I am thinking of going to Germany this summer for a tour. Please could anyone suggest some scenic routes to ride. Previously I have toured in France and Spain and have never booked hotels in advanced. I have never had a problem finding accommodation. Is chance finding of hotels just as feasible in touring parts of Germany?
Touring in Germany, help needed.
- Thread starter Peter
- Start date
Never had any problems finding a decent room even in August. However, never tried in a big city or tourist place.
How long have you got for the tour Peter?
A week then go to the Eifel's or the Hartz, two weeks then down to the Schwarzwald or Bavaria
Get a good Michelin map, look for the green bits and squiggly roads alongside squiggly rivers and you'll not go far wrong
Or squiggly roads in the brown bits (hills)
Accommodation no problem, no need to book in advance if there's only the two of you, maybe three or four no problem either.
Just do a search for motorcycle friendly hotels in whichever area you're heading for ..... sorted
Enjoy
A week then go to the Eifel's or the Hartz, two weeks then down to the Schwarzwald or Bavaria
Get a good Michelin map, look for the green bits and squiggly roads alongside squiggly rivers and you'll not go far wrong
Or squiggly roads in the brown bits (hills)
Accommodation no problem, no need to book in advance if there's only the two of you, maybe three or four no problem either.
Just do a search for motorcycle friendly hotels in whichever area you're heading for ..... sorted
Enjoy
sven
Registered user
Nearly every small town/village will have a restaurant/pub with good quality rooms for a decent price.
The scenic stuff is in the west (Eifel/Mosel valley/Rhine gorge/Sauerland) or south (Black Forest/ Alps), although I understand the Harz mountains in the east are very nice, although tedious to get to.
I used to work in Germany and I'm a big fan of the country (food, wine, beer and old towns are generally excellent). Just stay away from the flat, boring bits in the North and middle and you'll have a great time
The scenic stuff is in the west (Eifel/Mosel valley/Rhine gorge/Sauerland) or south (Black Forest/ Alps), although I understand the Harz mountains in the east are very nice, although tedious to get to.
I used to work in Germany and I'm a big fan of the country (food, wine, beer and old towns are generally excellent). Just stay away from the flat, boring bits in the North and middle and you'll have a great time
Accommodation finding is easy in Germany. In the larger towns & cities the tourist office will find you a place and give you directions, often at a very good rate as hotels with empty rooms contact them.
As you travel you will see signs saying "Zimmer Frei" everywhere. Rooms free is the translation and you will see them at farmhouses, guest houses and hotels.
As you travel you will see signs saying "Zimmer Frei" everywhere. Rooms free is the translation and you will see them at farmhouses, guest houses and hotels.
Look at various trip reports
I have only toured the Black Forest, but been back several times as it is easy enough to get to, or pass through on way to / from Alps.
Not a huge area (smaller than Wales) and you can see a good chunk of it in a few days riding allowing you to maybe combine it with the Vosges / Eifel / Ardennes regions.
Of course you could also spend a week or more exploring in more depth as the density of great roads is pretty good.
If you want to book up many here can vouch for Pension Williams which is very well located and good value - you may even be able to roll up and get a room here - and if not there are many Hotels in the area.
I have only toured the Black Forest, but been back several times as it is easy enough to get to, or pass through on way to / from Alps.
Not a huge area (smaller than Wales) and you can see a good chunk of it in a few days riding allowing you to maybe combine it with the Vosges / Eifel / Ardennes regions.
Of course you could also spend a week or more exploring in more depth as the density of great roads is pretty good.
If you want to book up many here can vouch for Pension Williams which is very well located and good value - you may even be able to roll up and get a room here - and if not there are many Hotels in the area.
One of the best biking countries in the world, follow the advice here and you'll have a great time
My choice for a 1st trip is either the Mosel/German Ardennes or Black Forest
My choice for a 1st trip is either the Mosel/German Ardennes or Black Forest
Deleted account Cooperman
Registered user
If you want to check on accommodation in a certain area Booking.com tends to be more populated than TripAdvisor.
If you speak the lingo try http://www.holidaycheck.de/land-Reiseinformationen_Deutschland-lid_41.html or use Google translate
If you speak the lingo try http://www.holidaycheck.de/land-Reiseinformationen_Deutschland-lid_41.html or use Google translate
Gecko
Registered user
Have a look at bestbikingroads.com
just come back from a week away, Lux/Germany - black forest and rhine.
Never bother booking, and never had difficulty finding somwhere to stay, average price is between 40-60 euro a room for two people including breakfast.
Stayed here on the way down
http://www.hotel-de-la-sure.lu/ cracking hotel in Lux, they do bike routes in the local area as well.
Hotel Gasthaus Rose
Wilhelmstr. 27, Rudesheim am Rhein, Germany
this one in rudesheim,
both had secure parking for bikes. and wifi etc etc.
Never bother booking, and never had difficulty finding somwhere to stay, average price is between 40-60 euro a room for two people including breakfast.
Stayed here on the way down
http://www.hotel-de-la-sure.lu/ cracking hotel in Lux, they do bike routes in the local area as well.
Hotel Gasthaus Rose
Wilhelmstr. 27, Rudesheim am Rhein, Germany
this one in rudesheim,
both had secure parking for bikes. and wifi etc etc.
Thank you all for your replies. I intend to go with a mate for 9 days using Newcastle - Ijmuiden crossing both ways. I will follow the above advice and am greatly encourage by what has been written. Thanks.
Belper phil
Registered user
You have nine days away, from which I guess you deduct at least some time for travelling from home to Ijmuiden and back, even if a part is overnight on a ferry.
Let's say that you have seven full days, which is plenty of time but Germany is a huge country, so you won't see it all. You tell us that you are used to touring in France and Spain (both very big countries too) so you will no doubt have a good grip on how far places are from each other and the time taken. You should also have a good idea how many days you want to spend riding and how many you might want to spend off the bike and, not least, the type of roads you want to spend your time riding.
That just leaves you wondering where to go and scenic routes to ride to get there.... Just how long is that piece of string?
Let's start with areas....
You are coming from the north, so you could do something different and unusual and tour around the north German coast and into Denmark. Plenty to see and do.
Heading southwards, you could take in the Ardennes, the Eifel and then maybe head down further into the Black Forest and the French Vosges. That could take up your seven days and you may well have missed out the Rhine / Moselle (or not) depending on which way you went and chose to loiter.
Or you could skip a chunk and ride to the German and Austrian Alps and spend more (or less) time there.
Or any combination of the above you might be keen to dream up.
Roads to ride, one: If you have a Garmin GPS there are hundreds of suggested routes, lovingly created for just what you have asked for. Several of them sit two are three threads above yours. Open them up and play around, you can't break them.
Roads to ride, two: Have a look at the loads of trip reports, questions on where to go and how to get there. You ain't the first and you won't be the last.
Roads to ride, three: Look at your maps and see those that interest you, depending on where you plan on going.
Roads to ride, four: Google things like 'motorcycle touring in Germany' and see what pops up...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Dream up simple combinations of words involving Germany and motorcycle and roads, then pump them into Google. You want personal recommendations? That is what you will get, thousands upon thousands of them.
Some of the sites might well be organised tours but hey, you don't want those as you are an independent kinda' guy with your mate... Never mind, you can still have a look at where the tours go and steal some of their ideas.
Hotels to stay in, one: There are hundreds if not thousands of hotels in Germany, they will not all be full. But as you have no idea where you'll be, it's tricky to suggest one or two in particular.
Hotels to stay in, two: Google something like, motorcycle hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Or Motorrad hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=motorrad+hotels+germany&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Or biker friendly hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
It really is a fantastic tool.
Last but not least....
IT IS YOUR HOLIDAY NOT OURS. Do some work with your mate you are going with. You are not without experience from past tours in Spain and France. Apply some imagination between each other. You'll do it over the weekend if you apply yourself to it....
Let's say that you have seven full days, which is plenty of time but Germany is a huge country, so you won't see it all. You tell us that you are used to touring in France and Spain (both very big countries too) so you will no doubt have a good grip on how far places are from each other and the time taken. You should also have a good idea how many days you want to spend riding and how many you might want to spend off the bike and, not least, the type of roads you want to spend your time riding.
That just leaves you wondering where to go and scenic routes to ride to get there.... Just how long is that piece of string?
Let's start with areas....
You are coming from the north, so you could do something different and unusual and tour around the north German coast and into Denmark. Plenty to see and do.
Heading southwards, you could take in the Ardennes, the Eifel and then maybe head down further into the Black Forest and the French Vosges. That could take up your seven days and you may well have missed out the Rhine / Moselle (or not) depending on which way you went and chose to loiter.
Or you could skip a chunk and ride to the German and Austrian Alps and spend more (or less) time there.
Or any combination of the above you might be keen to dream up.
Roads to ride, one: If you have a Garmin GPS there are hundreds of suggested routes, lovingly created for just what you have asked for. Several of them sit two are three threads above yours. Open them up and play around, you can't break them.
Roads to ride, two: Have a look at the loads of trip reports, questions on where to go and how to get there. You ain't the first and you won't be the last.
Roads to ride, three: Look at your maps and see those that interest you, depending on where you plan on going.
Roads to ride, four: Google things like 'motorcycle touring in Germany' and see what pops up...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Dream up simple combinations of words involving Germany and motorcycle and roads, then pump them into Google. You want personal recommendations? That is what you will get, thousands upon thousands of them.
Some of the sites might well be organised tours but hey, you don't want those as you are an independent kinda' guy with your mate... Never mind, you can still have a look at where the tours go and steal some of their ideas.
Hotels to stay in, one: There are hundreds if not thousands of hotels in Germany, they will not all be full. But as you have no idea where you'll be, it's tricky to suggest one or two in particular.
Hotels to stay in, two: Google something like, motorcycle hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Or Motorrad hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=motorrad+hotels+germany&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Or biker friendly hotels in Germany
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...many&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
It really is a fantastic tool.
Last but not least....
IT IS YOUR HOLIDAY NOT OURS. Do some work with your mate you are going with. You are not without experience from past tours in Spain and France. Apply some imagination between each other. You'll do it over the weekend if you apply yourself to it....
Big Lee
Registered user
Buy one of these, I did and its ace for doing route planning
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Germany-Benelux-Austria-Switzerland-Republic/dp/2067183141
Look out for the green highlighted roads and you should be able to piece together a trip from when you land until you leave
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Germany-Benelux-Austria-Switzerland-Republic/dp/2067183141
Look out for the green highlighted roads and you should be able to piece together a trip from when you land until you leave
Cheat.
Go to: http://www.mapsman.com/
Scroll down and pick out the German looking ADAC maps.
Not enough routes?
Get a copy of:
http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...en+s%C3%BCddeutschland&client=safari&hl=en-gb
Contains EVERY route you will ever need and then some more.
Go to: http://www.mapsman.com/
Scroll down and pick out the German looking ADAC maps.
Not enough routes?
Get a copy of:
http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...en+s%C3%BCddeutschland&client=safari&hl=en-gb
Contains EVERY route you will ever need and then some more.
No problem finding accommodation, in the touristy areas every second house does B&B. But if you'd rather not call into places to ask booking.com is very good. When you decide you want to stop you book a room, have a cup of tea in the local cafe & by the time you get there they'll have your room ready for you
Again thanks for all the help. Wapping you spent much time giving me you advice, Thanks
Wal2
Registered user
apart from the obvious good area's (Mosel, Eifel, Black forest etc) if you are coming down from Ijmuiden....call in at Dusseldorf...lovely old town area, and nearby the Neanderthal valley, interesting museum (head for Mettmann). Trier is well worth a vist too (inc. Marx's birthplace if you lean to political history)
www.booking.com is good for hotels ranging from £25 upwards, can't go far wrong in Germany, very little worry about security for the bike, friendly folk, and nice food.........
Between Dusseldorf and Wuppertal
On the Rhine at Dusseldorf
shopping too....
www.booking.com is good for hotels ranging from £25 upwards, can't go far wrong in Germany, very little worry about security for the bike, friendly folk, and nice food.........
Between Dusseldorf and Wuppertal
On the Rhine at Dusseldorf
shopping too....
I agree. Dusseldorf is a very underrated city. Nice river bank along the Rhine to relax and watch the boats/ships; Old Town (Altstadt) has fantastic bars; and the old harbour area has some nice modern buildings (including a Frank Gehry, if you are into architecture).
The museum in/at neanderthal is well worth a visit. Very interesting.
Stay away from the Eifel during summer weekends though: really busy with both cars & ikes and with a high police presence!
The museum in/at neanderthal is well worth a visit. Very interesting.
Stay away from the Eifel during summer weekends though: really busy with both cars & ikes and with a high police presence!
Wal2
Registered user
of all the cities ive visited in Germany..(enjoyed them all ) ..Dusseldorf gives me the most essence of Germany, definately got soul... down to earth and sophisticated, hyped and mellow, all at the same time,...... nice vibe about the place......riding in on the M52/1 is a buzz (although...i'm easily pleased)
)
Similar threads
