The Hel Peninsula, colloquially called Hel, is a 35-kilometre long strip of scythe-shaped sandy lands separating the Puck Bay from the open sea. The area of the Peninsula, especially in its northern, widest part, is covered with vegetation and forests.
On the promontory of the Spit there is the town of Hel – the northernmost town in Poland. It is also one of the oldest towns in Pomorskie and the only town surrounded by water on three sides.
Where to spend your holidays in Hel with your family?
Recreation in Hel is mainly associated with beautiful sandy beaches, sea bathing and sunbathing in the warm sun. However, there are also a lot of attractions for those who want to spend their holidays actively with their families. People in Pomorskie are wonderful and extremely inventive people who are friendly towards guests visiting their areas and willingly welcome whole families resting with children. Many of the hotels and guesthouses located on the Hel peninsula their offer to families, creating safe play areas for the youngest guests in their areas and adapting their hotel spaces to their presence. The pro-family attitude of the organizers of summer recreation is also associated with the creation of tourist attractions suitable for children throughout the Hel Peninsula.
Water sports on the Bay of Puck, photo: Pomorskie.travel/ M.Ochocki
Water sports on the Hel Peninsula.
Children are a real element, which should be provided with attractions that help discharge accumulated energy, and its use should be combined with the benefit of their development. Holidays in Hel can be a great opportunity for this. Enthusiasts of all kinds of water sports will find perfect conditions for windsurfing, kite surfing, sailing and fishing trips. More and more often there are also schools promoting this type of active recreation among children and adapting the curriculum to the small height and strength of the charges.
Seal Center – a Hel attraction for children.
Our children are also curious about the world around them and willingly participate in trips that allow them to learn about the life of animals. In Hel, there is a Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography of Gdansk university. The main task of the facility is marine and coastal research and activities aimed at protecting and restoring the grey seal population in the waters of the southern Baltic Sea.
Residents of the Seal Sanctuary in Hel, photo: pomorskie.travel, M. Ochocki
Over the years of the Station’s operation, seals found their way to the existing pools, which suffered accidents due to unfavourable conditions and had no chance for independent survival. The seal center created in this way took care of the observation and rehabilitation of weakened creatures and saving their lives. Working with seals and feeding them aroused great interest among tourists coming here. That is why it was decided to organize seal shows, these are medical trainings during which the health condition of seals is checked, as well as the presentation of skills. There are currently five seals living in the Seal Center pools at the Station, which are willingly visited by children. The exhibition “Mammals of our sea” was also organized in the Seal Center, which describes the animals found in the sea.
Train trips and bicycle escapades.
The natural lay of the land, picturesque roads and paths created by the inhabitants are conducive to cycling escapades and trips to areas of natural and ethnographic interest.
Arranging bicycle trips or riding the railway running along the shores, you can visit all the extremely charming seaside towns and green areas of nature reserves. In nearby Jurata, there is the residence of the President of the Republic of Poland, which serves as a recreation and conference center.
Bicycle trails on the Hel Peninsula, photo: Pomorskie.travel
What else to show children in Hel?
Promenades and footbridges built along the dune areas encourage hiking. With the help of this way of sightseeing, you can visit Wiejska Street with children with preserved fishermen’s huts. In the summer season, you can also climb the 41.5-metre-tall, octagonal, tapering red brick lighthouse towering over the town.
The former Evangelical church houses the Fisheries Museum. There you can see old boats and fishing boats and learn the secrets of the old fishing life. Lovers of history and militaria will certainly be interested in the Museum of Coastal Defence and the remains of defensive fortifications of the Hel Peninsula. Hiking trips can lead us to the fishing port, which is the base for white fleet ships and fishing boats moored here. In the area adjacent to the port, there is a building with social facilities for the yacht basin and tourist information.
Kładki spacerowe na Cyplu Helskim, fot. Mateusz Ochocki/ Pomorskie Travel
Holiday sea tourist cruises.
In the tourist season, you can experience a sea cruise, which will certainly be an unforgettable attraction for children staying here on vacation. There is a water tram running between the Tri-City and two towns on the peninsula – Hel and Jastarnia. Family holidays with children in Hel are beautiful nature, charming towns, unusual past and present fishing culture, unusual landscapes and plenty of attractions that will provide children with an unforgettable experience of a great adventure.
