Kiel Canal

The Kiel Canal is a 98 kilometre long canal in the German Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein that links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of 519 kilometers is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids potentially dangerous storm-prone seas.

It is the world's busiest artificial waterway. The Kiel Canal is the most heavily used artificial seaway in the world; an average of 114 ships per day used the canal in 2006.

While most large, modern cruise ships cannot pass through this canal due to clearance limits under bridges, one medium sized ship, the M. S. Norwegian Dream has special funnels and masts that can be lowered for passage.

Things to See & Do

* Brunsbuttel
* Rendsburg
* Kiel-Holtenau
* Scandinavia

General information

Cruise Season - Feb - Dec
Currency - Euro (€) (EUR)
Language - German
Land Area - 98 km's (length)
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT plusone hour
International Country Telephone Code + 49

Port Location - The 'city-centre harbour' at Kiel is the starting place for numerous cruise liners.

Transport Links - Kiel is easy to reach, via the motorway, by train, by plane, via scheduled services from Kiel-Holtenau Airport and by regular ferries.