Although it appears we have lost out on our bid for World Cup tickets, we are still planning a trip to France & Germany (this is of course subject to change). Can anyone fill me in on Sylt & particularly when is the earliest time of year you may be able to travel there, & still experience good weather ? By good, I mean enjoying a walk on the beach, not necessarily getting in the water.

Salt water, sand, sun, tall grasses, bikes, and WIND. I wore a jacket there in the middle of summer. Nice place for a day or two.

We were on Sylt (pronounced TZULT) 5 years ago in early June, didn't even think about going in the water. We have German friends that have been vacationing on Sylt for years and when we spoke with them this weekend they remarked on the high cost of lodging. I think it has become a kind of German Nantucket.

Our German relatives love it. In fact, one of cousins and her husband (they honeymooned there) just bought a holiday home there they are restoring. We were only there briefly but find the German Nantucket description reasonably apt.

The hotel used and recommended by our German relatives:
http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fiche...he_hotel.shtml

Thanks for the input so far, sounds like it may be a little too 'high-brow' for us. Still sounds very interesting though.

Not too far from there is Romo, a similar kind of place in Denmark. We watched a German detective TV movie filmed there and throughout the movie, we kept saying, that place looks really cool. So it's on our "someday" trip list.
http://www.romo.dk/Engelsk/default.htm

I'll check out Romo as well. My fear is that we will probably be there too early in the year to really enjoy the beach although I enjoy the beach most anytime.

Can you fit a French beach town into your trip instead? Normandy, Brittany?

I like to think that there in fact isn't any such thing as bad weather on Sylt - wrong clothing yes!

In fact, the months prior to Easter would be a little bit too cold, misty and you might encounter quite a few closed properties.
But from late April/ early May on through the end of September Sylt would be nice enough! If the weather does not permit sunbathing, bring some rubber boots and walk along the shores or in the "Wattenmeer" when the tide has moved the water out, fresh air galore and a lovely feeling overall.
BTW as the Danish island of Roem was suggested as an alternative here before, Sylt is accessible only by train (that carries cars) or by ferry, with the ferry leaving from Roemoe.

Actually we spent some time previously in Oostende (Belgium) & found that it was a great way to end our trip. The info I have seen on Sylt has been intriguing & we had planned to be in Hamburg. Hence the question.