Germany, advice please (1 Viewer)

[Helandto]

Hi, We’re planning a 4 week trip in September to Germany. This is our proposed route but after reading some forums are beginning to wonder if we are trying to pack in too much.
We are planning to start in Cologne then travelling to Bonn then Remagen down to Trier.
Then driving up the Mosell to Koblenz, stopping at various places.
Drive down the Rhine as far as Mannheim
Then driving to Wurzburg and driving down the Romantic road to Füssen.
Back up along top of Lake Constance and into the Black Forest towards Baden Baden
Then home.
We were thinking it would be better not to book anywhere to stay but just stop where we fancy ( arriving early enough for spaces)
We would appreciate your thoughts please.
Many thanks Helene

 

[Helandto]

Hi made a mistake we’re actually going for 5 weeks not 4!

 

[Lenny HB]

Sounds like a good trip except far too much for a 4 week trip. From your other thread it sounds like it's going to be one of your first trips abroad. Loads to see in Germany take it a bit easier and enjoy. We have done most of what you are doing all good places to visit but best done over 2 or 3 trips.
You have your Mosele bit back to front, unless you plan going up to Trier and back down again.
Have a look at my Croatian trip (link in my signature) we spent a couple of weeks driving down through Germany also a short German trip last year.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

Just go, no need to book, there are plenty of stellplatz, Aires, some places you will love and stay longer, some you will just want to move on, don't book just go with the flow.

 

[Parrot Face]

5 weeks is plenty of time. You'll easily get all of that in and even more.

 

[Lenny HB]

[Agree we QUOTE="Jimbohorlicks, post: 3693129, member: 22759"]
Just go, no need to book, there are plenty of stellplatz, Aires, some places you will love and stay longer, some you will just want to move on, don't book just go with the flow.
[/QUOTE]
Agree we never book anything.

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[Lenny HB]

Also September is when all the wine festivals & Octoberfests kick off so most weekends you will be too drunk to drive the next day.

 

[DangerMousy]

I just mapped it out in Google maps and I think it sounds like a lovely route - 4 or 5 weeks is plenty of time. Depending on your interests and travel style I'd be tempted to not do too many stops around the Mosel/Rhine - whilst we like the area (especially in September during the wine festivals) we found it got a bit same-y after a while. Our favourite area of Germany is Bavaria - you won't be too far from Munich or even Berchtesgaden as you head towards Füssen and I can recommend visits to both. The view from the Kehlsteinhaus is spectacular (make sure you go on a clear day).

I also agree that in general there's no need to book anything - there are plenty of places to stop and by not booking you leave yourselves the option of changing your mind if you see something you like the look of, or if the weather isn't cooperating! There only exception to that is the Mosel which will be busy in September. If you 100% know that you want to be in a certain place at a certain time and you want a campsite then I do recommend booking because they get full (though you should be able to find a stellplatz somewhere nearby). There is a particular wine festival we like to attend and we like a campsite if we're staying for a few days so that is the one places we actually do book. Apart from that, just go with the flow. And enjoy

 

[Lofty1]

Avoid any am sportsplaz pubs on a wednesday afternoon (firearbent misspelt) or you may not wake up for a few days.

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[Zains Pops]

Take plenty of money Germany is an expensive place. Although the recent pound uptick may reduce the sting

 

[Lenny HB]

Take plenty of money Germany is an expensive place. Although the recent pound uptick may reduce the sting

????
Fuel is cheap, food is cheap, eating out is cheap. Really don't understand your comment.

 

[Falcon 269]

Hi.

Like Lenny HB, we've also done a lot of touring in Germany covering pretty much everywhere in your plan. In 5 weeks, it's doable, IMHO. However, you will be moving on every couple of days at most, rather than dwelling in any one place for a while. We like that kind of holiday - taking in lots and exploring as much as possible in the available time - but it depends on what you want out of the trip.

You don't say where you plan on crossing via ferry, or if your intention is to make a rapid push through France/Belgium to Germany. If the goal is to see as much of Germany as you reasonably can in the 5 weeks you have, I'd allocate 7 days for outbound/inbound travel and budget 4 weeks in Germany.

I thoroughly recommend fitting in Saarburg at some stage, probably as a start point. From there to Trier, then along the Mosel to Koblenz. You can get a taste of the Mosel valley in a week but you won't be able to stop everywhere that appeals, obviously. You will undoubtedly go back.

We found the Romantische Strasse a bit variable. Wurzburg is a huge city and we gave it a miss. Rothenburg ob der Tauber would be a good point to pick up the Romantic Route. Maybe go down the Rhine from Koblenz to Bingen/Rudesheim and then hop on the autobahn to Wurzburg to connect with the 7 to Rothenburg. Take the non-autobahn Romantic Route to Fussen and see how you're doing for time when you get there.

Fussen to Meerburg along the north of Lake Konstanz is a nice run, Meerburg is worth a visit as is Lindau along the way. If you have time in hand, the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen are on your way back west, too.

Schaffhausen to Freiburg would be my suggestion to take in some of the Black Forest, routing via the Schluchsee and/or Lake Titisee. You might have time for a day or two in Strasbourg before making a dirty dash for the ferry ports.

You shouldn't need to book anywhere at that time of year, but check the reviews on CamperContact or the other main campsite apps to see if they suggest advance booking on certain sites.

You have flexibility at all times to change your plans depending on the weather and how you're feeling the trip is going. If you decide you're trying to cram in too much, cut out the eastern end of the plan and focus on the Mosel, Rhine and Black Forest.

Fun, ain't it?

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[tacr2man]

Covering that sort of itinary is doable , but you will be driving past more than you are stopping at , Germany is very dense on POI , eg Mosel Trier to Koblenz is a good 4/5 days . Plenty of Stellplatze https://stellplatz.info/reisemobilstellplatz . Very much agree with Lenny and Falcon , ive been visiting Germany on and off for four decades + , still plenty left

 

[billym]

If the Rhine in Flames is on at the time you are going past you have little chance/ no chance of getting anywhere to stop

 

[Helandto]

Wow thank you all, we will take into account some of your ideas. We’ve not yet gone anywhere without having all places booked so this is reassuring. We had thought if we could keep it open we would be free to stay longer if we love it or move on if not. It all looks amazing though. And yes it’s so much fun

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[BobtheBass]

Don’t rely on being able to use plastic as we found that many places don’t accept cards and insist on cash.

 

[Lenny HB]

Wow thank you all, we will take into account some of your ideas. We’ve not yet gone anywhere without having all places booked so this is reassuring. We had thought if we could keep it open we would be free to stay longer if we love it or move on if not. It all looks amazing though. And yes it’s so much fun

You will rarely have trouble finding somewhere to stop, we have been traveling for 11 years in a Motorhome never booked anything.
In Germany you can stop overnight in car parks providing there isn't a cars only sign.
In case you don't the sign (we use it in the UK)

Don’t rely on being able to use plastic as we found that many places don’t accept cards and insist on cash.

Used to be the case but the last few years we have used cards everywhere.

 

[Simon Select]

Lenny is your man for this. I have looked at most of his trips with envy!

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[BobtheBass]

I only went last year and found that I could only use a card in garages and supermarkets. Every single restaurant, bar and smaller shop I went into demanded cash so I made several trips to the hole in the wall, even the main campsite we stayed on said "no plastic sorry"! Maybe it was the area we were travelling in (around Mainz mainly)?

 

[Stealaway]

My Favourite route south through Germany is to pick up the E40/42 in Dunkirk to Aachen via Charleroi. Turn off at Junction 2 just as it enters Germany and head directly south to Monschau a town unchanged since a 1700. Then south again to the Mosel at Cochem. Tour the Mosel to Boppard and a ferry across the Rhine. For me there is not much to see on the Rhine so either side will do. There are ferries at various spots down to the south. South to Rüdesheim am Rheine and then I would head for Lindau on the Bodensee. You’re now in my favourite part of Germany, Bavaria and the Tyrol into Austria. There are many place to stop anywhere in Germany and plenty of Stellplatze if needs be. I would strongly recommend Mittenwald for a few days. You are next to the railway station and ticket to Garmish are very cheap. At Garmish station there is mountain railway to the highest Beer Keller in the world.




Other popular visits are a lap of the old Nurburging circuit and the science museums at Technik Museum Speyer and Sinsheim


https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/


You could buy a Critical air sticker for Germany – This one is for France, they last forever and are only about 5 euro.

 

[hilldweller]

Hi made a mistake we’re actually going for 5 weeks not 4!

You could easily overdose in that time. If in Fussen you could sample Austria and Northern Italy. Glorious hills. Loads of apples.

I don't see Heidelberg on your list, a must see place.

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[Sunlovers]

I only went last year and found that I could only use a card in garages and supermarkets. Every single restaurant, bar and smaller shop I went into demanded cash so I made several trips to the hole in the wall, even the main campsite we stayed on said "no plastic sorry"! Maybe it was the area we were travelling in (around Mainz mainly)?

We travelled from Cologne to Fussen and back up towards Landau and card was being accepted everywhere we spent any money

 

[Steadycam]

????
Fuel is cheap, food is cheap, eating out is cheap. Really don't understand your comment.

Yeah. We go all spring and September for 2 months each . Food is cheep fuel is cheaper than here. Eating out is more expensive than shopping it but it's still less than France Netherlands and UK. Not sure why you think Germany is expensive

 

[BobtheBass]

Must have been unlucky then. Our friends in Germany explained to us that they are used to carrying cash as shops prefer to lose business rather than pay commission to the card company!

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[Grianan]

We had the same concerns as you about booking when we went the first 2 weeks of August last year.
Even then we always found a spot ... try to get to your chosen Stellplatz or site by mid afternoon.
Germany was good value in our eyes. But, whilst cards are accepted in all supermarkets we visited, smaller shops and sitesrequired cash.
We only had 2 weeks and covered the Mosel and the Alpenstrasse plus Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. A lot of driving but stunning. We fell in love!

 

[Speve]

You could buy a Critical air sticker for Germany – This one is for France, they last forever and are only about 5 euro.

Do you mean an umwelt?