's VW Caravelle bus (the extended model to carry a lot of luggage) from Ågerup towards the port town of Büsum in Germany. At 17.30 we check in at our hotel. We are served an evening meal at the hotel.

We have booked double rooms with toilet and shower. With early booking we may perhaps be able to arrange single rooms both here and for the three nights on Helgoland, preliminarily 3,600 SEK single supplement for Helgoland and 850 SEK for a single room in Büsum. Check with us! The last night, when we have returned to Brutus's farm, there is only a "dormitory".

If anyone has difficulty arriving at Brutus's farm by 10, up to three participants can arrive the evening before and stay overnight at no extra cost. Yes, Brutus serves breakfast.

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Day 2:

We eat breakfast at the hotel at 7 and drive to the parking area at the harbour in Büsum so that we are there at 8.00. We walk the roughly 100 metres to the ferry, which departs at 9.30. On Helgoland no cars are allowed; those who work in service occupations use electric cars, apart from the ambulance and fire engine which run on fossil fuels.

The crossing takes about 2.5 hours so we arrive around 12. When we go ashore we walk towards the village and find a place to eat lunch. After checking in in the village we make our way to the accommodation. No private car traffic is allowed on the island but there is luggage transport and taxi. We recommend packing light and preferably a wheeled suitcase, as it is a good 1 km to walk from the ferry berth to the centre.

Everyone pays for their own lunch; we find a good place in the village.

Dinner at the hotel.

The gannets are best photographed in the evening, and if the sun shows itself there are good chances of gannets with the setting sun as a background.

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Day 3:

Early morning for those who wish. We go up onto the cliffs and continue with the gannets. Lunch around 11.30

After lunch we take the boat over to the neighbouring island of Dûne. There we find both grey and harbour seal and much other seabird life. Here a distance of at least 30 metres to the seals applies; if you get closer a friendly guard will come and ask you to back off.

Back at the hostel we eat dinner and then head up onto the cliffs again to the gannets.

 

Day 4:

This day we take as it comes; if anyone wants to go back to Düne, continue with the gannets or just wander around the island, activities are free. U

During daytime on one of the days, Brutus will hold a small workshop on image processing on the computer.

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Day 5:

Free activities again. We pack out of the accommodation and in the afternoon we make our way to the ferry again to travel back to the mainland.

During the evening and night we travel back to Höör. We expect to be home at Brutus's around 1-1.30.

Bedroom/dormitory is available at Brutus's so that you can rest before you make your way home in the morning.

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Day/morning 6:

Breakfast at 7-8 at Brutus's - for those who wish. Then homeward journey by car or a lift to the train.

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As always, the daily programme is preliminary; we change what we do also according to the weather - and if something special should turn up.

Timing:
15 - 21 June 2027
6 days incl. travel/5 nights

Photographic leader:
Brutus Östling

Price (regular) 14,600 SEK

Early-bird price: 13,500 SEK
(Applies to booking before 25 September 2026)

The booking deposit is 4000 SEK

Number of participating photographers

Max 4/Minimum 4 participants

With a lower number of participants, a small supplement is added, see below.

The trip begins and ends:

at Brutus and Agneta's farm. Latest arrival time is 10.00

We come home by bus at midnight. A sleeping place in a multi-bed room is included, and breakfast is served before the homeward journey by car or train.

Included in the price

Travel to and from Höör. The hotel is apartments with their own kitchen. Breakfast and evening meal are included, Fokus purchases this. Ferry crossing round trip. All meals at the hostel. We are served a good breakfast at which you can make a packed lunch to take with you, and in the evening we are treated to dinner. Bring a thermos and a box for sandwiches. At the hostel we stay in two-bed rooms with private toilet and shower. Breakfast at Brutus's on the last morning. We come back at midnight, shared accommodation the last night at Brutus's, before everyone sets off homeward after breakfast.

Briefing, guiding to good spots on Helgoland. Participation with advice and tips.

Boat trip to the neighbouring island of Düne with grey and harbour seal and many birds.

Accommodation

Very centrally located apartment up on the cliff ledge, so it is at most a ten-minute walk to the nearest breeding sites for the gannets. We stay in two very good apartments with two bedrooms in each. The apartments have a well-equipped kitchen; we can choose to buy in together and/or eat lunch/dinner at one of the island's many restaurants/pizzerias. We have a favourite pizzeria! Breakfast every day is included, arranged by Fokus. There are also all types of shops on Helgoland; it is a large tourist resort.

The first night, when we have arrived in the port town, we have booked double rooms with toilet and shower. Good breakfast. We come back to Brutus's farm in Skåne at midnight, simple accommodation the last night at Brutus's. Generous breakfast before everyone sets off homeward by car or is given a lift to the station in Höör/Hässleholm.

Not included in the price

Travel to and from the meeting point Höör. Insurance and other things of a private nature. Alcoholic beverages. Any snacks, etc.

Don't forget cancellation protection.

Single room

Single supplement preliminarily 3,700 SEK on Helgoland, subject to availability only.

The last night at Brutus's before the homeward journey is not possible.

At the present time it looks as though we can arrange a couple of single rooms in Büsum (extra cost 850 SEK),

Camera equipment

We get right up close to the gannets so everything from wide-angle to telephoto works; a good choice is a 70-200 mm zoom (preferably with a converter) or a 100-400/500 mm is perfect. When we photograph incoming gannets, a slightly longer focal length, preferably a 100-400, 100-500, 200-600, 200-800, 400-800 mm zoom or a fixed 400 mm telephoto with converter or 500/600 mm. Having only a 200-600 mm or 400-800 mm zoom will be too long at some breeding sites.

Tamron's 35-150 mm or 28-200 mm are useful for landscapes and at the breeding sites. Or a 24-70 plus a 70-200/100-400 mm.

For other birds it will be telephoto lenses, from 400 mm and up, which also suits the seals well where it is important to respect the distance of 30 m.

If you have a wide-angle zoom and a telephoto zoom, that suits perfectly. A tripod can be good to have but not necessary; it depends a bit on what type of telephoto lens you have or whether you want to photograph as it gets dark.

If you have a fast long telephoto, it is of course useful for beautiful portraits with a nice bokeh background.

Clothing

In the evenings and during early morning it can get chilly with the proximity to the sea, but during the day it can get summer-warm. Rain-resistant clothes are of course good to have, possibly other things according to your own wishes. Comfortable shoes/boots as there will be quite a bit of walking. The cliff we walk up onto is 80 m high; the nearest route from the hostel goes through sand dunes but with good footing and then stairs up onto the cliff. In the village there is a lift for those who want to ride up a bit, but it is a detour and costs a tenner.
A luggage bag or wheeled trolley is recommended for the walk from the ferry to the hotel.
A simple three-legged folding stool is available in outdoor shops and at Biltema. Very comfortable to sit on something low when you photograph at the colony.

Accessibility/disability

Good walking paths, though stairs for part of the way, but there is a lift up to the cliff ledge where we stay. The apartments are probably the ones that are worse in terms of accessibility for, for example, wheelchairs. We walk on paved or gravelled footpaths of up to 1.5 km.

A lift from Helgoland's lower centre is available. Otherwise stairs or road.

**Visa/Passport
**
Swedish citizens need a passport. In these times everyone must keep track of special rules, and we will of course check everything extra carefully and inform as much as we can.

*Payment terms

The payment terms differ from our general travel conditions.

The booking deposit is 4000 SEK. The remainder is paid 30 days before the start of the trip. In the event of cancellation later than 30 days before, neither the booking deposit nor the final payment is refunded. Please note, therefore, that in the event of cancellation later than one month before the start of the trip, the traveller is obliged to pay the full price of the trip.

If we are fewer than 4 participants, we must charge an extra 1,500 SEK per participant. The above applies regardless of the price at which the booking was made.

Our Swedish price is calculated on the basis of a euro rate of 10.90 SEK.

Insurance

In cooperation with Europeiska ERV we offer a complement to your home insurance and a cancellation protection. All so that you can be as secure as possible on your trip. Read more about what the insurance covers and